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Terrible at shifting into 4L, it’s embarrassing.

aldo98229

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It takes a lot to break a Jeep transfer case. Thankfully.
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Chupacabra

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I honestly think I made some mistakes through the attempts and I cringe to think of potential damage I may have done? I put the Jeep into neutral, tried both rolling and stopped and would try to pull the gearbox into 4L and felt some struggle. A couple of times I was in neutral. Couple of times heard grinding into 4L. Had the system even alert me that I was going to fast into neutral when I inadvertently paused there. Didn’t help that my passenger was being dramatic while I was trying to focus.
If you have an Auto you have to be in Neutral, and not stopped. I tried to switch mine into 4L while it was in D, and it wasn't having it. Then I read the manual and it says to be in Neutral, THEN shift into 4L while slowly rolling. That worked so much better :).

Had a manual TJ before, so I was in neutral every time when I shifted that one into 4L - just never dawned on me to put the Auto in Neutral I guess since 2H-4H doesn't require it. Oh well, now that I learned that it's pretty easy now.
 

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When you say you were in neutral, do you mean neutral on the transmission or the transfer case?

Interesting topic as I'm new to this as well. I put the transmission in neutral, then from 4H I move to the right and down till it stops. It does grind a bit but everybody says that it's not horrible. From there I pop it in drive and go.

It's never popped out for me, but I have received the driving too fast warning. I would thought I was going about 5mph, but maybe it was 6mph. Some people also say to come to a complete stop and shift into 4L, but that's not what the manual says. Maybe it'll work, maybe not.
 

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Your jeep is a lot stronger than you imagine. It takes a lot more than a bit of gear grinding to damage the transfer case. We’ve all grinded (ground) our t-case going into 4Lo one time or another. It takes a lot more force to go into 4Lo on a new jeep than you first imagine. The lever will loosen up and become easier to switch drive modes with time
 

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For me the sweet spot for shifting into 4L is barely rolling forward…on a fairly level surface. Anticipate the need for 4L before you arrive at a place where a level shifting spot is not available. A little grind can be expected from time to time…
 

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Finally got to some off-road trails and learned quite a bit! There are some things I need to work on and the biggest surprise for me was getting her into 4L.

I honestly think I made some mistakes through the attempts and I cringe to think of potential damage I may have done? I put the Jeep into neutral, tried both rolling and stopped and would try to pull the gearbox into 4L and felt some struggle. A couple of times I was in neutral. Couple of times heard grinding into 4L. Had the system even alert me that I was going to fast into neutral when I inadvertently paused there. Didn’t help that my passenger was being dramatic while I was trying to focus.

is it easy to do damage to the gears if I’m struggling to get it into 4L? I want to practice this more, is it ok to shift into 4L on pavement then shift out not too long after?

Thanks all!
This will sound complicated at first, it will feel complicated at first, but you'll get the feel for it quickly and it will soon be graceful.
  1. With transmission in Drive and transfer case in 4WD HI, release the brake to move forward slowly (< 4 MPH). Just enough to remain slowly rolling forward during the next step.
  2. In a single fluid motion while slowly rolling forward, shift the transmission from Drive to Neutral, then grab the transfer case shifter and firmly (but not hard or violent) shift from 4WD HI, through neutral, into 4WD LO.
    If you continue to slowly roll forward with the transmission in Neutral it should slip right into 4WD LO with no more than a brief hesitation (if any) as the gears mesh.
  3. Shift the transmission from Neutral back into Drive.
    Be aware that 4WD LO has greater leverage at idle so it will require greater pressure on the brakes to bring the Jeep to a stop while the transmission is in Drive.
You do the same thing for going from 4WD LO to 4WD HI, but it's easier.
 

Some Random Guy

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I think the reason most of us say to stop (then roll) is because we naturally underestimate our speed when slowing from 25 to 3 mph. Mine groaned at me a few times and I realized I was doing 6 or 7, so now I stop first every time. Luckily most transition points have just enough incline I can get a roll with the clutch in.
Neither way is wrong, but some of us find stopping first to be more natural and prevent the clash of overspeed transfer case shifts.
 

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Another question. Going the opposite way...from 4L to 4H. Has anybody had issues doing this?

The last two times I shifted from 4L back it just went directly into 2H without stopping in N or 4H. I thought it was a bit odd, but maybe I'm just using too much pressure...

As a reference, I just do the reverse; shift transmission to N, roll to about 5mph, then pop it from 4L on up.
 

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Finally got to some off-road trails and learned quite a bit! There are some things I need to work on and the biggest surprise for me was getting her into 4L.

I honestly think I made some mistakes through the attempts and I cringe to think of potential damage I may have done? I put the Jeep into neutral, tried both rolling and stopped and would try to pull the gearbox into 4L and felt some struggle. A couple of times I was in neutral. Couple of times heard grinding into 4L. Had the system even alert me that I was going to fast into neutral when I inadvertently paused there. Didn’t help that my passenger was being dramatic while I was trying to focus.

is it easy to do damage to the gears if I’m struggling to get it into 4L? I want to practice this more, is it ok to shift into 4L on pavement then shift out not too long after?

Thanks all!
Don’t worry it takes a few times to learn. But once you get the feel it will be smooth and relatively seamless.....mostly.
 

Dan M.

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Another question. Going the opposite way...from 4L to 4H. Has anybody had issues doing this?

The last two times I shifted from 4L back it just went directly into 2H without stopping in N or 4H. I thought it was a bit odd, but maybe I'm just using too much pressure...

As a reference, I just do the reverse; shift transmission to N, roll to about 5mph, then pop it from 4L on up.
Not an issue. Way easier to go from 4L to 2H then 2H to 4L
 

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RubiSlippers

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Your jeep is a lot stronger than you imagine. It takes a lot more than a bit of gear grinding to damage the transfer case. We’ve all grinded (ground) our t-case going into 4Lo one time or another. It takes a lot more force to go into 4Lo on a new jeep than you first imagine. The lever will loosen up and become easier to switch drive modes with time
Not an issue. Way easier to go from 4L to 2H then 2H to 4L
wholeheartedly agree with this lol
 

hiimmike

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Thanks for this post! I’ve been watching a ton of videos for the last few weeks of how to use all the features on a Rubicon so I’m ready when I get it. Although it seems like it shouldn’t be, I get the feeling this is the most difficult. Thanks to all for the pointers!
 

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Because I read on here that it takes some loosening up, a couple weeks before doing an off roading course I started practicing going into 4L. Like literally once a day, I pull out of my parking spot, go to 4L, then go back out and on my way. It got easier over time and paid off for when I had to shift for the class.
 

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One trick I have is to get my elbow really low, like almost by the seat belt buckle. It sounds like it would make it awkward, but makes it so all of your force is going in the correct direction. Works for me everytime.
 

jellis4148

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All this is waaaayyyy to complicated. Just go to 4Hi then out the transmission in neutral and in one motion go from 4Hi through Neutral to 4LO. I’ve never ever had to be rolling to go to 4LO in any vehicle. Always shifted this way.
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