Unless your traffic light is on a snow covered or dirt road you have no business being in part time 4 wheel drive Part time is for extreme duty like mud sand or snow. You can be tearing it up big time

The Select Track 242 transfer case has a "quirk" when shifting between full time 4wd and 2wd that you must learn to control

I was under the impression that part time was for normal conditions, like slick wet streets and such. And I was told that the full time was for the heave dutie stuff. Am I wrong on this?
I hardly use 4wd on The street except in bad weather conditions. And in Fla when it rains it rains, oily and usually a good layer of water on the road. With my 3 yr old in the truck I take no risks of hydroplaning!

I was under the impression that part time was for normal conditions, like slick wet streets and such. And I was told that the full time was for the heave duty stuff. Am I wrong on this?
I hardly use 4wd on The street except in bad weather conditions. And in Fla when it rains it rains, oily and usually a good layer of water on the road. With my 3 yr old in the truck I take no risks of hydroplaning!

PT/FT refer to the torque bias in the transfer case... the "type" of 4wd. These designations were around long before our transfer case was thought of.

Part-Time (Command-Trac) - Uses a system akin to what we all think of as a traditional 4wd. A big chain directly connecting the front output to input and rear output within the transfer case. This system is designed to aid the vehicle in low traction situations (sand, gravel, loose dirt, snow, ice, etc) and give traction by sending power to both front and rear axles. It is the oldest, simplest, and one of the most reliable variation of multi-function transfer cases (2wd/4wd).

Full-Time (Quadra-Trac) - Uses a system akin to trucks with a traditional Full-time 4wd system, or something like a modern AWD passenger car. These systems are constantly sending power to front and rear outputs without driver input. This allows front and rear outputs to spin at different rates with the addition of a limited slip coupling. Like a traditional LSD, this coupling "locks" the front and rear outputs together if one is beyond the allowable slip rate, like if the rear looses traction. During normal driving on high traction surfaces the front and rear axles will naturally spin at different rates at different times, using the limited slip coupling damage to the drive train is prevented.

We have the choice of both systems in our transfer case. (Selec-Trac). Although the transfer case is slightly weaker than the Command-Trac units, they are still a decent unit. The option of using either a PT or FT torque bias allows us to have 4wd better suited for variations in traction surfaces.

I was under the impression that part time was for normal conditions, like slick wet streets and such. And I was told that the full time was for the heave dutie stuff. Am I wrong on this?

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Now with that in mind you'll notice that part time is between 2wd and fulltime 4wd on the selector handle. Due to the innerds of the 242 t/c if you don't "humor" it in some manner it will stick in parttime 4wd even though the selector is in 2wd and there's no light lit.
There are several ways to get it to shift to where you want it to On both my jeeps with this t/c by pausing in part time while moving for a short distance it will then shift into 2wd when I put it there. Others say to stop and back up. But that's kind of hard to do on a interstate Still others say to "bump" the throttle but that does not work for me

I have no documentation, I purchased it used. It is a 2005 pre ESP. I have accidentally had it in full-time on pavement after being off road and I can assure you it locks up/ binds in Full time and is ok in part time. Unless I am confused about their position on the lever. In order, first comes p/t, then f/t and finally low????

I hope not having a manual didn't cost you some serious money .

Boilermaker2

OP: Check under the left rear seat for a small green canvas bag. Seems there is a little place for the owners kit to fit perfectly there, it's where I keep mine.

I make sure I am driving in a straight line at below 5mph, drop the trans into Neutral, push the t-case lever from FT to PT as though that is where I wanted it, then PT to 2wd. This pause is less than a second, but a defined stop. Once the t-case is in 2wd, I pop back into Drive and away I go. This method allows the chain guts some time/rev's to engage and disengage the pawls, chains, dogs, clutches, etc inside the t-case, and prevents any "clunking" during shifting. By disconnecting the engine power from the drivetrain, you prevent binding during shifting.... like a mountain bike, you NEVER shift while mashing the pedals, off load the drivetrain then make your selections.

and nobody else mentioned this so I will (I also have a 3 year old at home)

Four wheel drive will do NOTHING to prevent hydroplaning. Good tires and slow speed are the ONLY thing that helps that I am afraid. Hydroplaning is simply your tires getting up on top on the water with enough speed to stay there and you have virtually no traction, it is worse than just ice. The only way to get out of the hydroplane is to slow down enough that the vehicle weight forces the tires thru the surface tension of the water and down to the road under the tire.

Four wheel drive also does NOTHING to help you stop, good tires, slow speed and good brakes do that.

So what is 4 wheel drive actually good for? Getting you there at a slow speed in conditions that offer poor traction (sand, mud, snow, ice, uneven surface) where other vehicles will get stuck.

REMEMBER that 4 wheel drive will get you going in those conditions, it will also get you going too fast to stop or turn in those conditions and cause you MUCH worse problems than if you just could not have driven a 2 wheel drive vehicle.

and nobody else mentioned this so I will (I also have a 3 year old at home)

Four wheel drive will do NOTHING to prevent hydroplaning. Good tires and slow speed are the ONLY thing that helps that I am afraid. Hydroplaning is simply your tires getting up on top on the water with enough speed to stay there and you have virtually no traction, it is worse than just ice. The only way to get out of the hydroplane is to slow down enough that the vehicle weight forces the tires thru the surface tension of the water and down to the road under the tire.

Four wheel drive also does NOTHING to help you stop, good tires, slow speed and good brakes do that.

So what is 4 wheel drive actually good for? Getting you there at a slow speed in conditions that offer poor traction (sand, mud, snow, ice, uneven surface) where other vehicles will get stuck.

REMEMBER that 4 wheel drive will get you going in those conditions, it will also get you going too fast to stop or turn in those conditions and cause you MUCH worse problems than if you just could not have driven a 2 wheel drive vehicle.