4WD Optest, SAT!

[red71cheyenne]

Well, we got butt slammed yesterday by the first El Nina winter storm in Western Washington. Got off of work and into the parking lot that was the commute home and immediately had to try and climb a large hill right off the base. The Blazer was loose and slipping in 2WD, so I shifted her down into 4LO and she crawled up that hill like it wasn't anything. Continued on towards home and alternated between 2Hi and 4Hi and was really pleased with how she did. Made it home no problem, unlike many of my fellow commuters.

Now I just have to get my carb and timing figured out as I ran my last tank of gas mileage. A whopping 6.71 mpg.

[AlaskaMatt]

Ouch, I daily drive mine with 33's and get 12mpg.

As to snow performance yeah these trucks do great. However when they do finally break loose you better be on top of it as they spin fast! On those days I miss my old longbed extended cab truck. It seemed like you had time to drink a coffee before you had to catch a skid in that thing.

[red71cheyenne]

Hehe, guess I spoke too soon, as this morning going to work I hit some ice and found out what you are talking about. I did a nice controlled 360 into the ditch. Was real slow, so no damage and she walked right out of it and I went on my merry way to work. Guess there's no help when it comes to ice and going downhill.

Ya, I need to figure out what is going on with my carb and timing, something is off.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by red71cheyenne

Hehe, guess I spoke too soon, as this morning going to work I hit some ice and found out what you are talking about. I did a nice controlled 360 into the ditch. Was real slow, so no damage and she walked right out of it and I went on my merry way to work. Guess there's no help when it comes to ice and going downhill.

Ya, I need to figure out what is going on with my carb and timing, something is off.

LOL! 4X4's are great but ya still need chains or studs if your on slick ice.. Not that i have them for my truck or anything.

I average about 8-9 mpg last time i checked, but that was many years ago, i gave up on that after a while.

\\EDIT:Oh yea the weather, says its suppost to get down to 12 degrees tonight, i'm just south of you.

[lha1992]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

LOL! 4X4's are great but ya still need chains or studs if your on slick ice.. Not that i have them for my truck or anything.

I average about 8-9 mpg last time i checked, but that was many years ago, i gave up on that after a while.

\\EDIT:Oh yea the weather, says its suppost to get down to 12 degrees tonight, i'm just south of you.

I can say the same thing. You still need chains or studs if your on slick ice. Oh and the snow here last night was bad! Glad I didn't take my truck out or I would have been doin 360s everywhere.

[red71cheyenne]

Originally Posted by lha1992

I can say the same thing. You still need chains or studs if your on slick ice. Oh and the snow here last night was bad! Glad I didn't take my truck out or I would have been doin 360s everywhere.

We didn't end up with that much snow, but the roads were just packed snow and ice by about 4PM yesterday. Pretty much every road was a parking lot and the hills were blocked by wrecked cars. And hills is about all we have down here.

[red71cheyenne]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

LOL! 4X4's are great but ya still need chains or studs if your on slick ice.. Not that i have them for my truck or anything.

I average about 8-9 mpg last time i checked, but that was many years ago, i gave up on that after a while.

\\EDIT:Oh yea the weather, says its suppost to get down to 12 degrees tonight, i'm just south of you.

Ya, should be a killer tonight. I'm glad I'm an inside worker and I don't have to work tonight.

[Dieselwrencher]

Man, I hope you guys keep all of the snow this year! Unfortunately, I think that front is coming our way.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Man, I hope you guys keep all of the snow this year! Unfortunately, I think that front is coming our way.

Yer talking about a place that is in one of its once every 20 year cold snaps, this is a rare occasion to say the least!

[bouncytruck]

I've had my truck in 4wd since the commute home on Monday. I'll probably pop it into 2wd for the drive home tonight after I get out of the ice covered parking lot at my office.

Do you have to come to a complete stop to switch between 2hi and 4hi?

[2fast55]

Originally Posted by bouncytruck

Do you have to come to a complete stop to switch between 2hi and 4hi?

No. I go back and forth all the time while rolling in my Dad's 72 K20. Sometimes it's a little tricky, basically like shifting a std. trans with no clutch.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by bouncytruck

I've had my truck in 4wd since the commute home on Monday. I'll probably pop it into 2wd for the drive home tonight after I get out of the ice covered parking lot at my office.

Do you have to come to a complete stop to switch between 2hi and 4hi?

The truck is definantly not a shift on the fly truck, but a little bit of a roll won't hurt, i am talking a very slow roll. Normally i just stop the truck and put it in nuteral.

