Truck running on front wheel drive

I have a 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 rear wheel drive, however I got my brakes changed and my buddy said he thought it was running on front wheel drive even though my truck is real drive . Any thoughts on the issue at hand , any help greatly appreciated

 

Use reverse. Then the “back” wheels will be driven.



In all seriousness though, your buddy is probably not understanding how the 4wd system works. An easy way to confirm is to park the truck in 2wd, and try to turn the front driveshaft by hand. If you can turn it, 4wd is disengaging correctly.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO-ylYRBIUw

Unless you have engaged 4wd (j shifter or push button depending on your truck) you'll be in 2wd- which is sending power only to the rear wheels. When you engage 4wd, the transfer case will send power to both the front and rear. There is not a (normal) case where a Tacoma would be front wheel drive only. You would essentially have to remove the rear drive shaft and engage 4wd for that to happen- so it's pretty unlikely in your case.

Edit:
https://www.toyota.com/owners/resources/warranty-owners-manuals

You can find a copy of the owners manual on that link. Sounds like it would be helpful for you to download a copy and go through it to understand how to operate your truck a little better.

 

If you have locking Hubs and you have removed the rear Drive Shaft is the only way to make it happen.

Though a strange failure in the transfer case could make it happen but it would need to be in 4 wheel drive with ADD or locking hubs!

I have seen far to many strange things to say it is impossible any longer.

 

What is this, are we settling a bar trivia bet or are we troubleshooting a severely broken drivetrain?

 

What made your buddy think it was running in front wheel drive?

 

You're kinda mixing terminology here. Your truck is simply a 4x4 (4 wheel drive). You can choose to have the front axles engaged or not, but that's not the same as "front wheel or rear wheel drive."

Unless you remove the rear driveshaft, it will *always* have the rear wheels driven (i.e. not in "front whee drive").

You can choose between 2WD high range (rear wheel drive, high gear ratio), 4WD high range (4 wheel drive, high gear ratio) or 4WD low range (4 wheel drive, low gear ratio). You'd KNOW if you were in low range as the truck would be rev'ing at it's max at like 30mph.

Is there a green light on your dash that looks kinda like this?



If not, you're more than likely NOT in 4 wheel drive. The button on your short shifter selects between 2wd and 4wd.

It's possible that the light is burned out\, but that's not too common. When you first start the truck, a bunch of lights on the dash should light up momentarily, and this should light up too, then go out. That's to "test" all the warning lights to make sure they work.

As others said, get under there and try to twist the front drive shaft coming from the transfer case, if it turns freely, your friend is mistaken. If it doesn't turn freely, check the position of the button on your short shifter and look for the 4wd indicator light.

 

I think its time to get a new buddy... I have had people say weird %%$$# to me too - "it feels like its in 4 wheel drive". Also I rarely clean the interior so I get "its dirty" or "its bumpy", "its noisy".

I'm thinking of removing the passenger seat.

Or maybe get one of those stickers that say get in, put on your seatbelt and shut the %$%^& up.

 

Not that those of us on TW are 100% right all the time, but I've definitely seen more than my share of "my buddy said XYZ" threads. Almost certainly riddled with misinformation.

My favorites are the "my buddy who has a jeep said XYZ"

It's hard when you're ignorant yourself, and have a "buddy" that projects (undue) confidence, you have no choice but to believe them. At least some people have the wherewithal to post here and ask questions.