4 Wheel drive question on 02' F350

[sledparty]

I have an 02' F350 with about 113k on it. It's a crew cab long box with manual locking front hubs. I do a lot of mountain driving towing snowmobiles and use the 4x4 when needed. Today we got nailed with a winter storm and I had to drive about 15 miles in 4 wheel. I never went over speeds of 30mph and had to do a lot of stop and go. In the last maybe 3 miles before I got home the road got pretty bare, never got above 30mph. Long story short about half way home I started smelling something strange.. Thought it was one of the other yahoo's on the road. When I pulled into my driveway and got out of my truck I swear I could smell the same smell. I'm pretty good with smells like oil, tranny fluid, antifreeze but this was kind of a burning smell I'm unfamiliar with. The 4x4 light always stayed on, never blinked niether did the OD light on the shifter which was is overdrive (light off)

I'm wondering a couple things.
1. My truck is squerly as hell in two wheel drive. Plows like a champ in 4x4.
2. I know that you're not supposed to drive on bare roads in 4x4 or you'll burn out your t-case.
3. What are optimal 4x4 conditions. If there is compact snow and ice on the road and you are doing under 45 is it safe to be in 4x4?
4. Any thoughts on the smell? Anything I should check?

Thanks

[jacksonguitars4life]

snow and ice on the road you should never go near 45 for safety reasons. screw the truck, its replaceable. you arent. basically optimal 4x4 conditions are that in a turn the fronts can slide some to prevent stress on the transfer case. HOWEVER it shouldnt hurt to drive it short distances on dry pavement. Alot of guys will run theirs in 4x4 once every couple months to keep the seals lubed and stuff. also you can take the tcase out of 4hi and into 2 and just leave the hubs locked. again differing opinions, but i have seen people run around with them permanently locked in the winter, and they only hurt their mileage.

[01f25073]

As long as you don't drive too fast or steer too sharply, driving in 4 wheel drive on dry pavement won't hurt anything. You should operate the system occasionally to maintain the performance. Clean it up and see if you can find where, if anything, is leaky. Sometimes trucks give us a heads up that there is something that needs to be addressed.

[sledparty]

Yeah I agree with you on the 45mph comment. I've been lucky enough to never have an incident on the pass and I've seen so many idiots go speeding by me just to pass them sometime later in the ditch or snowbank.

In 08' my buddy and I were heading to his cabin in the Cascades and we were on I-90 doing around 35 when an SUV flewast us. We watched him lose control and shoot through the median into oncoming traffic. Conditions were too dangerous to stop but we could see his cherokee rolling as cars were hitting it. Called 911 and left contact info in case they needed witnesses. I've seen so many people driving way too fast in bad conditions that I try to stay off the roads when snow hits the lowlands. It's not me I'm worried about it's everyone else!

I'll drive around again tomorrow and see if I can reproduce the smell.. It's possible it could of been just something in the air like a fire since senses are keener when the air is crisp like it was this afternoon. I appreciate the suggestion about leaving the hubs locked it's actually a great idea when traveling through known trouble areas. There's been a few times on the pass when I just had to feather foot in 2wd because it was too dangerous to pull over and lock in due to no shoulder.. I'll definitly be using this tip here on out!

[sledparty]

Originally Posted by 01f25073

As long as you don't drive too fast or steer too sharply, driving in 4 wheel drive on dry pavement won't hurt anything. You should operate the system occasionally to maintain the performance. Clean it up and see if you can find where, if anything, is leaky. Sometimes trucks give us a heads up that there is something that needs to be addressed.

I crawled around under the truck just after I got home and saw what looks like a leak around the front pumpkin. I dont see fresh fluid but it's wet looking like there could be a leak there.

[klhansen]

Check the vent tube on the axle housing. If it's plugged, it may have forced some fluid out thru the pinion seal and flung it onto the exhaust manifolds, causing the smell. Differential lube is pretty distinctive in smell.

As far as running in 4x4, as long as you don't make sharp turns on dry pavement you won't hurt anything. And as far as speed on wet or snowy pavement, you can run as fast as you feel comfortable in 4x4. It's not a concern about hurting the truck, but as was said, hurting yourself or someone else. You guys have different kinds of snow than we have here. Ours is actually pretty dry and sticky.

[sledparty]

Originally Posted by klhansen

As far as running in 4x4, as long as you don't make sharp turns on dry pavement you won't hurt anything.

Last weekend we rented a yurt for new years. The parking lot was extrememly small and it was impossible to back the trailer up into so I had to jockey it around about 20 times. It was compact snow, ice and deep snow around the unplowed areas. I was in 4-hi the whole time cranking the wheels to full left and right on numerous occasions. I never was going over a mile and hour or two just trying to work the trailer around in the lot. Could this cause any damage to the hubs or front end? Could you explain why you dont want to do as your comment says to avoid?

[lone_star_dsl]

Originally Posted by sledparty

Last weekend we rented a yurt for new years. The parking lot was extrememly small and it was impossible to back the trailer up into so I had to jockey it around about 20 times. It was compact snow, ice and deep snow around the unplowed areas. I was in 4-hi the whole time cranking the wheels to full left and right on numerous occasions. I never was going over a mile and hour or two just trying to work the trailer around in the lot. Could this cause any damage to the hubs or front end? Could you explain why you dont want to do as your comment says to avoid?

You can break front driveline parts if you turn sharply on dry pavement while in 4WD. The inner tire can no longer turn slower than the outer tire which binds everything up. Too much bind...snap!

If you were jockeying the trailer around on snow and ice, the front tires can slip enough to keep everything intact.

When I had my snow removal company, I used to drive all the time in 4WD. Once, I accidentally drove about 40 miles on the relatively dry interstate at 70 mph+ while I was in 4WD. Other than the poor fuel mileage, nothing was effected.

Look at some of the diesel drag racer types. A few of them are well over 120 mph in 4WD.