heh... I do. Not that I think doing so is "right" or "necessary" but it's a new toy and I want to play with it. So yeah I sat in my Jeep, in my garage, and read the manual cover to cover as I played with everything. I probably retained almost none of it though.
And never once felt drivetrain binding before? Either you weren't in a traditional 4x4 or you had tires with such limited traction they weren't able to cause binding (or you're forgetting, don't be ashamed old age is getting me too). Drivetrain binding is not a new thing. It's to be expected. In my opinion it is often overstated about how "bad" it is. It's not good for things, but it happens even when using the systems in an entirely reasonable manner and the drivetrain has been engineered for it. Your tires should slide/hop before anything breaks if you're being reasonable about it. That said, when I'm on high traction surfaces doing a tight turn, if I don't feel I need 4x4 or low range I will go back to 2wd to avoid the binding (and tighten up my turning radius). More road focused Jeeps (like the cherokee) seem to do this automagically at tight steering angles to prevent the binding.
You must be trolling everyone right?...... there is no way in hell you are being serious.
I’ve never read 1 page of the manual, but the reason the JL bucked so much as compared to your other vehicles is the short Wheelbase. The JL has a 6’ tighter turning radius than the JLU, and likely 10’ or more better than some of your examples. The tighter the turn radius, the more bind caused by a u-turn. The bucking was that bind unloading itself. Nothing is broken. No you didn’t cause your drag link to skip teeth, there’s far more force on it when hitting a pothole at speed or cornering quickly than making a u-turn wether in 4wd or not. If it moved that easy, we’d all be dead from it separating on the freeway(or at the least we’d need daily alignments) Theoretically the bind could be bad enough to break an axle shaft, u-joint, rezpa joint in the driveshaft, or even the chain in the transfer case, but it would be 100% obvious if that happened immediately. You didn’t cause some miracle wear or hairline crack that will somehow fail in the coming weeks. Driving in a straight line on the pavement won’t cause binding, thus in sporadic snow you can leave it in 4wd on the road.
Great answer to the OP's original question, very informative and I've learned a bit. The galloping sound is a warning, "Don't do this again". I agree, if the OP broke something it would be quite apparent right away.
I guess I should have said that I hadn’t NOTICED the binding. It’s possible I never turned tight WHILE IN 4 hi on pavement. Probably only in dirt before. I am getting older and forgetful, mid 60’s, shit starts to go from memory!
Yes the axles have open differentials but the transfer case is locked in 4H/4L. The front axle spins faster than the rear axle when making a tight turn. Causing binding between the front and rear driveshafts. So one of the front wheels has to slip to reduce the binding and equalize axle rotation speeds.
You didn't read what I wrote.
We hope to all be there some day. Shit happens. I’ve pulled off a trail on to the highway a few times forgetting that I was in 4wd (do a lot of off road driving in 2wd so I don’t equate going from dirt to pavement with shifting the tcase automatically). My old beater Cherokee with welded diffs was driven on highways and freeways too, so the “danger” of binding is over stated in my opinion. Yes it will increase tire wear, cause some unloading, and could cause a breakage with enough traction, but at street pressure it does not need much load to chirp a tire and unload the bind anyway. Obviously not the best practice, but definitely not doomsday level horror that some have made it out to be.
This is a very refreshing attitude towards wearing out these Dana axles over things like tire hopping during a u-turn compared to how most others here will tell you to replace your axle if you EVER put it in 4H on the pavement. I feel like most people don’t realize the forces involved when a 5,000 pound vehicle is operating at speed.
If his driveshaft bolts were loose, he could have lost the driveshaft too, but I’m not going to suggest he torque every fastener on his Jeep because he made a u turn in 4 wheel drive. To each his own, but I’m guessing he’d know if his steering wheel were crooked and would have mentioned that in his post? My point was there’s more load on the drag link in daily driving than he caused making a slow speed u turn. If it were loose it would have presented itself under heavy load in my opinion?
Since the trouble codes are related to ABS and traction control. It doesn't hurt to start looking where the problem would be most likely.
Before you say that this sort of damage could never happen. This is from someone I know that unknowingly drove their Jeep in 4wd and/or lockers engaged on dry pavement for quite sometime.
The pinion rubbing on the carrier caused by the pinion nut being loose, not caused by 4wd or lockers. The pinion won't move in the carrier because of any kind of binding if the pinion nut is tight. The only way for the pinion to move is loose fastners, the same as the drag link adjuster.Before you say that this sort of damage could never happen. This is from someone I know that unknowingly drove their Jeep in 4wd and/or lockers engaged on dry pavement for quite sometime.
