4WD - is NOT using it destroying it?

[Keoke]

I like using 4wd while going down hill with a loaded bucket. This locks your weighted front wheels to your braking, but now light weighted, back wheels. This is especially true when going down steep road with loose gravel. Other then that, use 4wd when you need extra traction or braking. If you don't need the extra traction/braking use 2wd and save wear and tear on the 4wd driveline and tires. Just my two cents, which is probably worth even less.

cheers,
george

 

[JerryT]

The only time I try not to use 4wd is when I am mowing my lawn. The front wheels will do a little damage, to wet ground, in 4wd, when turning. Probably 70% of the time I am in 4wd.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

I PM'ed the tbn DeereTech Brain Trust and here are some replies:


<ul type="square"> [*]Well here's my 20 year tractor opinion, and growing up with 4WD's around the house......., As you stated all the gears in the front axle of a Deere turn no matter what you are doing. So they are getting lube dispersed no matter what the MFWD lever is in. The only real reasons that I would give are two points. If you leave it off for too long of time, you run the risk of the external links of the engagement to rust up and even the shaft going into the transmission can rust up too. We see a good bit of this as the tractors get some age on them. It can get very expensive to pay a tech to take every linkage part off and free it up, and even have to get in to the tranny to free up the shift shaft. The reasons for running it out of 4WD are two fold but happen for the same reason. Deere and all the other companies work out their ratios to end up with the front tires turning around 2 to 5 percent faster than the rear, so you can understand why they tell you not to run them in 4wd on pavement. the extra wear on the tires is great and it puts the front drive system in a bind all the way from the tire back. I have seen tractors in so much of a bind that when the front tires are jacked up, the tires will start to turn as the gears and shafts "unwind" (same reason you had to drive your 4wd vehicle back and forth to get the locking hubs to turn) On the same note and thought, if you use the tractor in 4wd on nice soft turf grass with an aggressive tire you can tear the turf as the front tire tries to "skip" to release some of the tension it has created. Most times this pressure will work itself out as the tractor turns left and right since the front axle is an open differential, but at times it won't.
In a perfect world it wouldn't matter but I would say mostly it's to keep the levers free, same goes for the SCV lever for loaders. We are seeing more and more of them come in needing to be freed up. - joecdeere

[*]As far as the SCV, it seems that a lot of people after a month or two with the loader seem to get most of the jobs around the house done , and then either take the loader off, or just use it less. The ball joints seem to be the biggest problem, wouldn't hurt to spray them with a little lube next time you're under the left rear wheel area. - joecdeere

[*]The 4wd system will not be affected if you use it all of the time or just once in awhile. The only thing that will be affected is front tire wear, people who tend to leave the 4wd on all of the time will as a rule use more of the front tread do to scuffing. Also something else to note that on your 4310 when you hit the switch to engage the 4wd you are sending voltage to a solenoid that opens a valve that allows oil to flow to a hydraulic cylinder under the left tunnel area which allows the spring to engage the 4wd. This is not the way other manufactures do things. What this will allow is that if the wiring becomes damaged it will always stay in 4wd. Jason K.C. Canary-fultonville [/list]

These guys see a lot of machines and get to see first hand where the problems are...

 

[BillyP]

Some good information there, Mike. That Joe Deere has made some good posts and helped a lot of people out.

One thing people may or may not know about the eHydro. When the key is off, the tractor automatically engages the MFWD.

 

[Zork]

I would say, use it only when you need to. Since you know that truck/jeep 4wd are different you also know that when the 4wd isn't used, front output shaft bearings/ seals on the transfer case usually go bad, just as the outer pinion bearing in the front differential goes bad because of insufficient lubrication. Not to mention frozen or stiff u-joints. Most newer AWD/4wd incorporate clutches in the transfer case to allow for the torque to dissipate and not destroy the housing, along with live (non-hub disengaging) axles which permit constant lubrication. Those with front lock out hubs recommend 4wd operation once a month. To my knowledge, unless I am mistaken, most tractors are all positive locking with no clutches and do not allow the rear drive train to turn at a different revolution than the front drivetrain upon a certain value of torque. Therefore, you are likely to experience excessive tire wear, drive train wear, lower fuel economy, turf damage and whatever else if you drive on dry hard ground/ PAVEMENT. If your loading or pulling something that requires extra traction. - put it in 4wd. It wont hurt it on dry soil, it will only eat up your grass, dirt and fuel. I'd say, if you don't need it, turn it off. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Wildman1]

I only engage mfwd when I need the traction. As far as engaging on the fly, the Deere sez that's O.K. , but I always slow and reduce the drive load first. Changing gear ranges, though, seems to be more problematic. I always slow to a stop, release all pedal pressure and switch, otherwise I frequently get gear grind.

One thing that I noticed, I increased the front tire pressure to 30psi on those little jd2210 tires. They tend to bulge and roll with a heavy loader bucket. The mfwd became more difficult to engage/disengage. Obviously, the front to rear ratio was changed and pre-loaded the drivetrain more. So I reduced to 25psi and things became like grease.

I agree that tractor 4wd systems are totally unlike other vehicles. No transfer case or hub issues. But, the issue of non-use of the SVC and related components makes sense.