What would be damage when doing a u-turn on 4WD

Hi everyone, I just did 3 or 4 u-turn while my 4runner on 4WD on dry pavement. I experienced a jump from my rig. It’s 5th gen off road. My OCD blood have gone crazy. I know this thread is posted several times, but I would like to know how bad it could be. And if it get damaged, how easy to fix it.

 

Probably you did no damage, and what you felt was the tires scrubbing to release the wind-up. But you could have done damage. Different vehicles have different weak points in the driveline. Could be the axle, the CV, or the spider gears in the diff.

We’ll pass over the question of why you were doing u-turns on dry pavement in 4WD.

I used to have a Defender. It had two piece front half axles. The outboard pieces had a groove machined into them to purposely make them the weak link. They could be changed out with simple tools with the vehicle on the ground without even removing the wheel.

 

Thanks Captain Spalding. I use 4wd because the user manual said we should engage 4wd a little bit every month but I did not understand why 4wd shouldn’t be engaged on dry pavement until I understand why . The truck was stopped but then I stepped the pedal and I felt like it jumped.

 

It is true that the 4WD should be exercised periodically.

The best way to do it is off road or on wet or snowy pavement. Some folks are satisfied with a long straight stretch of dry pavement with no curves.

 

What year Defender? I had a 1992 D90 with a 200Tdi and briefly a 97 USA spec truck.

 

^^This. You're probably fine.

As mentioned above, it's ideal to exercise the four-wheel drive on loose ground, or if you do it on drive pavement, just do it on a stretch where you are not turning.


Also, @Captain Spalding , that's very cool about the Defender!

 

I can see accidentally doing one U-turn but why 3-4 U-turns in 4wd on dry pavement?

 

1997.

 

They’re tough trucks so you’ll be fine. Just don’t make a habit of it.

 

If you did damage, you would know it.

 

@Captain Spalding Great looking workshop! Got any nice old motorcycles in there?

 

I didn’t pay attention until the 3rd one. My heart is broken. It’s been 6 months and I only drive my rig 3000 miles but I learned it the hard way

 

How do you like your defender. It’s a nice looking truck. The 2022 is also nice. I considered it but the 4Runner was easy for my pocket.

 

On a similar note, i turn my a/c on a few random times during winter months on all my vehicles. I figure the exercise keeps all the seals lubed up.

 

Well, yes, but it’s not old compared to the cars. It’s a 1986 BMW K100RS.

Sadly I had to give up the Defender. Parts are starting to dry up. NAS only emissions-related parts in particular. The Defender beats the 4Runner in two categories. Off road prowess and charisma. But now that I have the 4Runner I must admit that electric windows are nice.

 

Like the others said, your probably fine. Now you know.

 

Thank everyone, I was overthinking. Hopefully nothing went wrong. I enjoy the 5th gen so much hence I try to keep it as “healthy” as I can. Just thinking about the new gen is coming, maybe the turbo charge engine will replace the current engine. I don’t know whether that will sacrifice the reliable for better mpg. And also thinking about car companies are approaching to hybrid and ev truck. All of that make the 5th gen more and more valuable.

 

I ran those Cooper S/Ts on my old ZJ. Great tires, I wish they still made them.

I love those Defenders! I still see a number of them running around my town, including wagon and pickup versions (lots of affluent people who can afford to purchase & keep them running, haha).

 

Nice. I imported this one from Spain, reworked the whole the truck. It lived on a farm for a long time before I imported it and was rough. Should have held on to it. But after three Discovery's and two Defenders it was time to move on. There are also places I am comfortable taking the 4Runner from a reliability standpoint, that I would not take a Land Rover.

 

The new Defenders have nothing in common with the old trucks. One is fancy/comfortable and unreliable and the other is a farm tractor/not comfortable and unreliable.

 

I was actually wondering this myself today as well. I was in 4WD in snow and had to make a u turn and a 3 point turn and wondering if this was bad for drivetrain (even though it was on snow)?

Or is it best even on slippery surface to avoid tight turns?

video below conditions I was driving in:

https://youtu.be/-b04cdfSBGs

 

If your wheels can slip, it’s perfectly fine. I do u turn on dry pavement which is a lot of friction. That friction cause a lot of the tension for the driving system.

 

With amounts of snow and ice on roads here lately we just leave the truck in 4x4 sometimes for a couple weeks at a time, when difficult to turn into a parking stall or similar it gets put into 2WD for a few minutes.

 

Very true.

My observation is that the old Defenders were well designed, but indifferently assembled, and that when new, a “wringing out” period was necessary to correct the assembly defects, after which they were fairly reliable.

 

If it's slippery and you have wheel spin, it's perfectly fine. In fact, get froggy with it, give it a little gas and do some snownuts lol.