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How to shift 4wd

Old Oct 16, 2008 | 04:31 PM
  #1  
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Default How to shift 4wd

Hellow everyone I am new to DF and it has been fun and interesting so far.I own an 05 Thunder Road 4x4 cummins. This is the first 4wd I have owned and, I dont know the safe and correct ways to shift into or out of 4wd. Do I have to be in park or neutral.Go ahead and lol at the newby, but at least I am asking before I break stuff.Thank you for any helpful advice.
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 04:49 PM
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neutral is the best gear.
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 01:27 AM
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Look at the driver side sun visor an owner's manual, they both should cover using 4wd to.

Here the basics

Shifting from 2wd To 4HI Then Back To 2wd
- You can shift on the fly (well moving) in & out of 4hi which simply means let up off the throttle shift into 4wd then continue on, same for shift out of 4wd.
- You can shift into an out of 4hi without letting off the throttle but the 4wd system will take a little longer to engage because to front drive shaft is slowly accelerating up to your current speed where without the throttle it will pretty much instantly spin up to speed.
- 4hi is good to 50 - 55mphs then the front hubs should unlock.

Shifting from 2wd or 4Hi into an out of 4Lo
- You must come to a complete STOP then apply brake shift transmission into neutral then shift transfer case into 4Lo, then shift back into gear an continue, the same goes for shifting out of 4Lo.
- 4lo is good to 25-35mphs an the hubs don't unlock.

4Hi is your all-season & off-road choice when you need 4wd, 4Lo is for when you need max torque to all 4wheels, like for example i use 4lo alot at work when moving a dead weight object like 60ft cargo bin or pulling tree stump.

If you have anymore question or this is hard to understand let me know,
Mike
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 09:11 AM
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agreed. certain times a slight roll maybe like .5-1 mph ish slight roll will make it easier to shift into 4lo if it's giving you trouble. depends if it's electronic or not.
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 03:30 PM
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1 more thing, if your truck is is electric 4wd shift (**** or push button) instead of manual floor shift pay attend to weather or not your front wheels engage, if there aren't the electric motor that engages 4wd needs to be checked out. This is common problem for all trucks with electric shift t-case.
 
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Old Oct 18, 2008 | 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike124
Look at the driver side sun visor an owner's manual, they both should cover using 4wd to.

Here the basics

Shifting from 2wd To 4HI Then Back To 2wd
- You can shift on the fly (well moving) in & out of 4hi which simply means let up off the throttle shift into 4wd then continue on, same for shift out of 4wd.
- You can shift into an out of 4hi without letting off the throttle but the 4wd system will take a little longer to engage because to front drive shaft is slowly accelerating up to your current speed where without the throttle it will pretty much instantly spin up to speed.
- 4hi is good to 50 - 55mphs then the front hubs should unlock.

Shifting from 2wd or 4Hi into an out of 4Lo
- You must come to a complete STOP then apply brake shift transmission into neutral then shift transfer case into 4Lo, then shift back into gear an continue, the same goes for shifting out of 4Lo.
- 4lo is good to 25-35mphs an the hubs don't unlock.

4Hi is your all-season & off-road choice when you need 4wd, 4Lo is for when you need max torque to all 4wheels, like for example i use 4lo alot at work when moving a dead weight object like 60ft cargo bin or pulling tree stump.

If you have anymore question or this is hard to understand let me know,
Mike
For my '05 with the Manual transfer case; the book states to be rolling forward approx. .5 to 1 mph in neutral and shift FIRMLY and QUICKLY from 2H to 4L or from 4L to 2H. This procedure works every time for me. If you stop or shift slowly you will usually grind the gears.
 
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Old Oct 18, 2008 | 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted by dhbgl1800
For my '05 with the Manual transfer case; the book states to be rolling forward approx. .5 to 1 mph in neutral and shift FIRMLY and QUICKLY from 2H to 4L or from 4L to 2H. This procedure works every time for me. If you stop or shift slowly you will usually grind the gears.
I've always been sitting still then shift into 4Hi N then 4Lo works everytime. The reason for shifting quickly is when you shift the transmission into neutral the engine & transmission are idling together.
 
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Old Apr 28, 2011 | 11:52 AM
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Default 4 way flasher ?

having problems with my 4-ways, does anyone know where the flasher is on a 2007 Ram 3500 dually ?
Thanks for any help, I'm heading for a scale and need to fix !
 
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Old May 1, 2011 | 08:41 AM
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read the operators manual
 
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Old Oct 27, 2019 | 03:26 PM
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Default 90 w250 power ram 4x4

Originally Posted by Mike124
Look at the driver side sun visor an owner's manual, they both should cover using 4wd to.

Here the basics

Shifting from 2wd To 4HI Then Back To 2wd
- You can shift on the fly (well moving) in & out of 4hi which simply means let up off the throttle shift into 4wd then continue on, same for shift out of 4wd.
- You can shift into an out of 4hi without letting off the throttle but the 4wd system will take a little longer to engage because to front drive shaft is slowly accelerating up to your current speed where without the throttle it will pretty much instantly spin up to speed.
- 4hi is good to 50 - 55mphs then the front hubs should unlock.

Shifting from 2wd or 4Hi into an out of 4Lo
- You must come to a complete STOP then apply brake shift transmission into neutral then shift transfer case into 4Lo, then shift back into gear an continue, the same goes for shifting out of 4Lo.
- 4lo is good to 25-35mphs an the hubs don't unlock.

4Hi is your all-season & off-road choice when you need 4wd, 4Lo is for when you need max torque to all 4wheels, like for example i use 4lo alot at work when moving a dead weight object like 60ft cargo bin or pulling tree stump.

If you have anymore question or this is hard to understand let me know,
Mike
Hi Mike,
hoping you can help. I have a 90 w250 power ram. I've recently moved to altitude in Colorado. I have no owners manual. Bad weather is on the way. Can I keep the hubs locked while normal driving when under threat of bad weather and then shift to 4hi when needed?

scott
 
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