No kidding. What a complete hassle that was at the dealership when they were new. First snow day we had quite a few in for no 4wd.
Could have been a bent shift fork, vac hoses got pulled from the front axle, the sliding collar would get stuck on one axle and the vacuum wouldn't pull it over. On and on. That's why I advocate bypassing the CAD.

 

So, although slightly off topic- I have the CAD on my 89'.... Why did the factory use them in the first place? Relieve hypothetical stress of the differential, cheaper technology available at the time....? Hmm.

 

They thought it would save fuel. It didn't.

 

Same crap system Chevy put into the blazers up until recently, except they put the vacuum solenoid under the battery (guess how that worked out) and used a cable down to the axle (another feat of genius)

 

All for naught. No mileage gains and unreliable 4wd systems. How nice.

 

"shift-and-pray"

 

Yep. Engineering at it's best........

 

Here's some tid bits about 4X4 stuff from my favorite non-Jeep site.

Applies to Dodge trucks but some good info to absorb.

http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/4X4/4x4_engagment.htm

 

Geez. Isn't that eerily familiar?

 

I'm so relieved to discover I'm not the only one who was a little confused about this. Thanks for all the useful info. I'm gonna try shifting into 4hi the next time it snows.

Wait. I live in Southern California. Crap.

Can I do it in the rain?

 

Mine does this, I just throw it in N real quick after shifting to 4x4 then back to park and it will engage. Same for disengage, you gotta take the pressure off the driveline.

You can also shift to 4lo while moving, but I think it has to be less than 5mph or something.

 

Absolutely. Or on a dirt road.

 

See Post #6.

 

X2.........same here. My previous 4x4 didn't have the shift-on-the-fly feature so, I still have that old habit of stopping first.

 

Wow, this was a really nice thread of information. My 88' too would sometimes not engage or disengage right on the spot about one in every ten times. Next time I'll try moving, didn't think me coming to a complete stop could cause that delay