4wd can be shifted on the fly, right?

[iPath]

Either way I've always made sure I'm at a complete stand still when I engage it until tonight. I was in a parking lot going very slowly and my back wheels were spinning on ice, so I pulled the lever to engage the 4wd. The truck started to make quick successive clanking sounds (heaven forbid I don't want to label it "griding", so I quickly shifted back. I tried putting it into 4wd at a standstill right after and everything went smoothly. How worried should I be about what the truck did, could this be a sign of a coming problem?

[devonianwalk]

You should be able to shift on the fly. Look for the instructions printed on the card located in the driver side sun visor.

[adamzan]

You should be able to but you're not supposed to shift it into 4x4 when the rear wheels are spinning because the front are only going as fast as you are rolling while the rears are going faster.

[1994SEV6]

There is a whole thread about this. You are "supposed" to be able to do it, but I would just recommend against it. I can't seem to figure it out. In your situation, what Adamzan said was right. Your front and rear wheels were spinning at different speeds so some components were not properly in tune. If you were going 25mph down the road, then I guess it would work, but I'm not sure why you would want to. My visor card says that I shouldn't shift into 4hi at a speed higher than (I think it says 45mph)? I have no idea why I would be going 45mph and want to slam it into 4hi. If you have auto hubs, then on the fly might work, but it's just silly with manual locking hubs. You would have to stop the truck and get out to put the hubs in 4wd. Some people say that you should put the hubs in 4wd prior to putting the t-case in 4wd, but isn't that useless?

 

Whenever I put my stuff into 4wd, there would always be grinding or clanking noises. Except if I was completely stopped for more than a second then slowly did it. Even if I was going like 2mph, there would be god-awful sounds from the transfer case. With awful sounds like that, you know somethin' good ain't happenin'. I would just take the extra 5 seconds and do it at a standstill.

[Reshma]

There is a whole thread about this. You are "supposed" to be able to do it, but I would just recommend against it. I can't seem to figure it out. In your situation, what Adamzan said was right. Your front and rear wheels were spinning at different speeds so some components were not properly in tune. If you were going 25mph down the road, then I guess it would work, but I'm not sure why you would want to. My visor card says that I shouldn't shift into 4hi at a speed higher than (I think it says 45mph)? I have no idea why I would be going 45mph and want to slam it into 4hi. If you have auto hubs, then on the fly might work, but it's just silly with manual locking hubs. You would have to stop the truck and get out to put the hubs in 4wd. Some people say that you should put the hubs in 4wd prior to putting the t-case in 4wd, but isn't that useless?

 

Whenever I put my stuff into 4wd, there would always be grinding or clanking noises. Except if I was completely stopped for more than a second then slowly did it. Even if I was going like 2mph, there would be god-awful sounds from the transfer case. With awful sounds like that, you know somethin' good ain't happenin'. I would just take the extra 5 seconds and do it at a standstill.

Agree. The way I understood it for our wd21's we can shift on the fly only after shifting into 4wd while stopped. then from there we can shift into 2 and back to 4 with no problems. just have to make sure we dont go into reverse and disengage the 4wd while in 2wd. but i prefer to stop and change from 2 to 4 or vice versa.

[adamzan]

Lets keep in mind that the r50, unless the OP has modified it, has full time drive flanges which mean theoretically you can switch into 4wd at any speed, though the manual says up to 80km/h. If he has the electronic transfer case (switch on dash instead of floor lever) then he can definitely shift on the fly. Just don't do it while flooring it on ice or something.

[pathfounder]

You should be able to shift between 2H and 4H at any reasonable speed, as long as you are cruising in "steady state", as in, no cornering, accel, decel, braking, wheelspin, etc.

 

4L is a different story. The transfer case is unsynchronized, so you need to be at a standstill, and the transmission must be in Park or Neutral. If not, an autobox will turn the t-case input shaft and the dogs won't catch (or even if they do, it'll be loud and nasty).

 

With manual hubs, I don't see engaging hubs first versus transfer case first making any difference. Either way, the truck is stopped while you are outside of it locking the hubs with your hand.

Edited December 5, 2011 by pathfounder

[BowTied]

Last two posts are right. The OP didn't say if he has the All-mode 4WD or the manual shift. The All-mode 4WD has a wet clutch system in the T-case along with full time front axle engagement. I can shift it on the fly effortlessly with this system, no noises at all. I have done so at more than 50MPH but that was shifting from 4hi to 2wd.

 

As noted, shift when NOT on the throttle - ease off a bit to take the load of the components. Shifting when on the throttle is akin to shifting the trans while on the throttle - when it meshes it will yank hard on things.

 

Also avoid shifting the tcase unless moving in a straight line somewhat coasting. I bet (not recommended) you could shift the All-mode 4WD at 60MPH that way.

[Slartibartfast]

I do it in my WD without issue. If the hubs aren't engaged, I put it in 4x when the car's parked. From there, I can pop in and out whenever (so long as it's not spinning out) until I drive it backwards a bit in 2x to unlock the hubs. Stock R50s don't even use hubs, at least in stock form, so that bit won't apply to you.

 

The clanking you heard was probably from the fronts trying to catch up to the rears. If the rears are spinning when you drop it in, it's got a difference in speed that a solid coupling can't compensate for. So it has to slow down the rears, or speed up the fronts, or just not engage properly. If I wait to engage mine until I'm stuck, it clunks when it engages. Try to engage the 4x4 before you need it.

[MY1PATH]

Either way I've always made sure I'm at a complete stand still when I engage it until tonight. I was in a parking lot going very slowly and my back wheels were spinning on ice, so I pulled the lever to engage the 4wd. The truck started to make quick successive clanking sounds (heaven forbid I don't want to label it "griding", so I quickly shifted back. I tried putting it into 4wd at a standstill right after and everything went smoothly. How worried should I be about what the truck did, could this be a sign of a coming problem?

 

 

ok, here's what physically happened. when your rear wheels are spinning on ice your entire rear driveline is spinning faster than your entire front driveline. so when you pull the lever you are trying to use gears that are in motion to pick up gears that are, in this case, nearly stationary.

Shifting on the fly only works when both drivelines are moving at the same speed. No damage happend, and yes I would call it a grinding sound, somewhat similar to truning the key when the engine is already running.

 

Same applies to the Auto-hub pathfinders, the hubs have to be already locked by engaging from a stop and then driving before they can be shifted on the fly.

[Reshma]

Even if its for WD21's its kinda related.

 

Crappy vid, i know, Blame my ****** bestfriend cameraman.

 

http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k542/AriZonaAddict/?action=view&current=12653617.mp4