Has it ever happened before? What about in 4lo? Are you the only driver it happens too?

 

Does this happen only when you're on pavement & in 4Hi? The type of 4x4 system the Wrangler has is known as a "part-time" and will feel VERY jerky & turns will not feel normal if the pavement has fairly decent traction. It's really only meant for use offroad or if the roads are completely covered with snow or ice. This is because the Wrangler's 4x4 system locks the front & rear tires together so they can't rotate at the different speeds needed when you're turning left or right... since the front tires must turn faster than the rear tires during a left or right turn.

Full-time 4x4 systems like are available on Grand Cherokees are fine on paved roads & don't produce any of that type of jerkiness when in 4x4. This is because the front & rear tires aren't locked together so they are free to rotate at different rpms for turns on high traction road surfaces.

 

Well I bought her used about 6 months ago and seems I bought it with the problem because I noticed the same issue about a month ago when I tried it out in the snow again.

 

Yes, it does happen on pavement in 4hi.

 

If the pavement isn't totally covered in snow or ice, it's best to leave the Wrangler out of 4x4. Its 4x4 system isn't street friendly except in those conditions, it's really designed more for offroad use.

 

Well, this makes sense because my Grand Cherokee never had this problem. That's why it worried me a little. Different 4x4 systems makes sense. Thanks a lot!

 

Most likely, the snow is not deep enough to warrant the use of 4wd... to explain what Jerry is saying, if your wheels aren't given something to slip on (thus if the tires have too much traction against the pavement), they're going to hop all over the place because they aren't able to slip like they were designed to.

This is especially true on dry pavement (and even more on dry pavement turns).

If you have somewhere you could test it with deeper snow a few inches deep and slushy...see if it still does it. If I have about an inch of wet snow on my road, I can use 4wd without any hopping.

Edit: Figures Jerry has a chance to elaborate a lil more while I'm typing a reply...lol

 

Depending on the grand cherokee you have it either uses special gearing or a viscous coupling to send power to the front wheels, for full time 4hi or all wheel drive, which can be used on dry roads. Not such the case on the wrangler as you found out.

 

I went for a spin in the snow with the 4wheel drive again and no jerking! Guess she has to have at least 7inches of snow to be satisfied. Thanks for the help guys! unk:

 

A suggestion: read the Owners Manual.