the back wheels spun because you shifted into 4wdFT (full time). In full time the transfer case acts as a center differential and allows the front and rear driveshafts to turn at different speeds. You know who one wheel will spin with (if you don't have LSD) in 2wd? The same thing happens there but with the two axles. The axle with the least grip, the rear one in your case, spun all of the power away. This mode is safe to be driven on the road. If there were patches of snow or ice on the road you could use 4wdFT without having to shift back to 2wd everytime the road got clear

When in mud or on other slipper surfaces you can use 4wdPT (part time). Part time locks the front and rear drive shafts together and the axles so that all the power won't be spun away. Like shrp said though, you should shift into 4wd before you get stuck because it can take a few rotations of the wheel for the locks to kick in.

Just so you know you don't have to stop and shift into neutral on the tranny to shift into 4wd. Yes you can shift while rolling as long as you are under 30mph and are not feeding any gas.

Since you have the Full Time transfer case you need to go through a few extra steps when you go to shift back to 2wd. I know it's a hassle to do but it's better than having your transfer case explode. Here's the link to the thread where the procedure was discussed: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-the-deal.html

 

FWIW, my 02 4.7 SLT will "clunk" coming out of 4wd as well. Occasionally it'll get stuck in 4WD, where the indicator shows 2WD however I can feel the front tire chatter on a slow turn. Usually putting it in reverse and backing up a couple feet will cure the problem. I troubleshot it a while back to a transfer case solenoid / sensor and swapped it out for a little bit of an improvement, however it didn't cure the problem completely.

Bob

 

like I mentioned I'm not entirely familiar with the electronically shifted transfer cases, but with the full time lever shifter cases reversing and turning is the proper procedure for going back to 2wd to make sure 4wd completely disengages

 

How much was this sensor?

 

ok, well good thing I had half a brain lol! Since i thought I had to reverse it to get it to engage, I reversed it when I disengaged. so good thing there, but if I put it in 4FT it shouldnt bind right since they are able to move at different speeds, hence it being ok to drive 4FT on the road. ok gotcha. I am back in and understanding!

Yes, I should shift before I get stuck, but, these holes weren't that bad lol, made it through them 4 times before I got stuck, just went down a different route that 5th time lol

 

you are right that it shouldn't bind in full time but since you have to go through part time to get back to 2wd it could bind there. It seems as though most of the people here with the full time cases agree that you should go through that procedure anyway. I think someone might have even mentioned an alternative method having something to do with neutral towards the middle of that thread i posted the link to

 

Yeah I was reading up on it. The way I shift, everytime, is stop, neutral, shift into 4wd, reverse, then drive, just an old habit from the 4runner and the Trooper lol. Of course after reading that post, now I am not sure my T-case came out of 4wd on sunday, BUT, I have driven about 60 miles since then and about 20 miles of that was at 75 mph, guessing if it wasn't the front differential would be shot!

Getting out of 4wd, I stop,neutral, shift to 2wd, reverse give it soem gas and go back a few feet, put back in drive and roll. What is this wheel hop they are talking about? I have felt a wheel hop in 2wd when pulling out of parking spots if I am going slow enough and have the wheel turned all the way to the left. But that might be a whole other issue lol

 

btw, straight out of my service manual:

When shifting from 2-wheel drive to 4-wheel drive or from 4-wheel drive to 2-wheel drive while the vehicle is stopped, it may be neccessary to shift the automatic transmission from DRIVE to REVERS and back to DRIVE after shifting the transfer case. This will allow full engagement of the newly selected position.

It does go on to say how to shift on the fly.

 

I'd have to check my manual but I'm pretty sure this is just for full time cases. I guess if you get the luxury of full time 4wd you get some trade offs compared to part time cases

 

no you guys are right, but mine sometimes has to be flipped into reverse if i am stopped when i shift. was just saying :-)