4wd aftermath

[rings7443]

I have a 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport and this is the first time i have had this issue. I used the 4wd this past weekend and after switching it back to 2wd, when i take a sharp turn at a slow speed, it feels like my front buckles and it moves to the back until i am done the turn. Almost like the jeep is stuck inbetween 4wd and 2wd. when i am above 10 mph, this does not happen. Anyone have any idea? The front will shake and the steering wheel goes back and forth. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!

[addihs214]

My 92 Cherokee does that all the time. It's the gears in the front end for the 4wd system. It has done the in both of my Jeeps and my Dodge Ramcharger. It's more noticable in the Jeeps because they have such a tight turning radius.

Hope this helps some
Dan

[rings7443]

Should it still happen in 2wd?

[addihs214]

Yeah, happens all the time. When you cut the wheels hard the axles bind with the gears inside the front end housing and that why it feels awkward. It doesn't hurt anything because you are going so slow. Like I said, it is more noticeable on Jeeps because they do have such a tight turning radius.

Dan

[capt. apathy]

mine only does it in 4wd. no binding in 2wd at all

[rings7443]

any idea on how much this would cost to get fixed?

[draxxus]

I dont think theres anything really 'wrong' with it. mine did it all the time, someone told me that the front axle diff was still locked together, thats all, nothing to be scared of.

[capt. apathy]

that could be the problem (failure to disengage), I think there was a post on here a month or so ago about a simple fix to change over from the vacuum actuated engage/disengage to a manual one that gives you direct control. not only does it let you know for sure if you if you are engaged or not, but it gives you the option of manually disengaging with 4w-lo selected, in effect giving you another selection of 2w-lo. this allows you to take tighter turns while staying in low range.

you'll have to search back through the posts, it was a good discription of the fix, complete with pic's

[EquityDog]

My 92 Cherokee with Selec-Trac transfer case was also having trouble disengaging 4WD shortly after I got it. The dealer found nothing wrong with the linkage or actuator but diagnosed that the problem was a single tire of slightly smaller diameter. According to the dealer, the actuator can only change the engagement status if all the wheels are turning at the same rate. If one tire has a smaller diameter, it turns faster to keep up and the actuator can't work. They replaced a tire under warranty and the problem was fixed. They made the original diagnosis by marking the contact point of each tire and then moving the Jeep forward in a straight line. After a few rotations, the marks were all still lined up on 3 tires, but the 4th had gotten ahead.

By the way, this all wheels at same speed rule may apply only to Selec-Trac and not Command-Trac.

More generally, as someone else wrote, going backwards helps the actuator change the engagement (the dealer told me that too). Also, the transfer case will almost never shift under acceleration as there is too much torque being transmitted through the system to slide anything.

[capt. apathy]

so you can change engagement status while moving? I"ve been stopping and changing between drive selections while in park. this is the first 4wd I've owned so I was unsure and never really had the guts to move the lever while moving.

[EquityDog]

At least with Selec-Trac you can change among the high range choices while moving. Thus you can choose among 2WD, 4WD (Part-time) & 4WD (Full-time). As far as I know you can't get into or out of low range 4WD without stopping.

Relating to the tire diameter point I made previously, as I've thought about that further, I'm remembering that the wheel speed was determined by the ABS sensors. So that raises the question of what happens with the many Cherokees that don't have ABS. Perhaps the wheel speed issue applies only to Selec-Trac and not Command Trac. Does anyone know? Do all Selec-Trac Cherokees have ABS?

The above interests me because I want to replace my 1992 Cherokee with a newer Cherokee and I cannot find any I like with both ABS and Selec-Trac. I am now hoping to find one with ABS and then replace the Command-Trac transfer case with Selec-Trac. Does anyone know if you can do that?

[capt. apathy]

how do I know if I have comand or select on my 89 cherokee

[EquityDog]

Front to back on the shift lever, the Selec-Trac transfer case has 5 choices: 2WD, PT 4WD, FT 4WD, neutral, and low range 4WD. Command-Trac has 4 choices: 2WD, PT 4WD, neutral and low range 4WD.

I think Command-Trac will also shift between 2WD and PT 4WD while moving, but someone who actually has that transfer case should comment. Most Cherokees that I've seen have Command-Trac.

[capt. apathy]

ok, then I have the selec-track. so I do need to be stopped to change, right?

[EquityDog]

With Selec-Trac you can change among all 3 high range choices (2WD, PT 4WD and FT 4WD) while moving at any legal speed. I do it at 65 mph when the interstate gets wet or icy all the time (go to FT 4WD, not PT 4WD). You can also go back to 2WD while moving. Sometimes mine will get stuck briefly in PT 4WD while making those changes, but that is OK if it is only for a few minutes. Usually if you lift your foot off the gas it will complete the shift to FT 4WD or 2WD (whichever you selected). If it sticks forever in PT 4WD, you can still drive but the steering will be jerky as tension builds between the front and rear wheels and you will need to get the shift mechanism serviced to avoid that in the future. Also if it does get stuck in PT 4WD, you can usually get it to complete the shift by stopping and driving slowly in reverse for a moment.

If you want low range 4WD, you need to stop to make that shift.

Hope this clears it up.