4x4 confusion

dakila7 · May 6th, 2009, 04:12 PM

hi maybe you guys can help shed some light on this... my ride is a terrano and it has 4wd option. since i acquired it i never bothered to use it because there wasn't any reason to. anyways, there was one time out of the blue i tried engaging to 4H, going straight i was doing ok... but then i tried to turn then there was a grinding noise and i am having difficulty steering (both left or right) by the way i did it in a paved road and i was riding slow. from another forum they said what i experienced was called binding - pardon me for my ignorance i dont know a thing about 4wd technicalities. moving forward they said its because the terrano does not have a center diff with which to compensate the wheel speeds... or something to that effect. also they said i should not engage to 4wd in a paved road because i might kill the drivetrain. anwyays, i'm confused because a sticker in my visor says that 4wd can be used for added traction on wet surfaces.. so now i'm under the impression that i can engage to 4wd but only if i go on a straight line. your inputs will be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance. oh and btw... i did not damage my front diffs and t-case.

dvdswanson · May 7th, 2009, 01:57 PM

4WD should not be used on any hard surface that does not allow slippage. when turning the system will bind and act like it wants to hop because there is no slippage. think about it, if you had a locker in the rear axle and you made a turn, the outside tire of the turn needs to spin faster to keep up with the inside tire because it has a longer distance to travel.

so when in 4wd, the frt end has to go further around the corner than the rear end does, causing binding. hope that makes sense.

dakila7 · May 12th, 2009, 06:45 AM

@ dvdswanson

thanks... i was under the impression that the 4wd in my terrano is similar to those AWD systems. yes now it's much clearer - the 4wd that my vehicle has is something that more likely i wont be using at all but if ever i get stuck in an uncompromising situation i'm sure to thank nissan for it.

tommyboy623 · May 15th, 2009, 02:14 PM

yep...p-much.but you can also use your 4x4..the ladies love it...

dakila7 · May 15th, 2009, 05:39 PM

@tommyboy623
haha.. i'll try to remember that