Okay, so apart from my bumper recently snapping in half, I really like my truck. I found an identical truck with even less miles in even better shape with 4x4 for sale. Going to check it out tonight.

Can someone give me a basic 4x4 primer? Can you only switch from 2wd to 4wd when stopped?

I've had quattros and awd vehicles before, but never 4wd.

Cheers!

 

Oh, you CAN switch while moving. It's a good way to convert a 4WD to a 0WD, though ...

Switch only when stopped.

Don't do 4WD on solid pavement.

Keep the transfer case chain checked; it'll stretch with age, and when it stretches enough, it can cause catastrophic failure of the transfer case.

Keep the drive shafts in good shape (front; one or both rears; and add the CV shafts up front).

Of course, the normal "Keep your suspension in good shape" with ball joints, tie rod ends (both!), pitman arm, idler, and pay attention to the recirc ball gear box (yes, it IS different from the rack and pinion the 2WD had these years, why do you ask?)

Torsion rods act as a sort of anti sway bar, so don't be nonplussed over there not being a front ASB on the truck. Also, any you add will have more effect than on a 2WD (coil spring design on the 2WD) due to the torsion rods.

I'd also swap that intermediate shaft out soonest in the steering column; from reports, the 12" rod mentioned in my article on my 1988 2WD will also fit and work fine.

And remember the prime thing if you go off road - 4WD allows you to get stuck where it's a LOT more expensive to get out! *grins*

RwP

 

You can shift from 2wd to 4wd-High on the fly. The truck is designed to do it. You must be completely stopped to shift to 4-low. Completely stopped, not moving at a sloth's pace...completely stopped.

Edit: still wouldn't shift to 4 hi at high speeds... 25 mph or below is my rough rule, and really if you're in 4wd you shouldn't be going much faster than that anyway.

edit2: The 4wds do have sway bars.

 

sorry Ralph, but this info is 100% wrong.

As per the dodge manual, you can safely engage 4wd Hi from 2wd Hi at any speed 55mph and under. On other trucks, it can be different. But there's no risk doing it at speed. Mopar wouldn't write it out in the owners manual if there would be ANY chance of failure. Because 1. That would have lead to a lot of money lost in repairs under warranty, as well as customers being very angry and possibly switching brands.

4L is stated to be able to engage at 5mph and under. But, I never engage 4L unless I'm dead stopped, and on level ground. However, I can even engage 4L now because of the center console I put in out of the fiance's 98 blazer she totaled to match the bucket seats I also put in. (100% design choice by me, I didn't want to cut out the extra plastic in the z shape out of the console. For the most part, you should never need 4L in these trucks. Even in the winter I only use 2Hi unless I want to go faster then I should be doing. And this was even before I upgrade to my beastly rear end. And, if I do absolutely need 4L, I can have the console out in 5 minutes or less, depending on how fast I can dig the tools out of my tool box lol. )

That said, I agree with the above. Even if the manual says 55mph and under, I won't engage 4wd Hi unless I'm 25mph or under. UNLESS, I'm driving in the winter time on a road that's dry and there's something severe up ahead where I think 2wd might spin me out. Even then, I'd just let off the throttle and wait until I'm at a speed i can engage 4wd high and keep trucking.

Now, as far as 4wd on dry pavement. You're right, but also wrong since you didn't fully explain. No, 4wd shouldn't be engaged while actively driven at speed. But, if you need the extra traction for a straight line pull or push, lock it in. And everything is fine.

I had to use 4L once to push another Dakota I bought to part out and scrap because 2 and 4Hi didn't have the torque I needed since this Dakota had all flats. And we sure wasn't going to push it on the trailer by hand. Lol. So in came the work horse.

Moving on to the transfer case chain, yes it can stretch over time. But I personally haven't seen many reports of bad tcase chains when the truck wasn't abused. When the chain does start to get worn, you'll hear it slap the case. No need to check it ever. But, if you do hear the slap, then park it and get it fixed.

 

So how would I make sure the 4wd system is working properly, before purchasing this vehicle?

 

On the test drive, find a parking lot with some space. Lock it in 4Hi and try to make a turn. If you hear the tires bark from scooting, you're fine. Then in a straight line, lock it in 4L and ease on the throttle. The few minutes it'll take to do this won't hurt anything at all.

 

As toby said, listen for chain slap front the transfer case, one. When in 4wd the transfer case will whine a bit (really more of a whirring) which you'll hear right under your feet. That's normal. Shift into 4wd while moving and try to turn. Don't pull a uturn or anything but make a decent quarter turn of the steering wheel at low speed and you should notice that it is significantly more difficult to turn. This is because 4wd locks the front and rear driveshafts together. Note that as ralph said you should not turn on dry pavement in 4wd, but as a precheck before buying it's something I would be okay with doing (and doing carefully!) once. You can test 4-lo too, it'll be really obvious if 4-lo is working the moment you hit the gas because the truck will have a ton of torque and rev quickly. Low range is for crawl speeds only.
Edit: toby beat me haha

 

I'm on it

 

Thanks guys. Went and looked at truck last night, made an offer, but cannot actually test drive truck til Friday. Owner said he would hold it for me, I told him to please let me know if anyone tries to get it before me, I will call in sick and go pick it up.

Also: Does anyone know where I can get a set of Bilstein shocks for this thing? Can only find bilsteins on rock auto for 2wd models. What is the difference in 4wd to 2wd shocks?

 

The 2wd shocks mount with two bolts to the lower control arm with a bracket in the lower bushing. The 4wd shocks mount with a single large bolt. I also assume the 4wd shocks are a fair bit longer but not sure.

The bilstein 4600 are discontinued for the 4x4 unfortunately. I searched far and wide but ended up going with KYB gas-a-just.