So, we had some rain a lil while ago and it made some leaves fall off the trees and make the road a little slippery. I had a good little slide turning onto my girlfriend's street the last time it rained, so I thought I'd put my 4WD on for the first time (jeep is still kinda new :p)

Anyway, I noticed last night while driving in the rain, when I turn really slowly like turning into a driveway, the whole jeep jerks back and forth when it's in 4WD (4 high). I almost lost control and slammed into a parked car the first time it happened. My uncle used to have a cherokee and he said his did that too. So I guess it's a jeep thing.

So.. is there any way to stop this? Should I switch it off when I'm driving slow? It could get to be a pain shifting the lever back and forth all the time. And no i never drove stick before so I dunno what that's like I'm worried if I use it in the snow it might make me lose control and hit something or someone.

Should I just hold on to the wheel as tight as I can to try and stop it from happening? How do you drive slow and stay in control in 4WD?

 

You shouldn't be in 4wd in good traction.. its the 4wd getting too much traction and fighting you..
Only use this on snow/ice and off road. pavement will cause binding and feel like its bucking..

 

ah.. ok.. makes sense Just never had that happen before.. I used to have a 2000 pathfinder that had 4WD but it never did that

 

Was it a full-time 4WD system? The JK has a part-time 4WD (you shift it into 4WD to engage rather than permanently engaged). A full-time system functions differently than a part-time basically allowing you to turn easily even though its in 4WD.

Or something like that... as far as I know

 

You dont need 4wd in rain with the jk cuz you have your traction to help you, you only need it on ice or snow and very slippery conditions.

 

Slippery conditions or off road only. Not on dry or wet pavement. You do that too often and get too much traction you could cause some damage.

 

Like this:

Busted Cherokee Transfer Case Image (Caused by Using 4WD on Pavement)

 

It has a center differential, allowing the front and rear axles to spin at different speeds. But, a center differential is a disadvantage when the road isn't a road at all--when really in rough terrain. It must then be locked to keep the vehicle moving when a tire is off the ground, basically making it into a part-time 4WD system. Jeep saved you the hassle and expense of that, but at the reduction of performance in less demanding situations (such as on dry/wet pavement).

 

Some liberty's have the "part-time 4 hi" so you could run it in this in questionable wet/slippery pavement that is too good for real 4wd.. I know,, my wifes libby(06 aniv.) has this and it blows in the snow,, I got her firestone destinations so I'm hoping that real tires will make a difference in the snow..

 

This is because the transfer case is locked front/rear. Ie - there is no slip between front and rear driveshafts.

When you turn, the front wheels turn in a larger circle than the rear wheels (the rear wheels "cut the corner"), but the transfer case wants to turn the front and rear wheels the same: thus something needs to slip. When you're on ground with a decent amount of traction, you'll get a wheel hopping, etc. It's even noticeable on grass.