Snow and 4wd (1 Viewer)

[lathrop]

Well here I am in Western Washington. Port Townsend for Locals. I am new to Cruisers and 4wd. I have been Driving around 4 the last 2 days on compact snow and Ice. The only problem I have encountered was down a steep Icy drivway [out of a parking lot] And of course I had to slide out onto the cross street. I am so happy with the overall performance. We get these driving condiontions so rarely that few people can navigate. I learned to drive in a different climate where snow and ice were normal. Even so I am impressed with the performance of my Cruiser..
1985 fj60 185K lockers

 

[Tapage]

did you are drving in 4H hubs engaged .: ?

 

[Devils Paw 80]

The 60 series is a heavy, relatively long wheelbased 4wd vehicle with a fairly balanced weight distribution fore and aft. In other words, an excellent choice for winter driving conditions. I have to shake my head when reading about folks who garage their cruisers for winter. What's the point of owning a show car?

 

[PAFJ]

Dude...were neighbors. I'm over here in Port Angeles. All this snow is crazy..huh?
I't hasn't snowed like this for a least 3 years. Anyways...I concur, the 60 handles awesome!

 

[cruiser88]

The 60 series is a heavy, relatively long wheelbased 4wd vehicle with a fairly balanced weight distribution fore and aft. In other words, an excellent choice for winter driving conditions. I have to shake my head when reading about folks who garage their cruisers for winter. What's the point of owning a show car?

i cant wait for the snow this year

 

[Zack1978]

The 60 series is a heavy, relatively long wheelbased 4wd vehicle with a fairly balanced weight distribution fore and aft. In other words, an excellent choice for winter driving conditions. I have to shake my head when reading about folks who garage their cruisers for winter. What's the point of owning a show car?

Because if you drive it in the snow it will melt caus of the dammm salt!


Zack

 

[klinetime574]

I wish we got snow... tuck fexas

 

[Zack1978]

I wish we got snow... tuck fexas

I love snow!! I can't wait to get on my snowmobile!


Zack

 

[RredFJ40]

Move somewhere salt is not used. Like out west, then you'll know what cruiser fun really is.

Because if you drive it in the snow it will melt caus of the dammm salt!


Zack

 

[PAFJ]

Move somewhere salt is not used. Like out west, then you'll know what cruiser fun really is.

X10

 

[CHWTOY]

I do do this with the hubs in free, I only lock them when it is really deep...

If the hubs are in free then you are not putting power to the front tires. Switching to 4wd at the transfer case just engages the front drive shaft.

 

[PAFJ]

Like he said ^

In 4WD with hubs disengaged front drive shaft, front diff and front axle, rear drive shaft, rear diff and rear axle are rotating. Front tires are rolling along (the transfer case makes the front drive line parts rotate, but since the wheels are disconnected the powerflow does not reach the tires) - rear tires are pulling.

 

[LnMsjf]

x 2

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Well then your hubs are definitely already in the "locked" position. That's how a manual hub works. When it is in the "free" position that means that it is effectively a free wheeling hub, meaning that it is only supporting the wheel, not powering it.

 

[Heartworm]

Fording Creeks

This morning it was -14 degrees and the creek was partially frozen. Thus, my wife's stupid ass horses were "trapped" on the other side. I had to drive across and back twice to help her locate them. The creek is only about 10 feet wide and 10 inches deep but it was quite a thrill. No problems! Except that the water immediately froze all under the rig and the E-Brake quit working. Lots of pops and groans when I started each time which I assume was water frozen in the brakes.

 

[RredFJ40]

Your hubs are already locked. It may be that they had been assembled incorrectly at one point. If the spring and pawl inside are not assembled correctly the hub will remain locked, even though it is in the "free" position. BTDT

I have read this before, I believe on this board.
It is definetly putting power to the front wheels.
Example
My drive way is 30 or more degrees, regularly snows many multiples of inches I can get 1/3 of the way up in 2w lose traction spinning tires after lugging hard in 2nd gear to keep rpm's low and come to a complete stop. At this point I either have to back down and try again gettin more speed or....
Pull into 4h, dump it and I can feel the fronts hooking up. It wiil do this even with my sled trailer loaded up.

 

[2mbb]

Definitely not "locked", hubs are clearly marked Asians in "free" until I get out and lock them.
As I said I have read this here before but my truck clearly responds in the previously stated manner.
Truck can be clearly in 2w, hubs free cruisin hwy 80 @ 60 in the snow. The need arises to pass a "tour-on". If I downshift to 3rd and accelerate it will break the rear loose. So usual routine if conditions warrant is to go to nuetral, shift transfer to 4h and then downshift to 3rd, plenty of traction and light will illuminate. Pass said cars and let truck get back to a good rhythm, shift to nuetral, shift transfer to 2w, back into fourth and repeat as needed.

If your hubs are really truely unlocked then engaging 4wd does not send power to the front wheels. As previously stated, the 4wd shift lever engages the front drive shaft. To send power to the front wheels you also have to lock both your manual hubs. If you get power to the front wheels with the hubs in the free position, then your hubs are not working properly.

 

[PAFJ]

How can I tell if they are incorrectly assembled? If they are, is this causing some possible undo wear on my front end as I would suspect?

Some light reading....

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/index.html

 

[2mbb]

You won't be able to tell if they are assembled improperly without taking them apart. You can tell if they are free or locked. With both hubs in the "free" position and the transfer case in 2wd you should be able to crawl under the truck and turn the front drive shaft by hand. If you need to take the hubs apart you should get the body and chassis manual or download it from birfield.com. good luck.

 

[PAFJ]

If anyone has the FSM in an elctronic format I would be most grateful and return the favor any way possible. I have tried birfied to no avail. https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=106562

Dude... that's old news. The manuals are up and running on birfield, I just checked to make sure they weren't down again. You want the 84-90 chasis and body... low res.

Before you go tearing into your hubs, I would definitely varify any discrepancies.