You have permanently locked hubs, the previous owner obviously had no
clue how to use the 4x4.

You can shift on the fly into and out of 4 high at any legal speed on a
Jeep. I just treat 4 H like any other shift and when I see a snow patch
coming, I shift in, get back to dry and just shift back to 2x4.

When using 4 low for high torque and low speeds, you should be moving
2-3 mph only when shifting into or out of it or you will get bad
noises. It clunks at the best of times going into low though.

Even with the older vacuum axled hubs, you didn't have to back up to
unlock them. You sometimes have to let off on the gas pedal fast to
bump the vacuum up to get them to work, but that is just because of old
age and leaky vacuum hoses. If the shifter will physically shift to 2
wheel drive, you 'are' in 2 wheel drive period. The shifter disconnects
the front driveshaft from the engine.

On my 86 CJ7 with locking hubs, I sometimes have issues getting it out
of 4x4 low. The shifter itself won't move sometimes unless I spin
rubber or goose it in reverse. This only happens after coming off a too
high a traction area just before wanting to use 2x4 again.

So if the shifter won't move, you have to hit reverse sometimes or spin
rubber, but the hubs don't care one way or the other.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

wrote:
>
> I just purchased a 2nd-hand 1994 Cherokee with the 5-speed manual,
> part-time 4WD tranny. The previous owner told me that you needed to
> back it up to unlock the hubs after having it in 4WD. I had to do this
> for my 88 Trooper. But I haven't seen anything in the Jeep owner's
> manual about backing up to unlock the hubs.
>
> Do I need to back to unlock hubs, or not?
>
> thanks,
>
> Tom