When to use 4 Lo?

[davebar]

I got an 01 Sport with 2hi, 4hi and 4lo. I have never had to put it in 4lo. I am wondering what is best for off road use. If I am making with 4hi, should I ever drop to 4lo or should I be in 4lo all the time when off road?

 

[Burnout]

4-Low is made for when you're going really slow, such as serious offroading/rock-crawling/slowly going through mud. Or if you're recording a commercial about towing 9000 pounds up a ramp. If you're just driving normally through the wilderness, 4-hi is the way to go.

 

[Electrohacker]

4 low should only be used WHEN

1 you're on a slip surface (snow or offroad)
2 you need more torque and are running slow (hill climbs, stuck, large loads, pulling someone else out)

if you need the torque and will be running slow, but are on the street... you need to pull your front driveshaft or wreck a bunch of parts when you have to steer

 

[MadScience]

4wL is a change in gear ratio. The axles are engauged the same in either. If you drive a manual picture it like downshifting to an imaginary -1 or -2nd gear. You would use 4wl in any situation the a down shift lower than 1st would be usefull. the lower the gear the more the power. the higher gear more speed like a bike. Be carefull with the throttle. like on your bike you gotta pedal like mad in 1st. The rpms with climb fast in low with little movment. never try to cross like 20mph in low if you like your car. It puts a hella strain on all components. If you dont know about it you will probably never need it. BTW explorers can shift to hi on the fly ( like auto does for you all day) you have to be stoped and in N to hit low.

 

[mediaman67]

"if you have to ask, you can't afford (to do) it" hehe

yeah, they warn you never to use it on dry/normal roads... about 2x a year though, I shift into N and activate it, just to be sure it's all locking in, etc - I usually don't drive in it at all though....

I think of it, as useful, if you slid into a ditch, etc... or maybe if the truck was burried in the mud, etc... never had to use it in the snow, 4H was fine... worst storm I think I used 4H and took it out of OD

Cheers

 

[davebar]

OK, cool, thanks for the info...

So, basically, us 4lo when I get stuck or need extra power.

 

[97sprt4x4]

Basically 4lo is a last resort or if your going to be going i to somethin your pretty sure will get you stuck. And like everyone says dont try to go fast it will only bite you in the ass

Justin

 

[mediaman67]

not really extra power per se... I think it's one of those things you just know when you really need it...

in fact, I did get stuck in the snow a couple years ago, and was able to get out in 4 HI in 1st gear... short of that, I would have opted for 4lo, but that tells you to try anything else first... 4 lo is like a last resort kind of thing, unless you like to spend money...

just never use it on the street, even in snowy weather, and you will be fine...

as was mentioned - only then, doing 15-20 mph... you are putting the truck into "max" work mode basically, and it's hard on the whole drive train...

I have a friend that used to use his explorer with a plow, and left it in 4 lo all the time when he was plowing snow... it did "work" but that got expensive quick, but he only had the 4.0L too - maybe the 5.0L would have worked better... but Ford didn't really design this truck for snow plowing either.... it's what the 250 is great at... in fact, I think they mention somewhere about not for use with a plow, etc... but I would tow with it for something under 1500 lbs... class 2 You're not gonna tow a horse trailer with it for very long or a huge camper, but like a 12 ft sail boat, or a couple of snowmobiles, etc... or a landscaping trailer, etc... good for that stuff...

 

[mediaman67]

Power is a function of displacement - you gain more torque at a lower gear ratio, so if that equates to more power, than I would stand corrected...

when I think of Power, I think of actual HP at the wheels - the engine is the same either way, as was mentioned, the gear ratio is different...

I forgot what truck you have, but in mine, it IS different - 4H is their contoltrac system, where not every wheel is always engaged 100% of the time, whereas in 4L they all are, so that is why you don't want to be taking corners on dry pavement, etc... huge amount of strain on the diff, etc... since there is no give, etc...

 

[mediaman67]

hey Dave, I just realized that you are from Kirtland, OH! - that's great! - used to be i that part of OH all the time as a kid... Lodi, Geneva, Jefferson, Painesville, etc

 

[KPSquared]

4Lo is usefull when you need to crawl. I wouldn't use it in snow unless you just wanted to move slow or the snow was seriously deep and heavy... like a couple feet of heavy wet...

