4 whl dr

To keep that front Diff nice and lubed it is recomended to drive at least 10 miles a month in 4WD. In the summer months rain is all you got if you haven't been able to make it to a trail.

 

thanks maverick. i think i got it now. and thanks for the tip dustin.

 

All wheel drive is meant to be driven all the time, the center diff is whats called a viscous coupling, this coupling allows slippage so that you do not get drive train bind.

You can use regular 4 wd in the rain a little but you will get that binding that you have noticed so i wouldnt make a habit of it. Like someone has said a LSD is the best compromise for street driving, a limited slip differential applies equal power to both rear wheels but will allow slippage when turning so that you wont get drive train bind. It will also apply more power to one of the rear wheel if the other is slipping or not getting traction. The trd sport comes with a LSD in the rear while the trd off road has an e-locker the electronic locker is for hard core off roading while the LSD is better suited for street driving.

 

ok i dont have lsd or e locker? how much does toyota charge to install one of these , i just have 4x4 and added new suspension and stuff on my own.mine is out of warranty for anything. whats the difference in using 4wheel drive for offroad and using elocker for hard core offroading?
does anyone know how to turn that beep off when in low 4?

 

If its beeping, your not in 4lo. Stop, press clutch ALL the way to the floor. That is the #1 reason why it wont go in. Also the more you use it, the better it goes in over the years.

Having a locker or even an LSD just adds additional traction to the rear axle. Thats a whole other topic that easily searched.

 

Sorry you felt like you were being attacked, TW is usually a friendly place. It had to be explained to me when i first started messing with 4x4's too so dont feel bad. AWD is great on the road, all 4 wheels spin but not always at the same rate. 4 wheel drive is great offroad but never use it on pavement unless it is snowy or icy. in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, the front two wheels spin at the same rate NO MATTER WHAT. so when you are cornering hard, they turn at the same rate putting pressure on the gears in the differential. in this situation something has to give way to the pressure, either one of your tires will slip, or your gears will break. on dirt or in mud it is very easy for your tires to slip so your differential wont take too much stress. on dry pavement, the tires don slip very easily so the diff takes much more stress. its a really simple concept but very hard to explain unfortunately. much easier to understand in person. But like i said, it had to be explained to me too at one point so dont feel bad. just dont engage 4x4 on the road

 

if you hear a beep you're not in 4lo. you have to be in nuetral or have your clutch all the way in AFTER you're already in 4hi. then switch to 4lo and start driving

 

thanks ndcouch, i got it now. its just some people act like they were born with or just popped out with all this info imprinted in their head. like im crazy or something. i didnt come here to listen to rich bratty people's attitudes and bragging and showing off, i came here cause it said tacoma world/tacoma owners.

 

No problem, glad to help out. Everyone had to learn this info at some point and there are alot of helpful well informed people on this site.

 

This post sort of answered my questions but can someone tell me what the difference is in the 4 wheel drive system between the Tacoma and the 4Runner? My Dad said his 4runner is all wheel drive and he thought my Tacoma was too but I told him it was 4WD. The 4runner has a selector for 4wheel as well. My wife also has a 2002 4runner (the old style) does anyone know how the old 4runners differ from the new ones as far as the 4wd system goes? I thought hers was true 4wd like the Tacoma. We used to have a 97 Rav4 and that was all wheel drive all the time and had no shifter button at all for 4wd.

Any insight would be great.

Thanks!

 

Full time 4wd has all 4 wheels being powered all the time like awd, but full time 4wd has hi and lo settings while awd doesnt.

 

I think it really depends on what options the truck got when it was bought new from the dealer, my brother has a 97 4runner and it has part time 4wd like my tacoma and your tacoma. Your dads 4runner is probably full time 4wd if it has the hi/lo setting and all 4 wheels are powered all the time. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

my understanding is awd is all the time like if i were to keep my switchable 4x4 in hi4x4 all the time. but with awd u cannot switch back to 2wheel drive for better gas milleage. another words awd is 4x4 all the time. where as switchable 4x4 is part time 4wd. the names that people call them is what is confusing.

 

My dad use to have a Subaru with All-Wheel-Drive, it was a pretty advanced system and even though it claimed to put power "from the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip" it primarily just powered the rear wheels under normal driving conditions. The front would basically just coast even though all of the front-end drivetrain componets were spinning (with power at hand, so to speak). When driving on snow, for example, the power being distibuted to the front was obviously much more noticeable. When you would hammer the gas pedal, power seemed to be even between front and rear.

In a vehicle with selectable 4WD, when engaged, the front is going to get power and not compensate for the terrain or sharp turns, it just gets power. In an AWD vehicle, the drivetrain compensates so as to not hinder steering. AWD also compensates by being more efficient in GPM than a vehicle in 4WD by only putting power to the "right" tires at the right time.

Chris 4x4 beat me to it!!!

 

My wifes 02 4runner has a seperate switch on the dash to control the center dif, I think that's the only real difference between that system and the tacomas.

 

well all i know for sure is, when in 4whl drive in part time 4x4 vehicle(05-09 tacoma), if front rt tire is off ground there will be no torque to the left tire that has traction..i think chris4x4 hit it on the head.