My wife's commute this time of year includes a pass that is sometimes icy or snowy. She is quicker to drop into 4H that I am, but that's OK because it's her safety that matters.
She's been having problems shifting from 4H back to 2H. I tell her to be firm, grab the handle and push hard, but she still has difficulty. I've told her not to drive in 4H at 60 mph on bare pavement for an hour, but sometimes that what it comes down to if she can't shift the transfer case herself.
Does anyone have any tips to make the shift easier?
thanks!
__________________ Paul Christiansen
Hammond, Oregon
The 4H with the AT is like the 4L (i.e. 4wheel drive center differential locked) in MT6. If its like other part-time 4WD's in trucks/SUV's then you should not be using it on hard roads, i.e. anything where all 4 wheels will have enough traction to cause the driveline to "wind-up". In the FJ, even with the 2WD, its hard to lose traction, simpy because a 32 inch tire has a lot more contact area i.e. traction than a 26 inch as in cars and such.
Bottom line........your transfer case is probably wound up. You might try driving on something slippery for a while hoping the transfer case unwinds and you can slip back out of 4H to 2H or N. Other than that, your going to have to see the dealer. Just don't tell them that you drove at high speeds on a highway with semi decent traction. Don't use excessive force (more than say 40-50 lbs) to shift it out on the little lever. It might make it worse.
Typically all 4 wheels want to travel different amounts of rotation because there is no such thing as a perfectly straight road. Thats the function of the front and rear differentials. Plus there is also a difference in the amount of rotation between the front wheels and rear wheels, and thats where the center differential comes in. In "part-time" 4WD, when you go from 2H to 4H, you essentially lock the front and rear together, i.e. no difference in speed and power being sent front to back. If there is "no slip" between front and rear axles, such as a hard road, that difference in rotation gets transferred into the mechanicals of the transfer-case (which is locked) and the drive shafts. Now the transfer dosen't want to shift cause the gears are all "jammed up" so as to not allow the play required to shift the transfer case. A full time system has a center differential which may be lockable, as in the FJ.
Thats why the full-time 4WD was a god send to me. I hated switching in and out of 2H to 4H/4L cause of the constant worry of drive-line wind-up. Thats why I don't understand peeps here wanting the part time system in the MT6 to save $200 a year on gas.
Last edited by Landdozer : 12-26-2007 at 09:17 PM.
Landdozer is correct, when you are on a solid traction surface and you drive in part time 4WD, you can get store up some tension in the drivelines which clamps the gears together making it difficult to shift out again.
If you're on an incline (either pointing up or down) it will be more difficult to relieve the tension.
If you're on flat ground, you can put it in reverse, and then roll backward while turning. Make sure that if you have a rear locking differential, then its NOT locked.
This will do two things. First, it will reverse the backlash in the gears of the transfer case (gears have a small amount of movement that they can do without touching the teeth of the other gears... after rotating one direction, the distance that one gear can freely move in the OTHER direction before it touches the other gear again is called "backlash") and second it will move the gears in the differential.
If you're on flat ground, and you turn the steering wheel fully to one side, and then back up a few feet, and then put the transmission into neutral, you should be free in the transfer case to shift out of 4WD.
"If you're on flat ground, you can put it in reverse, and then roll backward while turning."
Thats a pretty neat trick. Definitely worth a try!
However the key would be:
1. Don't over do it or you could get severe drive-line wind-up in the reverse direction in a hurry. Or worse still, hear something go bang!
2. Back up 5 to 10 feet at a time with steering wheel turned, stop and keep trying to get it to Neutral or N. Level ground would make it a lot easier.
3. Drive in 2H and remember not to put it in 4H/Lock again on a hard surface.
4. Do it at your own risk or take it to the dealer
5. Don't continue to drive in 4H in this condition if the traction is still decent. There have been instances in other 4WDs where the TC "exploded" on the highway. Just a word of caution. http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/def_turnpart.html
Last edited by Landdozer : 12-26-2007 at 10:31 PM.
One other trick that I use when shifting into or out of 2H-4H-2H I let off the gas completely, the transfer case seems to shift a little easier that way by taking some pressure off it
DEWFPO
__________________ 2007 FJ, 5AT, Sun Fusion Yellow, CQ, UP, GY, RB, 2Q, EL, VS.
"Wanted - young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred"
Original newspaper add placed by William Hepburn Russell, founder of the The Pony Express
Thanks, oh wise ones. Landdozer hit it on the head....one day when my wife couldn't get it out of 4H after driving on bare pavement, she got off work, backed out of her parking place, and shifted to 2H no problem. Now it all makes sense! I told her that if she's really having problems, find a place to pull off the road where she can back up while turning.....
__________________ Paul Christiansen
Hammond, Oregon
2007 FJ, 5AT, Sun Fusion Yellow, CQ, UP, GY, RB, 2Q, EL, VS.
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