Guys, help me out here and tell me if the power from the transfer case is distributed 50/50 between the front and rear axle when I engage 4 high or 4 low ? and does that mean that if any of the both front or rearwheels have traction, i will be good to go?

 

Don't know your setup so it's hard to say.

On a stock North American 4runner or truck of late 80's to early 90's
the split is 50/50 front to back.

Because they have open diffs though the front or rear wheels with LESS traction will get the power.

For example if 1 front and 1 back wheel are off the ground - you're not going anywhere.

 

Thanks Marc and Gnarly4X. I may sound like an idiot saying this, but I've been around here for a while now and have assumed both of your assertions. But not until reading your posts was the difference between an unlocked and locked differential finally made clear. Thanks!!

 

Pssht You ashame me for living in Seattle ! haha jk

 

hence the benefit of lockers.

howstuffworks.com has a great write-up, including animations.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/four-wheel-drive.htm

 

Tell me about it, I'm a complete noob. I got stuck in the snow last year, about a month after buying my truck (first 4x4 and manual ever), and couldn't figure out why. One front wheel had dug a hole and was spinning freely, and one in the rear had done the same. Why the heck weren't the wheels on the snow, with the actual traction, making me move? I thought my 4x4 was broken.

Until now, haha.

 

Look at www.howstuffworks.com for their article on differentials. The combined speed of both the wheels is equal twice the speed of the ring gear. So, if one wheel has no traction and the other tire is planted, the speed of the spinning tire is 2x the speed of the ring gear.

 

Matt has a good idea, they will show you how they work, and how lockers work. Good learnin

 

Thanks for the info.

My question was meant to distinguish the difference between ALL WHEEL DRIVE AND 4WHEEL DRIVE.

I guess in an all wheel drive, even if one of the wheels has no traction. all the power is transfered to that wheel? And in a 4 wheel drive, that is not the case, ie if both the front or rear wheels have traction, then the vehicle may still move forward, ie not get stuck.

 

Seperate question, if only one wheel has no traction then what happens?

 

The other axle will still work as long as it has traction.

 

Great ! I needed to hear that.