Which is better, Part time or Full time?

[falcon62]

I'm curious to know what the benefits of each are. My 78 W150 has the full time system and I don't have any plans to change it. But I want to know what the benefits are to each.

On a side note my 1984 Suburban has a 203 transfer case. I changed that to a part time system because it made a very ugly noise at about 60mph. I think it was because the two axles weren't made to full time. That transfer case was never made for that year suburban :)

[Jeff]

Part time will allow you to get 5/10ths of a mile more out of a tank of gas...on flat roads....at under 50 mph...with a tail wind...riding close behind tractor trailers...:-D

..but unless it's a daily driver (who would even consider that these days??), isn't it meaningless? and even as a daily driver, wouldn't it take like 15 years to break even in the gas $$ savings vrs the cost to convert?

[JimmieD]

I voted for full time for several reasons.

I have full time and I like it so far. I have not had a [running] part time to compare to.

In the area I live in the weather can change from heavy sleet to freezing rain, to hard-driven snow whiteout, to lite flurries to warm sunshine and clear blue skies all within 10 miles and 15 - 20 minutes. One turn on a logging road can take you from smooth dry hard pack to 12" to 18" rut rows with at least a foot of gumbo and then frozen icy patches in another 500 feet!

Here you can retire for the night after a quick peek out the window to see 1" of snow on the ground and wake up 8 hours later to 4-6 feet in one night's fall!

Under those conditions fulltime is ideal.

JimmieD

[AdventurerSport]

I'm a fulltime believer, I won't buy a 4x4 that is NOT fulltime, in fact. :)

I'm a farmer, live in a farming community, drive mostly dirt and/or gravel roads, can't live without fulltime 4wd. Guys that have lockouts around here just get stuck...a lot...:P

JS

[cpstover]

Fulltime:

Lets face it pick-ups are lite in the rear, If you need to jump on it you sit and usually one tire is screaming in defeat. Also I am a on call firefighter and there is the occasion that we have a fire deep in the woods and so far since I have been on our f250 4x4 has gotten stuck and has to be left with the hubs locked in all the time since you never know who is going to drive it never mind have a clue. Also changing weather I live in NH, yesterday good example sunny, raining , heavy wet snow in the matter of 2 miles.

[Russ Erickson]

Part time

I owned a '74 Ramcharger some years ago that had the full time transfer case, and that thing was amazing. It got great gas mileage. I wrote down every fill up from the day I bought it and calculated the mileage for every tank, and it usually got 15 to 17 mpg with high nearing 20 mpg. The traction was also fantastic.

I do prefer the part time systems because you have more control over how the vehicle operates. If you are going into a place where you think you could get stuck in 2X4, simply lock in the hubs before entering. If you are driving on slippery roads, just lock in the hubs before taking off. Then it's easy to engage the 4X4 Hi position even when moving as long as you aren't spinning the rear tires when engaging 4X4 Hi. You do have to stop or match enginge speed to gear box speed to shift into 4X4 Lo or you'll crash the gears, but I found this to be the case with full time also.

The chain case part of the full time NP-203 is the weak part of the system. The chain stretches and can cause a catastrophic failure of the unit. I am staying with all gear drive type transfer cases to avoid chain problems.

[AdventurerSport]

I've run all my fulltime trucks very hard for many years and have never had a chain failure in a NP203 chain driven Fulltime t-case.

And I've never had to get out and lock or unlock hubs. :P

I pull heavy grain wagons around in the fall and winter with my trucks, as well as seed bean wagons in the spring all over heck with 'em...25+yrs and original chains in all my trucks...2 '76 1/2 tons, 1 77 3/4 ton, 1 79 3/4 ton, 1 79 1 ton...:)

JS

[Bob Hansen]

I have had and still have both versions of 4wd

Back in 78 I had bought a new Chevy full time 4x4, I remember the EPA sticker was 1 mpg lower than the part time version.

My M882 & M886 are fulltime 4x4

My 87 GMC is part time and used to have those so called automatic hubs, which were fine when new but terrible after they get some wear, i.e. when it's below zero they don't work. It now has top of the line lockouts on it. They get left locked in from December till April. because if you gotta stop to lock them in, it's too late.

My 86 S10 has the vacuum actuated front axle, but ya never know if the hose was leaking 'till yer stuck.

My GPW has a part time transfer case, yet the hubs are always engaged by design.

Bottom Line: Full Time 4x4 Rocks!

[Gordon Maney]

I can certainly hear the enthusiasm for full time, but I think I am with Russ, I prefer being able to make the choice if I want. Given a part time truck, I am mostly unlocked, except for snow season, and then if I am going on a highway trip very often I would unlock them. I also prefer a gear-only transfer.

[falcon62]

My friend had a Chevy S10 Z72 with a rear locker. He said that when the locker engaged and the roads were wet, both tires would lose traction and the rear end would fishtail.

I've never had my truck lose traction in the rain. To me that's a good enough reason to have a full time setup. Although I wouldn't mind trying it with a rear locker installed......

