4 lo Rescues the Beast (and me)

alaskaman · Nov 29, 2008

4lo Rescues the Beast (and me)

driving on Highland in Eagle River in light snow I took a turn going about 15 MPH and cut it to close. planted the nose of the Beast into a ditch of snow. snow up to the top of the right front wheel well. You know what we all do..worst case I am stuck and there are houses so I can get pulled out for $. best case I can pull the Beast out. 1st attempt in 4wd forward and I went deeper into the rut. reversed in 4wd pulled back every light and bell chirpin that could and moved back but still stuck. ok. neutral 4lo engaged immediately 4lo gold lights up on the cluster. in reverse I go back much more power and bite but still stuck. turned the front wheels towards the right side and man that 4lo pulled my ass out in 2 seconds. so Im in the Runner on the road with a sh** eatin grin on my face. I wait a couple seconds to see if anyone is comin and I can brag "yup, she was in that hole yup that one right there but we got out..."> but noone showed so I drove off still grinnin. What a ride!!

eskimochaos · Nov 30, 2008

4lo, there is no 2 wheel drive lo

CJ3Flyr · Nov 30, 2008

eskimochaos said:
4lo, there is no 2 wheel drive lo

He knew that, frostbite of the brain from all that Alaska weather:lmao:

Alaskaman, cool story! Did you just use 4lo or lock the center diff too?

:cheers:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

righto thanks edited.

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

Thanks CJ........brain frostbite for sure.........did not lock the center diff. guess that would have been next. think it would have helped?

CJ3Flyr · Nov 30, 2008

alaskaman said:
Thanks CJ........brain frostbite for sure.........did not lock the center diff. guess that would have been next. think it would have helped?

In certain situations it might bring a whole new dimension to it.:bigok: The combo of equal power to the F & R axle plus no power robbing interference from the VSC/TRAC could be just the ticket for pulling out of a snowbank

:cheers:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

CJ3Flyr said:
In certain situations it might bring a whole new dimension to it.:bigok: The combo of equal power to the F & R axle plus no power robbing interference from the VSC/TRAC could be just the ticket for pulling out of a snowbank

:cheers:

I love this vehicle!

eskimochaos · Nov 30, 2008

CJ3Flyr said:
In certain situations it might bring a whole new dimension to it.:bigok: The combo of equal power to the F & R axle plus no power robbing interference from the VSC/TRAC could be just the ticket for pulling out of a snowbank

:cheers:

Thats one of my questions regarding when to lock the center diff. you have to be moving to lock the center diff....so after your stuck its too late...am I correct with this thinking?

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

eskimochaos said:
Thats one of my questions regarding when to lock the center diff. you have to be moving to lock the center diff....so after your stuck its too late...am I correct with this thinking?

that is the thing that saved me today namely that I could put the 4runner in neutral move to 4lo and immediately go there without having to roll...........

CJ3Flyr · Nov 30, 2008

eskimochaos said:
Thats one of my questions regarding when to lock the center diff. you have to be moving to lock the center diff....so after your stuck its too late...am I correct with this thinking?

Sort-of

What I have done is to select lock and then very gently apply some throttle to induce a tiny amount of wheelspin. When it lines up it will lock. It's a bit rough on it though so use as little power as possible. If you think the wheels will spin easier in R than D do it that way. Whatever takes the least amount gas to spin. The second you begin to feel it catch let off on the gas.

Sometimes just moving the shifter from D to R and back with your foot off of the brake is enough to do it and uses no more than idle power.

Once the diff lock is locked and the let it fly:rocker: :driving:

:cheers:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

accidentally driving into a deep rut filled with snow and ice and knowing how to handle it from reading posts on a 4runner forum.

priceless.

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

:zoom: :driving:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

Anchorage got 12 inches of snow last night and still snowing so yes I decided to try out the locking function in combination with 4lo. went out to a parking lot at least 15 inches. from 4lo engaging the center diff lock is a little tricky but CJ suggestion that moving the gears back and forth while standing still does work. good to know. I prefer the diff locked for this type of driving in heavy turf. more raw power and the VSC is off which is helpful as long I dont try to go fast. in 4lo with the diff locked I had raw power no doubt. anything above 10mph was not really a good idea but I learned quite a bit this morning. I think that it would have been possible to lock the diff yesterday given my trial and error approach. thanks for the input and tips. great info:rocker: :driving:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

