Originally Posted by 03v8raleigh

Related question: Do the AWD v8's generally last as long as the v6's that run in 2wd, without major repairs? I mean the longevity of the driveline (t-case, differentials, etc). I had a 2000 2wd with 230,000 miles for a few months last year (all I could afford at the time), that needed the whole rear end replaced from worn diff gears, bearings, and u-joints. And it had never even been taken offroad. I ended up selling it instead of paying to fix it. I don't look forward to having to replace all of that mess on my 2003 AWD if it starts to go! I figure it sees a lot more wear and tear over the life of the vehicle compared to the v6 since it is constantly being used and stressed, even as a pavement princess. Of course this is all just conjecture, but has anyone seen a noticeable difference between the two, since people generally drive these trucks to very high mileage?

Of course the engines and main components can go forever on these trucks but when all of the expensive 4x4 parts start to go, I imagine maintaining these things gets very pricey.

Originally Posted by sport2004

If yer getting mud on yer windshield you must be doing something right.

Originally Posted by 03v8raleigh

Related question: Do the AWD v8's generally last as long as the v6's that run in 2wd, without major repairs? I mean the longevity of the driveline (t-case, differentials, etc). I had a 2000 2wd with 230,000 miles for a few months last year (all I could afford at the time), that needed the whole rear end replaced from worn diff gears, bearings, and u-joints. And it had never even been taken offroad. I ended up selling it instead of paying to fix it. I don't look forward to having to replace all of that mess on my 2003 AWD if it starts to go! I figure it sees a lot more wear and tear over the life of the vehicle compared to the v6 since it is constantly being used and stressed, even as a pavement princess. Of course this is all just conjecture, but has anyone seen a noticeable difference between the two, since people generally drive these trucks to very high mileage?

Of course the engines and main components can go forever on these trucks but when all of the expensive 4x4 parts start to go, I imagine maintaining these things gets very pricey.

Originally Posted by RonJR

Differentials (which are the expensive parts of a drive train) will last indefinitely as long as they are kept full of proper lubricant that is free of contamination. They literally do not wear out as long as the parts are running in the proper oil. Failures are generally due to water/dirt contamination or running low on lube or some type of abuse or overstress.

CV boots wear out, but it's not clear that they last longer when used sporadically, or when running full time. The CV boots on my '94 lasted 200K miles and turned every mile of that. I think the primary failure mode on boots is just age, provided the angles are within reason.

Originally Posted by t-man

True, but, if you start offroading or are otherwise rough on your truck, one guy auto races his 4runner, the crush sleeves in the dif can cause the pinion to loosen up and everything to not mesh properly anymore. This is what happened to me. Solid spacer and you're good to go!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Originally Posted by RonJR

Agreed. My post was in the context of the guy who worried about the rear-end giving up after 200K miles of on-road driving. That normally doesn't happen unless something went wrong with the lubrication. There's no reason to avoid AWD/fulltime4WD just because of the extra differential. That shouldn't be a major failure component given proper maintenance.

Originally Posted by RonJR

CV boots wear out, but it's not clear that they last longer when used sporadically, or when running full time. The CV boots on my '94 lasted 200K miles and turned every mile of that. I think the primary failure mode on boots is just age, provided the angles are within reason.

Originally Posted by m85476585

There are no ill effects. The 4th gen V6 has the same center differential, so nothing will be damaged if you use it on dry pavement. The parts are basically identical to the V8, but there is a 2WD mode in the transfer case and an Automatic Differential Disconnect (ADD) up front. Just don't lock the center differential on dry pavement. The 5th gen (except Limited trim) has no center differential, so it would be bad to leave that in 4WD all the time.

Originally Posted by RonJR

Differentials (which are the expensive parts of a drive train) will last indefinitely as long as they are kept full of proper lubricant that is free of contamination. They literally do not wear out as long as the parts are running in the proper oil. Failures are generally due to water/dirt contamination or running low on lube or some type of abuse or overstress.

CV boots wear out, but it's not clear that they last longer when used sporadically, or when running full time. The CV boots on my '94 lasted 200K miles and turned every mile of that. I think the primary failure mode on boots is just age, provided the angles are within reason.

Originally Posted by flipflopnfly

CV boots are rubber, treat them like any rubber. I use a good soak of Aerospace 303 on them monthly when I condition the leather. Same thing with the rubber hoses under the hood, the steering boots, door and window seals.

Originally Posted by shoota

Sorry if this has been answered already but I couldn't find it.

How can you tell if a V8 is 4wd from ad listing pictures? Some people don't seem to know what they have.
Do they have the selectable knob to the right of the steering column like the V6s have?