is my 96 Dodge Ram 4 by 4 a true 4 wheel drive
Asked by Bryan1966dec Sep 18, 2013 at 10:47 AM about the 1996 Dodge RAM 1500 Laramie SLT 4WD
Question type: General
the reason I ask is because in the manual it says to
be doing a legal speed to switch to 4 wheel drive high
yet I don't get constant 4 wheel drive ,,,its like it picks
and chooses when it wants to be in 4 wheel drive
4 Answers
Many vehicles will operate in 2WD until the VSC detects a loss of traction and will switch to whatever you need. The wheels with slippage are detected by wheel speed sensors, compared to vehicle speed, and power will be applied wherever it's needed, be it all in front or all in rear. A very sophisticated system. Problem is I don't understand the part about "legal speed" .....that has nothing to do with it. Who.what determines what 'legal' speed is? Also I'm not so sure that was even available in 1996. Do you have a selector?
Bryan1966dec answered 10 years ago
Thanks for the info,,,, I have never owned a 4x4,,, and only bought this one because it was a great deal. I attached the photo of the page where it says to be doing a legal speed while shifting from 2 to 4 high,,, and the only (selector) I know of on the truck is the shifter in the cab. I am in no way shape or form any kind of mechanic, lol....so I depend on folks like you for all the real info that I am un-aware of. :) Thanks again,, at least now I know its actually supposed to do what its doing and I dont have a bjg repar bill comming my way
You're quite welcome, and thanks for the compliment. In more ways than one. Clicking 'best answer' is the best compliment we can get, I don't even need or care about the points. Sometimes I do a half hour of research to find an accurate answer and never get the acknowledgment from the OP. So thanks in return and yep, your Truck is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
you shouldnt be shifting into 4x4 while moving in that truck i have the same year model your supposed to come to a complete stop and put transmission in neutral then shift into 4x4
