Oops left it in 4wd!

sdeeter19555 · April 3, 2017

Yup, I work for gm and am in Canada, you know where half the population that has 4x4 leaves it in 4x4 for half the year, every year.....

You know how many transfer case jobs come through the shop a month? Maybe 1... Maybe and we have 22 mechanical techs and sell trucks like crazy and know for a fact tons of people as soon as a snowflake just the ground are in 4x4 till it's gone.

You guys are out to lunch. You read stupid story's on the net and believe everything you read.... Or have "a friend" who drove 3 kms and needed a complete overhaul of his 4x4 system lol.

I didn't read anything on the net, I helped pull the transfercases out of those Suburbans...I towed the one to the shop that grenaded.

Unlike "up north" (where I would think they would know how to drive in snow), we have a lot of bare pavement between storm events...that's what killed those transfercases.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

TheGovernment · April 3, 2017

Lol ok man, whatever you say.

Colossus · April 3, 2017

Just change the transfer case fluid for some added piece of mind. I take it GM has still not added a 4WD light into the dash/cluster for push button/knob transfer case switches. Yes I know the floor mounted transfer case shifters have a light in the dash. This is what we have to deal with in the GMT-900s (2007-2013) Aside from the little pencil tip yellow light, there is no other visual indicator that the truck is in 4WD. STOOOOOOOOOPID on GM's part.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Colossus

Havvkeye · April 3, 2017

Yup, I work for gm and am in Canada, you know where half the population that has 4x4 leaves it in 4x4 for half the year, every year.....

You know how many transfer case jobs come through the shop a month? Maybe 1... Maybe and we have 22 mechanical techs and sell trucks like crazy and know for a fact tons of people as soon as a snowflake just the ground are in 4x4 till it's gone.

You guys are out to lunch. You read stupid story's on the net and believe everything you read.... Or have "a friend" who drove 3 kms and needed a complete overhaul of his 4x4 system lol.

Hey guys... you really shouldn't believe anything The Government says.

Sierra706 · April 3, 2017

Just change the transfer case fluid for some added piece of mind. I take it GM has still not added a 4WD light into the dash/cluster for push button/knob transfer case switches. Yes I know the floor mounted transfer case shifters have a light in the dash. This is what we have to deal with in the GMT-900s (2007-2013) Aside from the little pencil tip yellow light, there is no other visual indicator that the truck is in 4WD. STOOOOOOOOOPID on GM's part.

It's in the DIC under the off-road screen

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rangerhgm · April 3, 2017

I accidentally drove my 07 SLE 400 miles on the highway in 4wd....never noticed until I turned into my driveway. Had the truck for 5 years after that and no problems.

hairybumcrack · April 3, 2017

I would say there is more of a problem if these trucks cannot handle driving on bare pavement without grenading as opposed to discussing whether a few hours on the road in 4WD will hurt it. When did trucks stop becoming trucks?

TheGovernment · April 4, 2017

I would say there is more of a problem if these trucks cannot handle driving on bare pavement without grenading as opposed to discussing whether a few hours on the road in 4WD will hurt it. When did trucks stop becoming trucks?

They didn't, they hold up just fine, just some of the guys on here are absolutely clueless lol

16LT4 · April 4, 2017

4WD high locks front and rear tires together. Fact. When making turns, tires rotate at different speeds. Fact. When turning on dry pavement in 4WD, tires are forced to turn at the same speed despite not being able to. Fact. This puts wear at one of three locations: tire contact patch on the road, front differential, or the transfer case. Fact. There will be wear somewhere. Fact. Which one wears the most would have to be the weakest link at the time, subject to several variables. Is the truck going to grenade? Probably not. Is there extra wear on some part of the system? Yes. Is it measurable at this time? Probably not. There's no extra wear until turns are made, which on the highway are minimal.

Best thing about physics is that it doesn't lie.

duquephart · April 4, 2017

The real issue is what was he doing on his phone? Hopefully, he pulled over and stopped.

crushNchowda · April 4, 2017

If you werent driving faster than 75-80 (really that's technically too fast but not in reality) & weren't taking turns mostly driving straight then it shouldn't be a problem. I mean there are guys going 100+mph in 4wd HI running WAYYYY more power to the wheels than what you're putting down when doing runs down the dragstrip....I really think the issue on dry pavement is when you're turning.

FWIW - I regularly drive long distances in 4hi in snow storms @ 65-75mph (of course I realize that's in the snow)

redwngr · April 4, 2017

A little extra tire wear, but the truck will be fine.

sallenthornton · April 5, 2017

My truck stayed in 4 wheel drive for the past 6 months. Living in Alaska isn't easy, but the truck handled everything fine. Chevy trucks are very popular here. They work great.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MrSteam · April 5, 2017

I did almost the same thing on my test drive.

We got a foot of snow the day before and the sales guy used 4HI to pull the truck out. When I jump in I did not notice where the switch was set. The roads were just wet at this point so I drove 20 miles and hit speeds of 85 before I pulled into a gas station to turn around and knew what it was the moment I felt it. It only had 6 miles on it when I took it. Almost picked a different truck because of it. But after a quick talk with a service guy I know and trust I was not worried anymore. Like everyone else said as long as you don't make it a habit you are fine.

I do wish they had a light in the gauge cluster that came on when in anything other then 2WD. I switch the gauge display to the Off Road page when I go into 4WD to help me remember.

Edited April 5, 2017 by MrSteam

Bromar · April 7, 2017

Thank you for posting this topic. I recently bought a 2017 Silverado about 60 miles from home. It wasn't until I reached my home town when I realized that the truck was in 4 wheel auto the entire time. I immediately put it back into 2wd and turned down the radio like a crazy person to listen to the truck for anything. I worried about it for a couple of days and always wondered if anyone has done the same thing. It's been a month now and the truck is running beautifully. All the info in this post is very interesting.

My second post ever on a forum.