Did I damage anything driving in 4wd on the streets?

So first time ever having a truck and I decided the next day to drive in 4x4 mode, didn't know anything about 4x4 until now, unsure if it was in 4lo or 4hi I drove about 8 minutes down the road to oreillys and as I turn into oreillys it stopped engaging gears and I was super confused, thought I had broken something as I didn't know what had happened, I rolled into a parking spot, went to get what I needed, came back out and put it back to the way it was before leaving my house in 4x2, any idea what might've happened? few weeks later after reading about how 4x4 is used, I decided to test my truck and everything is in working order, anything I could've damaged?

 

Turning on dry pavement is a no no in 4hi or 4lo. Axels bind up in the front

 

Not good by any means but It’s probably fine. I wouldn’t make a habit of it. I have driven several trucks in 4x4 on dry pavement (before I knew it could damage them) and it’s never hurt any of them. It puts the CV axles in a bind when you turn the wheels. Only use Off Road or in snow/ice.

 

should be fine, but don't do it again. But I do pop mine in 4x4 hi when I hit a long stretch of pavement to lube up the differential. The user manual does recommend 10 miles in 4x4 every month, I think (don't remember exactly).

 

4 hi would be for driving in snow and situations like that, 4 lo is for driving through fairly rugged terrain, for instance recreational offroading most people keep their trucks in 4 lo. If you want to test out 4 wheel drive I'd wait until you're in a situation like that. Don't feel bad though, before I ever used 4wd I did some research and had no idea until then that you could do damage in non-essential situations either. I wouldn't worry about it much, these are hard-shell tacos, they don't break effortlessly. And if you ever drive around in snow and ice in 4 wheel and feel that binding while turning again, you'll know you don't need to have 4wd engaged. Keep in mind it is good to engage 4wd every now and again to keep things oiled up. windy gravel roads and the like are pretty good for it.

 

Yep, that’s why I used to do mine on the street back then. But now I get my 10 miles of 4x4 off road most months lol.

 

what about if your going up hill in traffic maybe save some clutch?

 

Are you talking about using 4lo?

Sure that might help a little, but just keep in mind that your wheels will bind when turning and that's still not very good on the drivetrain.

 

I've been known to launch in 4 hi in the rain to blow Honda kids away.. but never 4 lo. I wouldn't worry about OP at all though just doing it for a short time, I wouldn't do it again, but I highly doubt it would hurt anything

 

Yeah, in the rain I would drive around in 4wd fairly often since there is seriously zero traction over the drive wheels in 2wd. It makes merging into freeway traffic (for example) safer, IMO, when I can accelerate at a more normal speed and not have to baby the throttle.

I've forgotten to turn it off when entering a parking lot or something, then I'm reminded when making a sharp turn.

Like you say, it's nothing to really worry about. If driving on smooth flat ground can cause enough stress to snap a CV or something, jesus, we shouldn't be wheeling with them!

 

No noise, your fine. Hell, my mom drove my truck from the garden about a .25 mile away in 4lo on paved road lol. She kept wondering why it would go pass 25 as it should in 2wd lol.

 

thanks guys! that was when I got the truck a couple months ago, its been good! only thing I can say is it chirps when idling and they told me it could be the slave cylinder, don't remember if it did that when i purchased it but it run good, no issues, think me driving it in 4x4 caused that? don't remember if it was like that or not when i got it
no big deal though, thanks guys!

 

What chirps?

 

This is where manual locking hubs rule. I can drive 4H anytime with unlocked hubs. Just be sure to have fully stopped before switching between 2H and 4H.

 

I don't think it hurts at all driving in 4x4 as long as you don't use your lockers. The differentials should take care of the torque distribution.
I even read in the manual that you should at least once in a month use 4x4 even so not needing it just to grease everything properly.

 

Back when I was a newbie to the Toyota 4x4 I had it 4wd on some dry stuff. It was noisy. Didn't do it again. It seems much different of a sytem on my 98 Tacoma compared to my old 91 Nissan Pathfinder. It also had manual shift Xfer case and manual trans and I put warn hubs on it. Didn't bind up like my Tacoma does. I think the Toyota is a "True" Part time xfer case though. Better traction? maybe? I don't know.. yet.....

 

yes, that is what i read, now that winter is pretty much over I have to wait for the rains to fall and wet the streets for that 10miles