Grinding Noise While Stuck In Mud

[yz1872003]

I HAVE A 05 SPORT 4 RUNNER WITH AL TIME 4WD. TOOK IT OFF ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY AND GOT PRETTY STUCK. IVE ALWAYS OWNED CHEVY TRUCKS SO THE MIDSIZE IS ALL NEW TO ME. WHILE TRYING TO CLIMB A HILL IN BOUT 14" OF MUD I GOT STUCK. A LITTLE OVER MY HEAD FOR STOCK TIRE'S AND RIDE HIEGHT. WHILE TRYING TO GET OUT THERE WAS A GRINDING NOISE AND IT WAS ALMOST LIKE SOMETHING WAS DISINGAGEING. ALL FOUR TIRES WERE SPINING BUT COULDN'T WIND OUT THE RPM. SORRY IF NOT WELL EXPLAINED SHORT ON TIME JUST WONDERING IF THE NOISES WERE NORM.
THANKS ERIC

 

[TechWrench]

I HAVE A 05 SPORT 4 RUNNER WITH AL TIME 4WD. TOOK IT OFF ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY AND GOT PRETTY STUCK. IVE ALWAYS OWNED CHEVY TRUCKS SO THE MIDSIZE IS ALL NEW TO ME. WHILE TRYING TO CLIMB A HILL IN BOUT 14" OF MUD I GOT STUCK. A LITTLE OVER MY HEAD FOR STOCK TIRE'S AND RIDE HIEGHT. WHILE TRYING TO GET OUT THERE WAS A GRINDING NOISE AND IT WAS ALMOST LIKE SOMETHING WAS DISINGAGEING. ALL FOUR TIRES WERE SPINING BUT COULDN'T WIND OUT THE RPM. SORRY IF NOT WELL EXPLAINED SHORT ON TIME JUST WONDERING IF THE NOISES WERE NORM.
THANKS ERIC

Welcome to the joy of traction control/VSC taking over when you loose wheel traction and they start to spin.

 

[sharp4runr]

Please don't type in all caps, it's equal to SHOUTING in the online world...

Now back to your question, did you have the center differential locked? This will disable VSC and allow you to power out a bit more, though ATRAC will still kick in a bit. Locking the center diff will equally distribute (50/50) power to the front/rear axles, normally the truck modulates how much is going to the axles. The noises you heard were probably a combination of VSC and ATRAC preventing you from slipping. These are normal functions and are the safety systems built into the truck and are great for driving on the concrete jungle. You can turn of VSC, but not ATRAC. Do a search and you'll find lots of threads discussing the capabilities of the systems.