4 weel high jerky

I bought a 2003 Tacomah, 4 wheel 5 speed. When I go into 4wheel high it jerks like crazy, even when driving slowly and straight. Why?

Thanks

 

Are the tires all the same diameter?

Did someone replace gears and not replace with proper ratio gears?

 

not sure. Had it for 1 month... tested 4 wheel low when test driving but not 4 wheel high... low seems ok

 

tires are the same, all 4 identical; thanks

 

On straight, smooth roads, you should not be able to tell you are in 4 high.

Miss matched gears will make it really jerky.

Other than that, I got nothing.

 

thanks again... I will have to get this checked out

 

Mismatched gears will not roll. On dry and straight road put it in 4wd. Let it idle forward. If it locks up and stops then put it on a lift and try same thing.

My brothers old 4 runner for hunting came this way and this is all it did.

 

good advice I will do this... thanks

 

Are you testing on pavement? A vehicle on paved roads in 4wd will feel like shit.

 

Straight line on pavement will not feel like shit. Turning you will feel binding in 4 high.

 

It most certainly will.

 

Do the gear ratio spin test on the front and rear axles.

 

Fify
I have never had a 4wd vehicle feel any different 4wd vs 2wd while driving straight on a dry road

 

Sounds like you've never actually done it then. You realize no road surface is actually level right? In order to drive straight on nearly any surface requires steering which will bind the drivelines. There are several other factors that will cause a truck in 4wd to pull all over the seemingly straight, flat road as well, or did you think the "do not engage 4wd on paved surfaces" sticker was there for no reason?

 

False.

 

I've put my truck in 4 on pavement for very brief periods and in a straight there is no difference in feel. Not blocks at a time, 10s of feet.

My .02

 

My truck jerks around in 4 even on dirt roads.

 

I've driven all my 4 wheel drive trucks for dozens of miles on straight roads in 4 high. If everything is normal, you can NOT tell it is in 4hi.

You got something wrong!

 

I can easily tell it's in 4 even on loose traction dirt roads. Guess it's just a matter of driving styles.

 

Yeah shifting into 4 hi in a straight line on pavement shouldn't feel any different than 2wd, you may feel a little extra rolling resistance because the front driveshaft is turning but that's it.

OP, when you say it jerks in 4 hi, do you mean just when it's shifting, or consistently when it's in 4wd? Mine shifts pretty hard from 2 to 4wd, but it should be pretty smooth after that.