4 whl dr

everytime i am in 4wd, if i turn wheel to sharp it acts like tire is rubbing, but the front tires aren't touching anything. its like it gets hard to steer. is this normal?

 

when you put it into 4wd, the front diff locks, meaning that both front tires are no longer independent of each other, like in an active differential. so if you make a right turn, at a slow speed, your right front tire has to travel much less of a distance then the front left tire, but now that the front diff is locked, they can not freely rotate to compensate for this difference in total distance of each wheel. so what you are hearing is basically the front left tire pushing the front right tire to basically peel out slowly through the diff. puts a lot of force on everything, not something you should do too often. that locked front diff works great at slightly high speeds, with not quite as tight of turns. does that make any sense?

 

It's 4WD not AWD, can somebody gimme some rep?

 

well yea that makes sense, its just i had a 4 runner that was all-time 4wd, and it never did this. i mean whats the point in having hi 4 and low4, if u cant drive it in h4 for the rain and what not without it giving the pull force?

 

mostly right. it is a "drive train bind" as you refer to, but the front tires arent fully "locked" together unless you have some sort of a locker in the front diff. in this situation, its just like if you turn tight on a soft or slippery surface in 2wd where the inside tire will try to spin since its traveling less distance than the outside tires. Since its the front tires doing it now, this is where the load gets transfered through the steering wheel and makes it noticable. its just a simple binding, and all 4wd's do it when turned tight(when in 4wd of course). my old Chevy 1500 was about 3 times worse than my taco, so to me its hardly noticeable.

 

4WD should only be used where the road surface is sufficiently slippery to allow the front wheels to "slip" independently from each other.

I had a bud, not mechanical at all (he did the 50,000 mi oil change thing) who was burning diffs like no tomorrow. We got to talking about 4WD and he told me he locked it in in October and drove 'till April in 4WD....duh

 

Sure, why the hell not.

 

You don't use 4x4 on Pavement, EVER. Not even if the road is completely flooded. The only time you use 4x4 on a paved road is if its snowing and there is already a good bit of snow on the ground.

If you find yourself needing better traction in the rain, upgrade your tires and get a LSD for the rear.

 

THANK YOU for correcting him. Big difference between locked diff and 'drive train binding' which is what OP was describing.

 

well i didnt know there was a difference in all time 4 wh drive and plain 4wh drive. im just tryin to learn here. thanks for those who have helped. i just did not know this was normal is all. sorry if i aroused people's judgements and attitudes. i am not a mechanic.So there, the truth is out, i am exposed, the cat is out of the bag,make fun of me if it makes u feel any better about yourself.
if 4 whl drive is not for pavement then why do they make 4 runners that are all time 4 wheel drive where there is no option whatsoever to turn it to 2 whl drive?
and burning diffs? i guess im not hip on the lingo either, do u mean burning tires?

 

what is this retarded begging for a rep shit all the time?
Am i missing something?

 

heres a good situations for 4wd. i left it in 2wd as long as i could, it was actually fun having the back end look for grip most of the time, but my girlfriend was not as amused as i was so i threw it in 4h. then it felt like an M3 with track tires on a warm day. maybe not that much grip, but definelty felt safe and effortless. =) didnt even notice i was on ice and snow...even with shitty stock 245/75/16

 

rough crowd tonight...

 

i liked what u said first rangerdirk, u need to change it back.that shit was funny. humor helps. i was gonna say something after that but i held back.

 

I am sorry if it seemed that any of the Tacoma World members were attacking you, I am sure that they didn't mean anything by it.

To answer your question more directly. A 4runner or any other vehicle that makes use of full time 4wd is for all intents and purposes an All wheel drive vehicle. I believe that AWD may be a trademarked term or something. However, what makes them all wheel drive or full time 4wd as opposed to part time selectable 4wd (like the Tacoma) is a center differential. IE: a device that allows the front wheels to "slip" in turns so as not to produce the drive train bind that you are describing (to really over simplify it) In a part-time 4wd system there is no center differential, but instead a transfer case. In a corner, the front wheels still receive power, and are un-able to slip themselves, so it is intended that you be in dirt, mud and or snow, and thereby being on a soft enough surface that the ground "slips" and allows the tires to keep moving at their desired rate of speed, and so when on dirt or snow you don't feel the drive train binding that you describe.

You other question. A diff is short for differential. A differential is esentially what transfers the power from the driveshaft, which rotates left to right, to the axles which rotate front to back, if that makes sense. In any case a part time 4wd vehicle has a front and a rear differential, which supply power to the front and rear axles. A part time 4wd vehicle (in 4wd) will experience drivetrain binding when turned on pavement and other hard non giving surfaces, that binding will ultimately translate back into wear on the gears in the front differential, and ultimately failure of the componants in the front differential. Hence what nagelg meant by burning diffs.

In your old full time 4wd 4-runner there was also a center diff which allowed internal slip in turns and so this was not a problem.

Hopefull that really over simplified explination helped.

 

I'll answer both of your questions if you gimme some rep.