I have had to put different tire sizes on my 97 scab, only
temporary.
I was told that I can't use 4 wheel drive with different
sizes by my garage.

255 70 16 rear
235 70 16 front

IS THIS TRUE?????

 

It wouldn't be advised as your rear tires would spin at a different rate as your front tires. Now if you were doing this only to get unstuck on ice/mud/snow/sand then it wouldn't be the end of the world. I would expect it'd be hard on your transfer case. But I'm not 100% sure of this.

 

i wouldn't recomend it your transfer case isn't gonna like it at all

 

only use the 4wd when your stuck until you get the same tires
the 255's are 1.1 inches taller and can really mess things up

 

I would not use it at all. All it would take would be to have 1 tire in front and 1 tire in the rear to get good traction at the same time for half a second to rip out the TC.

 

OK
Since we got 6 inches of snow I will be
real carefull.
I thought that the TC would allow for slipping
as a differential does.

I guess I will try to patch
the 255 Michlen tire with a
big nail stuck through the high
part of the thread.

 

A transfer case does not have clutches. It is either belt or chain driven. There is nothing there to slip.

 

In the past I used 4x4 before I regeared both axles. Rear got 4.56s put in when I put 35's on truck and front stayed 3.55 for about a year before I regeared it. It's very much so not recommended to do it, but if you are very certain about the traction on the surfaces you're driving on for short times when stuck or needed it's doable. But then again I was very careful about how and when I used it.

In my case having a large ratio in the rear usually resulted in the rears breaking loose and spinning a bit while the fronts maintained traction and turned at a slower rate. Which was fine because the rears have less weight/traction for the most part anyway and it didnt effect it much.

In your case though your fronts are gonna wanna spin faster than your rears will turn due to smaller tire size and the end result will be you dragging your rear tires around while you drive. If those rears hit good pavement at any time it would bind the Tcase up in a flash. Doubt it would handle very well even if you did use it. The safe bet is don't use it under any circumstances, and if you know what you're doing beware if you do. Don't cry when you need the Tcase rebuilt.

 

Right. They are chain driven in the F-150's there is nothing to slip, it will only break.

 

Well the Michlin is holding
air so I am 255 all around.

I will keep an eye out for air leakage
in the Michlin in case the 2+ plug strings
decide to leak.

 

Hit up Craiglist or pick up a Buy&Sell, you should be able to get a good used tire for pretty cheap.