When to use what gear?

[JinXRacer18]

Hey I have a '95 Explorer and am wondering when is the right time to use either 2wd, 4wd hi or 4wd lo? What cant you use on cement or what conditions are best for what gear. Also do you have to be in nuetral to put in 4 lo and what about 4 hi. 4 lo was used about 3 times and once about 5 years ago by my dad to pull a large boat out a loading ramp on a trailer and he forgot it was in lo and drove about 1/4 mile and then had a little trouble getting it out of lo so i have never used it since because i dont want it to get stuck again. Anyway i have heard numerous things about what to use when and am wondering what you guys think. What would u use for mud, sand, or hills. Thanks

 

[G-rigged]

2wd for normal driving conditions 4hi for snowy/hazardous roads. 4hi for mud. 4lo for like you said pulling a boat out of a ramp and maybe in an offroad situation where you need to "crawl" through or over obsticals. You can engage 4hi while driving... i always let off the gas to let it engage. To engage 4lo i'm pretty sure you have to be in nuetral. The reason why you can run 4wd on dry pavement or concrete for an extended distance is because the front axle does not turn the exact speed as the rear, expecally when you turn. There isnt any differential in the transfer case on the 2wd 4hi 4lo models. The AWD models have a differental in the transfer that lets the front wheels spin at a different speed as the rear when turning. These are full time 4wd models.

 

[CodePoet]

You'll probably get a number of different answers but if you have 4x4 (not the control trac kind) you should never ever use in on pavement....never. It's not made for that and you run a high risk of breaking something. I use 4hi in the snow, dirt/mud that kind of stuff, and I would use 4lo for steep hill climbs offroad. I have heard of a number of people using 4lo on boat ramps. Your dad might have had problems since you have to be at a full stop, in neutral to disengage it...at least with my manual tranny it's that way. For sand I would air down the tires, I think without beadlocks 15 psi is as low as you should go (i think i've heard of 10 though) and put it in 4hi. I never do any sand driving so I really don't know. Anyway, those are my opinions....i'm sure there are other ones out there.

Later
cp

 

[JinXRacer18]

Ok thanks for all the help guys. I would like to test the 4 low just to make sure it works but i dont want to get stuck in it. What do u think i should do?

 

[MrShorty]

Find a snow bank, a mud hole, a place with lots of loose gravel, or other slippery loose surface, put it in 4L and see if the front end gets power.
Alternatively, get all four wheels off the ground, put it in 4L and see if the front wheels are getting power.

 

[Jason_25]

Any loose surface like gravel is fine for testing the 4x4. Also you should make sure to engage 4-low atleast once a month. You probably had problems getting out of 4-low last time because it was not used often enough.

 

[Billy177]

if it is raining and stuff you can leave it on 4auto 4low you could test on pavement just make sure that you are going perfectly strait