A: Gareth, discovering new trails is great fun, and you are smart in wanting permission before exploring them. as you pointed out, being ticketed for trespassing or chased with a shotgun by an angry landowner can certainly ruin an otherwise fun day, so finding out what roads are legal or not is best done before you start exploring. In your state of South Carolina, you can look to the South Carolina State Trails program website (www.sctrails.net) for info about what roads are designated for oHV use. another option is to contact a local 4x4 club or shop, which might have already explored some of the same roads that caught your eye. Trick 'n' Traction 4WD Club (www.tnt4wd.org) is a local greenville, South Carolina, club that may be able to point you in the right direction. Another option is doing your own detective work at city and county of- fices to determine what land belongs to what owner, but this can involve extensive legwork for little results. For more information about 4x4 clubs in your area, check out the Southern Four Wheel Drive association (www.sfwda.org) and the United Four Wheel Drive association (www.ufwda.org).
T - Case Pops Out Of Gear
Q: I own a '97 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4 with a five-speed and 4.0l engine. It has an issue with the transfer case popping out of 4-Hi and into Neutral. I'm told it's due to a bent fork inside the case. Is there anyone who makes a low-gear set that will work in my existing case? Thanks.
KJ
via e-mail
A: KJ, the shifter for the Np231J on my Wrangler does the same thing when in 4-Hi. I found that the complex linkage below the floorboard was binding and causing the shifter to pop out of gear. This is most likely the case with yours because if the fork inside the case were bent, you'd likely not be able to shift the gears in the case at all. I've also found that the T-case shifter handle can become bent backward after being forced into gear by a strong-armed driver frustrated with the binding linkage. When this occurs, the shifter is moved closer to the edge of the hole in the floorboard and also the console, and may vibrate until it pops out of gear while bumping along the trail. Check out these possible shifter culprits before tearing open your T-case. If you're plain sick and tired of the factory shifter, however, Novak Conversion offers a replacement shifter kit for the Np231J transfer case that gets rid of the factory linkage to use a more direct shift method. as for low-gear sets for the Np231J transfer case, you can look to TeraFlex (www.teraflex.biz), which offers 4:1 ratio gears in its heavy-duty replacement front transfer-case half. The TeraFlex half case and 4:1 gears are very durable and offer a pretty basic installation. Wheel on.
Universal Spare-Tire Carrier
Q: I have a '99 Chevy Tahoe Sport two-door. Does anyone make a spare-tire carrier that mounts to the bumper or something like the fullsize Broncos have? I would be very happy if you could help me out. Thanks.
Ross Perry
Northwood, Oh
A: Ross, the company Wilco products/Tiregate in Santa ana, California, offers a spare-tire carrier that should meet your needs. The company's Hitchgate-series carrier is designed to be used on most vehicles equipped with a 2-inch receiver hitch and can accommodate up to a 40-inch tire. The Hitchgate incorporates a Hilift jack mount, and a license-plate-relocation kit is also available. For more information, contact: Tiregate, (877) 945-2684, www.tiregate.com. Thanks for reading.