what will happen when I misjudge road condition?

[LandCruiser]

So you resolved your own problem before you griped about it, the way I suggested?

David

I have two 5th gens, a TE and LE.

We'll see how both hold up to the first Colorado winter, soon.

 

[JB.]

I have to quibble with the idea that the center diff is something else to break -- at least the way the Torsen is implemented in 4runners and FJs.

It's proven itself robust and utterly reliable as far as I can tell hangin' around these sites for 8 years.

 

[dwc]

Dude, I hate Toyotas so much I just bought my wife an LE, which makes it 6 in total over 20 years

I just found it odd that Toyota would not have a center locker in the TE for the sake of durability, rather than just to save a few bucks.

I'm not a fan of refinement (quite the opposite if you've heard me ***** on here before) but I do like center lockers.

My guess is that if there was a substantial market for a center locker on the TE, Toyota would have added one. And they would have charged extra for it. The upmarket Limited is marketed to folks who don't want to be bothered with locking it into 4WD...my opinion.

I do miss my 6MT FJ every so often though. It was a beast. But dropping the TE into 4WD has never been a problem, or an inconvenience for me.

 

[Canazes9]

I have to quibble with the idea that the center diff is something else to break -- at least the way the Torsen is implemented in 4runners and FJs.

It's proven itself robust and utterly reliable as far as I can tell hangin' around these sites for 8 years.

I am not a hard core rock climber, but my understanding is that adding a center diff gives you one more diff to grenade when it's locked under load. I don't think the failure rate is real high, but just like the front and rear diffs, when you get everything locked, big tires, crawling around in the rocks differentials do blow up! Its something else to break and its something they have no need for. The TE is supposed to be the factory "hard core" rig, so no center diff.

Personally for the nature of the off roading that I do, I'd rock a Limited w/ a center diff and not lose a minute of sleep worrying about its durability.

David

 

[JB.]

I'm not a gear head or mechanic, but I'm told the chain in the transfer case is probably the weakest link which, if true, would render the whole thing moot.

 

[Canazes9]

I'm not a gear head or mechanic, but I'm told the chain in transfer case is probably the weakest link which, if true, would render the whole thing moot.

I'm not a mechanic or a gear head either (gear head wannabe!). I've seen quite a few trashed differentials on Tacoma World, don't recall trashed transfer cases. I know for a fact (regardless of how common transfer case failure is or is not) that there have been numerous trashed differentials w/ no damage to the transfer case. All depends on what's in a bind I guess....

Your saying the center diff should be stronger than the the transfer case, so the transfer case should fail 1st if it's a front to rear bind? I can't answer that. I do remember that several of the FJ guys were PO'd they couldn't get the MT w/o the center diff...


Like I said, I have no doubt the Limited would serve my needs and provide reliable service for what I do (and more).


David

 

[harper7]

I am not a hard core rock climber, but my understanding is that adding a center diff gives you one more diff to grenade when it's locked under load. I don't think the failure rate is real high, but just like the front and rear diffs, when you get everything locked, big tires, crawling around in the rocks differentials do blow up! Its something else to break and its something they have no need for. The TE is supposed to be the factory "hard core" rig, so no center diff.

Personally for the nature of the off roading that I do, I'd rock a Limited w/ a center diff and not lose a minute of sleep worrying about its durability.

David

Never heard of a Torsen T3 center diff grenading yet and they were standard in ALL 4th Gen 4x4's ,LC120,150 and 200's,Lexus's, 6 sp FJ's, Humvees and Range Rovers to name a few.......never heard of even one grenading and a bunch of them I know are hard core.Tens of millions of miles on them!

IMO....It was not put into the TE for one reason and one reason alone..............cost. Not because it wasn't hard core enough.They wanted to keep the price down since the KDSS components already jacked up the price very close to the LE.
Cons...
The seal for the shift actuater assembly on the Torsen Transfer(VF4BM) has been known to leak and a pain to change but the leak will come on over time,not all at once. Haven't heard of one leaking in later models so maybe the seal design has been changed or they are not old enough yet.

However,the ADD on the part time system(VF2A) has broken on many AT FJ's and a few on here that I know of and that can leave you stranded without 4x4.

 

[LightRanger]

Meh. I've managed 100s of days of snow driving--in Northern California/Sierra where it's often dry/wet/dry/wet--on part-time systems without (a) forgetting to pull it out of 4WD or (b) injuring the drivetrain with excessive binding.

A center-diff would be nice, but I'm happy with the cost savings of my SR5 over the Limited.

 

[Socalrugger]

I have two 5th gens, a TE and LE.

We'll see how both hold up to the first Colorado winter, soon.

Winter may be mild compared to all the Fing water being dumped on CO!! Wazzup wit dat? I used to live in Parker and I don't thing we ever experienced anything like what's going on right now out there...

