I have a 87 GL D/R wagon and was wondering what is the max speed that I can go with it in 4 hi? I know that vehicles with transfer cases can only travel about 50 mph with 4 wheel engaged but being that it does not have a transfer case does this make a difference? I just don't want to cause any damage. Thanks for the help.

You can go as fast as you like!

 

I've never had any ill effects, nor have I heard of any from others.

take it to the end of the speedo if you can get there....its all good!

Just don't go super fast on dry pavement in 4WD. You run the risk of torque bind in a straight at higher speeds if there's any discrepancies in tire size difference.

Try not to exceed mach 0.95, you might run into handling problems.....

for the sake of law enforcement and having experance's with police officers, i reccomend not exceeding the legal limit while in 4wd, but thats just me

You do have a "transfer like case". It operates the same excpet of re routing power to the front wheels. Dont go more then 50 on dry pavement. You can get torque bind and it will make the car hard to steer.

I have done 60 in 4wd high on 40 miles of snow covered (packed) /slushy highway with no problem (I was the only one on the road dumb enough to go to work).

 

nipper

You do have a "transfer like case". It operates the same excpet of re routing power to the front wheels. Dont go more then 50 on dry pavement. You can get torque bind and it will make the car hard to steer.

I have done 60 in 4wd high on 40 miles of snow covered (packed) /slushy highway with no problem (I was the only one on the road dumb enough to go to work).

 

nipper

 

You shouldn't be in 4wd on dry pavement no matter what the speed (well, except when the front axle splines strip out, and you have to put it in 4wd to get it to move... ) I often keep mine in 4lo if it's snowy, just because then I don't go faster than 35mph or so. Nothing wrong with 4hi, but it tempts me to drive faster than I should on icy roads sometimes.

Just don't go super fast on dry pavement in 4WD. You run the risk of torque bind in a straight at higher speeds if there's any discrepancies in tire size difference.

I've driven my brat for well over 1000km onroad in 4WD at speeds around 100km/h. No ill effects that I can see so far. But it does have the best 4sp trans I have seen.

 

I would really like to see how long one of these boxes can last on pavement in 4WD. Just the other day I went for a drive and pulled into a car park forgetting I was in 4WD with a welded rear and axles in, and I was on 215 wide road tires. Was interesting I must say, but nothing broke.

I've done about 3,000 miles at speeds up to 70, going back and forth between 4hi and 4low. Of course, that is with the front axles out-

I think I ran mine up to around 80 in 4wd once on an ice covered road. Run for hundreds of miles at a time at 60-70 mph, and the tranny was good as new when I parted the car out at around 190,000 miles.

if you want to get technical...they tell you that if you have a brat and you are going to carry a very heavy load you should use 4wd. i believe I read this in an owners manual once.

I've done about 3,000 miles at speeds up to 70, going back and forth between 4hi and 4low. Of course, that is with the front axles out-

 

that just makes you 2wd, so you wouldnt have torque bind.

 

 

nipper

I know, but I couldn't find the smartass smiley.

pretty much as fast as the car will go (reasonably and legally of course)

 

I've gone 60 or so in 4WD hi and had the tach up pretty high in 4Lo 5th gear Of course this was on gravel... dont do it on pavement.

I've done 80 on an unplowed highway in my old Brat. The engine note changes when you have it in 4wd and I didn't notice my speedo was nearly pegged.

if you want to get technical...they tell you that if you have a brat and you are going to carry a very heavy load you should use 4wd. i believe I read this in an owners manual once.

 

Less stress on the axles if you use four of them instead of only two. The old landrovers from the 50's had the same issue, that they produced so much torque in low range they would break the rear axles, so you could only put it in low range if you also had it in 4wd.

Anyone still have an owners manual?

Anyone still have an owners manual?

 

For my '89. Sadly, not for the '82 any more.

 

Z

Less stress on the axles if you use four of them instead of only two. The old landrovers from the 50's had the same issue, that they produced so much torque in low range they would break the rear axles, so you could only put it in low range if you also had it in 4wd.

i've heard of this dr krazy has a twin stick for his lifted sedan for 2wd low, he blows front axels left and right, since he did it

i've heard of this dr krazy has a twin stick for his lifted sedan for 2wd low, he blows front axels left and right, since he did it

 

 

nipper

 

nipper

he has one stick for 4wd and anouther stick for hi and low, so he can use low 2wd for getting started on hills and such

torque bind is ugly!! And bad for the center diff!!!

torque bind is ugly!! And bad for the center diff!!!

Except the PT4WD transmissions have no center diff

This thread brings up an interesting question that I have been meaning to ask.

I listen to the radio program "Car Talk" on NPR. One morning a girl from Alaska called about her 86 4wd Subaru GL wagon. She said that her father and her brothers all put thier trucks in 4wd in October and left them that way until spring. She had been doing the same thing in the Sube. I guess she had heard not to do it and was calling to find out if it was bad for her car. They told her that if she operated the part time 4wd on dry pavement, it could cause the car to flip over. I have heard reasons why you aren't supposed to drive in "real" (not awd) 4wd on dry pavement, but never because you will flip.

Have you guys ever heard this?

 

Oh, and for the record, I used to drive 4 hours home from Harrisonburg in 4wd when it was snowing/sleeting/raining, usurally averaging around 70 mph.