4WD, Just Curious...

New 4x4 Taco here ...
Just wondering from past experience.
Used to be that when you had a 4x4, you put it into 4x4 just to keep the gears/bearings 'wet' every so often for the front diff... Is this still the practice or am I worrying about nothing?

 

It’s recommended every so often.

 

Gotcha' ..

 

The owners manual, on a 2nd Gen, says to drive about 30 miles per month with 4x4 engaged for that reason.

 

throw that badboy in 4hi and go do a quick 1/4mi run. thatll keep the driveline well lubricated lol.

 

Mine says about 10 miles/month. And it is important, maybe not exactly 10 miles. And you can probably skip a month or 3 every now and then. But generally speaking if you don't use it, you'll lose it. I've seen it happen to several folks and it happened to me years ago.

During most of the year I'm on a dirt or gravel road at least once a month anyway and I'll always shift into 4X4 for at least a short distance. It doesn't say all 10 miles at once. Some months I may get in 200-300 miles in 4X4. Some months only 2-3 miles Some months I have to skip, but I won't let one sit for months at a time without using 4X4.

I've not had any issues since the one time. The grease in the hubs had hardened to the point where the hubs wouldn't move to lock on a Jeep I used to own. All it needed was to be taken apart and the old grease cleaned off and everything relubed before being reassembled.

 

The 2020 owners manual says 10 miles per month as well. I usually do the same thing and put in 4wd on a dirt road or something if I haven't used it in awhile. I've done that with all of my 4x4 trucks.

 

I try to once a month but it ends up being one a quarter. I learned from my son's 4Runner that it also helped the actuator stay in working order. The early 2000s 4Runners can have actuator failures with prolong non-use of the 4x4 system. Use them regularly and they work like a charm.

 

Makes perfect sense and figured as much. I didn't know if there was new space-age going on with a 'Meeeeehhh ... Don't worry about it!' thing .. LOL!

 

RTM

 

its best to do in gravel, dirt, rain, snow, ice, etc, not preferred on dry asphault or concrete, if you can help it.

 

I don’t worry about it much. They are better sealed than older styles, but it’s always good to periodically exercise it. Just avoid a lot of sharp turns on dry pavement.

 

Living off a dirt road i run in 4wd Hi a few miles a couple times a month. This taco goes into 4wd slicker and quicker than my 01 tundra ever did...same for going back into 2wd. Just turn the dial, and it lights up 4wd. The tundra often clunked, and took several or more seconds.

 

Yeah, had to go to the hardware store yesterday .. Was on dry pavement, so I took it easy (40 mph .. speed limit is 45 anyway, so..)
I ran it in 4WD for 5 miles.. i figured that oughta' be more than enough to keep all the bearings/gears/seals wet.
But in about a month and a half it'll be mostly in 4WD anyway. Early Nov. is when the rain/snow/ice will start to fly around here...

 

Yeah, put in 4WD yesterday ... Had to listen real hard to hear the 'click'...(Of course the light on the dash came on, but I like to hear the 'click' .. LOL!)