looks like my holiday travel this year is going to take place during a blizzard :/ got about ~500 miles of travel any issues I should be concerned with should i decide to drive in 4H if the weather gets bad? any speed limits or anything like that I should be aware of?

2002 4.6L v8 4WD

 

I personally do not think you will have any problems. I am sure someone else will chime in with their input as well.

If it's a blizzard, and you got 4X4, I would use it.

 

It's fine to use for hours at a time, as long as it has been maintained & the road conditions actually WARRANT using it. Whenever you hit a clean dry patch of road more than a few hundred feet long, switch back to 2H, then back into 4H just before you go back onto the snow/ice. I made a 3-hour trip like that from Ft. Huachuca to Nogales just after a snowstorm.

Your owner's manual PROBABLY recommends 55mph as the top speed in 4H, but I think that really applies to off-roading. The front driveline is built just as strong as the rear, and is balanced just as well.

 

Honestly if you need 4x4 for traction you should not be on the highway. Now that I am done with the preaching...... You can drive in 4Hi at any speed you feel comfortable with. The nice thing about Shift on the Fly is that you can engage and disengage at will. One thing to be careful about with Part time 4x4 is when you hit spots with traction differences like drifting snow. As you transition from the slippery surface to the dry the front wheels gain traction. This can dramatically affect the handling of the vehicle. The front suddenly grab and the the rear are still slipping. The result can be a fishtail. If you are traveling at a high rate of speed you might loose control. Usually though, if you really need 4x4 for traction you are not traveling at a high rate of speed.

JMC

 

Ha! If I followed that rule, it would be a long, cold, hungry winter for me as I could rarely leave the house!

There are times where I go WEEKS without taking my truck out of 4x4. It all depends on the road conditions. Since we dont use salt up here (thankfully), the ice doesnt really ever melt off, so I dont usually have to worry too much about binding. I believe that if you use your 4wd on a regular basis, it is not a problem at all. Where people run into issues is usually when they never use it, and when they finally turn it on, it breaks. My truck has 165,000 miles over 8 winters in Alaska, and have never had 4x4 probs (knock on wood), even though I leave it on for 500+ mile trips.

As far as handling goes, you are more likely to lose control with the backend going out on you in 2wd. Lets say that in a sweeping curve at 50 mph or so, while in 2wd, the tranny downshifts a little harder than you wanted as you are accellerating out of the curve. In 2wd, the rear tires cut free, and before you know it, the tailgate is passing you on the highway. (happened to me, more than once) In 4x4, a single axle is less likely to break free (traction) based on accelleration, since the torque is split between the two. You can see this demonstrated by practicing (whipping donuts)in an icy parking lot in both 2, and 4wd, to get an idea of what I am talking about.

 

not to go off topic but what about sand bags or rock salt. how much weight should I put over the rear axle for regular 4x2 driving. In reference to the posts above my truck doesn't have the 4x4 switch. I have to use a floor shifter (neutral, shift, drive). That makes switching on and off less appealing.

 

I run about 500 lbs., but you can probably get away with a little less. I can see that the floor shifter is a little more of a PITA, but i wouldnt let that deter you from using it. Between 4H and 2H, you dont have to go to neutral, just let off the gas (dont be accellerating) that's only for 4L.

 

I have traveled in plenty of ice and snow in my life. One thing I know is that speed is not your friend in bad weather. I do not care if you have 4x4 or 6x6 or whatever, if you start going sideways, you are in trouble. I use to see it all the time on Rt 80 in NJ. People think they are invincible if they are in a 4x4. Don’t get me wrong, I would not want to be without the 4x4, but it only helps so much when you are high speed. Best bet is to slow down and be safe.

 

Just for the record if you are driving around a sweeping curve at 50 mph on a slippery surface and you accelerate hard enough to cause a down shift then you deserve to have the *** end kiss the front. If it is that slippery then you are driving too fast for the conditions. I don't doubt that in Alaska there are snow covered roads for extended periods of time. Below the 49th parallel most of the time the roads are cleaned between snow falls.

JMC

 

For what it's worth, I agree with JMC. For the most part, if I can't drive the highway speed limit in 2WD, I slow down. In the winter, I find that I use 4x4 the most when navigating deep snow, in the city where the roads and intersections are glazed ice and the odd time on the highway at lower speeds when they are really slick.

Without fail, the first vehicles in the ditch on the highway every year around here are SUV's and 4x4's

 

I hear what you are saying, but the principles of maintaining traction at everyday speeds (whatever that may be) remains the same. And, for the record, if you aren't skilled enough to drive 50 mph on a snow covered road, your gonna get passed ALOT, and not just be me (up here anyway). There will always be those holier than thous who will say that "if you need 4x4, you dont need to be on the road," but after decades of experience, and knowing what your vehicle can do, you learn to drive at your limits, and do it smartly, which is using every tool you have to drive safely. In this case, it includes using 4 wheel drive, not just when you need it to move forward, but also to provide stability at higher speeds.

 

You can shift at 55mph just like the "switch dudes". It won't hurt it.

 

i've tried shifting into 4H from 2H with the truck in gear. I never was able to get it into 4H without putting it in neutral. maybe i'm just not forcing it enough.

 

You shouldn't have to force it.... Hey, if your truck works better if you stop, then do it! I put 10w30 in my truck cause it doesn't burn it, but I met a guy the other day that had 300,000 miles on his 5.4 and he runs 15w40 in his. Whatever works!

 

i would use it, i never have had problems making 300 mile trips, when u get back i would get the fluid changed just to make sure but otherwise go for it... thats what u bought 4 wd for right