Need clarification in using 4x4

Will running 4x4 on a STRAIGHT stretch of road hurt the 4x4 mechanism. I do it once a month under 55 mph for about 5 miles to do what the manual says . Don't think driving in a straight line or very gradual turns can hurt anything. Need advive please.

 

i only use mine when i need it. I wouldnt even use it if its not needed

 

you will not be hurting anything, especially in straight line driving, sharp curves on dry pavement will hurt the tires over time since they are not slipping around the turns. do as the manual says.
btw, I have not found that text in my manual, but have read many people say its in there

 

Gradual turns and straight runs probably won't hurt it too much. Do be careful tho....If you have to suddenly avoid something you can destroy your drive-line pretty quickly.
Tires aren't really the worry- Drive-line binding is the real damage problem.

 

Yeah your fine,Turning is where the problems lie,sharp truns at that, a little swerve here and there is not going to grenade your truck,Just use common sense!

 

What he said!

 

I have a feeling this "ten miles a month" nonsense in the manual is going to cause Toyota more trouble than it helps.

The front and rear diffs are always spinning. Therefore, they always remain lubed. The t-case is sitting half-covered in oil and the gearing will have been fully covered in oil a fraction of a second after you engage 4wd.

Grease zerks are going to need their scheduled maintenance whether 4wd is used or not.

I've never seen a 4x4 fail to engage or operate properly just because it hadn't been used in a while.


As for the OP, I would never operate 4x4 on pavement. Even the small differences in pressure between different tires causes more wear than necessary. Just use 4x4 when you need it/can, and don't worry about the monthly sillyness.

 

This is my feeling as well. I would never drive in 4WD on dry pavement. The little bit I do use my 4WD is enough to keep it operating well.

The OP is in PA, so I would think at this time of year he'll get some use in now and then for real reasons anyway. In the summer months, my 4WD gets used very rarely.

 

Guess I should look for the "4x4 10 miles/month" thing in the manual. But risking drivetrain damage doesn't sound fun. Maybe just driving a straight line in a parking lot @ 5 mph wouldn't be too risky just to make sure the 4x4 knob works

 

just try to find a dirt or gravel road to drive on every once in awhile....but i mean it's really not necessary to drive 10 miles a month like it says in the manual

 

Also, I think if you are going to do that, if you don't have access to private property where you can get off road, at a minimum, do it on a dirt/gravel road.

But again, I wouldn't bother at all. I'd just use it when you need it.

 

I do it on a straight road, I have seen actuators go bad frm not being shifted that often.

 

i never did anything on my '88 toyo...just used 4wd when i needed it which wasn't very often at all....never had any problems with anything

 

I would never use 4wd on pavement. I've never gone by "drive in 4wd 10 miles a month." I do however use it in the winter with the snow and ice, and in the summer on dirt roads and trails. I usually engage it for a few miles anytime I'm on dirt whether I need it or not just to keep things lubed up, but don't make a special trip every month. I did the same with my last Toyota and 350,000 miles later I never had any issues with the 4wd system...and that was with a system where the only time the front components turned was when the hubs were locked.

 

'95 F250 4x4 - auto locking hubs and a lever on the floor sticking out of the transfer case.

This was a low mileage vehicle - It still has about 60K miles on it. I meant to put it into 4x4 periodically, but it was the kind of thing I frequently forgot to do. As a result, I had a lot of difficulty with the automatic hubs. After a couple of rebuilds, I finally swapped them with manual hubs. The other problem was getting it into 4-Lo. That got to be really hard.

The hubs are not an issue on the Tacoma since they are always locked. However, I would be concerned about letting the mechanism that shifts the transfer case sit unused for too long.

Incidentally, this is on page 176 in my manual under "(b) A. D. D. (automatic disconnecting differential)" It states

We have a Prerunner so this is purely academic to me.

 

Jonny Taco, if it rains or snows then use the 4WD... keep it working. If it doesn't rain or snow at least once a month, then find dirt field or dirt driveway... It shouldn't be that hard to find.

Is the weather always that dry in PA? Have fun!!

 

Or, find a beach somewhere...

 

I wouldn't necessarily write off the manuals recomendation of "10 miles a month" as nonsense, actually I'd recommend engaging ANY 4x at least 3-4 times a year on a DIRT ROAD, dirt lot, whatever just to make sure it still DOES engage ( I've seen newer 4x's that are electrically engaged (shift on the fly) fail after a long stint without using 4 wheel drive only because the components weren't energized , they had to unplug & re-plug the connections, I don't think you need to drive 10 miles but I would defininetly NOT DO IT ON PAVEMENT, EVEN IN STRAIGHT LINE, if any of you have had a 4x with manual locking hubs then you know about having your hubs "spool out" on you & having to roll your rig back & forth to get them to dis-engage or sometimes even to engage......

Just my opinion.......

 

Sorry im stupid but please explain to me why using 4x4 on dry pavement is worse then using it on sand or a hard dirt road? And don't just say "because it F's things up"

 

Because it F's things up

Also see here:

http://www.rubicon-trail.com/4WD101/driveline-bind.html

Bottom line: High traction surfaces are a NO NO. Use 4wd only in low traction...you shouldn't need it in high traction anyway.