[MPETESS10]

ok I am semi familiar with the way the 4wd works
but I would like to know exactly how it works

basically my question is
When I pull the lever next to my knee on my XJ
what happens
is it cable operated or vacuum
and which ever way it is
what actually engages

when I am driving down the road in 2wd
what is spinning and what is not

I know this may sound like general knowledge to most of you guys
but this is my first 4x4 and thats what this site is for me in the early stages
of my XJ ownership
its a research tool

thanks in advance guys

[UltimatE]

since you have a 99, your front axles are always "locked" into 4wd, your front driveshaft is spinning, but the only thing open is in the Transfer case itself.

no cables or vacuums, direct metal linkage to the transfer case i believe

when you pull the lever the transfer case locks into 4wd and the gives power to the front axles

HTH

matt

[teookie]

Don't sweat asking questions, it would take a fair amount of searching and reading through many random posts to find all that info on your own.

There are several on this forum more knowlegable than me but to start you off;

pulling the lever physically puts the Tcase into 4WD mode via a mechanical linkage... power to both axles. When your in 2WD your front driveshaft still spins, but its because the front wheels are turning it, not because your engine is.

This would be different if you had the vacume disconect front axle, but that is a different story.

Have fun with your jeep!!

[MPETESS10]

thanks soooo much guys
its probably a little worse on mpg and a little extra wear and tear on front diff components
but to be perfectly honest with you
I am so sooooo sooooooo glad that my t-case is a mechanical linkage
I am big into S10's as well but mainly on the 2wd side
but the vacuum actuated setup on the S10 sucks
I have heard horror stories of a guy getting down in the woods and the actuator failed and his buddy had to drive the truck while he walked next to it "SUCKING" on the vacuum line to keep it in 4x4 because it wouldnt come back up outta the woods in 2wd

the more I learn about the XJ's it really sounds like my 99 was a REALLY good year to buy
it has ALOT of the good stuff everyone wants
plus mine is a 5 spd which makes it even better in my eyes

thanks again guys

[Mudbuggy]

I have a 91 XJ it has the vacuum actuator to engage th front axle. that is all the vacuum does. as long as you keep this actuator in good shape, it's not a bad system. You can replace the vacuum line with a cable. I had the actuator stick open on me 1 time. I removed 4 bolts tapped the actuator on the concrete 2 or 3 times and presto! it never gave me trouble again. that was 5 years ago.I make it a point to find an excuse to put it in 4x4 once every couple of weeks just to make sure it is working.