Newbie question don't laugh about engaging 4x4
 

Hi all, sorry to sound like such a nube, but I recently purchased a 98 xj sport, I've only ever had hiluxs and 4runners, what 4x4 do I select for different conditions, eg sand, mud, general dirt tracks, and can they be changed on the fly?

Thanks heaps, love the forum

Kirk

Welcome to the forum Kirk. You can shift an XJ from 2wd to 4wd on the fly. I usually just back off the loud peddle and shift. Low range can be a little tricky. Select neutral and shift into low at a walking pace. It will go in with a small clash. Coming out of low range is a reverse procedure When going back into 2wd I usually back off the loud pedal after shifting and you can feel it drop out of 4wd trough the TC lever.

Regards Rusty.

and part time 4wd is for the dirt and full time 4wd is for the bitumen

Yeah basically 'part time' is the same as locking the center diff in H4 on Land rovers and mitsubishi's

There should be an orange sticker on the back of your drivers sun visor.

4HI for general loose terrain - hard sand, small rocks,
4LO for difficult terrain - deep sand, mud, big rocks

The easy way I think about it is this, if you have to change the way you walk it (think walking in hard sand vs walking in soft sand) from looking in the distance and walking normally to looking a few steps in front and picking your 'line' to avoid tripping or losing your balance, you will have your difference between 4HI and 4LO. this will change over time as you get more confident in your ability to drive on said terrain, sometimes you'll stay in 2WD until you start slipping a wheel, then move to 4WD to get traction

Changing from 2WD to 4WD I think can be done under 80km/h but shifting in and out of 4LO is better to be done and a slow walking pace as mentioned above.

In the Xj petrol we have 2 options for 4hi part time (locked) and 4hi full time (unlocked), this is different to the Wranglers and the Xj oilers which don't have the 4hi fulltme option....