When I go around a corner in 4wd it feels like I have a lot of friction in the drivetrain. What is happening?
When a car goes around a corner each tire travels in a slightly different path and as a result each tire is turning at a slightly different RPM. A differential (diff) allows each tire to turn at different speeds. For a 2wd truck there is one diff between the rear tires. For part time 4wd trucks there is one diff between the rear tires and one diff between the front tires. For full time 4wd and all wheel drive trucks, there is an additional diff, known as a center diff, between the front drive shaft and the rear drive shaft. This takes care of the speed difference between the front tires and the rear tires. The “friction” is binding in the 4wd drivetrain and it only happens with part time 4wd systems because there is no center diff. When making a turn using a part-time 4WD system, the front driveshaft and the rear driveshaft are locked together, turning the front and back tires at the same speed. In order for this to work properly there needs to be slippage of the front and/or rear tire
