Need suggestions for when to use 4wd in winter on winding asphalt road

Something is wrong with your truck. You should be able to seamlessly shift from 4X4 to 4X2 at those speeds without any issues. As someone who has had to pay to rebuild a transfer case due to driving on pavement in 4X4 I don't use 4X4 on pavement.

Years ago I had a Jeep truck that used vacuum lines to shift into and out of 4X4. But prior to me buying the truck the vacuum hoses had gotten reversed. When the switch said 4X4, I was in 4X2, when the switch was in the 4X2 position I was in 4X4. I was smart enough to know better than to be in 4X4 on pavement, but not experienced enough to figure out the problem before it cost me a lot of money. And you don't have to drive a lot of miles on pavement to break stuff. It just takes longer if the roads are patchy with sections of slick road and dry pavement.

The damage doesn't show up all at once, it is cumulative. While the guys above haven't had a problem YET, they are damaging the drive train. People like that are the reason I won't buy a used 4X4.

 

Well there's your problem...

Having driven brand new tundras and Tacoma's, and old ones as well, the push button 4x4 pretty much always clunks at any speed when disengaging or engaging. It's the nature of there being load on stuff no matter what. Especially with his additional weight putting that extra load on it.

Manual transfer case shifting is a different story entirely on how smooth it'll shift.

 

You want to be off the pedal and ideally with the steering wheel straight.

^this

 

Valid point, edited my post to clarify highways aren't dry here. Official guidance for a manual tcase agrees with you.

I'm on original tcase at 230k but ymmv.

 

The way a manual t-case and push button engage are slightly different. And OP seems mainly worried about the disengaging. With push button 4x4, you nearly always get a pop or clunk when coming out of 4x4. Even in the best conditions of low speed foot off the gas and in a straight line.

 

Interesting, I've never noticed the pop in the newer Toyotas with the electric actuator but I don't have a lot of miles in the seat either.
I do recall it being absolutely cringe worthy in a few of the mid-2000s gms I've rented though.

 

Neither have I -only when disengaging. Just letting up on gas doesnt help my truck -I also have to be under 5 mph and also helps if I first shift into neutral, then back into drive, then switch 4Hi off.

 

Sorry..messed up quoting Marshall Rs post.. but here's the part I meant to quote:

The damage doesn't show up all at once, it is cumulative. While the guys above haven't had a problem YET, they are damaging the drive train. People like that are the reason I won't buy a used 4X4.[/QUOTE]




Can't argue with that... my 2000 Tahoe developed a noisy t-case at 220k mi. '99 Silverado may be getting some front output bearing noise now at 250k. That's with tens of thousands of miles in 4hi at full speed. So yeah, I guess eventually there can be some wear.

Interestingly, this Tacoma on Blizzaks is safe and secure in 2hi in the same environment where the Chevys slip and slide on AT radials. That must have more to do with tires than anything, however the Tacoma just feels more well balanced and confident on ice.

 

Leave it in 4hi and send it. Tires will slip as needed. Not going to be any more stressful on the driveline than doing burnouts. Going off-road is more abusive on the truck.

BTW I've had both a 2nd gen and now a 3rd gen. Both gave a clunk going from 4hi to 2hi about 80% of the time. It's normal.

 

It’s not supposed to be normal, as many have said, properly engaging and disengaging 4wd means the driveline can’t be under load or bind, so off the accelerator, steady speed, preferably driving straight ahead. An audible clunk is neither normal nor good for the system. Ive heard my fair share of clunks when engaging/ disengaging 4wd but if I do it properly as stated above, there’s magically no clunk, and this does not and should not require slowing down to 5mph

 

As mentioned by others, you can drive a lot in 4wd without hurting your truck. If you know the road is going to be dry for a bit, shift out - turn the knob and let off the gas to relieve pressure on the drive line. Same goes for dry hair pin corners.

I live in the mountains and work on a ski hill. This is all part of my daily routine. My 2012 has been doing this since I bought it new. It has over 130,000 miles and going strong.

 

Just go in 2hi and punch the gas in the corners and let God sort it out from there.

 

As far as I can tell from much googling and forum searching... I've found many instances of people asking about the clunk dating back to the early 2000's when tundras got the push button 4x4. And even then people accepted it as normal and kept on trucking. Foot off the gas, maybe neutral maybe just coasting in gear, sometimes it clunks sometimes it doesn't. Just do your regular maintenance and accept that the push button 4x4 has, and always will have, a clunk/bang/jolt/click/noise of some kind on the disengagement.

Uneven loads and tire pressures have been said to effect it, also if you're on an incline or stopped with gravity holding you on the gears. Big tires cause more leverage and more stress to make the 4x4 release with more "enthusiasm." Your 4klb camper is definitely not helping the clunk, but since you said it is never coming off... guess the clunk will stay for the most part.

If you wanted to get rid of the clunk truly, you could do the FJ manual t-case swap, and then you'll never hear noise again on the shift in and out of 4x4.