Dealer says can shift on the fly as long as the wheels are not spinning wildly in the mud. The manual says to stop and shift into and out of 4wd. I have been doing it like the manual says. What do experienced owners say?

 

I do it while driving but it will not go in till you slow way down. one time I put it in when I was stuck and the rear wheels where spinning, it made a scary CLANK.

 

I will disengage on the fly but stop to engage....something tells me the guys that wrote the manual know a little more than the monkeys at the dealer[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
02 650 camo

 

here's the skinny on this one, don't engage it if you are stuck in a hole and spinning the rear tires, it can and probably will tear it up. You can shift on the fly without hurting it, the reason the manual says to stop first is because the vehicle will handle differently when the 4wd engages and they want to cover their butt from lawsuits.

 

You can try it but, more than likely, you gonna make some gear clashing sound because it is not synchronized (motor is spinning and dog gear on 4wd is not). It is like trying to change gears without pressing the clutch. Practice that on your old manual shift car. But, why risk breaking something?

 

I have done it several times and it didn't make any noise, I've been wrong before, but I figure if it works and it doesnt make noise, it must be ok.

 

Check your shifter dog gear, P/N 13139-1096, and see how it looks. Possibly gear tooth corners are all smooted out or may have even lost some teeth.

 

Here is what it amounts to you can switch from 2wd to 4wd as long as all 4 wheels are spinning at near the same speed since the 4wd components up front spin all the time anyways. Just like it was said earlier in this thread you shouldn't if you don't have the same wheel speed in the front and rear. Hopefully that helps

 

I agree with 4wd,as long as all 4 wheels are turning at the same speed your ok..if your spinning DONT try to engage,youll get gear damage as hiyashi has stated...and I recommend stopping before attempting to dis engage the 4x mode or youll get another heluva clunk and possible damage..and if you let the throttle up in will engage much more smoothly.

 

I let mine get down to 5mph or below. This is just me and it may be safe to do it at a higher rate of speed, I just prefer to be on the safe side.