On my way to work this morning, I was leaving the neighborhood and was driving through a patch of icy road. I came off the gas and went to put the stick into N so I can get into 4Hi. At this point I might have been doing about 10mph. Somehow I accidentally went all the way from "D" to "R", skipping "N" and one of the rear tires gave me a little resistance, and then the beast died. I was still in the ice, so I'm about 97% sure the tires just slid when it went to reverse, but I could still tell they locked up just because of the way it all happened.
Can someone make me feel better about this and tell me its no big deal?
I'm wondering why it let me go into reverse while I was still moving forward more than about 5mph....
The engine started right back up after I snatched it out of reverse really fast and into N (I had to start it, it wasn't an automatic start up), but I just dont understand why it let me shift from Drive to Reverse....

 

Is it possible the systems controlling it all didn't feel the resistance of being in Drive due to the ice, and let me go into reverse because of the ice since there was no resistance of driving on dry road? I kind of repeated myself there... but you know what I mean, right?

 

Sounds like your shifter gate needs some help. It should have required you to push the button to enter R. (Also should require the button to enter P and to enter gears lower than D.) Non damaging moves such as D to N should not require the button.

While you certainly shouldn't do the D to R while moving (or R to D) I'll tell you about something that happened to me and then you will feel better.

I was driving my Mom's Chevette in high school one day. I had picked up my girlfriend and the two kids she was sitting for some reason or other. While we were cruising down the road about 60 mph on dry pavement the 5 year old reaches over and shoves the selector from D to R (that car turns out had a gate problem so you could do that--Chevette, what are you going to do?) I got on the brake pedal real fast, but it locked the rear tires from the trans before I locked all four with the pedal and we slid onto the shoulder. The engine was stopped. I was pretty afraid, but it started right up. No rod knock, the engine wasn't twisted off the mounts, the trans did all gears smooth and quiet. In fact that car was on the road for at least 15 years after that without ever any trans problems. So it seems if you do that exactly once and you don't break something in that moment then it won't really do anything.

If on the other hand you are the guy who backs out and pulls it to D before you stop each morning, you will reduce the life of your trans.

 

While I can't remember exactly what my movements were during the shifting operation, I would say there is a really good chance I just went a hair too far and put it in reverse on accident. I had the shifter button pushed at the beginning of the shift (although not needed to go into neutral), so I'm sure it was still pressed while I went into R is my guess, because I've never noticed that I can go from D to R while moving forward. I think I just reacted too fast while my jeep was going a little sideways and towards the curb, so I just moved the shifter too far forward. I'm going to double check that I cant go from D to R without the button pushed though.
If in fact it works the way it should and I cant go from D to R w/o pressing the shifter button, I'm wondering what allowed me to do so in the first place.
I have to wonder if the lack of traction tricked my transmission and it allowed it, that 1 split second in the ice patch when I went into reverse the trans didnt detect any resistance and allowed it to shift due to the ice. Then maybe I hit 1 tiny spot of dry ground and that's what killed the motor.....

 

I don't think there's anything bar the shifter gate that stops it going into reverse. It doesn't know, or care that you're moving, if you put it in R, it will engage reverse. Reverse gear is mechanically controlled in the gearbox.

Past that I have no experience with it so have no idea if it may have caused any issues for you. Can't be good but may not be too bad at that speed and a one off.

 

I'm thinking I "should" be OK. Knock on wood . With the lack of traction and sliding on ice when it happened, it didn't feel like anything really locked up internally bad enough to.... dare I say it... Break. and I didnt come to a halt. It just kept sliding really but I could feel the tires in the rear lock up.

Are you saying the trans isnt a "smart trans" and it will still allow me to go from D to R while moving?
Mythbusters tried this in an older model car, maybe late 80s but I dont remember the model, but definitely a domestic, maybe a Ford.

I had zero issues shifting or driving after that. I even put it in reverse when I got to work, and it was fine.............................................. ..... Again,

 

And I'm hoping the quote in your sig isn't going to come true for me...... Hahahaa

 

I'm no expert on the AW4 but I do know that the TCM and the shift solenoids control the forward gear operations. I'm pretty sure that unless it's somehow mechanically smart, when you select R, it sends auto fluid to the relevant brakes and clutches and engages.

My quote has been quite accurate for myself up until this year, other than freeze plugs, it's done pretty well this year.

 

The one thing I've never really had to dig into a great deal in my 25 years of learning automotive theory for different applications... transmissions.

 

My experience with autos is mostly based around when my #1 solenoid broke, which I believe was the reason I joined this forum, to try and find out what my problem was. Past that it's only what I've read in the FSM in attempt to help someone else out. I feel like transmissions are an area that most people don't know a load about, unless you specialise in them. If you have a box problem that goes much beneath the surface, it's normally replace or send it to someone who deals with them.

 

I don't think you need to go to Neutral for 4H. At least on my 1996 with the 231 transfer case, I just go to 4H within a certain speed range and I am fine. I have to check the manual again to make sure.

 

Funny, because thats normally what I do. 4Hi on the fly at a reasonable low speed. Maybe I was still asleep at 545 this morning and wasnt thinking straight.

 

I follow Cruiser54's tip for 4WD selection. Always works a treat.

 

That's my normal operation... its good to see it confirmed I was doing it right (before this morning hahaha)

 

I once accidentally threw my 97 ZJ into reverse at about 40 mph. The rig shut down. Fired right back up and carried on with no issues. I'm assuming there is a safety feedback circuit to prevent doing damage.