Highway Driving In 4HI

[s0litude]

My girlfriend just got home from driving my Av from Snowbird, Utah to Denver. After helping her unload, I hopped in the cab to park the Av in the garage... AND NOICED THE TRUCK WAS IN 4HI!! Trying to remain calm, I asked her how long she had driven the truck in 4HI, thinking she may have experience rough road conditions coming over the Continental Divide, less than 60 miles from where we live. Her response was, "Ooops!!" Yeah, you guessed it... in 4HI from Salt Lake to Denver!! Ouch!!

I am wondering what kind of damage this may have caused, other than the tires needing rotation, and what tips you might have for maintenance/repair.

I'm going to try and get some sleep now

Thanks...

 

[s5uewf]

I would not worry about it too much, these trucks
are not 'that' delicate (I hope).

I have never seen the insides of the Autotrac
xfer case, but a lot of the newer cases use
multirow chains and sometimes synthetic gears
to transfer the power inside the xfer box.
The chain will stretch and the gears may wear
a bit - but that's also what the oil is for in there!

Also, the stress of having all the tires pulling
on dry asphalt will put more stress on all the load
bearing surfaces throughout the driveline.

It may run a bit quieter now in 4WD as perhaps
all the gears are now mating up a bit better.

If you are worried, check the oil in the xfer
case.

 

[AVALANCHE_JIM]

WOMEN

 

[s0litude]

s5uewf, thanks for the info... that's good to hear. After reading so many posts cautioning about driving in 4HI on pavement I became quite nervous about potential damage. The fluid level in the xfer is fine. As for my girlfriend... she is doing all she can to make up for her misake.