Internals of Transfer case always moving??

[Gnfanatic]

Hey guys, my first 4runner so bare with me. I was thinking about maintenance schedules. I am curious if you have the 4runner in 2wd drive does the transfer case still working?? So lets make believe you hit 20k and ready for fresh gear oil but in that 20k you never even drove in 4WD. Are you wasting fluid in the front axle and transfer case because they were never used? Or are they always spinning????

 

[Whippersnapper02]

It's always spinning internally minus the chain and the front driveshaft sprocket. Same with the front diff. I change them all at the same time every 30K miles.

 

[1000MPH]

This is a decent video showing Toyota transfer case operation.
YouTube

 

[1jzgte]

Is the front diff always moving on a 2010 which requires manual 4wd engagement?

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Is the front diff always moving on a 2010 which requires manual 4wd engagement?

Yes because the driver side CV is directly connected to it. The spider gears always spin along with the part of the passenger side shaft before the ADD section but the rin and pinion do not.

 

[Gnfanatic]

Awesome info, thanks alot! Lots to learn about my new toy

 

[Ogre75]

Even if you don't need to use it, you should go to a loose gravel parking lot, or something with loose traction, and use your 4x4 every month or two just to rotate all the internals and recoat them in lube.