Questions and Answers

Jeep Cherokee Working "Part Time" Q. Good morning. I recently purchased a 1988 Jeep Cherokee 4X4, the vehicle has 85,000 miles, and it is in good shape. It seems like the previous owner only used it to tow a boat, and did not take very good care of the vehicle's appearance, however last night I decided to see if the 4WD would engage, as expected everything worked fine, until I went to disengaged the 4 wheel traction.

The vehicle is not running with the 4X4, but the light on the dashboard that reads "Part Time" did not go off. This is a 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine. Is there some kind of switch that could be damaged? Or should I take it to a mechanic? The car is driving fine, but I don't want to risk a major repair expense in the future.

Thanks for your help. Have a great day.
Rene
Miami, Fl

A. You can verify that the vehicle is not still engaged in full time 4WD mode by taking a few sharp turns at very slow speed on a paved surface, if it is in 4WD, the vehicle will be jumpy and hard to turn.

Most likely the switch which is activated by the mode selector lever is sticking due to lack of use. I would try moving the lever back and forth a few times to see if I could unstick it before I tried anything else.