command trac ll

garrobb · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 1:18 pm

hi i'm new here, looking to learn. two days ago i bought a new 2010 liberty sport. a while ago i had a 93 wagoneer but never used the 4wd. i come from a aztec fwd. when the roads here become snow covered, slippery and slushly other drivers tend to drive to slow for me but the aztec did the job for me. i guess i tend to drive on the edge. ( 60-70mph on the snow ) within reason. i have some questions on this command trac ll.

1. on the snow putting it in 4H at 55mph or less will i be able to go 70mph?

i realize on dry roads at a turn - 1 ft wheel turns faster then the other wheel so this isnt good to do. but say i wanted to pull someone out of the ditch and i'm on dry pavement

2. would it hurt to use 4L with the wheels strait going slow?

until i learn more my thinking is in 4H or 4L with 50% torque to both axles and wheels strait this should be ok, but it something i wont try until i get imput from you guys. thanks for your help.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 1:47 pm

Just to cover my butt, I must state that you should only go as fast as road conditions allow......

Now with that out of the way,

I have had my KK up around 80ish on dirt roads in 4HI.

Using 4LO to pull some one out should be fine. I have used mine to pull trees out, pull people out and move rocks :mrgreen:

garrobb · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 7:13 pm

thanks digger thats what i wanted to hear. and from my point of view i do drive as fast as road conditions allow its just a lot faster then some.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 7:39 pm

garrobb wrote:

hi i'm new here, looking to learn. two days ago i bought a new 2010 liberty sport. a while ago i had a 93 wagoneer but never used the 4wd. i come from a aztec fwd. when the roads here become snow covered, slippery and slushly other drivers tend to drive to slow for me but the aztec did the job for me. i guess i tend to drive on the edge. ( 60-70mph on the snow ) within reason. i have some questions on this command trac ll.

1. on the snow putting it in 4H at 55mph or less will i be able to go 70mph?

i realize on dry roads at a turn - 1 ft wheel turns faster then the other wheel so this isnt good to do. but say i wanted to pull someone out of the ditch and i'm on dry pavement

2. would it hurt to use 4L with the wheels strait going slow?

until i learn more my thinking is in 4H or 4L with 50% torque to both axles and wheels strait this should be ok, but it something i wont try until i get imput from you guys. thanks for your help.

If your planning on driving 55mph+ you don't need 4wd.

Do not use 4hi/4low on dry or wet paved surfaces as damage to the drivetrain will occur even if driving perfectly straight.For what you want you should have gotten the select trac II instead.

garrobb · **Posted:** Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:07 am

thanks tjkj i bought what was available for the price i could afford. just trying to learn the set-up and where its limits are.

Matt_ · **Posted:** Sun Dec 26, 2010 10:15 am

For pulling someone out, driving in a straight line for a short distance every once in a blue moon won't cause any issues in 4low. Although if you have the traction, try 4hi first.... Make 4low you're last resort is you don't have the required torque in 4hi.

And i agree... 55+ you don't need 4x4. And if you do... well "here's your card".

hrogi · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:38 pm

Lets add another note with command trac ll.

How often should you put the Jeep into 4HI or 4LO?

We got the jeep for dirt cheap and never need or use 4WD, but we have it.
The sales person said engage 4WD once every 3000 miles...

We do not live in or close to dirt roads.. all I have access to is dry pavement....

Matt_ · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:55 pm

There's so many different theories ranging from "you need to put it in 4hi once a month" to "you never need to".

You can shift into 4 hi on the fly.... so every once in a while when you're driving slow approaching your house, just hit the lever and let it engage. Let things spin for a 1/2 mile or so and turn it off before you pull into your driveway. Do that a few times a year for piece of mind and you're set. $.02

At The Helm · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 7:24 pm

hrogi wrote:

Lets add another note with command trac ll.

How often should you put the Jeep into 4HI or 4LO?

We got the jeep for dirt cheap and never need or use 4WD, but we have it.
The sales person said engage 4WD once every 3000 miles...

We do not live in or close to dirt roads.. all I have access to is dry pavement....

The Santa Cruz mountains have lots of dirt roads, thats like 15-20 min from santa clara, right?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 7:57 pm

Matt_ wrote:

There's so many different theories ranging from "you need to put it in 4hi once a month" to "you never need to".

You can shift into 4 hi on the fly.... so every once in a while when you're driving slow approaching your house, just hit the lever and let it engage. Let things spin for a 1/2 mile or so and turn it off before you pull into your driveway. Do that a few times a year for piece of mind and you're set. $.02

Never run 4hi or 4low on any hard surface,even if wet.Good way to break stuff even if done for a few feet.

Matt_ · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:39 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Matt_ wrote:

There's so many different theories ranging from "you need to put it in 4hi once a month" to "you never need to".

You can shift into 4 hi on the fly.... so every once in a while when you're driving slow approaching your house, just hit the lever and let it engage. Let things spin for a 1/2 mile or so and turn it off before you pull into your driveway. Do that a few times a year for piece of mind and you're set. $.02

Never run 4hi or 4low on any hard surface,even if wet.Good way to break stuff even if done for a few feet.

If you have a 4wd system that'll bind and break something if driven in a straight line for a few feet, then somethings wrong.

Running in a straight line for short distances won't hurt anything.

It's also common practice at the boat launches to use 4 hi and even 4 low depending on the ramp conditions when pulling boats out.

At The Helm · **Posted:** Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:03 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Matt_ wrote:

There's so many different theories ranging from "you need to put it in 4hi once a month" to "you never need to".

