Had to do recovery in reverse, any damage done?

I foolishly followed my friend on a snowy ice trail, his rig is a beater so he's always trying to push it not caring if he breaks it, anyway he got stuck in deep snow a few times on a narrow trail so pulling him out in reverse was the only option and I had to give it a good jerk a few times. I read on different forums that it's extremely bad, could I have possibly done some long term damage to transmission/front diff? Was in 4wd

 

If you didn’t hear anything break or smell any oil burning, I would guess no.

 

I've heard this for years, and every bit of evidence is anecdotal, "I pulled a guy out in reverse and blew my front axle" or "I was using reverse for a recovery and my CV's broke".

I have however never seen a single piece of actual evidence to point on how or why reverse is weaker. If someone could show me the reverse gear in a transmission being smaller or lesser in someway than first gear I'd be willing to jump on board with this old wives tale.

Edit to add: I get the whole idler gear thing, but again something empirical would be rad

 

Did you use a tow strap? Or a recovery strap (Bubba rope/ Snatch strap)?

 

Used a rhino tow strap

$36 RHINO USA Recovery Tow Strap 3" x 20ft - Lab Tested 31518lb Break Strength - Heavy Duty Draw String Bag Included - Triple Reinforced Loop End to Ensure Peace of Mind - Emergency Off Road Towing Rope

https://www.amazon.com/RHINO-USA-Re...prefix=black+rhino+recov,aps,166&sr=8-1-spons

 

Thought it had to do with the way the gears are cut in the diff.
Reverse is weaker then forward.

 

Is it stretchy?

I was just wondering because a kinetic strap would use momentum and put less strain on the vehicle. A tow strap would put more strain on the gears, I would think, since you're using the engine to pull.

FWIW, I pulled a full size van out of a ditch with my last 4runner in reverse, and never had any issues. I also pulled a few cars out of snow banks, etc.

If you're really concerned, you could change all of your gear oil and check for fragments of metal.

 

I wondered that myself. @Thatbassguy and I had a similar discussion a couple weeks back. I'd "heard" about it from others, but haven't got any experience. I'll do what I can to keep from damaging anything, but necessity sometimes dictates your actions, I suppose.