TXRanger13
New Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello All –
I am new to Ranger life. I recently purchased my first truck. I now am the proud owner of a Ford Lariat FX4.
This weekend, there was snow in the area. The snow was not sticking, but the pavement was still very wet. I thought it would be a great opportunity to test out the 4H option on the vehicle I quickly learned that it was not the right move (PLEASE NOTE – I was unfamiliar with 4WD vs. AWD at the time. After my journey, I read a lot about the difference, and that 4H was not needed in this instance.).
Overall, here is the timeline of my events. Ultimately, I wanted to see if my truck is OK after the following series of events:
-Left garage: While in park, I turned on 4H. In reverse, the truck came to a slow stop as I started to slowly turn the wheel to get out of the parking spot. I thought this was the engine breaking, but quickly realized this was binding as a result of my research. I did not press on the gas to force the issue. I proceeded to reverse out in 2H.
-Prior to leaving the garage, I flipped it back to 4H. I proceeded to drive on the highway (damp, snowy conditions including wet pavement, but no snow accumulation) for about 8 miles. There were no sharp turns.
-After getting off the highway, I pulled into a store parking lot. I made a sharp turn to pull into a parking space. The car came to a very slow halt again (most likely due to binding). There was no jerking. When leaving, I reversed out in 2H and tried flipping back to 4H. While making a slow, sharp turn in the parking lot, the car jerked twice, and I immediately stopped and flipped it back to 2H. The car proceeded to jerk once more in 2H. Once again, I did not force the issue by stepping on the gas. My wife claims there was a smell after the jerking. I flipped it back to 2H, and I drove in that fashion for the next mile or so to our destination. Everything seemed fine. No issues, no noises, no jerks, no smell, etc. When I drove the truck home later that night (approximately ~12 miles), everything seemed fine as well. I have yet to put it back in 4H since the jerking incident.
My research tells me this was a binding effect, and I should have not used 4H unless there was some serious snow/ice cover (or on a surface other than pavement). The jerking REALLY frightened me, and I am wondering if there could have been any possible damage done based on the jerking motion. Most of my due diligence shows that this is probably something that could cause damage if done continuously over an extended period. I am just hoping this one-time incident did not hurt anything. Is this something worth looking in to further or OK to move on and learn from the mistake and experience?
I am new to Ranger life. I recently purchased my first truck. I now am the proud owner of a Ford Lariat FX4.
This weekend, there was snow in the area. The snow was not sticking, but the pavement was still very wet. I thought it would be a great opportunity to test out the 4H option on the vehicle I quickly learned that it was not the right move (PLEASE NOTE – I was unfamiliar with 4WD vs. AWD at the time. After my journey, I read a lot about the difference, and that 4H was not needed in this instance.).
Overall, here is the timeline of my events. Ultimately, I wanted to see if my truck is OK after the following series of events:
-Left garage: While in park, I turned on 4H. In reverse, the truck came to a slow stop as I started to slowly turn the wheel to get out of the parking spot. I thought this was the engine breaking, but quickly realized this was binding as a result of my research. I did not press on the gas to force the issue. I proceeded to reverse out in 2H.
-Prior to leaving the garage, I flipped it back to 4H. I proceeded to drive on the highway (damp, snowy conditions including wet pavement, but no snow accumulation) for about 8 miles. There were no sharp turns.
-After getting off the highway, I pulled into a store parking lot. I made a sharp turn to pull into a parking space. The car came to a very slow halt again (most likely due to binding). There was no jerking. When leaving, I reversed out in 2H and tried flipping back to 4H. While making a slow, sharp turn in the parking lot, the car jerked twice, and I immediately stopped and flipped it back to 2H. The car proceeded to jerk once more in 2H. Once again, I did not force the issue by stepping on the gas. My wife claims there was a smell after the jerking. I flipped it back to 2H, and I drove in that fashion for the next mile or so to our destination. Everything seemed fine. No issues, no noises, no jerks, no smell, etc. When I drove the truck home later that night (approximately ~12 miles), everything seemed fine as well. I have yet to put it back in 4H since the jerking incident.
My research tells me this was a binding effect, and I should have not used 4H unless there was some serious snow/ice cover (or on a surface other than pavement). The jerking REALLY frightened me, and I am wondering if there could have been any possible damage done based on the jerking motion. Most of my due diligence shows that this is probably something that could cause damage if done continuously over an extended period. I am just hoping this one-time incident did not hurt anything. Is this something worth looking in to further or OK to move on and learn from the mistake and experience?
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