Anchorage got 12 inches of snow last night and still snowing so yes I decided to try out the locking function in combination with 4lo. went out to a parking lot at least 15 inches. from 4lo engaging the center diff lock is a little tricky but CJ suggestion that moving the gears back and forth while standing still does work. good to know. I prefer the diff locked for this type of driving in heavy turf. more raw power and the VSC is off which is helpful as long I dont try to go fast. in 4lo with the diff locked I had raw power no doubt. anything above 10mph was not really a good idea but I learned quite a bit this morning. I think that it would have been possible to lock the diff yesterday given my trial and error approach. thanks for the input and tips. great info:rocker: :driving:

CJ3Flyr · Nov 30, 2008

alaskaman said:
Anchorage got 12 inches of snow last night and still snowing so yes I decided to try out the locking function in combination with 4lo. went out to a parking lot at least 15 inches. from 4lo engaging the center diff lock is a little tricky but CJ suggestion that moving the gears back and forth while standing still does work. good to know. I prefer the diff locked for this type of driving in heavy turf. more raw power and the VSC is off which is helpful as long I dont try to go fast. in 4lo with the diff locked I had raw power no doubt. anything above 10mph was not really a good idea but I learned quite a bit this morning. I think that it would have been possible to lock the diff yesterday given my trial and error approach. thanks for the input and tips. great info:rocker: :driving:

Very cool...

You've read enough of my posts to know I am a huge proponent of VSC and running the open diff to allow it to 'protect' you. Having said that:

-10mph might be a little conservative. In the old days all we had was the equivalent of the 2 diff-locked modes.
-Practice steering with the diff-locked some. You may notice it feels a less glued, a lot less glued, down than in an unlocked mode for everything except the initial acceleration. It may feel as those you're on the verge of understeer (front tires plowing rather than steering). What you are feeling is the tires slipping a bit as a result of both axles attempting to travel the exact same distance. My point is practice feeling the minor slipping of the tires that's a result of the axles "catching-up with each other" vs real traction thresholds for steering/stopping etc. [Your actual steering threshold is probably going to be a good bit higher (faster speed).]

If you learn to feel and note which slipping is "an oh never mind" and which is "the real deal" you'll be more relaxed, have more fun and be safer.

Good luck and more pics please

:cheers:

alaskaman · Nov 30, 2008

CJ3Flyr said:
Very cool...

You've read enough of my posts to know I am a huge proponent of VSC and running the open diff to allow it to 'protect' you. Having said that:

-10mph might be a little conservative. In the old days all we had was the equivalent of the 2 diff-locked modes.
-Practice steering with the diff-locked some. You may notice it feels a less glued, a lot less glued, down than in an unlocked mode for everything except the initial acceleration. It may feel as those you're on the verge of understeer (front tires plowing rather than steering). What you are feeling is the tires slipping a bit as a result of both axles attempting to travel the exact same distance. My point is practice feeling the minor slipping of the tires that's a result of the axles "catching-up with each other" vs real traction thresholds for steering/stopping etc. [Your actual steering threshold is probably going to be a good bit higher (faster speed).]

If you learn to feel and note which slipping is "an oh never mind" and which is "the real deal" you'll be more relaxed, have more fun and be safer.

Good luck and more pics please

i notice with the diff locked more road feel and more control and thanks for the expertise. My Dell 600M finally crashed for good in flames. ordered a new one but until that arrives (shortly) I am on my Dell Mini which I cant use for my Nikon program..........anyway this is all good resource information and is appreciated. I think that in severe driving conditions the 4Runner steps up to the task. I have noticed that as conditions worsen I have options to handle itl.....locking the diff is yet another tool in the kit.

:cheers:

:biggrin2:

Falls · Nov 30, 2008

Cool story

:bigok:

Gets me pumped since it's snowing up to 9" right now. I think an evening cruise might be just the ticket.

It's amazing and wonderful the options we have in the 4R to get out of and go through.

Glad all was ok with you and the truck.

jharris2 · Dec 1, 2008

eskimochaos said:
4lo, there is no 2 wheel drive lo

I fixed the thread title.

Great story!

alaskaman · Dec 1, 2008

jharris2 said:
I fixed the thread title.

Great story!

thanks. I tried but could not amend. we have 2 feet on the ground right now........when the new computer arrives I will post the pics.........and yes I learned and applied the forum advice....

Big Ups for the Forum members and founders .!!:clap:

Falls · Dec 1, 2008

alaskaman said:
thanks. I tried but could not amend. we have 2 feet on the ground right now.

Are you going out in the 2 feet of snow to see if you can make it through ?

I was out tonite , so far about 5" . I just bummed around . Truck did fine , pretty slippery since when we get what called "lake effect" snow it's very heavy and wet , hard packed. Tires don't play well on that type of snow. The do ok , I'm sure I push them to hard in my driving habits .

4 lo Rescues the Beast (and me)

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