4WD getting stuck and tires skidding?

hey all,
so i had a scare yesterday with my 4wheel drive sticking, i think. So i was at the boat ramp pulling my boat up, i probably didn't even need 4wd but i usually put it on anyway. So i pulled it up and then drove about 20 yards down because i was going to back it up into a cleaning station at my boat club. So i'm pull forward then put into reverse. it sounded like somethign was skidding and there was a strange rubbing sound. At first i thought it was my trailers surge brakes but after pulling forward again and then reversing i went a checked and it was not the trailer.

So i disengaged the 4wd. And the 4we drive light kept blinking and i couldnt get out of 4wd?? i kept switcing from 4 to 2, putting the truck in neutral and park. usually putting into N will allow me disengage 4wd. but it didn't. So my last effort was just do drive through the noise in reverse, and it actually stopped. the 4wd light turned off and the noise was gone.

All else was fine. Does anyone have any clue what might have happened???

sorry for the long read but i want to know if something is wrong with my 4wd. should i get it checked out? or does this kind of thing happen often?

thanks in advance

 

front tires were rotating at the same speed at the rear even though they had less ground to cover so they were being dragged a bit and as long as it disengaged i wouldn't worry too much about it. i takes a little while for mine to engage and disengage sometimes too. especially when its cold.

 

i guess i was running kind of cold. thanks for the info. Not sure if this is related but it seems like since then...when i go in reverse in 2wd i hear a clicking sound when running cold.

any explanations there?

 

not a clue my old man had the same thing with his 07, i don't know how it was fixed. anyone else?

 

I'm not an expert on my new Tacoma's 4wheel drive system yet, but with almost all of my previous 4x4's I was required to drive in reverse for about 10feet to disengage the 4wheel drive after the transfercase had been put back into 2 wheel. Also, having the trans loaded (withthe weight of the trailer) may have "confused" the 4x disengagement.

You should go spend 15 min engaging and disengaging the 4x in a parkinglot or something to make sure there isn't a problem... but I wouldn't worry just yet.

 

No need to engage it in 4x4 to pull a boat up the ramp. Unless the ramp is dirt or mud.

I have a 2wd & never have a problem pulling my bass boat out. Even when the trailer drops off the end of the ramp.

 

well i found out what the reverse sound was....my mudflap on the driver's side front is cracked almost in half. it was flopping. glad it wasn't anything else.

 

Removing those front mud flaps was the first thing I did to my rig. Who hangs a solid plastic mud flap 4 inches from the ground on a 4x4?

 

I have had the same noise and borderbrat is right it's just the front wheels being dragged. You should notice it make the same noise when you make low speed hard turns in a parking lot or something too. As for the light blinking and not shutting off I've also experienced that. I checked the manual awhile ago and it said something along the lines of the issue is normal and you are just required to drive in a straight line forward, at low speed, to get it to turn off. If that doesn't work do the same in reverse then stop and go forward again until it turns off. It's only a problem when the light blinks and you hear a warning tone.

 

haha i was thinking the same thing...removing them tonight

 

i didn't hear a warning noise in my 07? but eventually driving in reverse kicked it off. the hard part was i had my boat behind me and i was in a tight space with not alot of moving room

 

If there wasn't a warning tone then all is fine. I've never actually heard it, but the manual mentions it.

 

The first day I had my tacoma I took it to a nearby trail to test everything out and make sure it worked properly. I kept hearing some horrible noise coming from the front in 2hi, 4hi, and 4lo everytime I went over something or 'flexing'... turns out it was just the mudflap dragging across stuff.

Since my truck is new and I want to protect the paintjob (at least for a year) I think I might trim the front flaps up an inch or two.

My dad was backing out of a ditch in his '03 and the rear flap got pressed between a rock and the tire, when he rocked it up out of the ditch the tire essentially pulled the flap off, leaving minor damage where it connected to the truck. It's something to watch out for.

 

real quick on the mudflap thing it is nice driving behind another tacoma in the rain since there aren't these rooster tails of water. I kept getting cut off by other trucks and they were just throwing plumes of water at me.

back on topic i guess because of that issue of getting stuck is why I like the old fashioned big stick poking through the floor to engage 4wd. The kind big enough to kick it out when you need to

 

i know this thread is kind of old by now but i hope there are still readers.

i just claled toyota and they said its $89 for a mudflap! thats ridiculous! I saw a generic pair online for $11. I was just gonna remove the front flaps but i would like to not kick up rocks or debris and damage my paint.

Has anyone bought flaps and if so how much were they? and from where?

 

The service guys told me to engage and disengage 4WD when not moving also. Extends the life of the hubs. I'll put manuals in if they ever go bad. Warn FTW.