Using 4x4 on pavement

Be gentle and go strait on pavement. If you plan ahead you can turn back to 2HI before making a sharp turn.


I will engage 4HI on wet strait road to get the 10 miles per month in to exercise the 4x4 as needed

 

I agree

 

Dry pavement w/ 4x4 can pop the CV axles. Happened to my buddy on his older Taco. lol

 

Here is a tip, try punctuation

 

If you don't use 4 wheel drive when it's slick your nuts if you drive around in 4 wheel drive all the time it wares tires and uses more gas and that's just as nuts. The radius of a turn on the road is not enough to bind the drive line up no way no how. Doing figure 8's in a parking lot in 4 wheel low will but that's also nuts It's a 4X4 truck damn it drive it as such. You think Toyota would tell you to use 4 wheel drive and smile when they had to pay for warranty repairs if they thought it was a issue? What kind of stress do you think your drive line is in climbing over big rocks in 4 wheel drive? Drive more worry less.

 

Are you nuts ?

 

Sorry for my ignorance but I would like some clarification on a couple of points. This is my first part-time 4wd vehicle.

1. You're suppose to drive in 4wd, 10 miles a month? Better when wet, but dry will do?
2. I have a manual transmission with 4wd, does the binding issue occur with manual transmissions? the link refers to automatic transmissions having the binding issue.
3. What is considered a sharp turn? 90 degrees at an intersection? is that considered too sharp?

TIA.

 

Yes
Yes
Yes

 

The 10 miles a month are to keep everything lubed up in the transfer case and what not. Just like a truck that sits for months not being driven, shit doesnt always work properly. If you dont use your 4x4 occasionally there is a better chance that things may not work as smoothly as they should.

You can drive straight on dry pavement in 4x4 but you need to be careful. Better to use it in slippery conditions wether it be snow/ice/dirt/mud whatever. Usually wet asphalt still grips enough to cause binding. And a 90* turn will probably see some binding. Hell you can see binding on full lock in dirt. Just gotta be careful.

Yes manuals will still bind. The binding comes from the fact that the outside wheels spin more than the inside wheels on a turn. with 4x4 they all try to spin the same amount. causing binding unless it slips..this is where slippery terrain comes into play.

 

10 miles a month is jsut the reccomended amount to make sure the 4wd system is kept lubed...if you don't use it you lose it.

The potential binding issue is with the front drive system, not the transmission, so it applies go both trannys.

Like said above, it doesent really matter what a sharp turn is, if you are in 4wd and turning sharp it better be a low traction system, otherwise why are you in 4wd. But a sharp turn would be turns like parking or maneuvering around a parking lot. You won't turn too sharp just driving on a normal road

 

* manual , Manuel


Yes , it does

 

How the hell does 10 mile seem high to use a drive train system on your vehicle? Some people pretty much keep it in 4wd all winter if they live in a place that gets a lot of snow

 

its just a number to save their asses. so when you go to the dealer with a busted 4x4 system they will say. "well do you drive 10 miles monthly in 4x4" majority of the population will say "no" or "huh" and then the dealership can give you shit for improper use/care.

Just pop it on whenever you can. I drive down the beach every once in a while just to run the 4x4 a bit.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses.

 

To me, having 4wd in any conditions other than dry pavement is more of a safety feature than anything else...its damn near impossible to pull out of a driveway quickly in the rain in 2wd...all you do is spin and nearly get hit...Ive been using the 4wd on my trucks in the rain and snow on pavement for the last 16 years, toyotas and nissans. Pretty much whenever its raining or snowing, I'm in 4wd unless im making really tight manuvers in a parking lot. Ive done 160k on my pathfinder doing this and over 70k on new and old tacos without a single drivetrain problem around turns and in a straight line. Dry pavment is bad but on wet pavement or snow covered pavement, the truck is as predictable and handles just as well in 4wd as it does on dry pavement in 2wd. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, and thats cool, but i thought i should share my experiences to let others know the drivetrains of these trucks are quite a bit tougher than people may think... Just my $.02

 

How old was the Taco? Mine had 248K on it when I sold it but I did have to replace the rear u joint because I used 4WD on the pavement at 208,000 miles. Here is the deal the tires will slip before a joint will brake ever think how much more abusive spinning the tires from a stand still on hard pavement is? That even winds your springs up much less the rest of the drive line.

 

From the Toyota Owners Online website...

Part-Time 4WD

The choice of serious off-roaders. Unlike full-time 4WD or AWD systems, which use a center differential to distribute power between the front and rear axles in varying percentages as conditions change, a part-time system is only in 4WD mode when selected by the driver. Part-time 4WD effectively locks the front and rear axles together for a 50/50 power split, which offers optimum traction, but limits turning on dry surfaces because the axles cannot slip or turn at different speeds. Therefore, part-time 4WD is not recommended for everyday driving or for use on dry pavement.


read the links below for more info...

 

No. It says at least 10 miles per month.

 

Your right...they did not say that.
Where does Toyota tell the owners to drive 10 miles in 4WD on a hard surface? They don't say that in the owners manual. It's common knowledge that you don't (and would never have a reason to) drive a part-time 4WD on dry pavement. Unfortunately not everyone knows the differances between part-time and all-wheel drive.