Which is better, Part time or Full time?

[MoparNorm]

Sounds like a nice truck with that Dana 60 front!
Just to clarify, or reiterate, the electronic shift, automatic hubs, or shift on the fly trucks are not full time units.
The only true full time rigs have NP203, NV242, or Quadratrac cases.
Full time 4WD trucks have systems that can be driven on hard, dry, pavement at all times.

[AdventurerSport]

I've owned mainly part time systems. I have had a newer truck with IFS and shift on the fly push button(similar to cad diff brand though). I liked the convenience but who needs the electronics prob when it gets old. I think MY powerwagon is the best of both worlds for me. I have part time with a np208 transfer case and a 4sp manual np435. I don't need 4x4 that much but when I do I really need it. So I just lock the hubs and go in 2x. If I need 4x4 I just push in the clutch and pull transfer lever. Simple, strong, shift on the fly, and no gee-whiz gadgets to act up or to try and find parts for when they become obsolete. When I don't need 4x4 I unlock the hubs and I'm not wearing out my hard to get dana 60 front axle. As far as gas mileage: Let's just say I have a 5,800lb 4x4 shortbox with a charger BB on 35" mt's. 13 mpg looks pretty good.

Wearing out your hard to find D60? Huh? :) I guess all my fulltime trucks are wearing out their front axles all the time, then, huh? My BB truck has over 360,000 miles on the farm, pulling heavy loads, and original, untouched D44 front, and it's fulltime. Hmm...I hope I don't "wear it out"...:P :)

Just kidding with you, and I'm glad that you like your truck. In my neck of the woods, we need 4x4 a lot more often than you do, apparently. So, some of us folks need Fulltime 4wd. The folks that do have lockouts around here...just keep in LOC all the time anyway...:)

JS

[AdventurerSport]

Sounds like a nice truck with that Dana 60 front!
Just to clarify, or reiterate, the electronic shift, automatic hubs, or shift on the fly trucks are not full time units.
The only true full time rigs have NP203, NV242, or Quadratrac cases.
Full time 4WD trucks have systems that can be driven on hard, dry, pavement at all times.

Yup, what he said...so long as your fulltime truck is in HI or LO, and not in LOC...:)

JS

[MoparNorm]

Yup, what he said...so long as your fulltime truck is in HI or LO, and not in LOC...:)

JS

Well DUH......ha! ha!, I guess that should have been added...as long as you have a NP203.
NV242's and Quadratracs do it automatically.....= )

[MoparNorm]

JS,
Actually I know that at least two votes here were cast in error and I suspect a lot more may have been, because of confusion over what "Full Time" really is.
My hunch is that there are a few under the false assumption that automatic hubs, or electronic shift switches make the truck "full time", when the reality is, they are just easy ways to make a Full Time unit shift.
In my Part Time trucks I prefer hubs and levers, I dislike electric and vacuum switches. It sort of sissifies the truck in my opinion.
In my Full Time rigs I still like the levers (for low range and 2WD options), but I really like the ability to not have to get out in 2 feet of water and mud, or to be able to run 70 mph* on the Freeway in Full time and hit a hidden patch of snow or water without worry.....= )

*Experienced driver on an open course, do not try this on your own....= )
Actual speed may vary, verification in writing from JimmieD...as soon as I can pry his fingers out of the dash....

[mr_dodge]

Wow, I'm looking forward to 70 on the slab once I get everything greased up, etc. Found 80/90 in my 203, even after I had it into my most favorite shop ... found a broken pushrod in the 440. Must have been a newbie doing lubrication. They were pretty red-faced when I told them to check the manual that I'd purchased and put in the cab for them to use.

So, Gordon, the forum has just paid for my subscription. A shameless plug from me!

[AdventurerSport]

Wow, I can't believe that you'd take an old Dodge to a shop...:) NOBODY touches my trucks but ME! :) And, that's why...nobody knows that NP203s take 30W oil, no one knows that there are grease fittings behind the brake rotors for the front wheel bearings, etc.

AND...MoparNorm, just to clarify, I prefer mechanical linkage over electronic shift as well, but hey! That's what new cars have gone to, so what do you do?

I would imagine that, 90 or so years ago, when cars started to get electric starter motors, that some car guys complained that those "sissified" cars in general, too...:) With every improvement, comes acceptance and reluctance...

JS

[mr_dodge]

I hear you JS. There's this particular shop and the mechanic who I work with there used to teach auto theory at a local hs and comm college. And he's, oh, 75 or so. Since I'm just coming back to doing my own work after a long period, I use him. Not too many places you can take the truck in, then go back and work with the mechanic on it. Lots of interesting stories there, too .... just like this forum.

