wheel lock vs. free?

so i was washing my truck today and noticed that on the front wheels there is a switch that says lock and free. both switchs were on free, but should they be on lock? what is this?

 

free.... thier your locking hubs for your 4wd.....
how long have u own your truck?...

read the info on your windsheild visor, about putting the truck in 4wd.....

or the manuel... if u dont have it... buy on ebay...

 

i just read the paper on the visor and it says that if i want to put the truck into 4high or 4low i have to turn it to lock. so does that mean that whenever i want to got from 2 to 4 i have to stop, get out and turn the switch to lock? or can i just keep it on the lock position?

i just bought the truck two weeks ago, and this is my first tacoma.

 

Yes it does and no, don't leave it locked in.

 

what would happen if i did leave it locked? when i got to the local gravel pit to drift around and do hill climbs i want to be able to go from 2 to 4 without having to get out.

but if this would hurt my truck bad then i will just have to do it.

 

I've heard it can do some serious damage if you leave them locked in. I can't tell you for sure what kind of damage though. I have an 02, which has the button in the cab to engage the 4wd. The older trucks, like yours, have the manual locking hubs(that switch on your wheels). Sorry I can't help you more, I just don't have the experience with the manual lockers.

 

you shouldnt leave them locked for long periods of time just for wear and tear type of deal....obviously if they are locked all the time (and the axles are spinning) it wears everything out faster..the manual hubbed tacomas have bushings in the axles....the ADD trucks without the hubs have bearings in the axles to help slow down the wear..now if your like snowed in your drive way you can lock the hubs...put lever in 4wd and pull out onto rd then switch to 2wd till you get where you are going....... just dont let them locked in all week or something....hope this helps oh yeah and BTW i get 1.5-2mpg better with the hubs unlocked..since you aren't using power to turn the axles

 

would it be possible to get the ADD on my truck or would that just be a huge pain in the a$$?

 

huge pain and alot of people make the other switch from add to manuals...they last longer and get better MPG and like i said before its not like toyota would make it so you cant drive the truck in 4wd its just you shouldnt let them locked when you dont need them..if I'm going off roading I lock them when I leave my house or when I get to the trail head...unlock them at the carwash on way home or once home... i dont like to turn them while they are crusted with mud...never seen the seals be affected by the mud and turning them...but I just rather have them clean before I twist them to free

 

oh a btw sweet truck hope you come to love them as much as i do... i bought my first one when i was 17 working at a toyota dealership and since then I have always had a tacoma ,even if i had another veh i always have a tacoma

 

i agree 100% with 350tacozilla. you can drive on the highway just fine with the hubs locked. just dont always keep them locked. and i also lock mine in before i leave the house if i know im on the way to hit some mud! ive left mine locked in for a week on accident and nothin major happened.

 

Like everyone has already said.... It's saves on wear/tear to have them unlocked (and a tiny bit of gas mileage too).

And kinda like the owners manual states...put the truck in 4WD once a month to keep things lubricated (so to speak). Same thing with the hubs - you'll wanna lock 'em once in a while and run 'em a bit and flip the hub switch back/forth. If they're not used - the hubs can seize up and it's harder to turn the knobby (atleast the Warn hubs on my jeep get 'stiff').

 

i leave mine locked all the time, my buddy told me a few years ago not to keep them locked because they will have problems later so i did the opposite just to do it...havent had a problem yet and i even drive on the highway quite often. i was told if anything should go wrong it would be the hubs first. i looked all over the web n couldnt find a definative answer, im keepin em locked... (All statements provided by crazieN8 have not been evaluated by anyone and are not intended to be viewd as factual scientific studies but rather as a private testimonial(s). Should you choose to turn your back and better judgement on warnings and precautions resulting in adverse affects including vehicular malfunction, added wear, injuries, and in extreme cases death, you cannot and will not attemp to hold crazieN8 liable in any way for any damages to your own vehicle,ones self, or a person(s) in, on or near your vehicle at any time.)

 

I spent about $1600 converting mine over to manual hubs...popular conversion for afore mentioned benefits, just expensive. Maybe you could find an ADD that wants to swap!

 

All the locking hubs do is engage the wheels to the half-shafts. In normal 2WD, you would want the wheels to spin freely without engaging with anything, but when they are locked then the wheels spin with the half shafts, which in turn spin with the front differential, which in turn spins with the front drive-line. Because it is a differential, it allows for there to be a speed differential from the left wheel to the right wheel, so it would cause no damage to drive on the street in normal 2WD mode with the hubs locked. The only problem is that then your truck has to turn all those moving parts and there is some power lost through friction. Until you engage the transfer case in 4WD the front drive line is totally disengaged from the rest of the drive-train, so even with the hubs locked you can still steer with relative ease. The problem comes when you engage 4WD on the street where the full traction from all four wheels could pose a problem when you attempt to steer… something’s gotta give.

I would offer to trade you straight up; your manual hubs for my ADD if you didn’t live so far away.

 

Whersiswill had the best post as to why or why not to lock or not to lock..

As a former tech, I say this.

Service your hubs more often if you lock them and go in dirt or mud.

Also clean out your drum brake and replace your gear oil in the Diffs.

Also get a breather extension as well to move it away from the water.

 

yeah but that dosent have anything to do with the hub. you can feel it in the floor if ur riding in the passenger seat