I bought my 2000 jeep Cherokee a few weeks ago, and Ive been so excited to finally use the 4wd feature that I've been BEGGING for snow. (Keep in mind I previously broke the t-case linkage and did a patch up job to repair it again). So finally it snowed, all classes get cancelled and I cant wait to bolt off campus and wheel it in the snow. So I run to the parking lot and jump in my jeep, test the 4wd level, it works, stick it back in 2H for the moment. I go outside wipe the snow off the windshield with my bare hands, because I forgot my icepick thing. I jump back in, yank on the lever for 4H, the thing wont budge.. "F**k my life..." I jump out, slide under in the snow, and fix the linkage once more. Get back in the car, test the lever... it works. I drive past all the 2WD cars spinning out (literally) and unable to get over the hill (the parking lot is on a decline). I pull out just fine. Then I'm driving down this winedie(?) road and a mustang is stuck on a hill, I flip on my flasher ( I am a VFF ) offer to pull him up, he agrees and we do so.

Afterwards hes driving behind me, Im driving infront, when all of a sudden my PART TIME light comes off and my 4WD lever is in the Neutral position. "Oh dear god.." I throw the transmission into Neutral as well and start playing with the 4WD lever (Keep in mind the car is rolling down a hill, forward) and I'm saying out loud, no exaggeration.. "cmon' cmon' cmon' work!" I push the lever forward PART TIME light comes on " ITS WORKING ITS WORKING!" I yell out, yank the transmission shifter into DRIVE and take off! With the happiest grin i've ever had.

I love my jeep, I love it more than any car I've ever had and I will always love it. It tries so hard to be reliable to me but it just cant overcome its previous owners wear, its age, and its engineering flaws. But I appreciate her, and I love her for it.


LOVE YOUR JEEP!
Also on a side note, I discovered today that you cant flip your windshield wipers up on a Cherokee.. atleast a 2000 XJ


Hope you enjoyed the story guys!

 

I don't get the drama.
It popped out of 4WD?
I would have calmly coasted down the hill, instead of messing with the level.
Why did you just HAVE to have 4WD right then?
4WD has zero benefit when trying to stop.

 

You're missing the point, the entire story is about USING 4WD.. and the T-case linkage has been breaking consistently that when it did that while the car was rolling, I thought id have to stop, get under the car again and shove it into 2H or 4H manually.

Edit: AND I DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT. so when it went back into 4H on its own, i was ecstatic.. and I just wanted to share my tale with those who would appreciate it, but I do value you taking the time to read it, sorry it did not appeal to you.

 

It's OK Goose...BJ's brain doesn't operate the way the rest of ours does. Glad it worked out for you. THIS time, LOL

 

I got you man. I'm convinced I got my Jeep's blowers to work again just by talking nice to the old girl.

These things are magic. Rock on.

 

unfortunately for the sake of threads like this I have nothing to contribute. I treat preventative maintenance like a religion and practice it almost daily. therefore, I have no cool stories to share about my jeep.


now...the fun cars I've own in the past. yeah. I broke enough **** on them to last me a lifetime. I am without horsepower at the moment and it's killing me. asap after this house sells I'm buying a vette and let the modding begin once again.

 

4wd does have a benefit in trying to stop if you have a manual transmission. When in 4 wheel and you downshift to use the engine as a brake, you applying that "engine brake" to all 4 wheels rather than just 2 makes a huge difference. When im driving in snow, i wont even touch my brakes unless im under around 15mph

 

Well said, I try and use my engine to brake as much as possible.

 

Very true, the drag on the drivetrain is almost reassuring. My mustang's back tires would want to step-out when downshifting on ice and such - a little annoying when you are already trying to scrub off speed AND keeping the ***-end in check.

 

4wd is quite helpful when stopping on ice, especially if you don't have ABS. The breaking effort seems to be strongly biased to the front, meaning if you step on the breaks, the front wheels lock up and helplessly slides while the rear wheels keep turning. I've found that after shifting into 4wd, the rear wheels keep the front turning, noticeably reducing the stopping distance.

 

This is the first thing I learned when driving a 4wd in snow and ice. Works a lot like having antilock brakes on the front even on old vehicles since if any wheel in the rear is turning one on the front has to also.