Four wheel drive "drag...?

BINGO

You can’t do tight 3 point U-turns with the steering cranked to lock in a long wheelbase vehicle when the part time transfer case is in 4WD and the front/rear axles are locked together. It’s not an issue with your truck it’s the way these trucks operate.

 

Also, If I have to make a U-Turn on a trail I will flip it back into 2HI if possible because it’s 10x easier to get it turned around. In 4WD it can feel a little bit like an Austin Powers skit going back and forth 7 times to turn around due to bind.

 

For your truck to get in a bind while doing this normal. But was completely operator error and not normal operation. You ain't supposed to do that. When turning any wheeled vehicle each wheel takes a different path. The wheels on the inside have far less distance to travel compared to those on the outside. Especially the inside front wheel. As a result the inside wheels need to either turn slower, or spin on the ground.

When you're on 4X2, or if you have a vehicle with true AWD, the drivetrain will allow each wheel to turn at different speeds. If locked in true 4X4 then all 4 wheels are forced to turn at the same speed. Which is great for low traction situations. If you're in mud, sand, loose dirt, gravel, snow/ice, or even grass the inside wheels will spin slightly on the ground as you corner without causing any damage.

But if traction is good such as on dry pavement, even dry hard packed dirt you can cause serious damage to the vehicle. I've seen gears explode inside transfer cases, U-Joints can snap and front diff's can break. It appears that you got away this time with no catastrophic damage. But you did cause excessive wear on components that could lead to premature failure down the road.

 

Wrangler Unlimited feels the same when making a tight turn. All part time 4wd systems feel that way. If I have to make a super tight turn I usually put it back in 2wd if possible.

A friend of mine was looking at Tacoma's recently. He doesn't know anything about how vehicles work. Just wanted something to drive up to mountains to the snow and not have to put on chains. I told him to NOT buy a Tacoma because if you don't know how to use the part time system correctly, it would cause issues. Knowing him he would forget to put it back into 2wd when the pavement turns black again. Told him to buy a full time 4wd or AWD vehicle. I recommended him the Bronco Sport, Grand Cherokee, and Ridgeline.

 

I'll echo what others have said and just reiterate that's perfectly normal for any 4WD vehicle. I've also had numerous 4WD vehicles and they all do this when making a tight turn with the 4WD engaged.

It's simple physics. The front wheels are pointed in one direction and the rear wheels are pointed in a different direction. The vehicle can't move two directions at the same time. You end up with the "binding" or a "hopping."

If you don't like it, your only solution is to go back into RWD when making tight turns or just dump your 4WD pickup and go back to a full-time AWD vehicle.

 

Agreed. I tried pulling someone on the beach and forgot to turn it off. Once I started smelling burnt brakes I was quickly reminded.

 

With the exception of preventing wheel spin, this statement is completely contrary. 4WD will always cause more wear. Wheel scrub like you experienced is the most pronounced result of a true part time 4wd system.


Your short wheel base experiences match up with mine, it's a completely different experience. The short wheelbase results is a vastly smaller difference in required wheel speed on tight maneuvers. otherwise the system operates identically. AWD systems are by design much more forgiving. Although my Subaru will have wheel bind in super tight maneuvering as well.

I agree with the others, you should have engaged 2wd or 4wd low and dealt with the scrub.

 

put it in 2wd. make the turn. put it back in 4wd.

 

Let Toyota do the talking

https://youtu.be/M9MjFyU1S2g

 

Rtfm. You've had "experience" with a ton of other 4x4s, yet you think towing in 4x4 and making tight turns in 4x4 is the way to go.

You told him to get what? Dude.... You must hate your friend

 

Understanding how something works is different than experiencing it a bunch of times.

My Tacoma was my first ever Part Time 4WD vehicle. I made sure to understand everything about the system and how it works before I even got the truck. Then I practiced the functions to get to know them.

All that to say; get to know your truck and practice it’s functions prior to going on just ‘experience’ alone.

 

Some people are tactile learners. But can be an expensive lesson learned.

 

Bingo. Not really sure why OP thinks he needs 4WD all the time on gravel. Certain scenarios, sure. But not all the time

 

Note the guy doing that video doesn't understand how torque is distributed in 4WD/AWD drivetrains and since the whole video uses torque to explain things it makes the technical parts of his explanations garbage. He gets that very wrong.

 

This is the result of binding due to a hard surface, even if it is dirt. Will this hurt anything? Nope.

 

Are you saying the FJ 40 and FJ 55 didn't have "true 4WD"? OK... You would think that with a four speed stick on the floor, and a separate lever shifted transfer case, along with locking front axle hubs. (Yup, had to get out and lock the hubs, even in the mud and snow) Those models from the 70's and 80's would qualify as "True 4WD". But... OK...

 

This "Sport model" doesn't have locking differentials at either front or rear axle. The analogy "If locked in true 4X4 then all 4 wheels are forced to turn at the same speed. "
Doesn't apply. There is a mechanical lock front to rear through the transfer case. The sport DOES have "Electronic slip control" through the A-TRAC system etc. Understanding that may be the crux of the question.

 

It is the wear and tear on the gravel drive I was trying to limit. Wheel hop and spin really does a number on the loose gravel surfaces. My own home is up a very steep gravel drive to our cul du sac. UPS /Fed-Ex etc. are absolutely brutal on the road.. I am sensitive to the issue, as I maintain the private road with the tractor mounted scrape blade and York rake.
I didn't want to make issues for the folks I was visiting. By the way, the tractor has a locking front axle as well as a locking diff at the rear. It's sort of unique for that feature.
I know what locked up diffs and wheel scrub feel like.

 

That's what I did.

 

The only thing you mentioned prior was the Isuzu which isn't 4WD it's a form of AWD. The FJ's would be 4WD and they would exhibit the same characteristics you are experiencing. The level of bind you feel, however, is affected by vehicle weight, steering angle, and wheelbase. So either that makes the difference or the conditions and your perception are different.

The traction control should not be at fault here or intervening. If it is intervening in any way you can tell because the slip indicator light will flash.