A guy at work keeps telling me that I can't put my truck in reverse when it's in a 4-wheel drive. Is this true? I just bought my first truck, and haven't been able to put it into 4-wheel drive yet, because there hasn't been any snow here yet. I don't want to do anything to damage my truck. Any help would be appreciated!

 

I dont see any reason why not.. just remember you cant turn very much, if at all, while your in 4 wheel drive, without risking serious damage.. so it probably wouldnt be a good idea. The only time i can see why you shoudl go in to 4x4 in reverse is if your stuck and you need to rock yoruself out.. in that case, pop it into 4 wheel drive and rock away!

I'd suggest learning how 4 wheel drive works (in respect to the differentials, etc). I dont feel like typing it, but once you have a better understanding of how it works, you'll be more confident on its capabilities.

 

That guy is completely wrong, and you should never take any advise related to cars from him again. You can most deifinitely put it in reverse in 4-wheel drive. Also, the only time you would damage your drivetrain turning in 4-wheel drive would be on dry pavement.

 

I agree w/ Dodge4x4810
That guy who told u that shouldn't be giving u any advise .

 

Well, actually your both wrong and right to an extent. Putting it in reverse in 4wd is the same as putting it in D in 4wd.. but if you understood how it works, you'd undersatnd why i explained it the way i did.

Picture this. Your driving in 2 wheel drive, like normal. When you turn the wheel, the computer senses it and your differentials for each wheel change.. the wheels on the inside of the turn have to turn slower then the wheels on the outside of the turn.. becuase they are going in a smaller circle. If they didnt go proportionately slower then the outside wheels, then they would build up pressure and eventually snap to where they needed to be. Thats the whole point of having differentials on your wheel axles. WHEN you put it into 4 wheel drive, it disengages those, and so all 4 wheels can be working to drive at the same time.. when you turn in 4 wheel drive, the differentials won't turn the inside wheels slower then the outside wheels. Thats generally fine on slippery pavement or surfaces, because they will slide sideways the small amount they need to, to go in the right size circle, while maintaining traction. However, if your not careful you can seirously damage your axle and your diferentials by building up that pressure I was talking about.

All i was saying was be careful, for that reason. I didnt really want ot type that, but since i was attacked lol, i felt the need to.

 

Alright, I did everyone in this thread besides me a favor, and looked up a great article that you should all read.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/four-wheel-drive.htm

 

And also, just because i was deliberately insulted.. heres a couple direct quotes from howstuffworks.com.


"Why You Need a Differential
Car wheels spin at different speeds, especially when turning. You can see from the animation below that each wheel travels a different distance through the turn, and that the inside wheels travel a shorter distance than the outside wheels. Since speed is equal to the distance traveled divided by the time it takes to go that distance, the wheels that travel a shorter distance travel at a lower speed. Also note that the front wheels travel a different distance than the rear wheels."

"What is a Differential?
The differential is a device that splits the engine torque two ways, allowing each output to spin at a different speed."



"Part-time four-wheel-drive systems don't have a differential between the front and rear wheels; instead, they are locked together so that the front and rear wheels have to turn at the same average speed. This is why these vehicles are hard to turn on concrete when the four-wheel-drive system is engaged."


"When four-wheel drive is engaged, the transfer case locks the front driveshaft to the rear driveshaft, so each axle receives half of the torque coming from the engine. At the same time, the front hubs lock. The front and rear axles each have an open differential. Although this system provides much better traction than a two-wheel-drive vehicle, it has two main drawbacks. We've already discussed one of them: It cannot be used on-road because of the locked transfer case."


Neither of you should ever be allowed to give anyone advice on cars again. Lmao. Just spreadin the knowledge..

 

i dont think they were insulting you red....

im pretty sure they meant he shouldn't listen to the guy that told him not to back up in 4WD

 

Clam down red9535 my quote was directed at Bob5150's co-worker . Not u
and yes I understand what your talking about .
Around here we call it wheel hop.
This is tipical in all 4 wheel drives when turning .
The thing to do is not make tight turns.
Yes it is better to have a low traction situation where your not
putting too much strain on the 4x4 system.
That's all I got to say sorry if I raised your blood pressure.

 

Yeah my bad sorry i got irritated.. I thought both of your comments were directed at me, about not having any business giving advice on cars and for noboedy to listen to me and stuff.