Drivetrain binding on dirt road?

So I recently went to an OHV park with my Tacoma and was driving on their dirt roads. There were a few tight turns and I heard and felt something like a clunk or a snap while I was turning. Wheel was all the way to the right. It felt like a bind and sudden release while I was turning.

I've never experienced drivetrain binding before, so I'm not sure that's what I experienced or not. Truck drives fine, shifts fine, but I experienced it a couple more times on turns again while in the park. I was on dirt roads the entire time so it shouldn't be grippy enough to bind right? But if that's not what I'm experiencing, then I really have no idea what that noise could've been.

Truck is behaving just fine now and has for several weeks without incident. I'm curious if any more experienced people might know what that might've been, and if it's something I should be concerned about or look further into.

Glamour shot included

 

I would say drive train bind is what you experienced, even on dirt roads when in 4WD you need to have wheel spin in order for it not to bind. A dry dirt road is almost like pavement when in 4WD. Nice Truck!

 

Binding happens all the time on rock and dirt roads for me. It's usually a bind between the front and rear driveshafts for me because I don't have a locker. It pops because it's moving rocks and soft stuff around. On pavement it would probably just grenade itself.

Was your locker on?

 

^what the others said. Great looking truck. If most of the roads look like that pic, you don't even need 4 wheel drive. You can do a lot of "off road" driving in 2wd.

 

No my rear locker wasn't on. I figured it would be my transfer case binding like you said.

The roads were like that but also got steeper and much more rocky/uneven elsewhere. Texture was pretty much the same though.

Long story short then, you think I'm fine? Was the binding I experienced normal or damaging? Should I just ignore it then and keep going without worrying about the sounds of it binding up?

 

It's a normal thing and you'll be fine. If the ground is "loose" like dirt, gravel or whatever, you'll get those sounds when the binding is strong enough to spin a wheel a bit in the dirt or rocks releasing the pressure. On pavement you'll experience different results, like an exploding transfer case. Rain/water on pavement is not okay to use 4x4 as far as I know.

The only way to avoid that binding on a tight trail turn is to take it out of 4wd to turn or use a multi point turn.

 

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

I drive to, and from on my dirt road everyday, but my trucks only a year old, so far its like any vehicle. Interesting, have to see when it gets a few years older.