Proper use of 4wd

So I was recently flamed for my use of 4wd.

I was taught to turn my hubs in during the nasty couple weeks of winter weather weather we have here and shift in and out of 4wd when needed... I understand it's bad to have it in 4wd when turning, but is leaving the hubs locked in and in 2hi for a few weeks bad? I have almost 200k and no problems at all with my 4wd...

I really appreciated the flaming...

 

I see no problem with that as long as you don't do highway speeds IMO with the hubs locked.

 

Thank you.

 

We had a pretty harsh winter a few years back when I had my 95. I left the hubs locked in for weeks driving back and forth to school ~50 a day. As long as its not in 4x4, I think its fine. I never had a problem. These old manual hubs are pretty sturdy.

 

Those of us who have ADD (no manual hubs) always have our hubs locked in.

 

You will be fine.

 

Thank you everyone.

I knew it. I have driven this way for years and I have never had a problem.

Sure, there is more drag, but the CV joints are still lubricated the same way.

I only use 4hi when the surface is super dangerous to drive on, like an icy road. It has saved my ass more than once.

 

this...there is nothing wrong with having your hubs lock in 24/7, but the benefit to manual hubs is that you don't HAVE to have them locked in 24/7, thus reducing the amount of wear on moving parts.

especially in the winter if you know its snowy, it would be dangerous if the one time you forget to lock them because some moron on the internet flamed on you, and you need to use 4wd only to find it not locked in.

 

In my first Tacoma, a 95 with manual hubs, I'd leave them locked all winter, at all speeds. So for 4-5 months straight, my hubs were locked. My transfer case eventually wound up caked in a sludgy mess, and failed in 4WD. 2WD was fine, and I got the 4WD indicator light on the dash, but the T-case never actually engaged the front driveshaft. I was younger, dumber, and not nearly as retentive in its maintenance and upkeep as I am with my 2001.

That said, I have always been convinced that all that driving at highway speeds contributed to the T-case's demise. I got lucky and found a cheap, used replacement T-case with low miles.

I'm not sure that it's fair to compare that to those of us with ADD. The hubs themselves are locked, but the differential is not. With locked manual hubs, you're spinning the entire front drivetrain back to the transfer case. The only disconnect is in the transfer case. Those of us with ADD's are disconnected at the differential in 2WD, and the front shaft isn't spinning at all.

I'm the lone voice so far - Follow Toyota's advice. My experience convinced me of it.

 

Having the hubs locked isn't any different than all the ADD trucks who's axle shafts are already turning 100% of the time, all the time.

Lock the hubs in the winter.... and when you need 4WD, put it in 4hi.

 

Sorry, but what's ADD? I have an 04 and I thought my hubs were auto , as in not locked until I put the lever into 4x4. I get the little indicator light on the dash indicating I'm in 4x4. When I shift back to normal I can hear a slight thunking sound coming from the hubs as they shift back to unlocked(I thought).
Was driving once on snow in two wheel at fifty and went into a spin. I shifted to four high on the fly and pulled right out of it then drove a bit before shifting back to two wheel again on the fly.
Once or twice it would not unlock the front automatically when I shifted to two wheel. The normal thunking was absent and the indicator light did not go off. I stopped and reversed for about ten feet and heard the thunk and was then disengaged. It makes me think I have automatic hubs that are not otherwise engaged unless I do it from the cab. No?
Why would anyone want to have the front engaged all the time? Am I mistaken about my hubs being auto ?

 

This sounds like the t-case or differential wasn't properly lubed to begin with, not because you left the hubs locked.

 

The diff engages the CVs at the diff. Not the hubs. the thunking is probably a combination of the diff engaging and the cvs getting locked in. But the wheels are always turning the CVs themselves on our ADD wheels. Just not the full front diff and driveline.

least thats how i understood it..someone please correct me..

 

Yes, I completely acknowledge that that could have been the case, at least with regard to the t-case.

But I will always question whether prolonged driving above 50 mph, with the hubs locked, somehow pushed/churned the gear oil up and out of the t-case, while still in 2WD, which could have led to a state of insufficient lubrication. There's no seal/gasket/mechanism in place at the top of our transfer cases to keep the oil from leaking or seeping out.

Let's boil it down - There's obviously a reason that the 4WD 50 mph speed limit is recommended by Toyota. Why?

 

That's exactly right. Locking your manual hubs is different from those of us who have ADD's. These are different systems, fundamentally.

 

A HUGE thank you to everyone for proving my point.

It's pretty obvious that you wouldn't need or want to drive at highway speeds in 4hi. Most people can notice that there is some hesitation and drag.

But I have always shifted in and out of 4hi in the winter on frosty or icy days without a problem. And around here, snow could be a trace a mile down the road and 6 inches at my house. So it helps to have them locked in for that reason.



I'm off to Vegas. Thanks again.

 

Makes sense. I have a manual hub conversion on my 4Runner, and the only time I lock the hubs for freeway driving is before I head up to the mountains in the winter. I'd rather have them locked and ready to go than have to stop and get out to lock them when 4x4 conditions occur. I haven't encountered any problems driving normally with my hubs locked thus far.

 

When I had my 92 I always had them locked in the winter and never had a problem.

 

ADD is an acronym for Automatic Disconnect Differential. 4x4 Tacomas that do not have manually locking hubs have the ADD system. It is a misnomer to say "auto locking hubs". If you have the ADD system your hubs are always "locked". The ADD system engages the front diff when you move the lever or push the button for 4hi.

The clunking noise you hear is not your hubs. If I was to guess, the noise you hear and feel is the t-case disengaging. This will be more pronounced if there is tension in the system, like if your front wheels are turning at a slightly different speed from the rear wheels, as they do in a turn. That is why you never want to use 4hi in a high traction situation.

 

This.

It just lowers your gas mileage by causing more drag, but it won't hurt anything. If anything in your front axle is worn out or out of balance, you'll find that out at speed.

Later Toyota trucks have axle disconnects instead of hubs, but there were some vehicles made (Jeeps) that had no hubs or disconnects. They work just fine.

If I had your setup and needed the 4WD often, I'd just leave them locked in.