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shift into 4wd without stopping forward motion. anyone crazy enough to try it.

V

vortec

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so, has anyone here tried shifting into 4wd while in forward motion on the street? maybe around 40+mph? i'm not saying i plan to. i'm just curious if it would actually engage at that speed, and if it would break stuff all to hell.
 
I know I can do it with a 208 T-case. You have to let off the gas. Its a neutral torque setup.

But the real question is "Why the hell would you shift in to 4 wheel at that speed?"
 
My friend did that on his 97 Dakota and it sarted making all sorts of grinding and popping noises. Not good


But as long as you don't go to 4lo you should be fine.
 
I do it all the time but I have a NP241 Xfer. I can shift in and out of hi range 4x4 at most any speed. As said you can do it wiuth 208 too.
Acually if you work on letting off the gas. and pull the lever at the right rpm you can do it with most any xfer case but it takes some practice with some. Knowing how to double clutch helps.
 
When I was in highschool and DD the K5 I could beat just about ANY car at my school off the line.
Thats with a crate 350, 35" tires, 700r4, and 5.13 gears:D

Id start out in 4wd to keep the tire spin to a minimum, then shift into 2hi for the finial climb to 6k:D
 
make sure your hubs are locked in when you do it. Ive done it many times before, maybe not that fast but driving through a field just before we would get to a slick spot let off the gas and yank it in.
 
well theres a difference between shifting into 4WD, and shifting into LOW RANGE...

any transfer case will let you got from 2 <-> 4 on the fly if the hubs are locked.... I do it all the time on pavement at 60mph+ with a np205..

range changes on the other hand.................................
 
big dan said:
make sure your hubs are locked in when you do it. Ive done it many times before, maybe not that fast but driving through a field just before we would get to a slick spot let off the gas and yank it in.
Click to expand...


x2. I do the same when we are just playing in slick top mud. Run it in 2wd and if I bog down I pop it in. Now if its real mud I just go 4wd all the way.
 
With my DD i just pop it into 4hi no problem at high speed but never gone over 30 wen doing it. 4lo i stop put it in nutral then 4lo then drive bam all good.
 
mike reeh said:
any transfer case will let you got from 2 <-> 4 on the fly if the hubs are locked.... I do it all the time on pavement at 60mph+ with a np205..

range changes on the other hand.................................
Click to expand...

x2 As long as the hubs are locked in (and you're not on dry pavement! :eek1: ), it's no big deal.

If I'm driving on partially snow-covered roads, I'm in and out of 4wd all the time.
 
yeah, i never planned on slapping it into 4low at cruising speeds. however, the reason i originally made the post is that we've had some icy weather, here (not much), and i hit a big patch of black ice, on a road that sloped heavily to the right. to get little more control, i went into 4hi by going neutral/4hi/drive. now i know i could have just plopped it straight into 4hi. good info to have for the 2 days a year that we have ice here. :haha:
 
i've seen 2 come apart at highway speed, but they were in S-blazers, so probably a different transfer case altogether.
 
is there a way to make it so you can safely do it 2wd to 4wd at high speeds from in cab? some short course trucks(i think prolite trucks) engage 4wd in corners and then 2wd all the rest of the course(i think)
 
The owners manual for my 70K5 says you can go to 4H at any speed. However, I challenge anyone to shift a D20 T case to 4 H and still keep it on the road(damn J shift pattern).

The manual also says not to engage 4 wd when the rear tires are spinning faster than the front tires.
 
High range is a no brainer - I've done it at 60+ with every 4WD I've ever driven.... ones with 203's, 205s, 208s, whatever was in our old '96 1/2 ton Chevy and whatever is in my '05 Dodge 3500

Low range you should come to a complete stop and put your tranny into neutral first.

Mike
 
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