Finally getting 4.88 gears, but how do you go about breaking in the front diff?

[dcmdon]

This is the perfect definition of Dogma folks. It gets parroted around and around and before you know it people are citing it as gospel with no thought as to why they are doing this.

It is a trap that even the most reasoned, informed and smartest of us can fall into.

THINK about it for a moment. If you are worried about even the incredibly gradual turns on a highway, then pop it in and out of 4H when you make the turns. You can still get many miles of perfectly straight driving in just a few days.

True, but it would need to be completely straight. If you want some occasional 4hi miles, dirt roads or snow are a safer option.

No. Highways are so straight that no binding will happen. I only mention this because highways are much more in most people's everyday driving routine than dirt or snow covered roads.

Remember that a bit of tire scrub is absolutely normal. It happens when you accelerate, it happens when you turn even in 2wd. Making a turn with a 1000 ft radius on a highway is absolutely harmless.

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[dcmdon]

Quick explanation. This is what 4hi auto is for. 4hi part time is not designed for the conditions you describe.

4H is not designed for conditions where the front and rear axles scribe a different track. When this happens, they travel different distances and subject the entire driveline from the transfer case downstream to unnecessary stress.

Driving on the highway with steering deflection measured in the fractions of a degree, the front and rear axles scribe the same track. No stress. Completely in line with design parameters.

 

[WILDHOBO]

This is the perfect definition of Dogma folks. It gets parroted around and around and before you know it people are citing it as gospel with no thought as to why they are doing this.

It is a trap that even the most reasoned, informed and smartest of us can fall into.

THINK about it for a moment. If you are worried about even the incredibly gradual turns on a highway, then pop it in and out of 4H when you make the turns. You can still get many miles of perfectly straight driving in just a few days.


No. Highways are so straight that no binding will happen. I only mention this because highways are much more in most people's everyday driving routine than dirt or snow covered roads.

Remember that a bit of tire scrub is absolutely normal. It happens when you accelerate, it happens when you turn even in 2wd. Making a turn with a 1000 ft radius on a highway is absolutely harmless.

I get it. I already said earlier that if you drive perfectly straight, it’s probably ok. But the OP, and several others have 4hi auto, which is designed for this. The OP asked how to rotate his pinion to break in the front ring/pinion. 4H auto allows that for every single mile of the break in, with zero risk to the transfer case. So why are we still arguing about 4H from the 70’s?

 

[dcmdon]

I get it. I already said earlier that if you drive perfectly straight, it’s probably ok. But the OP, and several others have 4hi auto, which is designed for this. The OP asked how to rotate his pinion to break in the front ring/pinion. 4H auto allows that for every single mile of the break in, with zero risk to the transfer case. So why are we still arguing about 4H from the 70’s?

I agree 100%. With 4H auto, there is no reason to bother with 4H and worrying.

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