Full Time 4WD

[Mavericks]

What about your Full Time 4WD on your 02 4Runner Ltds....do you use it much in nasty driving conditions, highway driving during storms, etc? Just leave it in and drive....is it reliable, dependable, any issues...? Traction well at highway speeds?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

My mom has it on her '99 limited and I wished it would have been available on the SR5s in '99. It's not as seemless as real AWD but on slick surfaces it's much better than plain 4wd. I don't think my mom has used 4hi in the last 4 years.

 

[pat161]

I went form an 00 to an 02 and I find myself using the 4wd in a few conditions I would not have before. W/O full time I would leave it in 2wd if just side streets had snow, I hated switching back and forth every few miles, w/ the 02 I don't even think about it. That's the only time I use it though, I have never felt the need for 4wd in wet conditions, my trucks have always felt very stable in 2wd in any amount of rain. I tried it on dry pavement when I first got the truck and it felt pretty much the same as 2wd, so I would say it is a good system. I think I read that on the 4th gen w/o the center diff locked it is a 70/30 split, not sure if the 3rd gen is the same type of setup.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Are you talking about the switch on the side of the 4wd stick? If it's slick out jusyt leave it on instead of switching back and forth since even if it gets a couple dry spots you are still ok. I don't have the AWD option so it does suck when you keep encountering just a few slick spots and then dry or just wet pavement.

 

[pat161]

No, no, I was saying that in my 00 w/o the full time I would leave it in 2wd rather than run back and forth or risk binding the drive train. With the 02 I set it and forget it, if I can steal a line form that rotissere thing.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

If it's just the AWD mode then there is no binding of the drivetrain. If it's not in 4hi then you are all right;it's similar to AWD in the Subarus and such. I only use 4hi (my only option on regular roads) when the snow is a few inches deep. I wish I had the part time 4wd mode.

 

[pat161]

I think we have a misunderstanding here, I was saying exactly what you are saying. I know on my 02 I can use 4wd anytime, I was saying on my base model 00 there could be binding. The full time 4wd is not like the AWD on a subaru, they use viscious coupling to transfer power, not a traditional transfer case. On an 01 02 or 00 w/ center diff pushing the 4wd button puts you in 4 hi, then you can lock the center diff to simulate a locked part time system. I could be in 4lo on dry pavement if I wanted, just not w/ the center diff locked.