Shifting into 4WD

[sjappers]

That info would be in the owner's manual. Give it a read. Same thing with the info for 4L.

It should not be hard to put in 4hi, 4lo yes...but not 4hi? I think I heard you can shift on fly up 50mph?

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[simpleJL]

It should not be hard to put in 4hi, 4lo yes...but not 4hi? I think I heard you can shift on fly up 50mph?

The owner's manual will let you know at what speed you can safely shift into 4H and 4L.

 

[Rubi18]

I am having the same issue with my jl rubicon. Tried doing some research to see if its a common problem or just need to "wear" it in.

 

[mgroeger]

Well right now my 4H is about as useless as teets on a bull. I can get it in and out of 4H easy but it def requires some muscle to get that thing into 4H. My wife on the other hand has had her neck fused and doesn't have a lot of strength in her arms which means she can't pull it in 4H.
Sounds like we are all having the same scenario where it is def a hard pull. The dealer said it's so you don't accidentally knock your knee into it and hit it into 4H.
I laughed internally and thought if that were even possible I'd love to see how a person could do it.

 

[Rubi18]

It has got easier to get in and out of 4 hi since I got it.. not sure how that works though

 

[PavementWarrior]

Guys, pulling hard is required to build muscles required for the Jeep wave, without this hard pull we might as well drive Honda ridgebacks

 

[mgroeger]

If this Jeep didn't make my wife incredibly happy and she didn't have 5 of her 7 neck vertebrae fused thereby making it impossible for her to have the strength to shift this thing into 4wd, I'd find your comment humorous.

It's very aggravating that she finally has her Jeep but they have made this thing so stiff to put into 4wd that she can't do it. It's not like we are going to sell it but it definitely is a downer. I plan on trying to put it in and out of 4h on a regular basis to see if I can get it to break in and loosen up.

I wondered if the axle disconnect had something to do with it.

 

[Sean L]

It should be a good firm pull to shift from 2H to 4H to ensure you don't accidentally do this when you don't need it. If you think it requires an unreasonable amount of strength you should take it to the dealer to see if there's an issue. Apart from that it might be able to be modified to allow an easier pull on the lever to shift into 4H.

 

[mgroeger]

It definitely seems to be the norm. I checked another Jeep on the lot and it felt the same and many others are commenting the same.
I have to chuckle when people say accidentally putting it/bumping it into 4wd. My daughter has a '99 Cherokee and my other daughter has a 2010 Sahara. They both shift very easily into 4wd but you'd have to be doing an incredibly crazy Yoga pose to accidentally bump them into 4wd if it were even possible at all to do it.

Other than this one thing my wife is absolutely in love with her JL. Makes me happy to see her happy (and I get to drive it when she isn't )

 

[Sean L]

I have to chuckle when people say accidentally putting it/bumping it into 4wd. My daughter has a '99 Cherokee and my other daughter has a 2010 Sahara. They both shift very easily into 4wd but you'd have to be doing an incredibly crazy Yoga pose to accidentally bump them into 4wd if it were even possible at all to do it.

Considering how the Shift lever on the 99 Cherokee is in a recessed part of the console, and has an entirely different shape than the Automatic transmission lever, its easy to not mistake the two from each other. Likewise with the 2010 Wrangler, they're an entirely different shape. The JL on the other hand, well they're both round and right next to each other, and if you have someone not paying attention I can see someone grabbing the 4WD lever trying to go from R to D when they're pulling out of a parking spot. Kind of a redundant safety I believe.

 

[robplumm]

If this Jeep didn't make my wife incredibly happy and she didn't have 5 of her 7 neck vertebrae fused thereby making it impossible for her to have the strength to shift this thing into 4wd, I'd find your comment humorous.

It's very aggravating that she finally has her Jeep but they have made this thing so stiff to put into 4wd that she can't do it. It's not like we are going to sell it but it definitely is a downer. I plan on trying to put it in and out of 4h on a regular basis to see if I can get it to break in and loosen up.

I wondered if the axle disconnect had something to do with it.

It SHOULD loosen up a bit over time as you use it.

I know they say not to do it on dry pavement...but shifting in for 50 yards and back out in a straight line won't hurt anything, but hopefully loosens it up a bit.

 

[mgrowc1]

I had a little trouble also. The bigger thing that freaked me out the first time was coming out of 4L. First time I did it was a pretty load clunk. Was fine since. I was only doing it to test and was going slow in straight lines on the road I live on.

 

[Jcaron9gt4]

I've put mine into 4H a few times, and each time it's a little clunky and takes a good pull, not as smooth as I would have thought. Time will tell if it gets smoother, I've probably used it 3-4 times.

 

[XTJake]

Finally got my new JL Sport! Having previously owned a Cherokee Trailhawk (4wh kicked in automatically) and a Liberty (would flip a digital switch), this is my first Wrangler (Command-Trac). While 4h works great, it takes a very hard pull to get it into 4h. Is this normal for Wranglers or should I be concerned?

This is my first post but I've lurked on the forums here for a while. Thanks for the help!

We just recently picked up a JLUR and I have to agree that it was a little tight getting the transfer case to cycle through. I would assume that over time it will "break in" and become easier, but it was a little hard to get into gear initially on our 36 mile Rubi...

Have to say that the crawl ratio in 4-Lo 1st gear is no joke either

-Jake

 

[rallydefault]

Yes! Totally agreed - my first time shifting into 4H I thought something was wrong. I was parked (didn't do any rocking or back and forth to help) and trying to shift, and I just couldn't believe it was taking so much effort to drag the stick back into position. I even stopped a couple times, afraid I was going to damage something.

In retrospect, I just think I was tackling it wrong. Don't just try to snap it back with one quick motion, but go for a firm and continuous shift. I've since shifted in and out of 4H probably half a dozen times, and it definitely feels easier now, probably not from breaking it in but moreso just becoming familiar with the motion and what it takes.

I don't know about the logic in making it so tough to avoid accidental shifting from bumping into it, because you'd have to somehow be bumping the stick from the direction of the console, which would be incredibly difficult to do. I could see people mistaking it with the gear shift, though, so maybe that's valid.

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