4X4 High

?
The 05+ transfer cases have planetary gears...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/131275-inside-05-tacoma-t-case.html

 

Meh. Doesn't really matter.
Regardless, OP, running it in 4x4 on the road every so often is unlikely to hurt anything as long as you're not making any sharp turns.
That being said, if you feel it binding up, you're making too sharp of a turn, and you should avoid that.

 

See the big chain in the picture of the link you posted.

 

They are referred to as planetary gears. It is not however a true planetary set-up. Here is a pretty good link to describe how a planetary AWD transfer case operates.
http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php/85481-The-Transfer-Case-how-it-works

 

It has tons of traction when the weather is calm and dry. If the wind stirs up the sand and dust it's pretty slick. If it rains after the wind has been blowing it's even worse. If there's frost or snow on it you are asking to lose your front teeth if you try to walk on it. Most of the pictures people see from the 4 wheeling events are taken in summer when it looks like it never rains there. But due to the elevation it can snow clear into April or May. Sometimes spring and fall are really dry, other times they're really rainy and it makes the sagebrush, wildflowers and cactii bloom like a bastard. But I've only hiked a couple thousand miles of Southern Utah, so I might not know what I'm talking about.

 

Ok, I'll play along... Put her up on jackstands - all 4 corners. No more binding.

Actually I do run 4hi on pavement for a mile or so without tight turns. A better system would be a damn lever operated transfer case with good ol' manual hubs...

 

OK I'm living in NY city the manual says drive it in 4 hi once a month for at least 10 miles now what? There is absolutely no disclaimer about snow, dirt sand or ice. The drive train parts are far stronger than 89% you seem to think they are. This of course does not mean abuse it like guys climbing over huge rocks in the woods what do you think that does to the drive line? (It’s not the slip it’s the sudden traction). If you are afraid of driving on the pavement don’t ever take it off road. Take it out of 4 wheel drive if you are going to park and don't try figure 8's in the parking lot it’s wicked hard on your tires. There is no highway with a radius sharp enough to bind the tires up while you are moving. Frankly it is pretty stupid to drive around on dry pavement all day if it’s dry all that does is ware tires and waste gas but if it’s icy or snow on the ground with large dry areas there is no reason to be shifting it in and out all day long either.

 

Low range gearing is planetary. There is such a thing as a planetary differential but the bottom line the Tacoma transfer case has planetary gearing but it does not have a differential.

 

Yes it's very nice as just about every transfer case chain is but did you see the low range planetary (picture 18)?

 

Yes. This I know. Never said it did, quite the opposite in fact.

 

All the Lagniappe info is great and with the type of people we are to be spending so much time on TW forum, it is to be expected to have some disagreements that will go on forever. So I decided to put together a list of what I learned from this post:

1 - The problem that I was having in 4wd hi was the effect of the differential while making sharp turns and nothing is broken. The details of this are currently being debated by "Boone Taco" and "Noelie84"with no end in site and may result in hair pulling and scratching by the end of the night.
2 - That is okay to run 4wd hi on "non-slick" surfaces as long as I dont make any "sharp" turns.
3 - NEVER drive it on concrete or your drive will blow up.
4 - It probably doesn't need to be driven in 4wd hi monthly, just yearly.
5 - Running it on 4 jack stands would be best.
6 - Moab is the same as concrete.
7 - The difference between planetary and chain driven, well not really, those guys are confusing the hell out me.
8 - I should change the name of this forum to "Will driving in 4wd hi on concrete damage anything and what type of drive system is in the 1st & 2nd Gen? Please debate in great length detail while using big intelligent words"
9 - There are a lot of knowledgeable people on TW, some with more drama than others.
10 - Can't list everything that I learned from this post, that would take all day, thought 10 would be enough, unless anyone else would like to debate that also.

Thanks to ALL for the great info.

 

^This.

 

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up

 

I ran my 2006 in 4HI every month on the pavement. No sharp turns. Never an issue in 105k plus miles. I do the same with my 2010. I don't buy the "Never" argument, I've proven it to myself.

 

Finally. Can the mods make this a sticky?

 

BS I do it all the time.

You just have to have a few common sense brain cells and don't do it on dry pavement when turning.

Turning is BAD in 4x4 on dry pavement.

BUT you can go forward with no problems and you can do it up to 60mph.

Don't listen to the naysayers.

 

Well technically that was only 9 things not 10 like you stated in 10

 

had the same experience today. driving 4H in snow and made a turn into a parking lot and she felt like she dropped into 4L even after I strighten up. so i stoped and shifted into neutral to shift back to 2H and the shift from 4H to 2H felt more like shift from 4L to 2H.

so i'll make sure i switch back to 2H before making sharp turns on payment.

thanks for info...

 

I guess around here choosing between dry pavement and dirt is a easy decision (i live in a area with hundreds of miles of dirt/gravel roads 5 minutes out the front door.)

 

Here is why part time 4WD should not be used on dry pavement:

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/axle-wind-up.html

4x4 Tacomas are part-time 4WD, why take the chance to significantly break your transfer case??

Agree, straight line and gentle turns on dry pavement in 4HI the risk is minimal, but sharp turns in 4HI on dry hard pavement eventually will result in broken hardware.

Also, for more 4WD information refer to a Toyota (2009) tutorial

http://www.majormedia2.com/4WDSimplifiedv5/4WD.html