My TJ won’t stop correctly in 2WD

Rwetz02

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Jan 15, 2019
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Shamokin
02 tj. I’ve tried multiple tires. I’ve down shifted to 1st. And slowly tried hitting the brakes. No matter what. The front 2 tires in snow. Turn into ice skates when braking. Can’t steer can’t do anything. That’s in 2w. Now if I switch to 4w. Jeep stops fine. No problems. The Jeep will go anywhere in 2w. Just won’t stop. I don’t wanna always use 4w. Why won’t it stop correctly in 2w??
 
I'm thinking it is all tire related. There is no substitution for four bona fide snow tires. Certainly not all seasons. Four good snow treads absolutely no wider than factory stock and you should be able to steer and stop when driving correctly. When I lived in Vermont I always had 2 sets of tires. Snow tires and tires for the rest of the year. My snows were generally narrow as I was looking for traction and not weight displacement.
 
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Tires are key to stopping in the snow, and my Jeep is pretty bad in the snow in 2wd, even with good tires. I always go into 4wd when we get 3+ inches, or if it is really icy out. 4wd is there to help you, dont fear it! Our RWD Jeeps are not very good in the snow.
 
I'm not sure what various tires you've tried but if some were good and you still had problems maybe your rear brakes aren't working.

4wd not only connects the front axle to the engine it also connects the rear axle to the front brakes and vice versa. While this isn't exactly an accurate description of how it works, here's where I'm coming from:

Back in the 1980s my friend had an International Scout with no rear brakes. We didn't even know they weren't there for the whole summer but when the snow came we got exactly what you're getting. Since I was the co-pilot I always had to shove it into 4wd for the more serious stops. We always stopped that way. It wasn't until some time in the spring we found out about the lack of rear brakes being the problem.
 
Are the brakes/tires locking up in the snow when you apply the brakes?
 
I agree with the rear brakes not working as JEEPCJTJ mentioned. I had a YJ years ago that had a choke problem (would not kick off all the time) and would lead to a high idle. The high idle would over power the rear brakes and when trying to stop in the snow, would cause the front to lock up and the rear to push.
It is also true as JEEPCJTJ mentioned that 4WD locks the axles together so when you apply the brakes, even if the front only work, the back has to follow what the front is doing, they cannot spin independently anymore.

Check the back brakes to see if they are doing anything.
 
I never thought about the rear brakes. My rear calipers have sticky pistons and I recently ordered new ones. I could tell the pistons were stuck when I went to replace the pads and the pistons were very hard to push back in the caliper.
 
X3 along with @JEEPCJTJ and @smithcaz.
You probably have drum brakes on the rear and they just need to be adjusted.
Grab a flathead screwdriver, jack up a rear tire and adjust till u hear the drums scrape. Ditto other side.
Take it for a spin in the snow, pun intended, and report back. :)
 
You need to disconnect the back brakes completely. Then it won’t make the fronts seem so bad.
 
If your Jeep is an automatic shifting into neutral as you slow down also helps by not have the rear tires push you. But I also agree with the folks above about having the rear brakes working properly is the first step to take.
 
I'm thinking it is all tire related. There is no substitution for four bona fide snow tires. Certainly not all seasons. Four good snow treads absolutely no wider than factory stock and you should be able to steer and stop when driving correctly. When I lived in Vermont I always had 2 sets of tires. Snow tires and tires for the rest of the year. My snows were generally narrow as I was looking for traction and not weight displacement.


That’s what I thought. But I have all terrains. On 7 wides. It doesn’t make any sense.
 
I agree with the rear brakes not working as JEEPCJTJ mentioned. I had a YJ years ago that had a choke problem (would not kick off all the time) and would lead to a high idle. The high idle would over power the rear brakes and when trying to stop in the snow, would cause the front to lock up and the rear to push.
It is also true as JEEPCJTJ mentioned that 4WD locks the axles together so when you apply the brakes, even if the front only work, the back has to follow what the front is doing, they cannot spin independently anymore.

Check the back brakes to see if they are doing anything.
The back brakes were recently rebuilt. New hard lines etc
 
X3 along with @JEEPCJTJ and @smithcaz.
You probably have drum brakes on the rear and they just need to be adjusted.
Grab a flathead screwdriver, jack up a rear tire and adjust till u hear the drums scrape. Ditto other side.
Take it for a spin in the snow, pun intended, and report back. :)
Correct drums. And the back brakes were my one of my ideas. I’ve tried adjusting them in the snow. The front still locks up. I’m puzzled.
 
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