my son in law bought an 04 Overland last summer and they took it out to Iowa. its an awesome AWD system that allows differentiation between front and back. its very well behaved on the street.

i never thought about swapping the t-case into the ram, but it would be a big improvement for street driving.

 

During normal driving, 52% of the torque is transferred to the rear wheels while 48% is sent to the front. As traction increases/decreases from the front to rear, the torque is sent where it's needed variably by the progressive coupler inside the NV247.

The axles each work pretty much the same way, except side to side instead of front to back. The torque is instantly transferred to the wheel with the most traction, meaning if your front right wheel hits some ice, the axle will compensate the torque split and keep you going in a nice straight line.

It really is a great system.

 

OK, well let me get this straight. I know my fair share about open diffs, limited slips and lockers. And I totally understand how the AWD transfer case works and allows differentiation and all that.

But what I'm not yet understanding is about the limited slips in these axles. A normal limited slip will supply power to both wheels (on the same axle) all the time until there is a need for differentiation (either turning or a large amount of grip to one wheel). Is this still how these Jeep Overland "limited slips" work, or are they somewhat different?

Because I have had limited slip and lockers before, and on snowy roads it does not take anything to kick the @ss end out because both wheels are spinning together (for a rear unit)... but add a front one in the mix to and it would seem quite scary. Do these hydraulic "limited slips" allow them to become open diffs at certain times, or are they always limited slips?

Sorry about my ignornace to the quadradrive system, but it does sound very capable!

 

Basically, there is a hydraulic pump in the differentials, that is turned by a difference in axle speeds, left to right. The greater the difference in speed between the two axles, the higher the clamping force applied to the clutch packs. So, for things like cornering, there isn't a great deal of difference in speeds, so, very little force is applied to the clutches. If one wheel is slipping....... force becomes much greater.

Newer versions of the system use electronic differentials........

 

Wow, thanks for the insight. Sounds very high tech... and capable!

 

Purple,
I asked for several reasons. You saying AWD is for people who don't know how to drive in snow would be like me saying you want 4x4 because you don't know how to drive 2wd in the snow/mud/whatever. You can strap sheetrock to the top of a car but if a truck is easier, use it!

Where I live, you get wet leaves on the roads in the fall. In the summer, a light rain can turn a hot road into a slick surface. And yes, there are those times less experienced people (such as my wife) may be driving the truck. No matter the reason, when I am driving with my kids in my truck, AWD is generally (if not always) safer than 2wd.

My other major concern is my wife could put the truck in 4wd and forget to take it out on the regular dry winding roads around her. She wouldn't realize the "jerking" is from being in 4wd.

All that said. I'd like to get her a Jeep liberty, passport or something so I don't have to worry about it... except then I won't have the cash to do my mods.