[bouncytruck]

I've always come to a stop & put it in neutral to switch from 2wd to 4wd. I don't think I've ever used 4lo. It sounds like I may get a chance.


By the way - skinny tires rock on the ice and snow. I tried to get it to slip yesterday and couldn't.

[AlaskaMatt]

Guys you are mistaken about shift on the fly ;-) As long as your hubs are locked you can do it at any speed. I do it all the time. I do take my foot off the gas and coast when doing it. To go to 4 low yeah you should stop or be under 5 mph.

I leave my hubs locked all winter and shift the T case as needed. I've lived in Alaska for 33 years and have never had a set of chains (although I can remember twice that I would have liked them). 4 wheel drive and careful/skilled driving are all you need. I have to second the comment on tall skinny's. I run 33x9.5 and they just grab the snow.


For reference regarding the "on the fly" here is a shot from my owners manual.

[Dieselwrencher]

You must have one of the only 205's I've seen that you can shift on the fly then. Because all of the ones I've owned or ridden in, you had to be pretty much stopped or barely rolling to switch it.

[snowblind]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

You must have one of the only 205's I've seen that you can shift on the fly then. Because all of the ones I've owned or ridden in, you had to be pretty much stopped or barely rolling to switch it.

I shift mine all the time from 2hi-4hi with no problems. Usually shifting in and out at around 20-30mph. The key is do only do it on loose surfaces. Drive 15 feet on asphalt and there will be enough tension in the drive lines to stop you from shifting out of 4wd.

[RED72blazer]

Just because you CAN shift on the fly doesn't mean you SHOULD....

[snowblind]

Originally Posted by RED72blazer

Just because you CAN shift on the fly doesn't mean you SHOULD....

LOL. It was designed that way from the factory, and you're instructed to do it in the owner's manual. Have you ever tried shifting on the fly? There's no grinding. It just shifts smoothly. As designed. I wouldn't have bought my truck if I couldn't shift on the fly. Failure to shift on the fly would indicate that the transfer was not functioning properly. Why do you doubt the info that comes straight from the owner's manual?

This is a topic like locking/unlocking hubs. So many people think it's bad to drive with them locked and not in 4wd when it's actually BETTER to periodically lock them and lubricate the internals.

[RED72blazer]

Maybe I should explain myself.

I know what the manual says.... 2HI - 4HI is seemless....

...I just don't like doubling my RPM to make it from 4HI to 4LO so I can "shift on the fly" like the manual suggests at 5 MPH.( this may have to do with the fact that I'm diesel) If I have to slow to 5 mph, I'll just stop. I usually have to lock the hubs anyways so stopping isn't a big deal to me. Not to mention the fact that it takes pretty severe conditions for a blazer to need 4x4

[AlaskaMatt]

Perhaps I got lucky, but mine shifts really easily. I have read elsewhere that the reason many are so finicky has to do with the lever itself (something about greasing the lever where it connects to the T case, I don't remember exactly), as the gears should mesh up without any problem. When I first got the truck it was really difficult to get it to shift into 4. A friend suggested moving it back and forth, with the engine off and sitting still, a bunch of times to free up the linkages. It really seemed to work.

[Dieselwrencher]

There should be a grease zerk in the shifter handle retaining bolt, that's where you can grease it. I think a lot of it has to do with how many times the tcase has been forced in and out of ranges over the years. Even new ones I've been around wouldn't shift perfect like a newer transfer case. But then again, the 205's aren't synchronized either. That's the biggest reason you have to be stopped or slow rolling to get the gears to mesh and go in a different range.

[bouncytruck]

I've never tried switching mine while moving. I just assumed it wouldn't work and I don't want to see gear chunks flying through the floorboard.

[2fast55]

Pushing sprint cars in the dirt, I regularly switch from 4hi to 2hi and back at any speed from 0-40 mph several times a night every weekend in the summer. 205s are definitely shift on the fly or I would have broken it by now.

I've been getting 8-10 mpgs with a slipping transmission and a heavy foot, and thought I was doing bad. Less than 7 is no good at all. I'm going to be rebuilding some drivetrain parts (the th350 first, it finally died) this winter, and I'm not at all excited about these temps with no heat in the shop.

[swamp rat]

In my last post by shift on the fly i was refering to the 205 not being syncronised.

But hey just another reason i love this forum because i had no idea i could shift on the while moving at "any speed" on loose surfaces, i'll have to give it a try sometime! I thought it was about 5mph max.

AklaskaMatt, Thanks for posting that owners manual page!! I wish all the visors of 4WD vehicles had this printed on the drivers visor for quick reference.

[bouncytruck]

Is there a difference between manual transmissions and autos with shifting on the fly?