when can i use 4WD Hi

Ok, I’ve got a stupid question for everyone. I have not really ever used my 4 wheel drive except to get out of a ditch. Would it hurt to run either my 04 Liberty or my 88 Cherk in “4WD part time” all of the time? Coming home this morning in my wife’s 04 Liberty I hit a patch of ice and the back end spun out across a lane of traffic and did a complete circle before stopping. I figure that the 4WD portion will help avoid this in the future.

You could run it all the time but be prepared for some major repair bills as well as sucky gas mileage. The current 4wd system on the Liberty should only be used on wet, icy or snow covered roads. If you use it on dry roads you will find that the front end and transfer case will bind and possibly cause damage especially when taking sharp turns. Check your owners manual for full details on when you can utilize the 4wd.

You could run it all the time but be prepared for some major repair bills as well as sucky gas mileage. The current 4wd system on the Liberty should only be used on wet, icy or snow covered roads. If you use it on dry roads you will find that the front end and transfer case will bind and possibly cause damage especially when taking sharp turns. Check your owners manual for full details on when you can utilize the 4wd.

Thanks alot. Bad thing about the owners manual, mine didnt come with one. I am looking to get one though :)

Same thing goes for the Cherokee. Should only be used on wet, icy or snow covered roads. Or off road in sand or mud. Any medium that will let the tires slide a little bit to overcome the binding in the driveline.

I'd be carefull on just wet pavement too. Even though it's wet, it doesn't allow the tires to slide very much

I would not put it into 4 wheel drive unless you needed it (snow ,off road}. I rather have a 4 wheeled drive system that I can engage then a full time (unless you want a system that’s on a luxury vehicle like a MB $$$). Less wear and tear and better gas mileage. You will be chewing up tires and you may damage your steering on dry pavement. Trust me I had a K5 blazer back in 76 and got it with a manual trans just so I could lock the hubs when I wanted to. I also had the opportunity to drive a MB G if you lock the 4 wheel drive on dry pavement you will have a sore arm. Plus I don’t care what system you have you can not escape the laws of physics there is very little traction on ice no friction.

This is not necessarily true anymore. Jeep has two different 4-wheel drive options now and one does have a mode you could use on dry pavement (don't know why you would want too!). It's the difference between Command Trac and Selec Trac 4WD systems they offer.

From the 05 Owners Manual:

Selec Trac ONLY: This transfer case is equiped with an inter-axle differential which allows driving the vehicle in the 4 FULL TIME position at all times on any given road surface including dry hard surfaced roads.

Select Trac has a shift lever with 5 modes: 2 Wheel, Part Time 4 Wheel High, Full Time 4 WheelHigh, neutral, and 4 Wheel Low

Saying that it is still not a good idea to run in 4 wheel on dry raods, it will just wear out the system and your tires much faster.

One of my jeeps is a 96 Cherokee with Select track, and due to my job and the road conditions, it is most allways in full time 4x4. With a little TLC the 1,000+ miles a week are no prolbem. Swap out your tranfer if full time 4x4 is what you want. But nothing short of spikes and chains will save you on slick ice. By the way in full time 4x4 I maintain 18 MPG

yeah, once you hit ice, 4wd will not really have any advantage over 2wd. It's has more to do with your tires.