About a year ago my 2002 laredo was driven in the snow by a friend and this is what they told me. They were driving it on the highway and shifting between 2wl, 4whl and part time because they weren't sure if 4 wheel was engaged and couldn't notice a difference. They went on driving this way for about 50 miles around 50 mph. They eventually smelled burning rubber and the car became harder to push. Said it felt like it was dragging. When they came off the highway, they started hearing a grinding noise and the car eventually felt locked up and started to drag even more. About a 1/4 mile later the car started "jumping" and or front wheels became locked up. They turned off the car and let it sit for about 20 minutes. They eventually were able to drive away as the grinding sound subsided. I have since used the 4 wheel drive briefly since then. Maybe about 5 miles since this happened. I have not heard anything and the front wheels were definitely engaged. I was also able to return back into 2 whl. So my question is. What am I looking at in terms of potential damage. Because I'm assuming there is some damage done. Just haven't noticed it because of the small amount of usage in 4 wheel since then. Thanks in advance.

 

The damage will be in the transfercase. Drain the fluid and look for metal.

 

Thanks again for replying. Best case scenario I don't find any metal and change the oil, is it safe to say I lucked out? If I do find metal is it still safe to use or should I have it rebuilt?

 

Fill with clean ATF and drive it until it breaks.