[MoparNorm]

Originally posted by Gordon Maney
I can certainly hear the enthusiasm for full time, but I think I am with Russ, I prefer being able to make the choice if I want. Given a part time truck, I am mostly unlocked, except for snow season, and then if I am going on a highway trip very often I would unlock them. I also prefer a gear-only transfer.

Gordon,
I've been turning hubs since 1958, but I must confess that the newer systems found on Jeeps is not making me miss getting out in the mud or snow at all! The best part about the Jeep system is that you still have ability to pull it into low or lock. The transfer case on the new Ram is a beefier version of the Jeep Comand Track system and the newer Quadradrive II on the '05 Grand Cherokee also includes traction control, it is just about the ultimate in four wheel drive systems, and just like with cruise control, I'm slowly admitting that the computer can make decisions as good as I can...and much faster. = )
MN

[Hobcobble]

I own both and do prefer the full time on my '03 W2500
Ram. Our present company vehicles are '04 Grand
Cherokees with 4.7 V-8's and Quadradrive II..... quite
a nice drivetrain!
John

[POWWAG]

I prefer part time four wheel drive as it’s easier to do big smoky burn outs in front of the police station. I have done burn outs with my full time truck but the front end usually hooks up and defeats the attempt. Full time is an excellent system but when you want to kick the rear end out and brodie around a corner, upsetting the neighbors, you can’t beat a NP205.

Peace be with you.....Don

[MoparNorm]

Originally posted by POWWAG
I prefer part time four wheel drive as it’s easier to do big smoky burn outs in front of the police station. I have done burn outs with my full time truck but the front end usually hooks up and defeats the attempt...

...now how can you argue with logic like that?.......ha!ha!

Have a great Holiday Don....I'll mail you a file.....
MN

[Paul Cook]

I have lived in fear of automation since I first heard the "automatic T*MP*X extractor" joke thirty+ years ago. So I favor making most choices myself.

On the the other hand, I see many idiots who do not have the common sense required to turn on their headlights in fog, rain, or darkness - but the subject is not elimination of idiots.

Here's my take on it. It's not about selecting four-wheel-drive. It's about being able to SELECT TWO-WHEEL DRIVE when that is appropriate.

When I was stationed in Korea in 1963-64, in addition to an almost new M-37B-1 w/w, I was also assigned a first series Ford M-151, 1/4 ton truck.

The first series M-151 had a terrible reputation for going down the road with the wheels higher than the windshield (a trade secret Ford has applied to its SUV lines). The M-151 was a 4x4 sports car. It was fast and agile, with four-wheel independent suspension. The suspension pivoted at the frame mounted differentials and would drop down so the tire contact patches were narrower than normal. This narrowing of the tread width often resulted in the vehicle flipping over.

My M-151 had an inoperable speedometer, so I was very cautious when I first started driving it. Most of the roads I drove on were gravel. They also had some significant pot holes. I learned by trial and error that four wheel drive was superior on all roads EXCEPT dry pavement. With the front wheels pulling instead of pushing out in turns, there was no tendency to skid. When the front wheels hit a pothole, they helped themselves climb out and the ride was much smoother.

In the absence of a speedometer, I learned to drive and gauge my speed by "the seat of my pants." I regularly drove at what I came to feel was the maximum safe speed. It's appropriate here to explain that I was "in plain clothes" and was exempt from regulation by military or civil police.

After about four months, we received a replacement speedometer for my M-151. Because I had become used to not having a speedometer, it was a while before I thought to see how fast I was going. When I looked down, I was greatly surprised to see that I was going "PER" (The words MILES PER HOUR are printed at the bottom of the speedometer face.) This meant the speedo needle had gone past the normal stop pin at 60 mph and was pointing straight down - an equivalent of nearly 80 mph.

By now some of you are saying - 80 mph is not possible in an Army vehicle. Ask someone who knows the Ford M-151 - who was allowed to drive one that was regularly driven fast (the carbon blown out) with no restrictions - and be surprised. And, YES, we checked the speedo. It worked okay.

The point of all this is that , in four-wheel-drive, I surpassed all reasonable imposed limits and most expectations of doom for this "dangerous, unstable" vehicle. I also learned to drive it in four-wheel-drive whenever I was on wet pavement. It drove like it was on rails responding well to steering input. Of course, the militiay NDT's were not perfect on wet pavement, but I had a deal with our unit's head mechanic that insured all my tires were the same brand and tread pattern - something I also learned is important.

I've had my driver's license for 51 years, and might have driven before that. (The statute of limitations applies, Norm.) I have driven a wide variety of military and civilian vehicles under different weather and road conditions in several countries. My experience says that four-wheel-drive is the drive of choice except when driving on dry pavement. Then I want to be able to SELECT TWO-WHEEL-DRIVE since I have never discovered any advantage to the alternative.

I'm open minded on this. Let's take two identical late model Power Wagons to the drag strip and do a series with one in four-wheel-drive and then the other to see if there is a good reason for four-wheel-drive on dry pavement.