2001 Ram 1500 Sport, 5.9, AT.

When I bought this truck from the previous owner, he gave me the following instructions for putting it into 4wd: put in neutral, put into 4wd, put into drive. That is how I have been doing it.

My previous truck was a Chevy, and I could just put it into 4wd while going down the road.

So my question is this: can I just put my truck into 4wd while going down the road, or will that damage something, or will it just not go into 4wd?

I have no problem stopping and putting it into neutral before putting it into 4wd, but it would be nice to know what I can do in an emergency situation.

 

Depends if the synchro in the t-case is any good.

Try to pull it in at speed. If it works, you're golden. If it grinds, then no.

It really is that simple.

 

These are a shift on the fly transfer case. Coast and pull. Sometime the actuator on the axle takes a minute to engage, so if you're stuck don't always hammer into the throttle until you know its locked in

 

Biggest thing I found was, be off the go-pedal when you shift into 4wd. Out also.....

 

You don't have to be in neutral to shift it. At a stop you may have to give it a minuet then move the truck a few feet and it will engage.

 

My '96 I just pull it into 4hi and wait for it to engage. I don't think I'd want to be going very fast, but I've never gone into neutral just to go into 4hi. Now 4lo, I stop and put the transmission into neutral or it won't go into 4lo. I think in the 4 years I've had the truck, I've only used 4lo a couple of times.

 

My 2001 owners manual states that shifts from 2H to 4H can be made up to 55 MPH. Any body test that? Yeah let me know how that went. I can roll 10 to 15 mph and have had no issues at all shifting to 4H. I do struggle to get it out of 4L sometimes with tranny in neutral and even ground the gears a few times. Sure operator error played a part in that. But like ol' grouch, I rarely use 4L.

 

I have shifted at speeds up to about 50mph.... beyond that, if I Need 4x4, I am going to fast anyway.

More often than not, I will put the trans in neutral, and shut the engine off to shift into/out of 4Lo...... It's just easier that way.

 

4lo is very different because you're moving the range fork from 2.7:1 to neutral to 1:1

4hi just moves the front output fork to start powering the front d/s via the chain

If your Ram drops in to 4hi at 50, it should do it at any speed. 55 is an arbitrary number that makes no sense, like 6' keeps you "safe". I've certainly engaged 4hi in my JL at speeds above 55, and it's the same system except the CAD is electric

 

Probably more about limiting wear on the synchros for the front shaft, than anything else. Ideally, the front shaft isn't really rotating when you aren't in 4wd..... when you are moving at 55mph or better, the rear shaft is spinning right quick..... going from zero to some truly insane value RPM in a few short seconds can be rough on the synchros.