When i put my jeep in 4 wheel drive the rear passenger tire locks up like the brake is on. tried driving it hoping it would come out of it , but no luck. you can see tire tread marks where rear wheel was dragging. parking break is not on. when i put it back to 2 wheel drive it is fine ? really strange

There's something seriously wrong in the transfer case or controls. It seems the rear driveshaft is locked up, and the front wheels are driving. The driver's side rear tire is skidding because it's trying to turn backward - rear passenger rear tire is going forward and rear differential has no option but to turn the driver tire in reverse (driveshaft locked). DON'T TRY TO DRIVE IT. Get it checked out and fixed.

Depending on the specific vehicle many 4WD have a transfer case that will lock the front and rear drives shafts together. This configuration is only for slippery conditions like ice and snow or very wet or off road. When turning the radius is different between the front and rear so there is a lot of feedback to the steering wheel. This is created by the fact the front set of wheels and the rear set of wheels must make the same number of turns because of the locked transfer case.

If you attempt to drive on high friction surfaces the stress to the drive train is excessive and will cause damage. The whine and the bunny hop is the drive train attempting to release this tension. If you were on a slippery surface the tires would have much less resistance turning at slightly different rates.

Also critical is the tire size need to be the same. However even with perfectly matched tires the problem on dry surfaces remain the same.

The AWD vehicles are equipped with a third differential that allows for the difference between the rotation of the drive shafts so it can drive on dry pavement no problem. Some configurations allow the AWD to have the transfer case locked which falls into the first category where dry pavement is prohibited.

Some Jeeps have a viscous coupling in the transfer case that permits limited slip between front to rear but the resistance to slip increases as the deference increases as in the event one tire is slipping
These Jeeps still have the lock up option in the transfer case requiring dry pavement when engaged.

Hope this helps?

sounds like you have a brake pad hanging up your shoes probably need to have brake shoes checked and adjusted

you have bad shocks-and- or tires that need replaced-while car is setting try to push down on the rear and see if it goes down easily and then bounces when released-jack rear end up-try to spin tires and see if they spin freely-check tires for cupping or funny wear patterns-you also may have brake shoe that are coming apart and locking a wheel up without putting on the brakes-so lots of options here-hope you get it solved-cheers Denny

Did you check the fluid level in the rear end?

It sounds more like your rear end has a bad bearing or a bad pinion gear. If it has high miles it may be time for a rebuild. It could be brake related also, take off the back drum and see if anything is rattling around in there or broken. If your not hitting the brakes they shouldn't engage.

if the gear ratios are not the same or tires are of differing ratio the 4 wheel drive will caus eit to overdrive itself and be unstable. Will cause damage. Check tires and the radio

Move the passenger side rear tire to the front, and passenger side front to driver side rear. Switch the driver side rear tire to the front and driver side front to passenger side rear. Repeat this "X" pattern each time you rotate the tires. Rotate the tires from side to side if the tires are different sizes on the front and rear.

This is the better solution. Hope helped (remember rated this help)

For more details about Jeep Cherokee, review the Service Manual.

Good luck.

usualy you will only have two tires spin at a time even in 4 lo or 4high. those tires are going to be diaginal from each other tipicly. now since your vehcle is equiped with quad drive it may employ a limited slip rear differential to help it along. however this only afects the rear axle. now you can test it by jacking your vehicle up and setting it on jack stands. one for each wheel onder the axle tube on a good solid (concreat or black top) flat surface. then have some one you know and trust to get in the car and put it into drive . now you can actualy see what wheels are spinning or not.now is were the limited slip comes in if you have one rear wheel spinning and the other is sitting still the limited slip will engage and start the other wheel spinning . now this may bang until the other wheel catches up (note that the faster the wheel is spinning the harder it is on your truck)now be very carfull stay away from the wheels tires and all other spinning parts it is a machine it can hurt you badly. but give it a try and it will answer your question. be safe hope this helps

Hi there , in order for your 4 wheel to work you have to drive a couple feet for everything to lock. If you are already stuck and you put it into 4 wheel, it won't engage. hope this helps you out