What's up guys. I have an 02 GC with the Selec-Trac, and basically I'm just wondering what to use in the snow/ice as we get ice and snow a lot here in New England. To my understanding, 4Part Time is what I should use in the snow and ice. 4 full time I should only use when it's a light dusting of snow and nothing too bad. Am I right? When should I use Part time and when should I use full time? I keep it in 2WD right now because there's no snow or ice. Just wondering when to use the 4WD options. Thanks!

 

I've got the NP242 in my Cherokee, so I've got the Full Time and Part Time options as well.

I've always sworn against using part time on pavement as much as possible. It's more intended for loose terrain. I would use the full time on any road surfaces, and part time for off road use. Full time doesn't lock the axles together like part time does, so you can actually make sharper turns without worrying too much about damaging anything. That's why it's better on roads. Part time can be used on roads, but I just don't really recommend it.

 

but what about using part time on icy, snowy roads? Like say I'm stuck in my driveway because we have a few inches of snow, would it be better to use part time to get out and drive around?

 

If you're stuck in the snow in your driveway use 4lo to get out but once you start driving around use full-time. There's not much difference in performance especially on the road but using part-time on the road can cause premature transfer wear. I personally only use part-time when going through some mud trails and full-time when I'm on any other trail especially if it requires tight turns but on the road if I need to always full-time

 

My previous grand cherokee had the 242 t-case (aka select trac), I also live in north central Ohio. We get snow on occasion...imho I would recommend using full time when the snow/ice is at it's most "greasy" if you've driven in winter you know what I mean by that. I personally found though that once the depth of snow was much over 3"-4" on the road the "part time" setting was a much better choice. Hope this helps a bit.

 

I agree.