On a road trip right now. Heavy snow this morning so was using 4WD for stretch on the highway. Road started to clear so backed off accelerator, and shifted to 2 WD. Was doing about 90 kmh (55 mph). About 20 seconds after shifting I got a loud clunk...thought for a second I'd hit a chunk of ice or pothole. My wife goes "oh, it was doing that the last time I drove it"(??). Never noticed this before and I have 200,000 km on the truck. 2009 Ram with Hemi. 4WD works great, no issue shifting into it from 2WD. Haven't noticed any clunk when using 4WD and shifting into 2WD around town (off highway). Any comments appreciated.

 

Personally, I come to a full stop, neutral, put the transfer case in desired range, drive, reverse, drive, thats just me. The shaft is either in or out; no struggle due to centrifugal force. Less chance of catastrophe.

 

2009 CC SLT,,,Sometimes i get the clunk. Sometimes i shift on the fly, other times stop, neutral , switch t/c, drive . More likely when moving to get clunked

 

Every 4x4 I have owned that stated one could shift from two to four to two on the fly, I never had engaged the 4x4 on the fly,.

Like smgfatmat71. I tend to come to a stop, put the tranny in neutral, select the 4x4 option, then engage the tranny.

No grinding, transfer case engages quickly.

 

I switch mine back and forth in many different conditions while the truck is moving. I just make sure to not be accelerating at the time so that there isn't binding force on the driveline when things engage. Maybe once I've had it fail to disengage (could tell by tight steering) and I just stopped and re-engaged then disengaged and it was fine. I've engaged/disengaged at highway speeds many times when I've encountered icy conditions. I've also never heard a clunk.

Rob

 

'09 1500? So you have the electric switch on the dash then?

Chances are it's just the solenoid/motor shifting the T-case.

Mine ('09 1500 Big Horn 5.7 Hemi) will clunk on occasion.

If shifting 'on the fly', I let off the gas, turn the switch, and wait for the light to quit flashing, before getting back on the gas.


On the '09 2500 plow truck, it's still a manual shift for the T-case.

It doesn't clunk, and shifts just fine on the fly (from 2 to 4 or 4 to 2- Not HI to LO)

With the electric switch, it activates a solenoid, that will let the shift motor shift when conditions are right.

Often takes a few seconds, and if you get on the gas before it fully shifts, it may clunk.

My '02 F150 clunked every time, the D1500 only occasionally, and usually it;'s when I got on the gas pedal too soon.


Keep an eye on the shift light, wait until it is done flashing before hitting the gas, and see if the clunk goes away.

If it doesn't, check the shift motor and linkage, make sure nothing is coming loose.

 

Thanks for the comments. I'm in Nashville on vacation right now where you wouldn't expect to need 4WD but they've had a freak winter storm that's partially closed the city the past 2 days. I've used the 4WD around town with no issues, but haven't used it on the highway where the clunk occurs. Haven't needed it. Will be driving back to Toronto in 2 days and expect will need the 4WD on the drive home. Again, no issues switching into 4WD on the fly...only when going 4 WD to 2 WD on the highway. Based on comments I'm going to try reducing speed before switching out of 4 WD, and stay off the gas for a good few seconds after switching to 2 WD. If it still clunks, I'll use 4 WD only when absolutely necessary and pull over to switch back to 2 WD. It wasn't doing this before so I suspect the solenoid/shift motor or a mechanical issue in the transfer case...220,000 km on the truck and living in Canada it sees a fair amount of use in 4WD. Any additional thoughts appreciated.

 

Why not just put the selector in 4wd auto.

 

Not all transfer cases on the 1500 have 4WD Auto. In 2009 & 2010, at least, Sport models didn't have Auto. Probably others too.

Rob

 

Correct, Big Blue...my truck doesn't have the 4WD Auto option.