You can shift into 4 hi on the fly.... so every once in a while when you're driving slow approaching your house, just hit the lever and let it engage. Let things spin for a 1/2 mile or so and turn it off before you pull into your driveway. Do that a few times a year for piece of mind and you're set. $.02

Never run 4hi or 4low on any hard surface,even if wet.Good way to break stuff even if done for a few feet.

What about the solid rock sufaces in Moab?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 3:14 am

rock surfaces in moab are pretty slick

pretty sure everyone here is talking pavement with command trac's

since it's a chain and not a transfer case differential, the front and rear are locked together physically, due to this the front wheels turn slightly faster than the rear and will remain to do so as long as 4hi or 4lo are engaged. difference in wear of the tires front vs rear can exacerbate this behavior

because of this, on moderate to high traction regular surfaces the drive train will always be in a bind and turning just makes it worse

boat ramps.. usually due to poor traction surfaces like wet pavement with gravel/sand/gunk on top of it and often the actual parking lot is graveled

and while it is common practice, I've also installed new transfer cases for those with CTrac transfer cases who used it on boat ramps, forgot to take it out of 4hi before leaving the gravel parking lot, hit the pavement on the road/highway etc and split the case or sheared the tail shaft before they got to the highway within a very few miles of the marina.

Matt_ · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:21 am

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

boat ramps.. usually due to poor traction surfaces like wet pavement with gravel/sand/gunk on top of it and often the actual parking lot is graveled

and while it is common practice, I've also installed new transfer cases for those with CTrac transfer cases who used it on boat ramps, forgot to take it out of 4hi before leaving the gravel parking lot, hit the pavement on the road/highway etc and split the case or sheared the tail shaft before they got to the highway within a very few miles of the marina.

Ours are all nice and paved.

Towing a boat, thereby adding weight/traction, plus driving on a dry/paved surface and turning... yes, that would result in damage if someone left their vehicle in 4x4 for a few miles driving down the street and probably making some sharp turns to swing that boat around some side streets.

If you put your vehicle in 4x4 and drive in a straight line for short distance @ low speed and break something, it's due to another problem. Like wrong sized tires.

There are situations offroad where your tires will bind of the drivetrain more than the above would. If these transfer cases were that fragile, you guys would be blowing tail shafts on almost every offroad trip.

It would still be best to engage it on dirt/grass/gravel/etc. That goes without saying. But you're not going to blow up the tcase in a few feet of driving in a straight line. Otherwise every soccer mom in my area would have a broken down jeep :ROTFL:

Matt_ · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:41 am

That guy who broke his tail shaft was probably nailing the gas too... trying to find out why is "boat" felt heavier than normal. lol i cringe just thinking about it, cutting that wheel sharp to the right and pushing hard on the gas wondering why its so hard to move his boat :lol:

If you're responsible, you'll know if your drivetrain is binding or not. If it feels like it is, then put it back in 2wd, DONT punch the gas.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:01 am

Matt_ wrote:

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

boat ramps.. usually due to poor traction surfaces like wet pavement with gravel/sand/gunk on top of it and often the actual parking lot is graveled

and while it is common practice, I've also installed new transfer cases for those with CTrac transfer cases who used it on boat ramps, forgot to take it out of 4hi before leaving the gravel parking lot, hit the pavement on the road/highway etc and split the case or sheared the tail shaft before they got to the highway within a very few miles of the marina.

Ours are all nice and paved.

Towing a boat, thereby adding weight/traction, plus driving on a dry/paved surface and turning... yes, that would result in damage if someone left their vehicle in 4x4 for a few miles driving down the street and probably making some sharp turns to swing that boat around some side streets.

If you put your vehicle in 4x4 and drive in a straight line for short distance @ low speed and break something, it's due to another problem. Like wrong sized tires.

There are situations offroad where your tires will bind of the drivetrain more than the above would. If these transfer cases were that fragile, you guys would be blowing tail shafts on almost every offroad trip.

It would still be best to engage it on dirt/grass/gravel/etc. That goes without saying. But you're not going to blow up the tcase in a few feet of driving in a straight line. Otherwise every soccer mom in my area would have a broken down jeep :ROTFL:

Your front and rear diffs are geared slightly different due to being different axles,you will have driveline bind no matter what,even going straight and slow.I've seen t-cases blown up due to this reason in 10' and some took 70miles but sooner or later something will break so do not say it is okay to drive in 4hi/4low on any hard surface like pavement(even when wet) and say it is okay to do so.

hrogi · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 12:15 pm

ok.

thanks for the feed back..

santa cruz is 15 to 20 miles away ...

it is the wifes jeep, and she does not get it...

garrobb · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 12:26 pm

even though you guys have different oppinions and such i'm learning alot. been reading alot about this 4wd system, cant wait to get alot of snow so i can experience it. the sticker say 21mpg, checking my first tank hope i'm not too shocked lol

hrogi · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 3:36 pm

It takes 5K miles before you start seeing the right MPG...

I get 19 to 22 on 1000 mile trips using cruise control as much as possible.

In town we see 14 to 16. no lead footing that I know of.... Well I am not alloud to lead foot the jeep yet...

1Stewj · **Posted:** Wed Dec 29, 2010 11:59 pm

Don't you have Selec trac on your '10? Big difference btwn that and command trac II. AWD function in S.T. is more friendly on dry-snow-wet-ice changing conditions on my trip to work vs command trac II. Freezing rain for us tonight :banghead:

command trac ll

Who is online