How far can you drive with the front axle only?

should've cut to military footage of a nuclear blast going off right at the end

 

hahahahhahaha

 

Like others said don’t floor it with only the front driveshaft in. It is a chain and it can be stretched and/or broken. You can get away with it for a long time without damage but the harder and longer you drive the truck like that the higher the risk of some excessive wear on the transfer case chain.

 

Last I checked this is the 2nd gen forum

 

Well my answer may bring out the haters...

There are several members on this forum who are unquestionably well versed in technical knowledge on these little trucks, and no question that these trucks are tough. That being said, I would not use the front wheels alone to drive around with in any situation short of an emergency. That's not what they were designed for. The front drive portion of the drivetrain is designed to assist when traction is an issue, not to bear the full load 100% of the time. The front is not nearly as robust and comparitively
simple as the rear axle is either. If nothing else, the comparison of repairing the front drive as compared with the rear if you do break it is reason enough in my opinion to avoid an unknown like this.

Not one full time 4WD vehicle on Earth splits torque at 100/0, unless you go with a Honda or something like it, and they are just modified front wheel drive to begin with. Even they typically use a 60/40 or less ratio.

...maybe if your local Toyota dealer agrees to fix anything you break as some kind of ruggedness challenge he can use as a selling point, but not without some other manufacturer's documentation to support it.

But that's just an opinion. Personally, I have no use for a 4x4 that no longer works in 4WD.

 

It's a diff and two CVs. Not hard to fix. It can pull around the truck when needed.

 

Tcase chain? Can you enlighten me

 

As I said, just an opinion.

The design of the diff allows the lube to be 'slung' to the outside of the case at highway speeds. This can (and has) lent itself to starving the outer needle bearings where the CVs connect. Add the additional heat and 100% loading, and it's begging for a failure. At best, it can shorten the life of plenty of small parts up front.

Yes, it can all be replaced. But replacing things on my truck costs money. Again, just an opinion.