How to exercise 4WD with no dirt roads around

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Interested in what the experts have to say on this one too. My TRD OR is my first 4WD. Thanks!

 

Since the Taco is a DD for me, I run into this also. Highway isn't a good option due to speed. Per the manual, 4Hi won't go in over 60mph. For mine, it is even slower than that.

There are a couple long straights on my work commute (side roads) that I just pop it into 4Hi and pop it out before a turn. Lane changes and such are no big deal. Just turn it on and off while rolling / coasting on dry pavement. This is usually a mile or two at a time for me. So, I try to do it once a week or so.

If it is dry, you don't want any gentle bends. Just straight stuff like this:



That's almost 2mi for me.

Yeah, it is good to get it in 4Lo every once in a while.

 

what tonered says. just fine a long straight road on your commute you can pop it into 4hi for a bit then take it out. that's how i plan to break in my 4.88's for the front.

 

If I don't get a chance to be off road then I wait for a rainy day on a relatively straight road and engage it for a few miles.

 

Best practice (within reason, of course... no need to do it weekly if you get frequent rain) will be that any time you get moderate/heavy rain and you find yourself on longer straights with a higher speed and gentle curves, kick on 4Hi to give it the monthy workout. The friction that would damage a transfer case in 4Hi is already minimal at 50mph (assuming gentle curves) but if you can do that in the rain, it's practically nonexistent.

 

There was a guy on here from St. Louis that said he'd exercise his by driving on the interstate doing 70. A bunch of guys informed him that wasn't cool and he promptly told us all to go pound sand.









I don't know where I was going with this.

 

With as much rain as we've gotten in the Mid-Atlantic region this summer, it's been very easy for me to kick it to 4H on my way to and from work.

 

I’d drive in 4wd on paved straight roads every once in a while but never for 10 miles.

So you’re saying there are no gravel or dirt roads anywhere in Bucks County? No forest service roads? Nothing out in the country that farmers would use? That would be my choice. That off road park sounds too far to be practical.

My cousin lives in that area. I’ll ask him if he knows of anything.

 

Never told anyone to go pound sand, I remember saying that if Toyota thought it was a bad idea why wasnt there a safety disengage and no one could come up with an answer. I'm open to a logical explanation as to why it's a bad idea but no one could come up with a decent answer. Been doing it for 3 years now and never had a problem. I will admit I dont drive 70 anymore. Since getting the 34" tires, driving that fast is a waste of fuel but I have no problem going 60 in 4Hi

 

I don't feel that driving 70 in 4Hi is good or bad thing? The manual even notes top speeds for 4Lo in the 60mph region. The only real problem is that if things stop rotating quickly, there's a lot of inertia in the system that might not like it. Some of the desert runners will see speeds like that?

In the end, it isn't much different from the eLocker that has to be turned on at a stop in 4Lo, but there is no upper limit for it either.

For getting the 10mi in per month, I personally like straight side streets like noted above.

 

I engage my 4WD on a rainy road sometimes, on snow in the winter or better yet, get your truck on a dirt road every month. It's good for the 4WD, it's good for our soul.

Toyota doesn't know if you're traveling on snow or dry roads, which is why they left it up to you and warned you in the owner's manual to engage 4WD on surfaces that have wheel slip. On the 4Runner they do provide a way for the truck to deal with hard surfaces in 4WD with a transfer case that has a differential built-in to let front and rear turn at different speeds. In their owner manuals it says 4WD Auto is acceptable for dry hard-surfaced roads.

 

I broke in my diffs on pavement for 500 miles. Just turn off 4H on turns and on for the straightaways. It’s pretty straight forward.

 

Ok I'm no mechanic so I dont want to come off as a dick here. Apparently the last time people thought I was being a prick. I am just asking questions because I do not fully understand the answers.

If your traveling 70mph on a dirt road, is that supposed to be better than driving 70mph on a wet highway? Its says in the taco manual not to engage over 62mph. In fact it wont let you but you can engage below 62 and drive well over 62 while staying engaged. I figured this warning was to protect the engagement mechanism within the transfer case. I would think that if high speed travel would harm the front diff there would be an electronic safety disengaging 4hi similar to how traction control automatically re-engages at a certain speed

 

If you're talking about the h2 section there, that's 2wd not 4.

And trucks don't care how fast you go in 4wd. You slow down under 60 to engage, after that floor it.

 

There always seems to be confusion about this topic. The manual only specifically says not to ENGAGE 4wd over 60mph, more plainly, "don't mash the gears together at high speed". You are perfectly safe going fast in 4wd. The question remains, if you need 4wd why are you going 60? Might want to slow down so you don't want to slide off the road. But the truck can handle it for certain.

 

Well said!

 

^^^
This.

 

I don't think rain makes much difference. It reduces traction sure but there's still a lot there. I wouldn't treat it any different than dry - as in don't take any turns.

4Hi should be fine at any speed as long as the terrain allows for slip or you are going straight. I think the speed limit for engagement is there because the potential for catastrophic failure is greater at high speeds. Not much reason to be engaging 4x4 at highway speeds anyway.

 

TacoManTaco,
I grew up and work in far NE Philly. Currently living more in Fishtown area. Good thing I read this, I just bought my taco and have yet to go through some of the minute maintenance details. For me, I will prob be doing this on State Rd. You can also do this late on Street Rd in Bucksco. Nice long, straight stretches. Certainly don't try it on the blvd or 95!