I just need alittle info. My daughter is buying a 2002 Dakota. The gear shift shows a 2H, 4H& 4L. The truck won't go into 2H, just stays in 4H and the used car dealer told her it was an AWD vehicle. I live in the mountains and have all 4WD and AWD vehicles and I've never heard of an AWD Dakota. Of course, there could be one. And for 4WD, does she have to put it in neutral to go into 2H? Mine only need thats for 4L. Any info will help. Joan Mcdonald

 

should be a ****, shift-on-the-fly its called, does the 2wd indecator blink when trying to shift it?, try it in neutral or while its moving slowly, and once its in 2wd and the axle binds and begins to hop when she turns the wheel while moving, theres a problem,

 

i have a 2wd.our work trk is 4wd.to my knowledge,awd is just that-there is no selector.the trans senses wheel slippage and engages the other wheels.aska dodge service dept if you can't get it figured out.

 

well going from 4 to 2 WD and back again should just be a clutch shouldn't it? Is the shifter physically moving or not? If it's going to 2H but not actually shifting it, it's something in the linkage or case. If the shifter is jamming, then, well, there's a bind or serious issue going on.

 

if it says 2wd and 4wd its a 4wd and should be in 2wd unless your off road...there are awd daks but i think they only came with the 5.9 and there isn't a position for 2wd in them. sounds to me like its broken which is a common problem with the **** ones and they just wanna sell it or dont know what there talking about def get it looked into before buying it

 

I also have a 02 J Mcdonald. If it won't go into 2H, there is a problem with it.
It's N O T a full time 4 wheel drive! If fact, if you continue to drive it in 4H
on a dry road, you'll cause even more damage.

Like MOST salesmen, they have NO idea what they are selling PLUS have
you EVER found a honest one?

Best you bypass that Dakota OR tell the *honest* sales person, F I X I T !

 

welcome to DF... I have an AWD truck, there is 4LO, Neu, 4wd (=AWD) and 4hi... the trans case has a tag on it that says 242d for the model number. you can see it from the back of the transfer case.

edit: oh yeah, another thing, if she ends up with it, make sure she knows that you CANNOT put a different size spare on and drive it... you will take out the transfer case and need to get it rebuilt. Just make sure the spare is the same size as the other tires.

 

my dad had an 04 AWD. the **** says AWD 4H and 4L if it says 2WD then its not AWD.

 

If fact, if you continue to drive it in 4H
on a dry road, you'll cause even more damage. I dont want2 sound dumb but i have never herd this. what damage can this cause besides normal wear? i kno drivin in 4loon the road is stupid, buti kno cummins guys that dragrace in 4hi and hit over 100 mph?

 

if you do it too much it will cause excessive wear on the xfer case and front driveline, its fine if your going in a straight line on a perfectly smooth road, but otherwise you need a little bit of slippage to allow the case to pull correctly in the front end