Shifting to 4wd Q's
 

Hi Guys, new to this forum, so sorry if this is in the wrong spot.

Anyways, i bought my 2000 jeep cherokee about a week ago, i love it. the guy i bought it from told me when switching to 4wd high, it can be done anywhere from 0-35 on the fly. i read the owners manual and it says it can be done at any speed. and i also called a jeep dealership and was told that the switch to 4wd shouldnt be done at any speed higher than 0 and in neutral.

so my questions are:

1) can you switch to 4wd High on the fly?

2) what speeds are safe for 4wd? (i would assume the owners manual is right in saying that any legal speed is ok)

3) when switching from 4wd high back to 2wd, do you have to drive in reverse a few lengths to ensure the front hubs are unlocked? (this is also something the guy i bought it from said i should do.) this seems like it would be wrong because what if i was going over a mountain pass and needed the 4wd near the top, then got back down and went back to 2wd, am i really supposed to pull over and reverse? seems odd to me.

Thanks in Advance Guys!

Yes you can switch at pretty much any speed. Sometimes to get back to 2WD, simply letting off the gas will be enough to disengage the front axle. I often back up a couple feet just to be sure.

Yep, you can shift to 4hi on the fly. When going back to 2wd you just need to let off the gas. Nothing will disengage the hubs. You let off the gas so the t-case can go back to 2wd. And the info the jeep dealer gave you is correct, but only for 4LOW

Correct. And 4 Low is only for very special situations where you need stump pulling power.

I think I read something somewhere about not engaging 4WD over 55-60 mph.

And if you have the 231 t-case, 4WD should be used only on surfaces other than dry pavement (sand/snow/ice).

If you have the 242 selec-trac case, Full Time 4WD can be used on ANY road surface, including dry pavement.