shadowmoses

So I know while in part time you aren't suppose to drive on dry surfaces. But I was mudding and in 4H and right when I got out of the mud onto some dirt, I took a turn and I heard a clicking/ knocking sound and my friend said it was "gear bind" from being in 4wd on dry surface. I took it out once I knew it was doing that. But could that hurt any parts?

aj2494

Unless something was about to break anyways, you didn't hurt anything. "Gear bind" isn't the best way to describe it though. Technically it's the gears in your axles that cause the issue, but it's just your tires skipping across the pavement, not your gears doing anything they weren't designed to. When you make a turn on pavement, the outside tires need to rotate faster because they're at a larger radius and the front tires will be at a larger radius than the rears, so they also turn faster. Being in part time means that the fronts and rears have to spin at the exact same speed, so your tires skip across the pavement to make up for that speed. If you do it a lot, you'll be placing more wear on your drivetrain and wearing your tires quicker, but every once in a while shouldn't hurt anything.

Dumajones

Hmm was it clicking/ knocking or was it a bucking/jerking in the steering wheel.

Clicking in a turn could be u-joint(Im guessing cause i was not there to hear it) or mud in the brakes. knocking could be exhaust hitting the crossmember cause the trans mount is old needing replacing.

If your asking if you hurt any of your parts I doubt it. Unless you feel something wrong or funny noises after you took it out of 4WD you should be fine.

aj2494

The only reason I don't suspect any of that is because he said it was only in part time and only on pavement.

EZEARL

He didn't actually say pavement as in blacktop or concrete. He said dirt. Anyways I'd be keeping an ear open for future noises. I periodically run both of our 4x4's engaged on dry shale roads to lubricate the t/c. Never heard any noises. Do get the bucking/jerking Dj refers to if I have the wheels cut enough.

Dumajones

I had a u joint on the left the would only pop and make noise when in 4WD. thats why i threw that in there..

But Im sure we are right, he was just bucking and binding a little.

aj2494

My mistake, I read "out of the mud" and my brain must have stopped working at that point, lol.

EZEARL

Yep,brain stops but the fingers(in my case FINGER)keeps working.

NM-XJ

I'm confused. If you drove on hardpack dirt, you're just fine. Pavement and concrete are another story.

4 high and 4 low are for more than just mud. Any desert rat or rocky mountain goat wheeler could spend much of it's 4x4 life on dry dirt and rock surfaces.