I feel like an idiot asking, but I have been told different about my 4X4. Just want to get the story straight. So I have a 98 1500 king cab 4X4. I think I can put her in 4 low from a stop, and 4 high is better to engage while moving? Is walking speed ideal for engaging, or should it be quicker than that?? I presume 4 low would be for when you are stuck or pulling like a car out of the snow bank right? I was advised to only use 4 high on "soft" terrain - mud ,gravel, snow etc... Does this mean if the highway is covered in a snow storm - I am good to put her in 4 high and go? Is there a certain speed I should obey when using 4 high? Thanks this rookie is going to get it one day...

 

Dont feel dumb, a lot the people in this forum cant answer this.

Your owners manual lays the info out pretty good.
But I will relay some of it.

4 lo can only be entered at a dead stop and with the truck in neutral. otherwise you could get some grinding.

4 hi can be engauged at up 40-50 mph. I would recomend it just for the fact that if your transfercase decides to lock up then you'll be going for a ride. Although I have done it and never had or heard of problems. Speeds up to 55 are fine in 4hi.

You can shift into 4 hi when stopped and in gear. but just remember that the slip collar on the intermediate shaft might not of slide over the other shaft and you could hear a clunck in the front end when applying gas

 

Yup, hes right.

You shouldn't drive in 4 high on dry pavement but its not gonna hurt it a whole lot unless you turn close to full lock. It puts a good amount of strain on the u joints but if your going slow and only do it for a second its not gonna hurt anything. Some 4x4s have the front axle locked all the time like some of the Jeep Cherokees. With an open diff, which is what you have, and just coasting around a corner going slow its fine.

Don't be affraid of it, but just don't do it if you don't need to. Like Ram said 4 hi is just fine for driving on a snowy road. Just keep in mind, alos of people forget this. Just because its in 4 wheel drive doesn't mean you can stop ANY better!

 

yup i've done 55 in 4hi on snowy roads passing trucks going up hills. they say you should not do over 25 in 4lo either and only in 4lo when 4hi doesn't work. just make sure you are sitting at a standstill and have the transmission in neutral. done it in park and heard grinding. so make sure that little orange thing is on the N.

4hi is pretty much good for just about everything. i've been wheeling a few times and only had to use 4lo once when i needed to climb up a tree trunk to get through some brush. that was fun. if my camera wasn't a piece of crap and eat batteries like my truck guzzles gas then i would've gotten some pics of the trail.. i'll be going back i'm sure. dern jeep and ranger that were narrow enough not to even touch the bushes on the sides... urg.. my truck needs to go on a diet.

sorry for the jack.

 

I disagree with the above post about 4lo not being needed unless 4hi doesn't work.

If you're offroading (intentionally, not just cruising snow packed roads) use 4low. You're abandoning a lot of torque multiplication by staying in high range. I'm not sure what the stock t-case low multiplier is on the rams, I believe 2.42 or something like that, but if you stay in 1:1 (high) you're throwing away the 2.42 multiplication in torque. It makes a big difference in wheel-ability.

Now, if you're just running nice wooded trails, then you might not need 4low or even 4high. But, like I said, Offroading I'd stick it in 4low and crawl along.

 

For actual hardcore wheeling just stay in 4low all the time, thats true and I was gonna mention that, but you covered it anyways.
Works alot better, but not just for going down a two track!

 

Thats how I do it. I keep it in 4 low. Turn of o/d and keep it in 1st, unless needed to shift to second and so on.

 

I run 4hi on wet pavement all the time. Sticks like glue. The only time I have an issue is when I have to make a slow 90 degree turn approaching full lock ... I sometimes get some front chucking (I can feel it through the wheel).

 

Don't feel bad. I had the same fears and questions when I got my 4X4. Better to ask then assume. I still read posts like this to get verying opinions and ideas. GP

 

You're not serious are you?

That little clunking you talk about is called binding and is not something you want to have. Your truck is not AWD which allows some slippage between the front axle's speed and the rear's. What is happening is that the front axle is trying to spin at a different speed than the rear in a turn and your t-case is not allowing it to. If you keep running on dry (or even just wet) pavement in 4wd you're going to ruin your transfer case. There is a reason that the MFG says not to run 4wd on pavement unless in slippery (IE snow, ice) conditions.