Jeep front wheels are locked like it is stuck in 4x4 accept it won't move when put in gear. Rear wheels will load up but front tires will not turn when in 4wd or 2wd

Those older fords you have to put the 4x4 selector into 2H or 2 High on the floor shifter. Then go to the front tires and in the very center of the tire there will be a knob that say Locked and Unlocked. Turn the knob to unlocked on both sides. Then you will not have front wheel dragging on the drive train and only the rear wheels will be the drive tire. TO put it back in 4x4. Turn the knob back to locked on each front tire and put the truck in 4H or 4 High to get 4x4. Only use 4L or 4Low when your stuck to prevent spinning your tires with full power.


Now if your has the automatic locking hubs I would switch them out with manual ones because the automatic ones were problematic where they get stuck or not work at all. It requires replacing the locking hub assembly which isn't that hard to do.

Most likely your front brakes are locked on. You need to try and force the brake pads apart and remove the pads and clean up the discs.

on a 4x4 you need to have the same size tires front and rear as it can mess with the gear ratios when in 4 wheel drive as the front won`t be turning the same as the rear, not to mention the gears in the transfer case turning at different rates that are different that what was designed.

I know what they did!, and the only thing you can do is take it back to the dealer. They have put in a different diff ratio. jack up one side of your car with 4X4 rotate your wheels your front diff goes 5 revolutions and your rear may turn 4 or 6 turns, when your wheels turn at different rates it increases the load on your drive line, if your wheels don't slip you must break something

Differentials.

The Jeep Quadra Drive systems have a limited slip differential in the transfer case as well as the front and rear axles - which allows you to run all wheel drive on all surfaces. This matters because without limited slip capability your transfer case & axles would break.

Have your transfer case and axles serviced by a dealer, really a real dealer for Chrysler Jeep. These diffs and transfer cases can use unique gear oils that you don\'t want to mix up with regular gear oil.

That howling, clunking, grinding noise is your dog-clutches slipping (as designed) as you go around the corner.



Additional Details below:

So what\'s the Diff?



All differentials are is a way to allow for different wheels to travel different distances on the same vehicle. What-he-say? Yep, when we turn a corner all 4 wheels go a different distance around that corner... oh yeah well everybody knows that. Think about it, your making that hard left turn at your favorite Fast-Food joint; your left front wheel is 2 feet away from the curb, but the back left wheel rubs the curb... why?

As you make that 90 degree turn, your left back wheel travels 4 feet, your left front wheel travels 6 feet, your right rear wheel travels 7 feet, and your right front wheel travels 8 feet.



Ok you say, what\'s the big deal? A couple feet slip here a couple of feet slip there... Well remember your sticky rubber tires on dry asphalt don\'t really give very much and u-joints, axles shafts, and even pinion and ring gear damage can occur. Fortunately for us, Leonardo DaVinci (yeah really) saw this problem coming and designed the Open Differential. There are mini-gears inside your open differential that allow for that slippage, these mini-gears are called spider gears. Problem is when your in snow, ice, mud the spider gears of the open diff allow all your power to go to the wheel with the least traction (and your stuck).

Ok let\'s put another powered axle up front and call it 4x4. Umm no.

A normal 4x4 is not really true four wheel drive. At best it\'s the worst 2 wheels you\'ve got - driving you forward. Until both wheels on the same side are in a ditch, and your stuck.



Well what the heck Leonardo? I want something better than stuck!



The old-time dragster dudes of the 50\'s & 60\'s agreed with you and they welded those little spider gears together for true positraction across both wheels. Ever been close to a big monster truck in a parking lot and heard its tires chirping around the corner? Or an old Jeep crow-hopping it\'s way around a corner - Letting out little tire noises (like "erp" "erp" "erp")?

That\'s because these 4x4\'s have been modified to not have any differential action. None. This is great in a 1/4 mile dragster race or a mountain climbing rally car. A locked front differential can (and most likely will) cause you to crash... not good for daily drivers.



You\'re in luck, the Limited Slip Differential (LSD) has clutches instead of spider gears, which engage as wheel slippage increases. Subaru and Audi are 2 companies that really brought this to market with All Wheel Drive decades ago. Jeep and other SUV/Pickup manufacturers have utilized clutch-based LSD\'s as well. Clutch-based LSD\'s however, have a limited lifespan and can require special gear oils. When Clutch-based LSD\'s fail, they basically become an Open Diff.



Automatic locking differentials were brought to market in the 70\'s & 80\'s by companies like Detroit Locker, and these engage a fully locked set of gears as soon as any slippage occurs. Problem is it can become very difficult to steer, at all. Forget about U-turns, just go around the block. And while your at it, stop and pick up another set of tires because it will feel like you are dragging your outside tires around every corner.



