you can basically go as fast as road conditions will allow in 4hi, and no im not saying hop on the freeway and do 75mph but think dakar rally or baja. if your on dry or wet roads where chances of slippiing is virtually nonexistant, running in 4wd will just tear up your running gear. in my case, thats why im constantly in and out of 4hi while driving around town and even on the highway (without stopping). also, where your traction control is on the spectrum from locked up to open diffs would be a huge factor in this. the more traction control i have, the more leary i would be of going into 4hi for a dusting of the white stuff.

The reason not to drive on dry blacktop is that the small difference in tire diameter and different radius' when you steer put a bind on 4wd system. ( alot of older and other brand vehicles bust the chain drive in the t case if you drive on blacktop in 4wd.) Snow, sand/gravel/dirt gives the system some 'give' to equal stuff out - releave the stress. The later AT Monteros take care of this with an AT like structure in the T case.

Great, that makes since and probably what I was told long ago, chain drives ?? Okay...I think I will take all precautions that I can, after all, it is 22+ years old!

I would not worry about driving off in 2nd gear. 80% of the time I do not use 1st in any vehicle. Just get a feel for when the truck wants 1st and much of the time 2nd is enough.

Another thing I did not see mentioned but might have been, when you first engage 4wd, drive off gently till the hubs engage. Once they are both engaged all is fine but you do not want to chance getting wheelspin and having the hub slam in.

There are times that both hubs do not disengage. This tries to force engagement once you are driving again and is real loud and nasty. Mine have done this many times and survived. More prone to happen when it is bitterly cold out.
Also ray mentioned hubs disengaging when backing up. Again drive off gently till you are sure they are engaged.

I like auto hubs in the winter for the convenience but prefer manual hubs for their reliability.

Thanks again, the past few days I just couldn't get use to using that granny gear in traffic, I'd take off and the guy behind would have to slow down so as not to run up my tail pipe. When I start in second, I've been considering the flat and levelor any grade. I can give it just a little gas and almost pop the clutch, letting it engage quickly but without alot of friction point play and it starts out slowly, then accelerate as it has fully engaged. So that will probably be my driving style, I'm not allowing the cluth and pressure plate to just skim and engage slowly as I see that would just burn it up.

As to locking the hubs, I never have used 4wd quickly from a dead stop, I always start out slowly as it seems to me it takes any 4x4 a revolution to engage. The only problem when they don't disengage is again in traffic, if you switch to 2wd at a light, you can't always back up to get them unlocked, but that has been very rare for me.

My Raider will probably see 4x4 action in the muddy shore lines of the rivers and lakes, hills, gully crossings and fire roads, that's probably it. While I can see the attraction to rock crawling, I won't be doing that. That and pulling a small trailer through the muck.

So, now my next concern is a valve job I guess. From what I have read hear, blue smoke at cold starts is an indication of bad vavle guide seats. I have 111K on it now and the oil has to be going somewhere, not much, but it is puffing out I guess. Have no idea what that will costs. I think I have found a reliable and trustworthy mechanic in my area, they are hard to find here, but he has already said he won't do heavy engine work, like overhauls, because there isn't a machine shop he would trust! Wow, but I have no idea what a valve job runs on these....any ideas?

If you notice smoking for example , when you go to the store ,,,the engine sitting warm for an hour ,,,when you restart to leave you'll have smoke that stops fairly soon. That's just valve seal. They can be changes without pulling the heads.
Those miles aren't really very high , so hopefully that's all it is. If that's all it is i'd let it smoke.
Those same heads were used on a billion later ( like' 91 on) Chrysler 3.0s. Any reputable machine shop should be able to do a valve job on them easily. Unless your engine was abused the lower end, i.e. piston rings and crank, will probably go a whole lot longer before needing a rebuild, they're tough.

Thanks, I will check into that. I talked myself into buying a much older vehicle (89 Raider) basically because of this forum! I did some reading and research here before I made that decission and hearing that they were still bullet proof took me in this direction. I'm glad I did! Although I already miss power windows and locks and the automatic, I'll survive, LOL.....Thanks! Any suggestions as to what to check, add or modify isalwaysneeded.

Sounds like you have a very good setup , IMHO.
If you want a 4x4 , you want a "truck". These are trucks. I think 3rd world ,,,if you lived there you'd want the most dependable and simple setup. you don't need power windows, door locks, cruise control , headlight washers, auto hubs. Just stuff to break on older vehicles.
The only weak point on your vehicle I can think of this AM is the H.B. bolt.

Well hoping so, and I agree, that's what I told myself about the power goodies missing on this one. My power window went out on the F-140, locks too, and had to get them fixed. Not with this little gem.

H.B.bolt ? Sorry what's that?

I probably don't "need" anything on it, I'd hate to get out in the boonies and find that I can't turn around and that up ahead is something I'm not prepared for!

H.B. bolt = harmonic balancer bolt. Main pulley; front of the crankshaft.

John B.