Is my 4x4 Low supposed to whine when engaged?

shroville · #1 09-20-2008, 02:57 AM

i just got my truck about 6 months ago and just learned from these boards how to engage low---- you put truck in neutral..

anyway on my way back from the girls house i thought i would engage it for the first tme 2 blocks from the house

and when ever i step on the gas it sounds like i have a super charger in the back....it just whines up

is that normal its like driving a tank around tho kinda sweet...

or should it be like driving in high?

fordmerc · #2 09-21-2008, 12:26 AM

Normal!!

Paralyzer · #3 09-21-2008, 12:41 AM

its normal, and stop doing that. 4low is for momentary use only(eg. pulling boat up boat launch)

minimonster17 · #4 09-21-2008, 01:48 AM

4 low effectively doubles your gearing ratio. example, a 3.55 ratio would be doubled to 7.10. this yields great torque multiplication for offroad situations. that is what differentiates 4 HI from 4 LO. this is only for use offroad.

2002 wonderboy · #5 09-21-2008, 11:01 AM

Yeah, that sound is normal. Since i don't get a chance to use 4wd as much as i used to, i find a dirt road and use 4 hi/lo bout once every 3 months just to keep the transfer case runnin great.

glc · #6 09-21-2008, 11:47 AM

Other than momentary use as already posted, 4lo and 4hi should not be used on dry roads. It is only for low traction situations where some degree of wheel slippage is expected. It's too easy to bind something up when a wheel can't slip a little.

shroville · #7 09-21-2008, 12:21 PM

thanks for the all responses..

i just wanted to see if i would even engage.