maintenance on 4wd?

[sidewinder]

hello 3rd gen owners, and all 4 runner owners. my dad's owned our 98 SR5 since 97 and ive been driving it more recently using it to go up the sierra's during the winter time. last weekend i was driving up a small road on a sunny day, the road was pretty clean and all the snow was pushed to the side but somehow i added a lil gas and my truck started sliding all over the road and eventually hitting a wall of snow (fortunately there was no damage on the vehicle). im new at driving in the snow. i'm still new to 4wd and still learning when to use it.

ive been reading up on maintenance of 4wd and i read somewhere that it should be operated at least once a month? i have 125k+ on my truck and have not engaged 4wd until recently. should i be skeptical?

 

[mikes4runner]

It's not the end of the world, I don't engage mine alot in the summer(as much as the winter), but it is a good thing to do to keep the parts lubbed.

But don't do it on dry pavement, rainning/snowing...offroad



Mike

 

[4RUNN!N]

The owners manual suggest that you use 4WD for 10 miles every month to keep things lubricated, especially the ADD as sometimes it won't lock up. I've had the problem where the 4WD would work, but the front diff. wouldn't lock. Easy solution to fix it was to reverse and engage the 4WD, and VOILA! No more problems.

 

[Kire4Runner]

Make sure your differential fluids are changed at regular intervals. Hopefully your dad has done proper maintenance on the 4Runner, that'll carry the 4WD system a long way too. I change mine every 3 oil changes (12K-15K) with my amount of 4WD use. Don't sweat the sliding off the road, your 4WD skill will come with time and experience!

 

[greasefingers]

Either the 4WD does not work or you need to practice in a vacant parking lot.