Engaging 4 wheel drive

Is normal driving proper in 4 h

 

Welcome to the forum, what do you mean by normal.

 

Not entirely sure what you’re asking... but you only want 4wd engaged when you need it, and when on a surface that would allow a wheel to slip.

If you’re on pavement with 4wd engaged; you’re still okay if you’re going in a straight line; but if you were to go around a turn, you’ll now have two wheels being driven that are traveling at different speeds, and your driveline can bind. You’d probably hear the sound of a tire being dragged along and/or other unhappy sounds.

 

When we had our Tacoma(with the switch, no lever) the service dept. at the dealership said "make sure you switch it to 4lo once a month to keep the transfer case freed up." I had never heard of this before, but figured since I was new to Toyota again, maybe I should do it, so I did. Anybody else heard this? I know when we traded to our 4Runner one of the first things they did upon inspection was put the trans. in neutral and cycle the 4wd switch.

 

I try to cycle through high, low, and the locker in a regular basis.

 

If by normal driving you mean driving on dry, paved roads, then no. This will cause binding in the drivetrain when you turn.

4wd should only be used in situations where you're losing traction in 2wd.

I believe this is a good idea. It helps keep thing from seizing up. You can do this on pavement if you just go in a straight line. A driveway or parking lot is ideal.

I would engage 4H, then drive forward a bit, then back. Then, shift to neutral and engage 4L and straight forward and back again. Then back to neutral and into 2H, and back and forth again.

It's good for the transfer case, and entertaining for your neighbors to watch.

 

I have a 2020 4runner TRD off road premium and it seems that I have to be in 'park' to be able to shift to 4L. The H2 to H4 works fine but shouldn't I be able to go into 4L as long as I am not moving? ie: in drive or even in neutral?

 

basically their telling you go drive your truck the way it was meant to be driven...in 4lo

 

my 20 goes into 4lo in N but never in D...your switching the transfer case.

 

Normal and proper

 

Thank you for the responses. Yes, I did read the manual and it says you must be stopped. I took this to mean foot on the brake and no longer moving. It seems I have to be in park to shift to 4L. I will give your suggestions a try, Thanks Toy4x4 and Big B

 

I find in mine, the shift into 4L is much smoother if I'm slightly moving.

I've already shifted into 4H, then I slow to 1-2mph, put the transmission in Neutral, then shift into 4low firmly but smoothly.

I have the lever operated shifter though, not the electronic dial.

 

The reason you need to be in neutral or park (or barely moving) when shifting into 4Lo is because of the automatic transmission. When in Drive the transmission is engaged and is driving the wheels. When you come to a complete stop in Drive the brakes stop the wheels, which in turn stop movement in the transmission, but the engine is still spinning the torque converter. As long as you hold the brake while in Drive the transmission is stationary... But the torque converter is still trying to spin the transmission.

Now if you keep the transmission in Drive and then slide the transfer case into Neutral there's nothing holding the transmission still anymore. When the transfer case is in neutral you have now decoupled the transmission from the rest of the drive line, so even with the wheels braked the transmission is now free to spin since the torque converter is always spinning. Since you have to go through the transfer case Neutral to get 4lo, leaving the transmission in Drive means the transmission is moving during the shift to lo. Because of the gearing difference between hi and lo, trying to engage 4lo while in Drive means your going to grind gears.

Hopefully that makes since. It's easier to visualize than to explain. Regardless, park/neutral/barely moving work but anything else will grind going into 4lo.

 

Thank you jmkulbeth. I was able to visualize what you had explained. the manual could be written better. I had tried being completely stopped in neutral and could not shift without grinding. I just turned the engine off in able to shift out of 4L. I will try thr slightly moving method to see if that helps.

 

ImJimJo -- glad that helped. The manual tells you 'what' to do, but I think they could written a little bit about the 'why' aspect to bring the reasons around full circle.

For what it's worth, I've not owned a vehicle with part-time 4WD that didn't grind a little going into 4Lo. My last Jeep (2004 Unlimited with a 5 speed auto) made it to 237k miles and it would grind a little every time going into Lo. Sometimes more than others, and rarely never at all.

Before shifting into 4Lo you can try shifting into Park, or shift the transmission into Neutral and then wait 5 or 6 beats for everything to stop spinning or at least slow down. Also, when you shift into 4Lo, do it with conviction -- don't hesitate, don't linger. You don't have to ram it into 4Lo, but don't ginger it either... like shaking hands with a firm grip. After some usage things should loosen up a bit and it'll do it less often. My 2020 ORP does it. But not nearly as much as it did the first time I used it.

If you do it while moving, you still want to have the transmission in Neutral. And you need to be barely moving... slower than you walk... like, almost not registering on the speedometer.

Good luck!