What is the difference between 2x4 and 4x4 transmission?

Answer 1

Starting with the basics: 2x4 = 2 wheel drive, 4x4 = 4 wheel drive. The difference as for the trannis is, a 2x4 has a tail at the rear of the transmission in which the driveshaft connects to, running to the back axle (hooking up to the rear differential, turning the rear wheels). A 4x4 transmission however, does NOT have that tail. Instead it has a short shaft in the rear end of the tranni that is hooked up to a transfer case. The transfer case is then connected to 2 different drive shafts. Like a 2x4, one shaft runs backwards to the rear axle, and connects to the rear differential. But other drive shaft runs to the front axle, and connects to the front differential (you only have a front differential if you have 4x4 or AWD). If your vehicle has an "Optional 4x4", you can run in 4x4 or 2-HI, and just drive with the rear wheels. But if you have an "All Wheel Drive" (AWD) vehicle, your stuck driving in 4 wheel drive (making the car/truck a complete bad@$$, but seriously taking a toll on the tread life on the front tires).

- And just a side note about pulling a vehicle on trips (like you see behind rv's): while people think its safe just to kick the car in "Neutral" and they can pull it just fine, that can be risky of a serious breakdown. Just to cut to the chase, if your gonna do that, disconnect the driveshaft from the transmission (you can leave it connected to the rear axle) or go extremely safe and drop the shaft completely off the vehicle. With a AWD vehicle, don't hesitate, drop both shafts completely. Because if your pulling that vehicle down the road going even just 30 mph just in Neutral, and the car accidentally drops into gear (they CAN do that), you can kiss that tranni goodbye.

Sorry my answer is long, i just wanted to make sure i completely explained myself.