Safe to leave in 4x4 mode?

[Rezzey]

Hi guys just a quicky

I have a b1600dt with Fel on and some kind of attachment on at all times.

My landscape is not too hilly, nice hard ground, but slightly dippy here and there. Ive constantly left it 4x4 mode coz i feel it steers easier. i could certainly drive without it if its doing it damage being engaged all the time but im unsure if its ok to or not.

Any advice?

 

[Rezzey]

Or should i only use it to get out of a sticky situation or pull something out

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yes it's fine as long as your not running on concrete / asphalt / paving stone.

 

[85Hokie]

What NIW said -

4WD drive really will not hurt anything if allowed to slip on the grass-dirt-snow or even gravel. Hard surfaces is where the drivetrain takes a beating.

 

[Diydave]

Always a good idea, to shift it out, every once in a while, so the lever doesn't get stuck in the on position, from years of being there...

 

[GEPM64]

I leave my BX in 4x4 all the time. Thing is the closest pavement other than my garage is 3 miles away. I wouldn't worry about it.

Glenn

 

[Dave_eng]

One benefit of being in 4wd is that you now have brakes on all four wheels.
A time when this becomes important would go like this. You have a full fel bucket, you are driving down a muddy slippery ramp to the bottom of an excavation. You are in 2wd. You hit the brakes and the rear tires, which have little load on them because the fel is lifting the rear of the tractor plus the downward slope is also reducing the load on the rear tires which lock up and do little to slow you down.
With 4wd the drive line passes the braking force from the rear brakes to the heavily loaded front tires and you can stop on the slope.

Having repaired a number of front axles of 4wd systems I dont use this feature unless I am going to need it. The front axles just are not built as strongly as they should be. For example, most owner's manuals advise against tire chains on the front because of the added strain they place on the front drive system.

Dave M7040

 

[Tooljunkie]

Heavy loads, uneven terrain or soft ground. Loader work. Only situations for 4wd.
If job can be done in 2wd go with it , its easier on driveline.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Having repaired a number of front axles of 4wd systems I dont use this feature unless I am going to need it. The front axles just are not built as strongly as they should be. For example, most owner's manuals advise against tire chains on the front because of the added strain they place on the front drive system.

Dave M7040

Dave
I agree on my BX I can feel the binding in the drive train when I make turns in 4wd on almost any surface. I only use 4wd when I need 4wd. I don't worry about it if I forget to take it out of 4wd, because the first turn will remind me. This doesn't mean I am constantly taking it in and out. Blowing and plowing snow takes 4wd so it stays in 4wd until I am ready to back into the garage. Grading the driveway usually takes 4wd, but traveling to and from the grading is 2wd.

 

[Rezzey]

Thanks heaps guys. Really helped make my mind up.