Didn't mean to do it

[bigtee]

Hey all;
first time in this forum
My wifes daily driver is a 2004 xlt, I drive a '94 xlt, (sits mostly as I have a
company truck also),
Anyway, I have only driven her X three or four times, twice on family outings,
heres the thing...
I get off the highway and as i stop and then make a turn the front end
shakes, jumps, lurches (get the idea) well wouldn't ya know somehow while
on our adventure I knocked it into 4H. The only prob is that we were cruising 70-80 mph for several miles...
This has happened twice, what a bad place to put the 4WD buttons.
My wife thinks me a dum-dum
I dont know much about this gen X, i have had a few 1st gen. machines
and I know plenty about those...
How bad have I destroyed the t-case?

 

[bisjoe]

It's not so much the speed that's a problem, but the 4wd engaged on dry pavement. You can engage 4wd high at up to 55 according to the manual,
but on dry pavement there's a lot of stress that causes premature wear to the
U-Joints, axles, differential gears, transfer case gears and chains, bearings, and drive shafts. As long as it's only for a brief time I wouldn't worry, but I would try to do something to prevent it. Maybe tape something over the button to prevent it from being pushed. I always like the rotary dial better.

 

[Curtis]

Turning on a surface thats not mud/snow/ice covered will cause the front to jerk as we all know that when you turn the front/rear wheels turn at different speeds. So when your in 4x4, all wheels are locked at the same speed so the vehicle will appear to hop on the front wheels.

I doubt you did any damage

as long as it went back to 4x4auto with no problems I think nothing is wrong.

 

[shadowless127]

This is why I'm a big fan of the shift lever in the jeeps, the rotary dials in the Expeditions/F150s, and most important, All Wheel Drive . Thank god I have all wheel drive, cuz i cant tell how many times my 13yr old has hit the setup and reset buttons on the message center controls when messing with the radio.