 

[LandCruiser]

Winter may be mild compared to all the Fing water being dumped on CO!! Wazzup wit dat? I used to live in Parker and I don't thing we ever experienced anything like what's going on right now out there...

12 inches of rain in 24 hours is a storm of the century in Colorado.

In Florida it's a Tuesday. The limestone sucks up the water like a sponge.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

My guess is that if there was a substantial market for a center locker on the TE, Toyota would have added one. And they would have charged extra for it. The upmarket Limited is marketed to folks who don't want to be bothered with locking it into 4WD...my opinion.

I do miss my 6MT FJ every so often though. It was a beast. But dropping the TE into 4WD has never been a problem, or an inconvenience for me.

Toyota doesn't offer a Center Diff in the SR5 and TEs, not because nobody wants one, it is because it is cheaper not to.

Also, I don't like how the new toyota 4WDs with center diffs are now full time 4WD. I miss the Multi-Mode 4WD system my 3rd gen had. It is sad that Toyota had to take a step backwards from that system to save some money. It is nice to have options.

 

[LandCruiser]

Toyota doesn't offer a Center Diff in the SR5 and TEs, not because nobody wants one, it is because it is cheaper not to.

Also, I don't like how the new toyota 4WDs with center diffs are now full time 4WD. I miss the Multi-Mode 4WD system my 3rd gen had. It is sad that Toyota had to take a step backwards from that system to save some money. It is nice to have options.

Totally. Full time 4WD is very wasteful on bone dry pavement. Just see my 80 series.

My ideal setup would be the way my 3rd gen came: 2WD, 4WD Hi with center locker open, 4WD Hi with center locker locked. My 2010 Sierra had a similar setup.

 

[nevada]

to the OP, i you find yourself in a situation where you'll need to be making HARD turns on pavement, i would ASSume you wouldnt be going very fast. so SUPER traction may not be needed. just shift back into 2wd, and make the turn. IF you start to slip, you know its slick enough for 4wd, and can shift back.

 

[nevada]

Totally. Full time 4WD is very wasteful on bone dry pavement. Just see my 80 series.

My ideal setup would be the way my 3rd gen came: 2WD, 4WD Hi with center locker open, 4WD Hi with center locker locked. My 2010 Sierra had a similar setup.

agreed. i would like my 4th gen a WHOLE bunch better if i had a manual shift lever, and 2wd mode.

altho, i have a feeling the v8's are full time 4wd to help save the drivetrain. specifically the rearend.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

Totally. Full time 4WD is very wasteful on bone dry pavement. Just see my 80 series.

My ideal setup would be the way my 3rd gen came: 2WD, 4WD Hi with center locker open, 4WD Hi with center locker locked. My 2010 Sierra had a similar setup.

Multi-Mode 4WD with Manual Hubs instead of ADD would be perfect! Plus that cool 4wd graphic/light that showed exactly what was engaged, instead of just a cheap idiot light

 

[LandCruiser]

I love manual locking front hubs, most people these days sadly don't agree with me. They did come on the F250s for ages, since those were the last few pickups with solid front axles.

 

[dwc]

I love manual locking front hubs, most people these days sadly don't agree with me. They did come on the F250s for ages, since those were the last few pickups with solid front axles.

Toyota could install manual locking hubs and save more money! Cheap SOBs.

 

[LightRanger]

12 inches of rain in 24 hours is a storm of the century in Colorado.

In Florida it's a Tuesday. The limestone sucks up the water like a sponge.

FL is also flat. CO topography is concentrating water at the mouth of those Front Range canyons = way more than 12" equivalent.

I love manual locking front hubs, most people these days sadly don't agree with me. They did come on the F250s for ages, since those were the last few pickups with solid front axles.

Yeah. Screw that. Going outside your car in the middle of a blizzard to lock hubs sucks. Been there, done that. Only marginally a step up from chaining up. Sure, they're reliable, durable, inexpensive, etc etc, but modern auto hubs are pretty solid.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

FL is also flat. CO topography is concentrating water at the mouth of those Front Range canyons = way more than 12" equivalent.



Yeah. Screw that. Going outside your car in the middle of a blizzard to lock hubs sucks. Been there, done that. Only marginally a step up from chaining up. Sure, they're reliable, durable, inexpensive, etc etc, but modern auto hubs are pretty solid.

Or you can just leave your manual hubs locked during the winter months or when you anticipate needing 4wd, and unlock them during good weather times.

 

[LightRanger]

Or you can just leave your manual hubs locked during the winter months or when you anticipate needing 4wd, and unlock them during good weather times.

Doesn't work when you're a weekend warrior/aren't driving on snow most of the time.

Edit: Or even if you live in say, Truckee, full time (which I used to), we get enormous storm cycles, and then it's sunny and the road dries out. Manual hubs are a PITA.