[DevoK12RS]

Say I'm pulling something and don't need 4WD but want the low gearing, can I put my truck in 4 Lo via the shifter without locking the hubs? Or will I damage something?

BTW, I'm talking about a short pull up a hill- specifically pulling a boat out of the water on a ramp- not an over the road tow.

I was told by someone I could, but I seem to recall reading I should not.

Thx,
Devo

 

[pnose]

Yes you can,it wont hurt anything.

 

[Birken Vogt]

The only concern is with all that extra torque going to only 2 wheels, you can break an axle shaft. Just take it easy.

Birken

 

[Mr_Roboto]

With a part time transfer case, you can do it no problem.... It's a fairly common mod in the newer trucks to re-wire to disable the auto hubs to get 2 Lo.

Of course a full time case wouldn't have (factory) hubs.

 

[jdobyns]

I personally would not use a truck in 2wd low, too much torque on just 2 wheels. If you are pulling a boat up a ramp you can use 4wd without any problem because you are going to be pulling stright. Using 4wd low to pull a boat out is a good idea because it takes alot of strain off the drive train. Just my opinion.

Thanks,

J.R.

 

[pnose]

Cmon guys,its the same amount of power going to the rear wheels whether the fronts are locked or not.The little bit you save from having the front free wheeling is no where near breaking stuff and if you are going hard enough to break something it would break anyway even if the hubs were locked.Thats what the old 3 speed with xtra low in a 2x4 was doing.

 

[sle2115]

[ QUOTE ]
Cmon guys,its the same amount of power going to the rear wheels whether the fronts are locked or not.The little bit you save from having the front free wheeling is no where near breaking stuff and if you are going hard enough to break something it would break anyway even if the hubs were locked.Thats what the old 3 speed with xtra low in a 2x4 was doing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I gotta agree here. I do it when needed as well. 4 wd low is fine with the hubs locked, but for such a short pull, it is a pia. Personally, I have done this for years with different vehicles, from 454 BB Chevies to the 6.9 I have now. I have DRW as well and have torqued mine pretty hard with no breakage. I don't dump the clutch and stuff, but if I have to pull something, I would rather be easy on the motor using gears than lug the motor. But that is just me.

I really doubt these motors can really hurt anything anyway, they aren't that powerful in stock trim.

 

[DevoK12RS]

Thanks everyone.

Devo

 

[Mr_Roboto]

[ QUOTE ]
Cmon guys,its the same amount of power going to the rear wheels whether the fronts are locked or not.The little bit you save from having the front free wheeling is no where near breaking stuff and if you are going hard enough to break something it would break anyway even if the hubs were locked.Thats what the old 3 speed with xtra low in a 2x4 was doing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. Now if you set it up to drive only the front axle, you might have issues, since the front driveline is much smaller.

I always started in granny low in the old 4 speeds. I know everybody started them in second, but it took its toll on the clutch. Just let out the clutch for a second in first gear to get the truck rolling, then drop it into second gear. No clutch slippage at either shift.

 

[Greenie]

Backing trailers on soft ground with the E4OD is what cooks the transmission. I always put the transfer case in 4LO (hubs unlocked) when backing off of pavement.

 

[BigDaddyT]

I have heard of guys breaking stuff in 2Lo but in each case they were putting out more than double the stock torque.

 

[TreeCo]

I've got an 87 F350 with a chipper box and I use 4wd low without locking in the fronts for backing the chipper.

I do take it easy backing and the low gearing works out great.

It's good to hear it is a safe practice.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

If it helps any the semi's have gears that you would top out at about 2 mph in...

Low gears won't hurt anything, unless you are severely overloading the truck and using gearing to compensate.

 

[Jason R]

Every year I go to hunting camp, hauling my 10' cabover camper, sometimes with the bro-n-law's covered trailer with 4 or 5 4x4 atvs in it, and always shift into 4 low/hubs unlocked for the last 2 or 3 miles of the drive because the road gets steep and rough. It's nice to be able to creep along the rocky/rutted sections of road and not have to ride the brakes the whole time to keep the speed down, and then arrive at camp with a minimal amount of crap laying on the camper floor.
Been doing this for the last 5 years or so, in and out of camp, with no problems. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Dave Haven]

I've done it lots of times.
Only had a problem with it once, but that was MY fault. (Taking off up a steep hill, dumped the clutch and "Tootsie-Rolled" the rear drive shaft on my '67 Bronco) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif AW<AUTOLITE>!!!

 

[Gibson]

i ALWAYS use 4-low when backin trailers (off of pavement) and for moveing trailer fom one side of the lot to the other. 4-low 2nd gear is perfect for creepin in mud and rocks. i have NEVER had any problems with useing 4-low with my hubs locked. (auto hubs). a buddy had a '95 1/2 tom single cab short bed 4x4 5 speed with 6' of lift and tried to push me (front bumber to front bumber) mine was in 2-hio and he had is in 4-lo (hubs unlocked) and broke the rear yoke, bent driveshaft, broke lifting blocks, and mashed the pax. side block mount. but he floored it tryin to "out push me". he had a straight six gas....Gibson

 

[LongRider]

<font color="green">It has already been said; but, I'll stick my two cents worth in here.

With my old 78 Chevy, that has over half a million miles, I have put the NP 205 into 4LO, hubs un-locked, many thousands of times, usually with a trailer load of cattle, with nary a problem.

More damage will result from under-powered bull-hunching around, burning the clutch, than will result from reduced gearing, hence the "deep-reduction" option in many big truck transmissions.

Also, in emergency situations, I have pulled the back shaft, locked her in, and driven home under front wheel power, a couple of times even with a trailer.

She don't drive so good, and the front wheels want to spin pretty easy; but, it will bring you home, no wrecker bill.

</font>

 

[olddieseldude]

In a previous truck that had 4wd, I drove as needed in 4w low without locking the front hubs -in boat docks, barn lots, farm fields, anywhere that it was advantageous but 4wd was not needed. Never had a problem. If you think about it, having the front axle locked doesn't insure that the rear axle won't be pulling the whole load anyway as the trucks weight is redistributed (such as ramp angles or driveway approaches) as road surface conditions change between front to rear (front axle on ice, rear axle on dry concrete). The rear axle has to be able to take these changes.

Having said that, my father twisted the rear driveshaft yoke on an early '70s 2wd gas 3/4 ton 4spd manual (w/ granny gear) truck years ago just starting the truck which had been parked in low gear. He forgot to push in the clutch, hit the starter, the truck lurched toward a car parked in front of it, he simultaneously hit the brake and twisted the yoke off. So braking something is possible to do, just rare under normal circumstances.

 

[Farmallmta]

I'd agree on having no problems with this. Keep in mind, unless you have a positive rear differential, only one wheel will really be pulling most of the time anyway. With the front axle locked in, you might be removing only 20-25% of the load off that one rear wheel. The drivetrain engineering greatly exceeds this kind of overloading, for sure. So don't worry about it, in general.

Now if you have weak u-joints, weak bearings, weak center bearing, weak driveshafts, weak axles... yeah, maybe a problem. But you have a problem that needs to be fixed, anyway.

 

[BuilderBob]

[ QUOTE ]
With the front axle locked in, you might be removing only 20-25% of the load off that one rear wheel.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you explain this? %20?