4WD hi questions and basic info

I drove my 13 Tundra 90 miles a day in 4 hi, sometimes driving faster than conditions warranted, no issues.

 

first gear 4lo, I've gone down some steep long hills.
no brakes at all. never faster than 5-10km/h

 

they don't mention it at all.

They say put it in 4x4 to keep eveyrthing lubricated and prevent from seizing. So that should include 4lo. Otherwise the actuator will seize

 

How much a month are we talking? Up and down the driveway a few times a month?

 

I just drive forward for a few feet, reverse a few feet, and done.

 

Until the driveway says it has had enough. Then try for one more.

 

TDIL that I'm supposed to use my
4WD at least monthly. Hope I haven't screwed up anything!

 

Doubtful. You could probably not use it for years and be fine. Just a best practice.

In addition to this tidbit of knowledge to engage your 4wd monthly they also document maintenance intervals in the books in the glovebox. These are important too. If your truck didn't come with books then this part of the post is for other people that might have gotten them with the purchase of the vehicle.

 

Nah I fall into that "first 4wd owner" category where I probably read it in the manual and either forgot or didn't know what I was doing and put it off. Shame on me for not knowing better.

 

Like I said, it is a good practice but I doubt you have screwed anything up by not running it every month.

 

I'm not sure what TDIL means but I'm in the same boat as you LOL. I drove around today because I remembered that there was a gravel road somewhat near me a few years ago. Now it's paved over WTF .

Now I'm wondering WTF did I get myself into with 4WD. It can't be that difficult to find somewhere to do a little off roading, but around me this might involve puncturing a tire or getting arrested LOL.

 

Honestly not even much. Just make sure the actuator is being used. I'd say maybe 5 to 10km every month or two. Should be good.

 

Low range is lower gears and high range is higher gears just like on a "ten speed" bike. Jeeps etc used to have a separate low range shifter. You could drive in 2W low range. Why? Well because you could. Say you were in a parade! Yep, 2W low range was great for parades. Also launching/recovering your boat. Anyhow now a days we have 2H 4H and 4Low and it is done at the turn of a button, just like that you are in the gear selection of your choice. Back when you had to get out and turn lock in the hubs you knew exactly why you were out there in the snow mud or crud. Best way to learn is to join a local 4x4 club or group of guys that hang out and wheel together. You will learn and have a some great fun!

 

My brother has a '08 4Runner. He got it in 2014 with about 80k miles. Not long after that I suggested he exercise his 4wd options to keep everything moving smoothly. I was riding with him.

He tried 3 or 4 times to put it into 4lo with no success. Nothing. I wondered if I was gonna have to break some bad news about his "new" $16k truck. And then all of the sudden BANG! A big clanky thud sound. It engaged and worked fine. But you could tell it was seized by the noise and jolt. So, these things really do "seize up" if not used. My guess is the previous owner never once used 4low.

I'm not mechanical enough to know what's actually going on there. But it made clear to me the importance of what we've been discussing in this thread.

Realistically, I probably "excercise" my 4low two or three times a year when I think about it in my tacoma.

 

Find you a stretch of fairly straight two lane pavement. Even a mile is better than nothing. It will be fine. I have a mile long straight stretch i drive close to the house. I do it once a week or so in 4hi.

 

People always ask me how I stand to live out here in the desert? I tell them that I make due...

 

What's a good pressure to airdown the stock wranglers on the trd or?

 

For offroading, mid teens should be good. I always run about 2psi more up front to compensate for the extra weight.

 

I had a strange thing happen yesterday when I disengaged 4wd hi into 2wd hi while in park. Just wondering if anyone has had this happen. I put it into drive and the truck was nudging along sporadically and was going really slow no matter how much gas I gave it. I put it into neutral and back into 4wd and back in 2wd. It still did it. I was holding up traffic in the parking lot at this point. I got it over to a spot and put it into park and cycled through again into 2wd. Then it engaged and ran like normal... This was the first time I had used 4wd. We had some snow over the weekend in Boston.

 

I think you're supposed to have it in drive when you switch.