4x4 front wheels don't pull but light is on

i'm a newbie to this forum but i've owned my 98 tacoma for 17 years and i love it. I just went to put it into 4 wheel drive and the light comes on but the front wheels don't pull. I can tell by turning on concrete. I have locking hubs but i've never locked them in the 17 years i've owned the truck but it always went into 4x4 when i manually shifted into 4hi or 4lo. Now, I need to lock the hubs to get into 4 wheel drive. How is that possible?

It's a manual transmission.

 

Wut? How did you 4 wheel with unlocked hubs?

I don't think it is.
I've only 4 wheeled in vehicles that had manual hubs and manual engagement. No electronics, no lights, no buttons.

So I certainly don't know the answer.

But I'm in for hearing the answers from smarter guys than me.

 

Trust me, it makes no sense, but for all the years i owned the truck, i never locked the hubs, i would just shift the manual gear to 4hi. i know it went into 4x4 because it would bunny hop on dry pavement when i tried to turn. Last year when it snowed, i went to put it in 4hi and my truck kept slipping around so i parked it and drove my jeep. Now with winter coming i'm trying to trouble shoot it. I locked the hubs yesterday for the first time in 17 years and it bunny hopped. I've never done that before.

 

I think your doing it wrong.... Lock your hubs like its ment to be used?

 

That is how manual hubs are supposed to work. They have to be turned from Free to Lock on both sides, then the transfer case has to be shifted into 4HI or 4LO to engage 4x4. It sounds like your hubs have been locked in for the last 17 years and were recently mysteriously unlocked. I'm guessing you had your truck serviced or repaired and someone noticed your hubs were locked in so they turned them to the Free position.

 

I vaguely remember my friend having a f250 that had manual locking hubs but there was something in the system that would auto lock the hubs when 4x was engaged. I know some people will manually lock their hubs without actually being in 4x just to provide better traction when driving in snow/ rain. With that I believe such a thing exists but don't have much 1st gen experience so I can't explain how it works???

 

Check your tailgate for the word "PreRunner".

 

The Ford Super Duty hubs are a weird hybrid that works like auto hubs when they are set to Free, but can also be manually turned to Lock.

On Toyotas, locking in manual hubs without shifting the transfer case only engages the CV axles to the front wheels. No traction is gained because the front driveline is in neutral. When you shift the transfer case into 4HI or 4LO, that puts the front driveline in gear similar to a manual transmission. If the manual hubs are unlocked and the transfer case is shifted into 4HI or 4LO, the front driveline is put in gear but the front wheels are not connected to the CV axles so the truck is still in 2WD, which is what the OP experienced.

 

Then for 17 years your vehicle has been broken and has had sticking hubs.

Working correctly, manual hubs must be engaged (locked) in order to work. That locks the wheels to the actual axles. Without locking them in the axle spins in the hub and there is absolutely no way for them to provide any power to the wheel itself.

Unlocked hubs + tcase in 4wd = 2wd
unocked hubs + tcase in 2wd = 2wd

Locked hubs + tcase in 2wd = 2wd
Locked hubs + tcase in 4wd =4wd

And without a locker, both hubs must be fully locked for the front axle to work at all. If either side fails open, you're in 2wd no matter what.

Automatic hubs are a different story, but that's the only way manual hubs can possibly work. If your hubs are 'broken' they may be stuck in the engaged/locked position regardless of their shown position. If they by chance were rusted in that locked position for the last 2 decades and either one of them finally broker free, you're now working correctly, assuming you can lock/unlock them at will.

In any case it really sounds like they need to be inspected and lubed.

 

I had a 98 tacoma that all you did was put the selector into 4x4hi and it was in...no getting out and locking hubs. I also had a 95 or 96 that you had to get out lock the hubs then put the lever into 4x4hi to engage. My current 2000 tacoma has no locking hubs I just put it in 4x4hi and the light comes on and off I go. If you have hub locks on the front you have to either lock or unlock them prior to engaging 4x4 and disengaging respectively.

 

The only thing that I can possibly think that might be the source of the problem was that may be the front hubs were frozen in the lock position. The possibility of this dilemma for both hubs is extremely slim, though. The other very remote possibility would be that both hubs were defective from the factory.

 

I'm almost positive you can't have your hubs locked for 17 years and keep driving with no problems in 4x4

 

Waiiiiiiiiiit a minute guys....... Did we just get trolled ?

 

But he has been using the transfer case shifter correctly, so for all those years the truck was in 2WD the majority of the time. Worst-case scenario for leaving the hubs locked with the transfer case in 2WD is the CV axles might wear a slightly faster and the hubs might get stuck in the Lock position. Both are easy to fix.