FT4x4 Question

chadhargis · **Posted:** Fri May 04, 2007 9:49 pm

Tonight it was raining cats and dogs and I poped it into FT4WD to keep the rear tires from spinning.

I turned around in a parking lot, and it was very difficult to turn the wheel. I could feel a lot of resistance. I put it back down in 2WD and it was normal again.

If FT4WD is supposed to have a differential, then why was the steering difficult? It was almost acting like it was in PT4WD, but the light clearly read "Full Time".

Go figure??

curtis · **Posted:** Fri May 04, 2007 10:12 pm

"Part Time" is for off road only, That is why the dash light color is yellow. "Full Time" means you can run on any road surface that is why the light is green on the dash.
I made the same mistake when I first got my Crd.

renegadekj · **Posted:** Fri May 04, 2007 10:21 pm

same here...

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri May 04, 2007 10:22 pm

Its not good at all to use Part-time when driving on road... Full-time is made for on-road driving.. It has a differential in the tcase that lets the front and rear axles turn at different speeds.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Sat May 05, 2007 10:34 pm

Crap...I made a type...I've corrected it.

I was using "Full Time" just got my wording mixed up. I pulled the lever back one time only.

Sorry.

Guest · **Posted:** Sat May 05, 2007 10:47 pm

The reason the steering becomes heavier is because there is now the force of torque from the engine applied to the front wheels. it will be slightly harder to turn right than left. this is amplified by the axle lengths being different... right is much longer than left. If you get a chance to drive a higher powered front wheel drive car, try stomping on the gas from a stand still with your hands off the tiller. You'll see it turn to the left, this is called torque steer.

If you drove on pavement with PT4X4, steering is far more difficult because you'd have the torque+ the machinery fighting you... It would not sound or feel pretty either

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat May 05, 2007 11:35 pm

To be in Full-time, you need to pull the lever back twice.

If you pulled it back once, you were indeed in part-time.

jcphoto20 · **Joined:** Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:36 am **Posts:** 507

sounds like you may have tried to engage it while backing up turning? it feels like its binding up when you do that and it doesnt engage all the way.

my initial stealership we bought it at told us to drive home in parttime in the rain.

mkh · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 3:41 am

NEVER drive in Part Time when on bitumen, even in the wet.

I find on mine that sometimes Full-Time won't engage properly even though green light says Full-Time. Usually happens if I pop the lever into Full-Time, then try to turn the wheel right away or try going in reverse. Then it feels likes it binds up. I find the best way to engage it is pop the lever into full time, then drive in a straight line for a bit. The only difference you should feel through the steering wheel is a tiny bit more vibration as the front wheels now have half the engine's torque going through them and when coming out of tighter corners it'll self-centre a bit more.

Personally I almost always drive mine in Full-Time when it's wet. Just that extra security and road holding. I figure if you have it, might as well use it!

spencevans · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 12:42 pm

Some times FT does not engage properly under certain conditions like backing, low speed, high speed etc. I ussually just kick it out and then shift it back in. This seems to work for me. I also found it difficult to shift in and out of pt/ft when the vehicle was new. It just take a few shifts to get the gears to mesh.

chetos · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 1:19 pm

mkh wrote:

NEVER drive in Part Time when on bitumen

What's that??

AndySRT · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 3:49 pm

asphalt is what that is. bituminous concrete is the correct name for it.

Guest · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 4:18 pm

spencevans wrote:

Some times FT does not engage properly under certain conditions like backing, low speed, high speed etc. I ussually just kick it out and then shift it back in. This seems to work for me. I also found it difficult to shift in and out of pt/ft when the vehicle was new. It just take a few shifts to get the gears to mesh.

I've found blipping the throttle 2 or 3 times can straighten things out as well.

spencevans · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2007 4:32 pm

KJpilot wrote:

spencevans wrote:

Some times FT does not engage properly under certain conditions like backing, low speed, high speed etc. I ussually just kick it out and then shift it back in. This seems to work for me. I also found it difficult to shift in and out of pt/ft when the vehicle was new. It just take a few shifts to get the gears to mesh.

I've found blipping the throttle 2 or 3 times can straighten things out as well.

