Weird situation when in 4 wheel drive.

Hi all,
When I was checking stuff out today I put the Jeep in 4 high and slowly make a loop around the cul de sac. I had the front hubs locked and the front end sort of jumped around the cul de sac unlike any other 4 wheel drive I have experienced on dry pavement. Is this because of the locking hubs? I then got stuck in 4 high and had to back up and go froward a few times and really pull on the shifter to get it back to 2 high. Is this some kind of binding? Same thing happened in 4 low.
The axle looks like someone had converted it to SOA and then back again and I have not opened the axle to check the gears. It was apparently driven 3 years ago so I assumed the gears matched front and rear. Any ideas?

Mike

 

It's called driveline bind or wind up and is normal when in 4 wheel drive on a hard surface with the hubs locked in. As you turn the front wheels are turning a different speed than the rear, with no tire slip everything binds up. Not a good idea to do that or you will be replacing parts. Anything from a U-joint, transfer case, or diff gears, something has to give. 4 wheel drive is designed for slippery surfaces not hard packed or asphalt roads. That's why you had to back up to unlock the transfer case, to "unwind" the driveline and take the tension off of the gears. Nickmil

 

Thanks Nickmil. I have had a TJ and a ZJ and a Grand Wagoneer but never actually put them in 4 hi/lo to test them here at the house on the pavement. I'll make sure not to do it again.

Mike

 

It's OK to do as a quick test of the front end (to see if it's engaging), but don't go more than a few feet.

 

One good thing from your "test", you probably have the same ratio in each end. I did the same thing with a Wagoneer several years ago and had to jack up the front end to get it out of 4 wheel. Found out the front axle had been changed and the knucklehead previous owner never bothered to check the ratios. That thing was impossible to drive. Since I didn't have the money to fix it right I ran with different size tires on the front and rear. I think a 33 on the rear and a 30 on the front. Actually worked pretty fair. Looked stupid but worked okay!