need help with differential lock

ive been looking and i cant find out how to use my differntial lock. everybody ive see has a 4x4 and i dont have 4hi and 4lo so i dont know how to work mine. i have a automatic 2007 taco prerunner trd off road how can i engage my dlock? please help.. thanks!

 

Ummm... Prerunners are 2WD, so no H4 or L4 for you. If you have the Rear Locker (and Off Road TRDs do), then there is a button called 'RR Diff Lock', to the left of the steering wheel... Come to a full stop, put the tranny in Neutral (not park) so there is no load on either rear tire, push the button... light should flash or go solid... When solid, you arer locked. If flashing, try moving slowly until the light goes solid.

Be sure to unlock if you have any turning to do on firm ground/ pavement.

There should be a sticker on your door, a card in the sun visor, and an owner's manual in your glove box with instructions!??

IF you have a Sport TRD and the previous owner put Off Road TRD stickers on the truck, then you don't have a rear locker, but might have the limited slip differential... there is nothing you can do. Sport is for looks, afterall. The Sport also has the hood scoop, does yours?

 

You don't have to be in neutral...you can do it on the fly...

If your having problems locking up slow your roll and turn side to side to align your gears and it'll catch

 

I suggested Neutral only because he is having problems, and I thought it would be easiest to start in Neutral, just like we need to do to get into L4. No way can you lock the rear 'on-the-fly' (at least in 3 tacos, I haven't been able to)... the light will flash, but until it is solid, your rear is not locked.

 

The Locker has nothing to do with the transmission so again...why be in neutral I "lock up" all the time on the fly...you just have to be going 5 MPH or less

 

My thinking was a load on the differential preventing the locker from slipping in. Thanks for the input on your taco going in lock mode up to 5 mph... To me, on-the-fly means highway speed, like how we can go into H4 up to 50-60 mph. Since my third taco has A-TRAC, I don't use the rear locker anymore... only when I first took it out to discover how the A-TRAC compares and works.

 

No worries bud

I see what your sayin though

 

Thanks Colts...

Just fyi:
I just pulled my owner's manual and it does say to "be sure to stop the wheels" then push the RR Diff Lock switch. Never drive over 5 mph with the rear locked... (another reason I like A-TRAC, although if you need that kind of traction, you are probably crawling)

Perhaps because I have a 4WD, the instructions are different. The first step is to try L4 (requires going into Neutral to engage) and if more traction is needed, THEN lock the rear... with the wheels stopped.
Page 185 of the 2010 manual.

 

Thats weird, I would think it'd be the same, drive train doesn't have much to do with it but maybe thats just Toyota covering their butts ...And I go WAAYYYYY faster than 5 with my diff locked up...

 

They just tell you that because your steering will be very off with the diff locked. But if you're dune running...who the fuck cares. Do 100mph. The locker doesn't care.

Try that same stunt on asphalt and be prepared to put your truck into a tree and die a horrible horrible death.

 

Good answer!

 

thanks for the help guys!

 

Sorry to get redundant, but I've only used my locker once and I want to fully understand. The 5mph suggested speed limit is solely because of decreased handling, it won't harm the gears or truck if I'm in a nice open area and doing 20-30 with the locker on?

 

I don't want me to crash either.

But the one time I've used it, and the many future occasions are likely to be in desolate areas with not much to hit. So I'm glad to better understand how it works, thank you.

 

Many here with PreRunners post they do any speed they want with the rear locked... Steering is difficult since the differential cannot allow the back tires to rotate at different rates when locked together. When you steer/ turn , the outside tire must rotate more than the inside, as it has a greater distance to travel. When locked, binding or resistance will occur while turning on dry pavement.

So, locked driving straight or on dirt/ snow/ ice/ sand is okay (just like when in 4WD) as there will be no binding of the driveline.

Seriously... No need to use the rear locker unless you are unable to drive without it. It is there for 'emergency' moving... and if you don't move more than 5 mph you are not likely to drive into a tree on accident!