I'll have to give it a try.

mkh · **Posted:** Sun May 13, 2007 3:47 am

chetos wrote:

mkh wrote:

NEVER drive in Part Time when on bitumen

What's that??

Yeah sorry. Its ashphalt, pavement, stuff they make roads out of. Here in Australia a lot of us call it bitumen...

jason thompson · **Posted:** Sun May 13, 2007 9:23 am

I just love how people say "never drive on pavement in 4wd part time"
Then they go ride out on rock terain that gets equal traction to a paved street and dont even blink

The worse that I have seen from drivin in 4wd happen on any surface is some good tire marks

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun May 13, 2007 9:30 am

jason thompson wrote:

I just love how people say "never drive on pavement in 4wd part time"
Then they go ride out on rock terain that gets equal traction to a paved street and dont even blink

The worse that I have seen from drivin in 4wd happen on any surface is some good tire marks

You'd be fine as long as you don't go over 4-5mph.Also on the rocks you will most likely lift a tire(in a KJ) thus releiving driveline bind.Also you'll hit dirt soon afterwards also relieving the bind.When driving on hardball in part time 4x4 you are always on a hard surface and the driveline bind never gets a chance to relieve itself which can take out u-loints,axles,and such due to the higher speeds also.

jcphoto20 · **Joined:** Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:36 am **Posts:** 507

my idiot stealership we bought ours for told us backwards, instructing us to drive it home in the rain when we bought it, in parttime. 100miles, brand new.

fortunately it didnt do anything to it.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2007 7:06 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

jason thompson wrote:

I just love how people say "never drive on pavement in 4wd part time"
Then they go ride out on rock terain that gets equal traction to a paved street and dont even blink

The worse that I have seen from drivin in 4wd happen on any surface is some good tire marks

You'd be fine as long as you don't go over 4-5mph.Also on the rocks you will most likely lift a tire(in a KJ) thus releiving driveline bind.Also you'll hit dirt soon afterwards also relieving the bind.When driving on hardball in part time 4x4 you are always on a hard surface and the driveline bind never gets a chance to relieve itself which can take out u-loints,axles,and such due to the higher speeds also.

I under stand why people say that but If you think about how many rigs run down the street with a Lincoln locker or a full spool in the rear of a TJ/YJ on 35's and turn full lock on dry ground and all they leave is rubber
Now look at a KJ open front , on most, the ones that are locked I would bet <1% have a spool or licoln locker in the rear and they can not turn near as good as even a YJ thus less bind
Heck we have had guys knock their shift linkage off of their T-case and drive 5+ miles in 4lo with lockers front and rear on dry hot ground with no issues
Sure it is WRONG to run part time 4wd on dry ground but it is not world ending
That is more my point like others make it sound worse than it is

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon May 14, 2007 7:23 pm

jason thompson wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

jason thompson wrote:

I just love how people say "never drive on pavement in 4wd part time"
Then they go ride out on rock terain that gets equal traction to a paved street and dont even blink

The worse that I have seen from drivin in 4wd happen on any surface is some good tire marks

You'd be fine as long as you don't go over 4-5mph.Also on the rocks you will most likely lift a tire(in a KJ) thus releiving driveline bind.Also you'll hit dirt soon afterwards also relieving the bind.When driving on hardball in part time 4x4 you are always on a hard surface and the driveline bind never gets a chance to relieve itself which can take out u-loints,axles,and such due to the higher speeds also.

I under stand why people say that but If you think about how many rigs run down the street with a Lincoln locker or a full spool in the rear of a TJ/YJ on 35's and turn full lock on dry ground and all they leave is rubber
Now look at a KJ open front , on most, the ones that are locked I would bet <1% have a spool or licoln locker in the rear and they can not turn near as good as even a YJ thus less bind
Heck we have had guys knock their shift linkage off of their T-case and drive 5+ miles in 4lo with lockers front and rear on dry hot ground with no issues
Sure it is WRONG to run part time 4wd on dry ground but it is not world ending
That is more my point like others make it sound worse than it is

Not a huge issue with a very modified vehicle(i.e. axles) but in a stock or litely modded vehicle it can lead to some breakage.

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