4Runner911

Love my 4Runner. I have a '99 and have a question that I'm almost ashamed to ask on this board. I use 4WD alot in the winter, as we live near Tahoe and are in the snow frequently. BFG AT's work great in the snow. Anyway, we've never really done any off roading, and will have an opportunity to go with some friends on the historic Mormon trail in the Sierras. My question is this, how do I use 4 Low? In the snow, I've always used 4 High, and never done anything but push the button on the side of the lever to engage 4WD. Do I need to be stopped to shift to 4L? Tranny in Drive? I don't have an owner's manual to refer to.

Thanks for your help. Please keep flaming to a minimum!

User 051420

You should be stopped, and in neutral to shift into Low Range.

Beartracker

Also you only want to use 4 -W low and in first geat or low only when needed. The best times are when you have to go slow like over a really bad road with lot's of bumps or rocks or where you need power instead of speed to get up a rocky or bad grade hill.
Never be
ashamed to ask any questions on here. Everyone on here had to learn there first time 4 wheeling too.
Sounds like a fun trip! Be careful and keep your eyes on the trail. Don't forget to take tools and a good compressor for airing up and down your tires and a good jack and few 2' long 2x4, 2x6 and 4x4 . They can really be a big help if you have to jack up your vehical or place a few under your tire to get you out of a low spot. Mike

User 051420

OT:

Is there a switch to the left of your steering wheel that says "RR DIFF LOCK"?

4Runner911

Unfortuanately, no. My '96 had that, but not the '99.

lee

also, when shifting into 4L, do it slowly... or youll hear a CRUNCH!

User 051420

Really? On mine, it's the exact opposite!

JEDI87

I never use 4l in the snow and I live in South Lake Tahoe.I only use it if I'm pulling somebody out of a ditch or climbing a steep hill on the trail.

v8sport4runner

I just wanted to say welcome to the forum, good to see other people from the Sacramento area. Let us know if you ever need someone to go wheeling with.

dlbrunner

use 4L for steep hill descents... the engine provides "braking" but if you have an auto then I don't know... I've never driven a 4wd with an auto

LittleRedToyota

i use 4-lo on trails a lot...even if 4 high would work...the reason is that i'm not going to be going over 20mph anyway, so i won't need 4hi.

the advantage of using 4-lo on trails is that you have more gears to choose from between the speeds of 0mph and 20mph so it is much easier to find a gear that is just right for the terrain you are moving on. (i.e, you can use 1 through 4 instead of just 1st and 2nd).

i actually don't use 4-hi much at all except in snow. if find in most other cases, anything i can drive over 20mph on i usually don't need 4wd for.

99_Runner

Welcome to the board. Good luck on your first real 4wheeling trip. Have fun and be safe.

JimmyK

I might be mis-reading your post but JUST hitting the button doesnt even give you 4WD thats more of an AWD formula. If your under 40 MPH and bring the 4WD lever down that is 4WD-H.

4Runner911

Please explain in detail. I'm not following you.

Tofer

same here. if i can go faster then about 20-25 MPH i dont need 4wd.

welcome to the board. i goto school in stockton (dont laugh) we really need to get a Nor-cal git together/out.

JimmyK

Well If Im under 62MPH I can hit the button and it leaves the center t case open and it enables AWD.

If Im going under 40 I can bring the 4WD lever straight down which locks the T case and enables 4WD-H and if I want to goto 4WD-L I have to come to a full stop and then move 4WD lever to the right and up again to get 4WD L.

And then after that I can enable the Diff lock once in 4L

LittleRedToyota

"all wheel drive" or "full-time four wheel drive" is really meant for slippery road conditions, not offroad.

a great place to learn about the differences between AWD and real (part-time) 4WD is a website called www.howstuffworks.com. go to the auto sections...then the "under the hood" section and look for the stuff on differentials and 4x4 and AWD. it uses great diagrams (with motion) and just does and excellent job of making it all easy to understand.

in a nutshell..the difference between AWD and real 4WD is that, in AWD the transfer case has an open (or maybe limited slip) differential in it (called a "center" differential). in 4WD the differential is locked. (or, on turcks that don't have an AWD option, there is just no diff in the t-case at all).

because of the center differential, if one wheel completely looses traction, it will spin and the other 3 wheels won't do anything. (unless the AWD has some system to counter that.)

with 4wd, the front diff and rear diff have to turn at the same speed. thus, if one tire loses traction completely, you will still have torque applied to the wheels at the other end of the truck, so they will still drive the truck.

however, even "4wd" is typically not really 4wd becaue of open differentials in the axles. so, if one front wheel looses traction completely, the other front wheel won't provide any drive. the same is true in the back...thus, if you have both one front and one rear wheel completely lose traction at the same time, you won't go anywhere. to counter this, some people isntall "lockers" in their diffs. toyota has offered a factory locker for quite awhile now, too.

anyway, if i lost ya, check out howstuffworks.com. they make it really easy.

4Runner911

Great post, Stan. Thank you very much.

I've never had occasion to move the 4WD lever, only push the button. I think I need to head out and try out the system so I can learn and understand how to use it better, and what the proper applications would be for each option.

I appreciate the info.

4unner4life

Yea ive got to shift mine fast aswell

4unner4life

So you can shift(auto) it into 1st and second when its in 4lo? I thougt you could but never do cuz i dont wanna here that nasty crunching sound