A "part-time" four wheel drive system is just that. It is only meant to be used during "part" of the time that you spend driving your four wheel drive vehicle- namely the parts of your trips that are spent on loose, gravelly, or sandy road surfaces.
Why is that? Once you engage four-wheel drive, there is now a solid connection between your vehicle's front and rear axles. The problem is that when you turn your front wheels, the front and rear wheels turn at different speeds. When driving on a surface that allows the front wheels to "slip" when turned- such as the aforementioned gravelly road, this "slippage"absorbs the stress that is placed on the drive line components. On the other hand, there is no slippage on a paved road, even a wet one. Using your part-time four wheel drive on a paved road means that something has to give. And that "something" will probably be the transfer case gear that breaks, resulting in an expensive repair.
The attached video doesn't have much to do with the article; I just thought readers might enjoy it.
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