What can happen if I don't use 4 wheel?

Not sure where the hell you are going to go that you would run 4x4 for 10 miles straight without risking damaging things. If you live in a place where you can, I'm certainly jealous!

I use my 4x4 very sparingly. Winter is when it sees the most action and even that is sort of rare. I used it a few weeks ago while on some forest roads though.

The way I see it, everything in there is spinning when you drive, it just may not be receiving power from the transmission since it isn't actually engaged. If you're worried about it, just shift it in and shift it back out every now and then.

 

A highway or county road maybe?

 

That's where you risk damaging things. Especially since you can't guarantee you'll remain perfectly straight for 10 miles. You may get a little more leeway on a dirt road.

 

As long as you don't turn a corner it's fine. It's been discussed and done by many drivers here and no ill effect on a winding road are damaging. It's not as delicate as you think.

 

Correct. All the more reason to believe 10 miles per month is WAY overboard for that.

 

It's fine.

 

You can turn on pavement in 4H it’s not detrimental. Y’all acting like it’s got fully locked diffs in 4H. Stop stressing about it

 

It might as well be because there ain’t nowhere to go…..I mean an hour in either direction from the airport and you end up in the ocean pretty much.

 

Do some laps around the park playground in the sand.

 

The drive line is pretty tough but not a swell ideal on dry pavements all the time but you will know right away you forgot to take it out of 4WD just backup and turn it off! I'm in Maine and I use 4WD a lot in the winter and I often forget but it lets me know right away in a parking lot. I used to drive 50 miles to work first thing in the morning like 5 AM on unplowed roads and I just left it in 4wd.

 

The owners manual says you should drive for “at least 10 miles each month” in 4 wheel drive. Then it also says in the same section that driving on dry and hard surface roads may cause damage.

I guess it never says it has to be 10 miles all at once…So I guess you could break up the 10 miles over the month still follow what the manual says?

I agree with those that say 10 miles every month in 4x4 seems a bit ridiculous and very hard to do safely for some people depending on where you live. That’s not practical for me at all except for in the winter.

 

I have a large yard so sometimes I just drive around in 4lo on the grass outside for a few laps and call it good, lol.

 

Shoot that’s not a bad idea. It seems like wet paved roads would probably be ok as well, at least better than dry pavement.

 

I agree. I don't think there will be any problems if you drive around the city on wet roads in 4hi, especially at lower speeds. I just picked up this beautiful new green bastard and have been wanting to break in/"temper" the front diff/TC by a few repeated warm ups and cools like the aftermarket diff people recommend.

 

I'd say find a dirt road. put it in 4hi and have fun

 

I am new to east TN, shouldn't be too hard. I just don't want to trespass here and step on anyones toes, especially when those toes are armed lol.

In all seriousness, I think finding an easy/beginner trail nearby is just the ticket for breaking in a new 4wd system and I think most people can goto one every other month for an hour or two and make a nice morning out of it.

 

Same here…If anyone knows of some good, easy trails in the Maryland area…let me know!

 

Hmmm, I don't know how out of the way it is or how feasible, but here's a government guide... https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/ORV/trails.aspx

 

You don’t have to remain perfectly straight, just reasonably straight, for a reasonably short period of time. The forces on your axles, transfer case, and CV joints are much much higher when you are actually 4x4ing. I’m sure we all know someone whose snapped a CV off-road. Does anyone know anyone whose blown up their truck while driving in a straight (ish) line in 4WD?

We read stories here on TW all the time from newbs asking about driveline binding when the 4x4 into a mall parking lot, but have no permanent damage. I’ve left my truck in 4WD, sometimes by mistake, and sometimes on purpose, for countless pavement miles, and no issues.

The thing is, you have the ability to go back into 2WD if the road gets twisty, and the back into 4WD on the straights.

Myself, I think the “10 miles” recommendation is from back when people had locking hubs and the only thing that turned in the front driveline was the wheels. These days, the important thing is to make sure the electronic actuators are run back and forth periodically to keep the actuator motor commutators clean, and redistribute lube in the actuator mechanism for the ADD and transfer case. With our permanently locked hubs, oil is sloshing around your front diff all the time anyway, so you are not going to get seizing or corrosion of the front diff.