4WD Issue/Question

[James Deal]

New to the forum and first time RAM owner. I searched for answers to a 4WD issue I experienced today with my 2014 Express. This is my first truck that's not a Toyota, so I'm on a steep learning curve where RAMs are concerned. The truck has 72K on the odometer.

I live in the northeast and really only use 4WD in the snow, never do any off-roading. My trucks are real pavement queens. Because of the infrequent use, I've always engaged 4WD on my trucks every couple of weeks on dry pavement to make sure everything is operating properly. I know engaging 4WD on dry pavement is a controversial issue, but I always do this at a low speed and in a straight line, NO TURNS.

I did this for the second time this afternoon; engaged to 4H at 5 mph, drove straight for a few hundred feet at about 25 mph (4WD light on the instrument cluster flashed 4x and then lit), slowed to 5 mph and then shifted back to 2WD (4WD light extinguished). I drove a few more feet and made a left turn and the truck was pulling as if the 4WD was still engaged. I went a little further and made another turn, this time to the right and everything seemed fine. So I engaged the 4WD again, shut it off, made a turn, this time to the left and it pulled again. Drove straight for a while, made a turn and again everything seemed fine. I tried it a final time, only I went quite a distance straight ahead before making a turn and it did not pull, everything seemed normal.

I know I've taken the long way around to get to my question, but has anyone else experienced this? Is this normal for these trucks, in other words, does it take a bit for the front axle disengage, even thought the 4WD light has extinguished. I read my owner's manual and it doesn't mention anything. I've read some posts where members have recommended never engaging 4WD on dry pavement in these trucks. So, I'm concerned that I may have caused a problem.

 

[Quyonmob]

Most central axle disconnects won’t let the diff disengage until a load/coast cycle, power is no longer applied to the actuator, but it just hasn’t let go.

Think old school manual hubs, some needed 50ft in reverse to get them to release even though the actuation mechanism was released.

 

[Raylan Givens]

My old ZJ needed to be reversed too

 

[ram1500rsm]

Not exactly normal per se but that doesn't mean that something is bad either, it can happen to other vehicles too. Sometimes you need to stay in the throttle a little longer, or simply stop put her in reverse and move backwards a little. I used to do this with my FJ Cruiser so much it literally became a habit. Going from 4hi to 2wd is not an inmediate process, some transfer cases will react faster some others will be slower. Changing the transfer case fluid for something fresh can also help. Hopefully the truck doesn't have the same factory transfer case oil it had 72k miles ago.

 

[RLJ10X]

Mine does that James.

Every vehicle has its own quirks.

 

[CVX20]

The 4WD light on the older GM's used to be hooked to the front axle and it was the best way to do it.It wouldn't light up until the axle was engaged or turn off until the front axle was fully dis-engaged.That way you knew when it was safe to get on the throttle without hurting anything.People complained that the light stayed on too long so they changed it to turn off or on when the t-case was engaged or dis-engaged(axle hasn't done it's thing yet).This caused a lot of damage if you didn't pay attention and get on the throttle heavy before the axle did it's thing.Pretty sure most 4WD lights are wired that way these days just to stop customer complaints.

 

[James Deal]

Not exactly normal per se but that doesn't mean that something is bad either, it can happen to other vehicles too. Sometimes you need to stay in the throttle a little longer, or simply stop put her in reverse and move backwards a little. I used to do this with my FJ Cruiser so much it literally became a habit. Going from 4hi to 2wd is not an inmediate process, some transfer cases will react faster some others will be slower. Changing the transfer case fluid for something fresh can also help. Hopefully the truck doesn't have the same factory transfer case oil it had 72k miles ago.

The first thing I did to the truck within days of buying it was to change the fluids in the transfer case and both differentials. I have the BW 44-44 case and was shocked by the price Mopar charges for the "special" fluid. I did some poking around and read a couple of sources who claimed to have used Valvoline Max Life multi-vehicle synthetic ATF over significant mileage with very good results, actually better performance than the OEM fluid. I'm wondering if that was a poor choice. I'll keep exercising the 4WD over the next couple of weeks and may flush/fill the t-case with the factory stuff, even though it will put a dent in my wallet.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Try the factory stuff since you have the 44-44 TC.