I've never done this before . . .

That's supposed to be one of the three biggest lies. Two others are; "My spouse doesn't understand me," and "The check is in the mail." Then there are the less "G-rated" ones, and thank you for not sharing them here.

I have just purchased my first 4x4, a credit union basket case repo. It'a an '84 full size Blazer which runs, and after replacing the front drive shaft seems to have fully functional four-wheel drive.

The problem is, I don't know how to use it, and the usually helpful internet hasn't been up to now.

Are there any places I can get instructions on basic use of a 4x4? I know enough not to try driving fast in low range, I can see that real tight turns on dry pavement in four-wheel drive are not a good idea, and I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but I would rather not pay the cost of learning through trial and error.

Help? CB

Well, two things from your post come to mind...

"I can see that real tight turns on dry pavement in four-wheel drive are not a good idea"

Um...ANYTHING on dry pavment is NOT a good idea in 4 wheel drive, especially turning...those wheels need to be able to "slip" a bit So , grass, snow, mud or sand, but not on dry hard ground.


The second one that comes to mind is take it slow and get used to it. I don't know what part of the country you're from but if you get snow and ice, remember, that 4x4 might get you going faster, but it doesn't do squat to get you stopped any quicker.

Good luck

Good advice...to the newbee...
and welcome to 4WD... :o)