4X4 Performance

also you will get driveline lash and binding on hard surfaces, there is no slip at all in 4wd

 

I wouldn't play the lottery today. My truck came with BFG Rugged Terrains, not Trails, and they were awful in the snow.

 

mine clunks when going back to 2 hi. I can get it to not do that if i give it just a little rpm's

 

ok, so you're used to the oddities of the part time then.

2nd Gen Tacomas are shift-on-the-fly as well.

4H can be done with either transmission while moving.

4L w/ an AT requires bringing the vehicle to a stop. w/ an MT, slow rolling or a full stop works.

Page 184 of the 2013 User's Manual starts the section outlining the shifting procedure. It is the same for all 2nd Gens.

As stated before, the clunk may be coming from the transfer case being under load when you shift. In the least, wth some of your other observations, I'd check the fluid level in the transfer case and test to see if you can verify torque is going to front and back when 4H is engaged (find some loose dirt and see if you can spin a front tire).

Even in 4WD, my Tacoma felt less steady than the FJ I own now. Back end would slide around a bit because of the lack of weight.

 

Not sure what your issue is with the Rugged Terrains. I've run them on my Tundra for a few years now and have never had any issues in the Sierra Snow we get up here. Actually work much better than the BFG AT's they replaced. The original Rugged Trails that came from the factory as OEM equipment were crap in the snow and not much use anywhere else either. Add some weight to the bed and it will help a lot. My Tundra sits at pretty close to 50/50 weight distribution and it works amazing in the snow. The Taco Pro with the shell and a bit of weight in the bed works well also. No weight can be a handful in the snow. Drove the Tundra out at Tahoe with pretty deep snow and no issues....drove from here about 1/2 mile to the highway, some up hill. Rugged Terrains worked just fine.

 

The snow was wet!! I'm N of the airport out by Barr Lake... Lot's of people stuck/crashed/in the ditch, was a pretty atypical snow (extremely wet and heavy)

1) Your tires
2) Pickup being light in the rear.

 

While sitting in the drivers seat look up at your sun visor attached is an awesome clear plastic pocket inside that pocket rests a card in English on one and French on the other full instructions for entering 4x4. You forget a step as well for an automatic you must be stopped and in neutral in order to engage 4Lo.

You need to be actually rolling along the earths surface for 4Hi to engage you might get lucky once in a while and it be lined up and no need movement for it to slip in. 99% of the time though it needs to line up by moving.

Its like a Claymore mine the most important instruction is right there to be seen.(Front Towards Enemy)

 

True. I wasn't intending to give a step-by-step, just pointing to the fact that, like the 4Runners, the Tacoma is an "on-the-fly" design. But, yes, have to shift to neutral which has me missing my manual. Some things were so much simpler.

 

The snowy conditions in southwest PA are either plowed fresh snow, slush, or a combination of ice and slush. In those conditions, the Rugged Terrains consistently let me down. Traction in those same conditions with my Duratracs is a night and day difference. With no weight in my bed, I can maneuver easily in 2x4 with my Duratracs on the same roads that caused me problems in 4x4 with my RTs.

 

It's all about tire selection. I was disappointed with my trucks performance in the snow too. I have had several pickups and SUV's that were great in the snow and I felt confident driving them. The one thing they had in common was that they had really good tires. My problem is that I can't bring myself to buy better tires with only 15000 miles on my current tires.

 

I don't have a clunk unless I forget to take my foot off the go pedal before I turn the knob to 4 hi.

 

For cheap inexpensive weight - 40# bags of water softener salt at Wally World. About 120# right behind the right rear tire works wonders.

 

Thanks for all the valuable info. I seem to be getting from 4h to 2h with less noise. Keeping it in a straight line and rolling slow with no gas. Maybe it was rarely driven in 4 wheel and needed to be worked/lubricated. I will check the fluid levels as well. Put about 200 lbs in the bed. Just need to wait for the next snowfall. Wednesday they are forecasting snow.

 

You want the weight over or in front of the tires not behind. If the weight is behind the tires you have much more force pushing the rear of the truck sideways when you are going around a bend.

 

Roger that. Is there an optimal amount of weight to add. The sandbags locally are 60 lbs

 

I got around just fine this winter with 2 60 pounders and my toolbox which probably added another 60. So 2 or 3 should do the trick. I was also using the stock Dunlops which are hated even more than the BFG's.

 

First thing I did was put somemichelin ms2s on this winter, that helped. Because of those tires I really didn't need the weight, but it did help. My sweet spot seemed to be 150-200 right on the axle. I used the salt sand mixture I used for my hilly drive