How much confidence do you have in your 4WD?

LS1Steve · January 16, 2004

Man they don't make em like they used to, i used to have a 77 silverado K10 and it was an unbreakable tank!

seeing this "4wd slippage" thread makes me really wonder, cause i've had mine fail me too!

I was in some dunes down in so. cal. a few months ago cruising late night when another truck got stuck uphill. so i linked up to him 10 feet ahead at the top of the hill and had it in 4hi. the rpm's went up but we weren't moving, neither front was spinning. couldn't even pull him up. Afterwards, i turn off 4hi and the light goes off, but the fronts aren't disengaged. I try EVERYTHING short of hitting it with a sledge but it doesn't work. I end up having to leave and decide i'll just take it easy on the 10mi. paved trip back to my sisters place. 2mi in, i start smoking bad, and the engine is really struggling all the way. To make a long story short, transfer case was toast. got towed rest ofthe way to sis's house, then took rear shaft out & drove home on fronts to bay area.

very disappointed! i'm going again soon since the new one was put it, and i can honestly say i'll be scared to press 4wd

HeyJoe · January 16, 2004

As the person who resurrected the "4WD slippage" thread, let me just point out that that particular thread isn't really about malfunctioning (or failing or even slipping) 4WD, but rather about understanding exactly how the 4WD system works in the first place.

Sorry to hear you're having problems, though. Mine has been good to me so far.

-- Joe

RyanZ71 · January 17, 2004

1989 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L best 4X4 I've ever driven, never let me down, was able to go through snow and other places that got the Land Cruisers, 4-Runners, Ford, Chevy, and Dodge 4X4s stuck in. Just too small for my needs otherwise I'd own one right now.

99-2door · January 17, 2004

I've owned the following 4x4s

95 Ext. cab Z-71

95 2-door Tahoe Z-71

99 2-door Tahoe Autotrac

I have never had any problems with the transfer cases or 4x4 systems. I did have to replace the actuator on the 95 truck once. The 95 Tahoe was a blast on muddy trails. I have never driven anything with as much control as it had with the G80, short wheel-base and nice weight distribution. Well not anything fullsize truck based.

bigdogs · January 17, 2004

Oh they used to break in 77 too. I had an 80 Blazer that had the same stuff as your Silverado, 10 bolt front, 12 bolt rear, NP205 transfer case, etc. and I blew up the rear end in it... The gear driven transfer case was bomb proof tho. I made it stronger with a Dana 60 front with a power-lok (those were really good too, too bad they don't make them anymore) and a 10.5" 14 bolt in the rear with a locker. The trans went out so replaced the TH350 with a Kilgore (low gear set) TH400.

bfrd22 · January 17, 2004

Take if from a guy that can break anything. I learned that the way I road the truck is directly proportionate to breakage. When I 1st got my K series and my 1st 4X4 I ran it like you see on TV. yeah right, Then I started to pay attention to others ask questions and read alot about how to drive off road and special differnces in roading with std vs auto tranny.

Parts breakage way down. the key is not to over estimate what your truck can do. If it's all stock you're probably going to need to be easy on it, and as you break parts beef em up where you can.

Am I confident in my truck, not as much as when I bought it, but after several grand in parts I'm more confident that I know mine and my trucks limits.

Personally pulling a stuck truck uphill in 4 high I would almost expect something to blow.