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4X4 AUTO, 4X4 HIGH and 4X4 LOW

ykkspring

Member
Joined
July 6, 2007
Messages
17
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City, State
Simsbury, CT
Year, Model & Trim Level
'02 XLT
Hi,
I need help with a very basic question again.
What does 4X4 AUTO, 4X4 HIGH and 4X4 LOW buttons on dashboard indicate ? and what is the recommended use of these buttons, I have never used these, so I guess, I am always driving under 4X4 AUTO mode??
Please advise.
Thanks
Yogesh
 



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Normal driving - 4x4auto

Extremely snowy/icy - 4x4 high

Off-road hilly terrain - 4x4 low


note:using 4x4 high or low on dry pavement will bind your driveline and can break things.
 






You can switch into 4x4hi while driving at speeds under 65 mph... You have to be in Neutral to switch to 4x4lo - and in Neutral to switch out.

And yes, you are always in 4x4auto :)
 












What year is your vehicle? Your vehicle, and location are not in your profile.
Its in the sig ;)

But I'd advise not to use 4LO -- it only leads to problems down the road like not being able to get out of it. And such problems are often mechanical which means the solution is somewhat expensive. Also, dont use 4HI unless you are on ice/snow/dirt as engaging it on dry pavement will wreck the transfer case (stretched chains, bearing lobes elongated).
 












welcome
 






Thanks everyone.
 






Its in the sig ;)

But I'd advise not to use 4LO -- it only leads to problems down the road like not being able to get out of it. And such problems are often mechanical which means the solution is somewhat expensive. Also, dont use 4HI unless you are on ice/snow/dirt as engaging it on dry pavement will wreck the transfer case (stretched chains, bearing lobes elongated).

sorry to butt in on this and thread is old but just to ask as ive looked through many posts,if im offroading in the uk ,mainly wet mud bomb holes and bumpy terrain (no rocks!)quite slippy in most places what would be the best gear be to use auto? ,im asking as im new to this and not many people in the uk do offroading in there explorers to ask and the owners manual is vague! and it looks like youve done this before,any advice greatly appreciated,thanks richard .99 4ltr sohc ex
 






4wd, in drive with overdrive off


hilly or climbing 4low also no overdrive
 






thanks for reply ,ill keep in auto until i get stuck then? cheers richard
 






if you know your going to go through mud or where you can get stuck put it in 4x4 hi with overdrive off
 






if you know your going to go through mud or where you can get stuck put it in 4x4 hi with overdrive off

thanks for your help i should be going offroading next sunday so will try it out,thanks richard:thumbsup:
 






You got your tow hooks or winch? CB or something?
 






2 things- What does taking the od off do? and I almost seem to get better traction in 4x4 auto (in snow at least) cause all 4x4 high does is give me 2 wheel drive instead of one wheel drive. Auto seems to do a little better and I can feel it trying to route the power based on traction front/rear. Of course, in low it wil do almost anything.....
 






You got your tow hooks or winch? CB or something?

ive only got a tow rope lol,its an organised event with marshalls to pull us out when we get stuck,im slowly going to get round to fabricating a bumper which would take a winch with rings welded in at some point once i buy a welder,im waiting for my m/ts should be here monday ,ive looked into shackle lift but the postage is a killer so cant afford it right now.to be honest the terrain is pretty soft over here around where i live compared to the pictures ive seen on forum ,maybe in wales or scotland id encounter terrain such as rocks and mountains and deepish water as everything is so built up here.:)
 






I use 4x4 low when I have to got down steep rough mountain roads so I don’t burn out my breaks and wreck my ball joints.
 









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