Dodge Nitro Forum banner

Nitro 2008 4wd part time vs full time

10K views 11 replies 3 participants last post by  lt.kubosh 
#1 ·
Hello,
I'm thinking about buying Nitro with 4.0 V6 and automatic transmission.
Just fyi, I grew on older Audi A6 quattro cars, but somehow I would like to try US style car (Nitro 4.0 or 300C awd 3,5 or Hemi) After the few hours on this forum I noticed the Nitro may or may not be full time 4wd. Big surprise for me! I'm not using the cars for offroad, but pretty often experienced slip with fwd or rwd cars on wet roads, this is no no for me anymore. (no ESP, TCS, DDT, TNT crap is helpful)
Many of the petrol Nitros on the local market are imported from US. So the R/T SXT or other trim stickers are not trustful for full time identification.

Please, how can I discover the Nitro is full 4WD equipped with MP 140 transmission?
Please, is there some differential lock? Or with one wheel on ice or in the air you're done with Nitro?

I'm confused, because I have found some original dodge document which state 2007 R/T 4.0 Nitro is full time. But the R/T I've seen had the 2wd / 4wd lock switch close to the lever. And user manual (I downloaded too and read from A to Z) doesn't mention this switch on MP140 full time 4wd transmission.

----------- And the interior -----------
Please, are there some tweaks, upgrades (not self adhesive stickers) for the dashboard? It is probably biggest problem for me - PET bottle like materials everywhere. :(

Is the Nitro interior silent or it starts rattling or squeezing?
(I don't understand why the US cars, even those expensive ones has so cheap looking and feeling plastic interiors.)
Thank you
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Welcome lt.kubosh

If you look around here you will find that Nitro is NOT full-time 4WD but you can use the console switch to put it in 4WD. The full time 4WD NEVER was put in production as stated back in 2007 (was due as late production in July), and yes I waited for it to buy mine. I only ordered mine without the full-time 4WD back in 2007 when they offered life-time power-train warranty. I have no complaints with this option and I did upgrade the interior with an overlay kit. Again no rattling and the only noise I hear are the loud automatic door locks.


http://www.dodge-nitro.com/forums/f14/dodge-nitro-wood-dash-overlay-install-1102/
 
#3 ·
Hi Rick,
thank you for your input. It seems that Nitro is out of list now. I'm not in the vein for evaluating if it is good time to go 4wd or not... But, help me to discover if the part time is limitation as I see it.

I do not understand the reason of the manually switched part time 4wd existence - even more when the car is equipped with ABS, ESP - so they can detect slip and engage the 4wd automatically pretty easily.

It looks you're aware of the inner working. What is the main reason it is part time?
It is undersized and will not cool or whatever when running long time (similar to tweaking Haldex electronically to be full time 4x4)
It is due to some emission limit - 2wd car has slightly better consumption => emissions.

But still the reasons above are not explaining the warning not use it on dry asphalt. How can you ruin the center differential by running on dry surface? I've heart only 100:0 power ratio can damage the diff.

Thank you
 
#4 ·
Maybe someone else can chime in to answer your questions!

For me I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 with full-time 4WD before purchasing my Nitro and loved it. I wanted the Nitro to be full-time 4WD too! I know there are concerns about weight and MPG but hell the Nitro is a Truck and already weights two tons? (4200 pounds!) Just drove it in snow and it does fine except when you try to park and steer it at slow speed it jerks like a old Ford pick-up 4X 4 I had with front wheel lock-outs.

Jeep has the best 4X4 on the market if snow is really your main concern you can't go wrong with the newer models.
 
#5 ·
The system is part time, mainly because of cost. There is no center differential. All the switch does is electronically lock the front and rear drive shafts together: 50/50 torque split. All of the components in the front are constantly spinning; just not engaged.

:cool:
 
#6 ·
Ok this explains a lot. I was thinking about some some self-locking differential on the front axle because of hard terrain passing ability. And the explanation is more simple. While the axles has different trajectory in the turns, there is no compensation for this.

Guys thank you very much.

Bye Martin
 
#7 ·
Exactly! But, the traction control works like a LSD (limited slip differential. If one wheel on either axle starts to slip, the brake is applied to the spinning wheel, which allows the torque to go to the wheel with traction. Kind of funky, but it works.

:cool:
 
#8 ·
OK, I got the car specification.

It is a 3,7 V6, SLT trim, 4WD, 2009 - it has an LPG conversion (a big plus while the gallon of regular fuel cost $7.1+)

4.0 versions were not officially imported to Europe, so just few grey imports can be seen.

Is it worth to think about the 3.7 engine or not?
 
#9 ·
The 3.7 id a heavy duty truck engine, so they have a lot of life. The cams are driven by a chain timing belt, so that never has to be changed. The 4.0 has a rubber timing belt that has to be changed around 100,000 miles. The LPG is a plus. Is the tank where the spare tire would normally be? :confused:

:cool:
 
#10 ·
It depends, but in case of Nitro you're right. You have to sacrifice the spare tire (or leave it in trunk). Some other cars have the LPG tank in the trunk (what is pretty useless I think).
When I was in the USA I found it could be a bad idea to sacrifice spare tire - when I saw Next gas station 160miles" :) But here ( basically each 10 miles is some city or village) it is not a big problem.
Here are some photos how the LPG is realized on Nitro.
Nitro | LPG in Nitro

Regarding the 3.7 engine you rather rate it is as reliable instead of venerable? (Similar to 1911 :) )
 
#11 ·
I have seen signs like that on I-70 in Utah! One does not want to run out of gas in the desert! Thank you for the link for the conversion.

:cool:
 
#12 · (Edited)
Offtopic > Mine sign was somewhere between Yosemite and Las Vegas on U.S. 95, moreover there was bicycle line on the side (which suddenly ended after about 35miles in nowhere) :)

Back to engine and the part time 4wd. Is it suitable to turn on the 4wd and drive hundred miles on mushy snow (with wet pavement isles)? From my understanding, part time can be used as long as there are no excessive pressures due to lack of tire slip.
And the 3.7V6, I'm living close to Germany and travelling there often. Mostly on their highways, so can I expect to set cruise control @ 100mph and travel or 100 is too much for 3.7? 4.0 can do it pretty easily - at least on paper.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top