If you're driving the rig as a daily driver, to work, school, mall, etc... you'll probably rarely have a reason to use it. It's nice to remain in solid control if you're backing up a trailer or something like that.

i use it more than I use 4 hi... but that's 'cause this rig is pretty much only used off road and rarely gets above 20 mph...

 

[zero_psi]

humm i use it all the time and have had no issues more of less in the mud but then agian a upgraded trans cooler makes my trans a happy camper even when its caked in mud

 

[inh]

You need to be careful with 4 low an slippery surfaces. In mud, if you put it in 4 low, you are now putting more torque to the tires, which probably dont have traction already, or very much of it. 4 low will just make that worse.

I use 4 low when climbing up very steep grades. It makes less work for the engine and transmission that it would be in 4 high.

 

[Electrohacker]

4low also works well for pulling small stumps out of the ground.

larger ones we have to go get the big tractor

 

[inh]

I've also used 4 low to yank a pallet of trash bags out the back of a pickup. The pallet was tied to a jersey barrier and 4 low got the truck moving fast enough to get out of the way of the falling pallet the fastest. It actually worked

 

[gijoecam]

4wL is a change in gear ratio. The axles are engauged the same in either. If you drive a manual picture it like downshifting to an imaginary -1 or -2nd gear. You would use 4wl in any situation the a down shift lower than 1st would be usefull. the lower the gear the more the power. the higher gear more speed like a bike. Be carefull with the throttle. like on your bike you gotta pedal like mad in 1st. The rpms with climb fast in low with little movment. never try to cross like 20mph in low if you like your car. It puts a hella strain on all components. If you dont know about it you will probably never need it. BTW explorers can shift to hi on the fly ( like auto does for you all day) you have to be stoped and in N to hit low.

Actually it reduces the strain on most of the components, most notably, the transmission. Yes, it *may* put some additional loads on the driveline components, but those same loads would have been there whether you are climbing a hill in high range or low range.

4Lo is usefull when you need to crawl. I wouldn't use it in snow unless you just wanted to move slow or the snow was seriously deep and heavy... like a couple feet of heavy wet...

That's when I use mine the most... We get that once or twice a winter around here. It usually would have gone through in high range, but required a lot less go-pedal in low, which means less strain on the transmission. Soft sand and deep snow are all good times to be using low range.

If you're driving the rig as a daily driver, to work, school, mall, etc... you'll probably rarely have a reason to use it. It's nice to remain in solid control if you're backing up a trailer or something like that.

i use it more than I use 4 hi... but that's 'cause this rig is pretty much only used off road and rarely gets above 20 mph...

Backing a heavy trailer across soft ground is nice in low range. Takes all the strain off the trans and lets it idle back nice and smooth.

But why the 20mph limit? It doesn't stress the drivetrain any more than being in 4high, it just sounds like it because of the low range planetaries singing. Tach'd-out in 5th gear, a bone stock Explorer on stock-sized tires with 4.10 gears can do more than 65mph. (I did the math years ago) I wouldn't suggest doing so for an extended period of time, but it can be done.

Oh, another good time to use it is if you're trying to drive up on a set of ramps for an oil change. I do it all the time... It idles right up with no fear of driving off the other side! No need to two-foot the pedals that way!

 

[Semaj2263]

i always use 4low when offroading. If your going offroading above like 30mph. go 4hi, remember to put it in neutral when switching back to auto from 4low. and it wont put a whole lot of stress on your trans.

 

[1999_sport]

so what if you have an AWD explorer, with auto, 4 high, 4 low, does it basically work the same way, besides never really coming out of 4x4 mode?

 

[Electrohacker]

so what if you have an AWD explorer, with auto, 4 high, 4 low, does it basically work the same way, besides never really coming out of 4x4 mode?

if you have 4x4 then it isnt AWD

 

[KPT]

I typically use 2Low more than 4 high or low offroad. Don't really need to use the throttle if crawling, leave it in first gear if its real sketchy, second if decent and third if trail is similar to a dirt road.

I always use 2Low to go easy on the clutch if I'm backing a trailer up my steep driveway. Damn locker Always spins a tire when doing that.