Jeep and Daimler-Chrysler developed another type of LSD that utilizes a small hydraulic pump to engage a set of clutches and gears, which lasts much longer than traditional LSD\'s. It was called a Gerodisc differential, and it worked fairly well. Not as much traction as a full locker, but good LSD performance. The problem was the Gerodisc couldn\'t control itself in the car-washes, and would build-up pressure as the tires slipped over the soapy rollers, and launch the Grand Cherokee across the car wash. Yeah, it was freaky. So freaky that the National Car Wash Association of America (yeah they have an association, who knew?) prohibited all Grand Cherokees. Look it up.



The King Daddy of differentials is the selectable locker. These little gems are very expensive, but you get all the benefits of both the open diff for maneuvering, and lockers for traction only when needed.



So that noise, while it may not spell imminent doom, surely ain\'t good.

You can take this with a grain of salt but I am a junior in high school taking auto mechanics and my teacher use to work for a chevrolet dealership where they had a geo tracker come in because it would drive fine until placed in 4 wheel drive. Once placed in 4 wheel it would not move because front and rear differentials were geared differently from factory causing the wheels to lock up. If it has never been able to go into 4 wheel since you have owned it I hope this will help...

Your JEEP is only part time 4WHEEL DRIVE as you can't DRIVE on the STREET with it, its NORMAL and nothing is WRONG.


Part-Time and Full-Time 4x4 systems...

A part-time 4x4 system called Commandtrac is in all Wranglers together with low-end Cherokees and Liberties. A part-time 4x4 system locks the front and rear driveshafts together inside the transfer case so they drive the front and rear axles together in lock step. Because they are locked together, the front and rear tires must rotate at the exact same rpms. However, the front tires must rotate faster than the rear tires during any turn so a part-time system fights that... which makes a part-time system inappropriate on a paved road because the high level of traction on a paved road prevents the tires from slipping which would otherwise allow the front and rear tires to grudgingly rotate at different rpms. Offroad this is not a problem since the poor traction of an offroad trail allows the tires to slip as needed. But when they try to slip/rotate at different rpms on a high-traction surface, the entire drivetrain is stressed which is bad for it. This problem is called "wind-up".

In reality however, the front and rear axles really don't even turn exactly the same RPMs when you're in 4wd so you still get "wind-up" if you drove in 4wd on the street even if you drove in a perfectly straight line. Why? Because 1) you can't drive in a perfectly straight line and 2) the front and rear axle ratios are usually .01 different from each other. Like a 3.73 and 3.74, 4.10/4.11, etc.. Why the .01 ratio difference between the front and rear axles? Because the front and rear axles usually have different ring gear diameters which makes it nearly impossible for the gear manufacturers to economically make the front and rear axle ratios exactly the same. And no, they are not made .01 different on purpose to make the front or rear pull more when in 4wd, that is an old wive's tale.

Finally, a full-time 4x4 system like Selectrac is available on Grand Cherokees, Cherokees and Libertys couples the front and rear axles together, but they are not mechanically locked together like they are with a part-time 4wd system. The front-to-rear axle coupling can be done via either a differential like the Selectrac system uses (just just like what is in the center of an "open" axle) or a fluid (viscous) coupler. The benefit to a full-time 4wd system is that because the front and rear axles are not mechanically locked together, the front and rear tires/axles can rotate at different rpms from each other. This allows a vehicle with a full-time 4wd system to drive in 4wd "full time" on a paved road without problem since there is no 'wind-up' problem to harm the drivetrain. You cannot get a full-time 4x4 system in a Wrangler from the factory.



HOPE THIS HELPS.

Drive Axle Joints or Wheel Bearings?

make sure your tire pressures and sizes are all the same then try backing a go froward while turning. and moving the shifter in and out of 4x4. if that does not get it then get all 4 tires off the ground with jack stands and allow the wheels to turn slowly while you move the shifter in and out of 4x4. USE CAUTION IF SPINNING ALL 4 WHEELS OF THE GROUND. if that does not get then the t-case will likely need to be disassembled and looked into.

I'm not absolutely sure on the tire size for the jeep itself, but I think they are 225/65/R15's. Not absolutely sure.

As for the noise, from your explanation, it sounds like the transfer case is under a heavy bind. Take it off of the road in some grass or dirt and then move it forward a few feet then simply hit reverse. Don't move much maybe an inch and it may release the bind. Once you get the bind off the transfer case, it should slip out of 4wd, unless there is damage in the case/shifter itself.

When operating four wheel drives, with tires of different sizes it causes extreme stress on the gearing in the transfer case. Larger tires don't turn the axles as much as smaller tires. So, this causes stress in the driveline as the front is actually turning slower then the rear. In turn, this will put so much pressure on the gears that it could cause damage and the shifting mechanism will not work correctly to pull it out of 4wd engagement.

Try those ideas, and see if you can get it out of 4WD. Definitely put four tires on the jeep that are all the same size. This will keep you from having excessive stress on the transfer case and gearing therein.

I hope this helps out buddy.