Slippery light need help !

[Gerdo]

Lock the center diff in snow. Unlock it if just spots of snow on the road.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Does your have the center diff lock?

If I were you and driving up your snowy drive I would... put it in 4Hi, lock the center diff and give it a try. If you can't make it and the drive doesn't slope off to the side too much then try the rear diff lock.

Once you are on the road unlock the rear diff and if there is some snow then you can unlock the center diff. If the snow on the roads is deep, leave the center locked.

Rear diff lock was not available on 01 - 02 models. His only lock is the center diff lock.

(also just a side-note: Unless you do the gray/green wire mod, rear diff lock won't work in 4hi, only 4lo.)

2000 was the last year for the rear diff lock. Also the 99 - 00 Limited models that had the multi-mode T-case did not have VSC or TRAC.

VSC/TRAC is the prime reason I did not look for an 01-02 when I went shopping for mine.

 

[brian2sun]

Gerdo's advice is right on the money. That's the reason why I chose to spend a lot more and get ARB lockers as opposed to a Aussies, Detroits, or Lockrights. The ARBs are selectable so I can run fully open on road and on snowy highways and locked on the tougher parts of the trail. If I had a "lunchbox" (aka automatic, aka ratcheting) locker, my rear end would fishtail all over the place when turning corners on a packed snowy or icy road. Especially when you have to gas it up a hill and turn a corner at the same time.

The lockers come in handy in the snow when you're already stuck and spinning tires and just need to get out.. or when you have to go through deep snow that would normally swallow up a standard 4x4.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

I just read through this whole discussion and had it been my introduction to the various types of locking diffs I think I'd have ended up a little mixed up. No disrespect guys, but I think that while you're definitely educating him, you might be misleading the man about the effectiveness/safety of using the CENTER diff lock on his snowy driveway. In reference to the original question where the OP was asking about the CENTER diff lock:

I think if you press the diff lock on the left of the steering wheel, the VSC goes off. Can you drive on dry pavement with the diff lock on?

I guess in the snow you can just use the diff lock all the time to avoid the VSC?

thanks everyone.

The OP was told the following, in reference to the REAR diff lock:

I would not, and do not, lock the diff on snowy/slippery roads. That is a great way for the rear to spin out. It IS a great way to do donuts, if that is what you are going for.

If he's got a 2001 or a 2002, there's no way he's got a REAR locker unless he retrofitted it, so most of the following would not apply unless he upgraded his front and/or rear differentials to locking units:

A few years ago I was wheeling with a rig that had auto lockers and going across an off camber trail it went into the low side ditch, had to winch out. I drove thru with little issues and I was open/open. The non-drive wheel would actually roll and hang onto the trail keeping me out of the ditch.

With a axle diff locked it wants to go straight. When you go to turn one of the wheels HAS to slip and you instantly loos traction.

Gerdo's advice is right on the money. That's the reason why I chose to spend a lot more and get ARB lockers as opposed to a Aussies, Detroits, or Lockrights. The ARBs are selectable so I can run fully open on road and on snowy highways and locked on the tougher parts of the trail. If I had a "lunchbox" (aka automatic, aka ratcheting) locker, my rear end would fishtail all over the place when turning corners on a packed snowy or icy road. Especially when you have to gas it up a hill and turn a corner at the same time.

The lockers come in handy in the snow when you're already stuck and spinning tires and just need to get out.. or when you have to go through deep snow that would normally swallow up a standard 4x4.

Sounds like the OP's only got a Center Locking Diff, so the info on Rear Locking Diffs should be considered educational only, but does not apply to the OP's truck unless he upgrades.

 

[theizzardking]

i would never buy a non-selectable locker for a DD....educational purposes only, lol

 

[Gerdo]

Rear diff lock was not available on 01 - 02 models. His only lock is the center diff lock.

(also just a side-note: Unless you do the gray/green wire mod, rear diff lock won't work in 4hi, only 4lo.)

2000 was the last year for the rear diff lock. Also the 99 - 00 Limited models that had the multi-mode T-case did not have VSC or TRAC.

VSC/TRAC is the prime reason I did not look for an 01-02 when I went shopping for mine.

Gotcha. No rear diff lock, factory, on 01-02.
Center diff lock! This locks the transfer case (center) into 4wd and unlocks it to AWD.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

i would never buy a non-selectable locker for a DD....educational purposes only, lol

Educational, informational, inspirational...whatever... you know what I mean.

 

[theizzardking]

Educational, informational, inspirational...whatever... you know what I mean.

lol, i know... my post was just as useless to the op as some of the other information, so i thought i would add that to clearfiy that it had nothing to really do with the original post, lol

in short put that there becuase i'm useless and not because i was making fun of you, lol
:witch:

 

[brian2sun]

Yeah I thought we were talking about front/rear diff lockers. IMO, Toyota's terminology calling the center a "diff lock" is misleading to most people since normally a discussion about lockers is referring to diff lockers inside diffs - not t-cases. Toyota could have avioded a lot of consumer confusion if they just would have called the damn thing a t-case locker. No one in the 4x4 world thinks of a t-case as a diff. Good catch though Bigfish, because the OP should most definitely lock the center "diff" when he needs more traction in the snow (which turns the drivetrain into a standard 4x4 system).

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Brian, I agree with you completely. I was completely confused when I bought my '01 with regard to the center locking diff. I'd heard of them on landcruisers before that, but had no idea what they were for. I spent a few hours on good old T4R.org one night and read all about it, now I know.

I just wanted to make sure we didn't throw this guy off track, because as you said, the terminology toyota used to describe the Center Locking Diff is misleading on it's own.

I was a little leery of buying an '01 due to the VSC/TRAC systems, but I did the Andymod right away, and now I have essentially the same setup as a 2000 limited with the multi-mode t-case, but no electrical nannies, at the flip of a switch, plus the TRAC system is there if I need a little help off-road.

The one thing I do not like about the multi-mode case though is the extra parts involved, mainly the electronics that control the center diff, the push button on the shifter, the associated wiring, sensors, switches, etc, etc. I love the simplicity of my '97... put it in nuetral, pull the t-case shifter around... done... simple, 100% mechanical, and pretty much bulletproof for average use.