Noisy 4x4?

Hey guys I am new to Tacoma World and a new owner of a 2014 regular cab 4x4 tacoma!!!!!!! its my first vehicle!!, I bought it two months ago and have started doing bite of 4wheeling with it, nothing to hard just some easy trails and such. I have a few questions that are not answered so well in the owner manual.
1. I heard that turning off traction control while in 4x4 will better the preformance is that true? and should I do it?
2. I know that when shifting into 4low I have to be in nutral with the parking break on I also know that I can turn on 4high while moving under 55 mph, how ever when I turn on 4high while moveing really slowly it makes a loud CLUNK, I only noticed it the last few times I have turned it on. What is it? I read that turning on diffs can be loud but I dont have one. Its really concerning. I read on Tacoma World that one guy puts his truck in nutral while moving and shiftes his truck to 4high.
3. the last question, I did some minor flexing the other day and heard some CREEKS and CRACKS, again I refered to Tacoma World and read that its just the leaves stretching, does that sound right?
I am very paranoid about treating my truck with love and just want to make shure i am not hurting her, also if there is any other things to be aware of please inform me!!!!!
Thanks for taking the time.

 

Welcome

first off the traction control should automatically turn off once 4wd is engaged, secondly 4 hi is useless forget it exists!!!, also I personally hate the traction control on my 09 I'm looking for a way to disable it full time

question 2, you don't have to have the parking brake on it'll work without it, but you will need to be in neutral with the clutch depressed to the floor, shift to 4 hi wait for the light to be solid you may have to roll forward a bit sometimes for the front diff to engage, make sure you're stopped then shift into 4lo, never ever ever attempt to shift into 4 lo while moving seriously!!!!!! I don't even shift into 4 hi while moving.

question 3
when you flex the truck its going to make noises!!! don't worry if it still runs and nothings leaking you're good to go!!! just wait till you can hear the roof and a pillar creaking

 

1) Turning the traction control off while off-road is recommended...AFTER you get some experience behind the wheel.

2) A slight to moderate clunk is somewhat normal when engaging 4HI while moving. Just make sure you are not spinning the rear tires when engaging. A clunk when stopped and shifting into 4LO is completely normal.

3) The truck will make noise as you use it. Normal.

Um...wut?

 

Wtf? 4Hi is not useless by any means.
OP, definitely read your manual. There is some very useful information that will help.
GL

 

How the heck is 4Hi useless? In flat ground, low traction situations, it would be more useful than 4Lo.

 

I've never once used 4hi if I need to be in 4x4 then 4lo is what needs to be happening all 4hi does is engage the front wheels, when needing traction I usually need better gearing as well thus 4lo, but that's trail situation not parking lots, op was talking about some beginner trails in my experience 4hi just puts drag on the driveline

 

4 hi is useless, I needed a good laugh.

 

4 Hi is useless, I needed a good laugh, thanks.

 

Both 4wd modes have their uses on and off the street.

 

4 lo traction control off is better. The parking break does not need to be engaged to engage 4wd. You can only turn on slick surfaces when in 4wd. If you're turning while in 4wd and on a dry hard surface your drive line will bind up and possibly cause damage to vehicle and/or tires. The truck will flex, it is normal. The skid plates like to pop when they flex.

 

Without 4 Hi I'd not have been able to drive in the winters during/right after decent snow storms. You often can do the flat roads in 2WD but parking lots, (Especially NE Hilly terrain) ,snow berms/banks etc. require 4WD in my empty truck u less I want to get out and push !!!!

 

Just my experience, if you can show me situations where 4hi comes in handy I'd be happy to go try it out, it has been my experience that as soon as you are in a position to need 4hi two seconds later you need 4lo, I prefer 4lo because I take advantage of the gearing

 

Fair enough I could also say auto problems!!! With the 2.7 5spd 4hi is just a clutch burner imo, in 4lo with the manual I can just keep shifting if I start to break traction, I can understand how that would be an issue with an auto, op also never mentioned which enginengine he has. I'm gonna have to try this out though just cause now I'm curious if it will work with my truck or not

 

4 hi is very useful. How else would I drive 45 miles an hour UP the mountain in the snow?

 

In 4lo 5th gear

 

How do you live in BC and consider 4HI useless ? You don't use it in the snow ?

Disable ABS and VSC / Traction Control

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...locking-diff-write-up-pics-8.html#post5324525

Also there is no issue shifting into 4HI while moving and even if you did try to shift to 4LO while moving the truck won't let you do it anyway

 

Sweet thanks for the link! !!

It snows in the lower mainland ?

Lol all I'm saying is every time I went to use 4hi I ended up stopping and using 4lo, if I run into some snow or mud I'll try it out and see what happens but I'm guessing I'll get stuck and revert back to 4lo

 

They are for 2 different applications

 

Well I haven't found an application for one of them

 

Perhaps using both Hands ??