Besides, I don't have a lot of the tools, equipment and space that I'd like to have for working on the truck, yet.

I don't think he did the case oil, but we cleared it up anyway.

[MoparNorm]

....
So, Gordon, the forum has just paid for my subscription. A shameless plug from me!

Ha! Ha! That's what I like to see!

[squatch]

that kind

As always with this kind of poll it just shows that what is best depends on what you use it for. I persomally would love to be off the east coast and back somewhere where leaving it locked all the time was the way to go. Warn used to have a magazine ad that I loved. It showed a Jeep going down a canyon road from above. The caption read "Paved roads another fine example of wastefull government spending" I couldn't agree more! If more people had to wheel just to drive I think it would help straighten out all kinds of priorities for alot of folks.

[MoparNorm]

AND...MoparNorm, just to clarify, I prefer mechanical linkage over electronic shift as well, but hey! That's what new cars have gone to, so what do you do?

I would imagine that, 90 or so years ago, when cars started to get electric starter motors, that some car guys complained that those "sissified" cars in general, too...:) With every improvement, comes acceptance and reluctance...

JS

The trend is to go to switches and knobs, primarily because most people have a hard time with meshing the gears in a lever actuated transfer case. Even your NP203 has a lever.
I'd prefer, since the electric switch is not going away, that the switch "looked" like a lever. It's the same thing when you talk about manual transmissions vs. automatics. The automatic is more efficient, puts more power on the ground with more fuel economy* than a manual, but many just like to shift those gears....


*Contrary to conventional wisdom, over the last two years, EPA testing has found the new generation of automatics get better fuel economy than manual transmissions.
Manual transmissions are soon to be another thing of the
past. Even SRT, Hemi powers cars, have automatics.

[KRB64]

As always with this kind of poll it just shows that what is best depends on what you use it for. I persomally would love to be off the east coast and back somewhere where leaving it locked all the time was the way to go. Warn used to have a magazine ad that I loved. It showed a Jeep going down a canyon road from above. The caption read "Paved roads another fine example of wastefull government spending" I couldn't agree more! If more people had to wheel just to drive I think it would help straighten out all kinds of priorities for alot of folks.

My sentiments exactly!

[AdventurerSport]

The trend is to go to switches and knobs, primarily because most people have a hard time with meshing the gears in a lever actuated transfer case. Even your NP203 has a lever.
I'd prefer, since the electric switch is not going away, that the switch "looked" like a lever. It's the same thing when you talk about manual transmissions vs. automatics. The automatic is more efficient, puts more power on the ground with more fuel economy* than a manual, but many just like to shift those gears....


*Contrary to conventional wisdom, over the last two years, EPA testing has found the new generation of automatics get better fuel economy than manual transmissions.
Manual transmissions are soon to be another thing of the
past. Even SRT, Hemi powers cars, have automatics.

Yep, Norm, you're not wrong...in fact, a lot of new cars have electronically actuated parts that still have levers, like many automatic transmission cars and trucks that still have shift levers but no cable or linkage behind 'em. All of the new Hemi powered stuff has "drive by wire" throttle...i.e. no throttle cable, but still has a pedal, and still "feels" like a mechanical pedal, to a degree.

Now, what about the new, soon to be released, Dual Clutch Automatic Manual transmission from Chrysler? Have you seen this one yet? :)

Check it out here: http://www.allpar.com/corporate/auto...nsmission.html

and, for how it works, look here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/dual-c...ansmission.htm

JS

p.s. and, I like my mechanical linkage and hand lever in my NP203, btw...:) I wish that my Hemi Ram had a lever, but it's a dial on the dash for HI-Loc and Lo-Loc...:( So far, it works good, though...

[MoparNorm]

The dual clutch automatic manual is being put into ALL exported Chrysler products, along with diesels for overseas export.
It appears that Europe is going to be the test bed for this and if it works well, you have seen the last days of the manual transmission.

Sadly, news arrived last night, that because of the growing credit crunch, Cerberus is having a difficult time coming up with the last 4 Billion Dollars to complete the sale.
Daimler doesn't want it back and if they call the note, Cerberus may be forced to break up the company to raise the 4 billion.....= (

[AdventurerSport]

I find it hard to believe that Cerburus can't come up with 4 billion extra $$ to finalize the sale...who wouldn't loan that amount for the Chrylser Corp?? A break-up of any major component would be extremely detrimental...plus, what could they possibly sell off? Jeep? No way, too profitable...Dodge? Too much of a huge part of the Chrysler Corp, can't split that off anymore than splitting Ford/Lincoln/Mercury...too many common parts, platforms, engineering, etc.

Mopar? Yeah, right...

We'll see what happens, but I think it's much more of a bargaining tactic than an actual problem...

JS