Exercised my 4wd mode today, heard a slight noice for a sec. Problems or normal?

False. Unless you are doing parking lot turns or similar turns you wont have an issue

 

Back in January I was headed home from a meeting up around Lake Erie back south into my mountains. It was Friday night and it had snowed all day. By the time I got to WV line it was 11 pm, several inches of snow on the interstate and I was basically the only idiot still driving. I drove a few hundred miles at 55-60 mph in powered snow. I finally got home at 2am, no problem.

 

If you're in 4WD on dry pavement and turn a corner, the wheels on the outside of a turn have to travel farther/rotate more than the inside tires.
Since the tires don't slip as easily on dry pavement this puts extra strain on your axles and CV joints and you'll feel the "wind up" and jerkiness when you turn as the built up torsional energy gets released when the tires are forced to slip.

Using 4H or 4L on dry pavement is fine all day in a straight line, all you'll hurt is your gas mileage.

When you switch to 4L make sure you are FULLY stopped and in Neutral (for automatic, clutch in for Manual) and were in 4H first before you switch to 4L. And fully stopped to switch back to 4H before switching to 2H.

 

I drive on dry pavement from time to time on 4hi it’s not a big deal. You practically have to be turning at full lock into a parking spot or u turn to bind the system and you will feel it as the truck will slow and you will have to give it gas to force the turn.

The Tcase is designed to match the trans speed so you can shift while moving, this is old tech and been done for over 2 decades.

4lo is a reduction gear set which is why you have to stop to move into it.

You can drive at any speed that the gearing allows you. I was cruising down a shit fire road this weekend at 30mph in 4 lo.

You will here sounds when it engages and disengages and are perfectly normal. It’s normally a distinct clicking sound.

 

I personally wouldn't on dry pavement.. the risk far outweighs any benefit from "exercising" the system

 

The owners manual says you can change into 4H while moving, I always have and have found it seems to shift into 4H smoother when the truck is moving. I think the max recommended speed to switch over to/from 4H/2H was 60MPH (100KPH).

That slight grind might have been the gearset moving the last little bit needed that the actuator didn't push as the truck started rolling. If it happens occasionally when switching from 2H to 4H when stopped... Not an issue.

These are helical involute gear teeth so they "slide into" each other better when there is some movement or freeplay.

If it happens all the time, MIGHT be a warning sign about the actuator. Tight tolerance gear box that still needs breaking in, A gear set binding on it's shaft. Low oil. Chipped tooth, Just the way your transfer case is.

4H to 4L and 4L to 4H you MUST be stopped though. Different gear type on that set so they will get damaged / chipped if they are turning when trying to engage.

 

Don’t worry. They change their oil every 3,000 miles also.

 

Does it?

 

How fast were you going? And plain pavement I assume?

 

I believe so yes... my opinion

 

You can use 4wd on dry straight roads. Turning is when a 4wd system binds

 

Jesus, the misinformation. We have shift on the fly 4wd. It’ll be fine. Most of the time the 4wd won’t engage unless there is movement.

 

I was driving 40mph max. Plain pavement.

 

I drive all day long in the winter in 4x4. Road conditions go from pavement to ice back to snowpack back to ice back to pavement etc... I don’t shift from 4x4 to 2x4 every time road conditions change. If I did I would literally shift 200 times on a typical 2 hour drive.
Never a problem.

 

No idea. Maybe just needed to get some movement to lube

 

No real risk. The engineers know exactly how much torque is required to slip a tire on pavement and it can be much worse off road. I personally would never buy a vehicle (ahem Jeep) that the gearing couldn't handle the torque of a slipping tire.

 

I use it all the time when I have a stretch of straight 5 to 10 mile run with no turns or curve.

 

I’m not saying don’t do it ,I just don’t do it !

 

This. Can you imagine if these trucks were that weak that driving in 4hi with slight turns hurt them?

I use 4Hi on dry roads in the summer once a month. Gentle long sweeping turns are no issue. Wheels are barely turned with such a huge turn radius. Your drivetrain will bind up only at large turns of the wheel like in parking lots or turning 90 degrees.

 

Manual states it’s safe to shift into 4wd while moving at up to 64 mph.