1997 Chevrolet Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 91

Locking Rear Axle(If Equipped) If you have this feature, your rear axle can give you additional tractionon snow, mud, ice, sandor gravel. It works likea standard axle most of the time,but when one of the rearwheels has no traction and the other does, the locking feature will allow the wheel with traction to move the vehicle. 1 NOTICE: Driving in the 4-WHEEL HIGH (4H) or 4-WHEEL LOW (4L) positions for a long time on dry or wet pavement could shorten the of life your vehicle's drivetrain. I Four-wheel Drive If your vehicle has four-wheel drive, you can sendyour engine's driving power to all four wheels for extra traction. To get the most satisfaction out of four-wheel drive, you must be familiar with its operation. Read the part that follows before using four-wheel drive. You should use2-WHEEL HIGH (2H) for most normal driving conditions. Front Axle Locking Feature The front axle locks and unlocks automatically when you shift the transfer case. Some delay for the axle to lock orunlock is normal. If the outside temperature is very hot, or the vehicle has been used under hard driving conditions,there may be a slight delay for the axle to unlock. 2-20