What does this light mean on my dash?

[scottm]

Not sure what you're saying here. If you lock the diff, it will guarantee that you have a 50/50 torque split between the front and rear axles. So even if ATRAC wasn't operating, you'd have at least 50% of the engines power going to one front wheel and one rear wheel. With ATRAC operating and the differential locked, you should have all 4 wheels digging in for traction. I've pulled stumps out of my yard with my 4Runner and it works great in 4LO with the differential locked. I've actually put 4 marks from my tires in the grass when pulling out fairly large stumps, as the tires still spin a bit.

I didn't do all the math, but I'm nervous about locking the diff on pavement especially under heavy throttle. Probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I'm cautious. I did it with my company car, a leased Jeep, hey it's a rental.

 

[cali_axela]

As long as you aren't doing any sharp or high-speed turns, the center diff won't be damaged on dry pavement while locked.

 

[DocMT]

I didn't do all the math, but I'm nervous about locking the diff on pavement especially under heavy throttle. Probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I'm cautious. I did it with my company car, a leased Jeep, hey it's a rental.

Well, look at it this way--- If you were, say, pulling a stump out of your yard and you were in 4LO with the center diff locked, you would all your engine to apply power to more than just the rear wheels. So not only would you have maximum pulling power, but you'd also have maximum traction because that power is spread out to all corners.

 

[scottm]

As long as you aren't doing any sharp or high-speed turns, the center diff won't be damaged on dry pavement while locked.

Well, look at it this way--- If you were, say, pulling a stump out of your yard and you were in 4LO with the center diff locked, you would all your engine to apply power to more than just the rear wheels. So not only would you have maximum pulling power, but you'd also have maximum traction because that power is spread out to all corners.

Yeah, I know these are true, but then I know the tires have enough traction on pavement to cause binding that can snap stuff. Some guys have had to jack a wheel up to unload and unlock a diff. I'll lock my diff on pavement if I'm not getting enough traction, but I'll be cautious.

 

[lawless97]

The car is currently set to 4h, so I guess it's in 4wd. My sister was worried because she's never seen that light before. So if the v6 has the option of 2wd or 4wd, is there any problem with just leaving it in 4wd all the time if it's in 4h? Why would we ever want to switch it to 2h?

 

[DocMT]

The car is currently set to 4h, so I guess it's in 4wd. My sister was worried because she's never seen that light before. So if the v6 has the option of 2wd or 4wd, is there any problem with just leaving it in 4wd all the time if it's in 4h? Why would we ever want to switch it to 2h?

You can leave it in 4HI all year long if you want to. It will not hurt anything. I generally leave my 4Runner in 4HI all winter long and switch back to 2HI in the spring.

I believe 2HI will give me a little bit better fuel economy. That's the only reason I switch it in the spring.

 

[2003-4x4runner]

It means you need a front wheel alignment …. Just kidding,
:cheers:

 

[DC Dude]

Not sure what you're saying here. If you lock the diff, it will guarantee that you have a 50/50 torque split between the front and rear axles. So even if ATRAC wasn't operating, you'd have at least 50% of the engines power going to one front wheel and one rear wheel. With ATRAC operating and the differential locked, you should have all 4 wheels digging in for traction. I've pulled stumps out of my yard with my 4Runner and it works great in 4LO with the differential locked. I've actually put 4 marks from my tires in the grass when pulling out fairly large stumps, as the tires still spin a bit.

Where did you hook the chains up to on your T4R, the hitch?

I wonder how much load the front pad eyes are rated for.