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Shift into 4 wheel drive


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As I recall from my last reading, my owners manual says you can engage 4wd at any highway speed! (assuming there is loss of traction).

The highest speed I can recall engaging mine was about 35MPH in the snow, in drive, and it did it SMOOTH.

 

Now, 4lo is a different story, and you do want to be in neutral, or push in the clutch, to engage. You also want to stay under about 5MPH. You will likely have to be rolling a little, there aren't any syncros to line up the gears and they may mesh if not moving a bit.

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All the preceding advice given is good, however, if you have a Select-trac (242) transfer case instead of the Command Trac (231) there is one slight variable. That is you can shift into 4X4 Hi on pavement in the same manner pointed out in the earlier threads with total disregard for road conditions. Dry, wet or slick conditions don't matter. If you have locking differential in it be careful doing that on slick conditions.

 

Edited: Preceding thread beat me to it. :doh:

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All the preceding advice given is good, however, if you have a Select-trac (242) transfer case instead of the Command Trac (231) there is one slight variable. That is you can shift into 4X4 Hi on pavement in the same manner pointed out in the earlier threads with total disregard for road conditions. Dry, wet or slick conditions don't matter. If you have locking differential in it be careful doing that on slick conditions.

 

Edited: Preceding thread beat me to it. :doh:

 

You're half right. The 242 has 2 options for 4HI. 4HI Part time and 4HI full time. Full time is AWD, and can be run on anything. Part time is the same as a 231.

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  • 11 years later...

First:

 

We need more info about your truck: engine, trans, does it still have the Central Axle Disconnect, what modifications were done by you or a previous owner....

 

Second:

 

Why did you revive an 11 year old thread?  You should have started a new one.

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39 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said:

First:

 

We need more info about your truck: engine, trans, does it still have the Central Axle Disconnect, what modifications were done by you or a previous owner....

 

Second:

 

Why did you revive an 11 year old thread?  You should have started a new one.

It’s a bone stock 4.0 no mods...5 speed... I’m new to this site hence I learning about posting questions!

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With a helper, get underneath it.  Look at the tcase shifter linkage.  Have your helper shift the tcase from above.  Look for loose or worn parts.

 

Its seems odd that you can get 4L but not 4H.  You have to shift past 4H to get to 4L.  If that is true for yours, then the internal shift forks may not be properly aligned or broken.  The NP231 is a very strong tcase and easily serviceable.  If you are confident of your mechanical skills, you can rebuild it.  If not, watch a bunch of Youtube videos on rebuilding one.  Matt at BleepinJeep has at least one.  Search YT for more.

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9 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said:

My first thought.  But since he said he get 4L, I eliminated CAD


The most noticeable aspect of shifting to 4L is the gear reduction, less so the wheels engaging. Unless you’ve got the wheels off the ground or you’re digging two holes in a soft surface it can be hard to tell for sure. Sometimes the lower gearing will give you torque to climb things and make you think it’s engaging the front axle when it isn’t.

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