Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

You can still engage 4x4, but in my experience you can forget about the
'getting out' part at that point in time. LOL!

By then you normally have dug the back two tires in beyond help and it
is strap time.

Been there, done that.....

It also is a bad idea to change gears in a standard transmission halfway
through a mud hole. Mud can jam up the clutch very easily. The t-case
or an auto shift doesn't matter in mud.

4x4 can be engaged on the fly though, so when you see crap coming, you
can just shift into 4 high at any legal speed and keep on going or if
you are crawling along under 5 mph, you can shift into 4 low without
stopping.

From experience I now slow right down and hit 4x4 low before water
crossing. I got caught in 4 high recently and the water was suddenly up
over my tail light and I just barely had the oomph to pull out with 25'
of water left to get through. I knew better. My wife was saying 'more
gas, more gas' and I had it mashed to the floor doing 400 rpm in 1st....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Barry Bean wrote:
>
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

You can still engage 4x4, but in my experience you can forget about the
'getting out' part at that point in time. LOL!

By then you normally have dug the back two tires in beyond help and it
is strap time.

Been there, done that.....

It also is a bad idea to change gears in a standard transmission halfway
through a mud hole. Mud can jam up the clutch very easily. The t-case
or an auto shift doesn't matter in mud.

4x4 can be engaged on the fly though, so when you see crap coming, you
can just shift into 4 high at any legal speed and keep on going or if
you are crawling along under 5 mph, you can shift into 4 low without
stopping.

From experience I now slow right down and hit 4x4 low before water
crossing. I got caught in 4 high recently and the water was suddenly up
over my tail light and I just barely had the oomph to pull out with 25'
of water left to get through. I knew better. My wife was saying 'more
gas, more gas' and I had it mashed to the floor doing 400 rpm in 1st....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Barry Bean wrote:
>
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

You can still engage 4x4, but in my experience you can forget about the
'getting out' part at that point in time. LOL!

By then you normally have dug the back two tires in beyond help and it
is strap time.

Been there, done that.....

It also is a bad idea to change gears in a standard transmission halfway
through a mud hole. Mud can jam up the clutch very easily. The t-case
or an auto shift doesn't matter in mud.

4x4 can be engaged on the fly though, so when you see crap coming, you
can just shift into 4 high at any legal speed and keep on going or if
you are crawling along under 5 mph, you can shift into 4 low without
stopping.

From experience I now slow right down and hit 4x4 low before water
crossing. I got caught in 4 high recently and the water was suddenly up
over my tail light and I just barely had the oomph to pull out with 25'
of water left to get through. I knew better. My wife was saying 'more
gas, more gas' and I had it mashed to the floor doing 400 rpm in 1st....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Barry Bean wrote:
>
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Are the new autos that bad to shift?

The Command Trac in my standard Cherokee can be shifted into 4 low when
moving slow still without troubles. That is how the owners manual says
to use it too. Same for the automatic, you can put it in neutral while
still moving slow and shift into 4 low.

Sometimes if you 'have' to stop, you 'will' be stopped.....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

bowgus wrote:
>
> Dunno if yer Liberty is Command-Trac (auto), but if it is, then I guess it's
> the same procedure as my '96 Cherokee ... to use 4L, I have to stopped and
> in neutral before I can select 4L ... then select drive and away I go in 4L.
> So for me, the answer is ... yes.
>
> "Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> > Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> > words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> > still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Are the new autos that bad to shift?

The Command Trac in my standard Cherokee can be shifted into 4 low when
moving slow still without troubles. That is how the owners manual says
to use it too. Same for the automatic, you can put it in neutral while
still moving slow and shift into 4 low.

Sometimes if you 'have' to stop, you 'will' be stopped.....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

bowgus wrote:
>
> Dunno if yer Liberty is Command-Trac (auto), but if it is, then I guess it's
> the same procedure as my '96 Cherokee ... to use 4L, I have to stopped and
> in neutral before I can select 4L ... then select drive and away I go in 4L.
> So for me, the answer is ... yes.
>
> "Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> > Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> > words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> > still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Are the new autos that bad to shift?

The Command Trac in my standard Cherokee can be shifted into 4 low when
moving slow still without troubles. That is how the owners manual says
to use it too. Same for the automatic, you can put it in neutral while
still moving slow and shift into 4 low.

Sometimes if you 'have' to stop, you 'will' be stopped.....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

bowgus wrote:
>
> Dunno if yer Liberty is Command-Trac (auto), but if it is, then I guess it's
> the same procedure as my '96 Cherokee ... to use 4L, I have to stopped and
> in neutral before I can select 4L ... then select drive and away I go in 4L.
> So for me, the answer is ... yes.
>
> "Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> > Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> > words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> > still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Yes, you can select 4WD from a standing position, but it can be tricky.

The problem is that the tcase gears slide together, and when stopped, the
edges of the gears can collide and keep them from engaging. When the vehicle
is moving, the gears are turning, so they slip together easily. If you are
stopped, you have to create the movement by GENTLY releasing the clutch
while pulling on the tcase selector. The gears will eventually mesh
properly, at which point you immediately depress the clutch pedal again, and
regroup.




"Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Yes, you can select 4WD from a standing position, but it can be tricky.

The problem is that the tcase gears slide together, and when stopped, the
edges of the gears can collide and keep them from engaging. When the vehicle
is moving, the gears are turning, so they slip together easily. If you are
stopped, you have to create the movement by GENTLY releasing the clutch
while pulling on the tcase selector. The gears will eventually mesh
properly, at which point you immediately depress the clutch pedal again, and
regroup.




"Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?

Re: Liberty - engage 4WD from a stopped position
 

Yes, you can select 4WD from a standing position, but it can be tricky.

The problem is that the tcase gears slide together, and when stopped, the
edges of the gears can collide and keep them from engaging. When the vehicle
is moving, the gears are turning, so they slip together easily. If you are
stopped, you have to create the movement by GENTLY releasing the clutch
while pulling on the tcase selector. The gears will eventually mesh
properly, at which point you immediately depress the clutch pedal again, and
regroup.




"Barry Bean" <bbbean@beancotton.com> wrote in message
news:Xns959E63EEB1B0Beatmorecotton@207.14.113.17.. .
> Is it possible to engage 4WD in a Liberty once you've stopped? In other
> words, if you should enter a mud hole in 2WD, only to get stuck, can you
> still engage the 4WD to get out?