drguitarum2005

I've been reading a lot of 4wd threads looking for this answer and found a lot of good information but I'd like a little more straightforward reinforcement here. Yesterday was the first time I had ever shifted into 4wd, and I mean ever. I came to a stop, put it in 4, and went for a little bit then stopped, took it out, and went back to 2. I just wanted to see if I could feel a difference since I am now good enough at my 5spd to do that. My question is, did I need to stop both times I shifted into and out of 4wd or can you do it on the fly?

Also, everyone is talking about these Warn manual locking hubs but what exactly do locking hubs do? Does my 2000 Taco have auto locking hubs or not at all? Thanks!

Edit: I thought of something else. When shifted into 4lo, do you start out the same way as in 2wd or 4hi? By this I mean, same clutch and pedal sequence/timing or is it handled differently? Once going, do you go up the gears in 4lo or just keep it in 1st? Is it bad to "try it out" on pavement *without* the locker on? Thanks again.

garrett1478

you can shift on the fly to 4HI. you must stop/put into neutral to shift into 4LO. once in 4HI/4LO, you can shift through the gears as normal. you'll just be going a lot slower in LO.

you probably shouldn't do either on the pavement.

you have ADD unless your front hubs are manual (meaning you have to turn them to engaged the cvs)

neoworm0

If you still have an owners manual it tells you most of that in there. Manual locking hubs allow you to disengage your wheels from the front axle. Meaning the wheel and tire will just freewheel without getting any power. When you lock them via the dial in the center you are "locking" the wheel onto the end of the axle thereby transferring power to the wheel. If you have manual locking hubs you will have a dial in the center of your front wheels that say free and lock.

It's not a good idea to be doing any of this on dry pavement. It's pretty hard on the drivetrain. Especially with the locker engaged. Hope that helps.

P.S. I would maybe post this question on Pirate4x4. They could probably explain it better.

Tacoclimber

Dude, that's just mean...

drguitar... Garrett nailed it. Oh, and DON'T post this question on Pirate. They'd have you for lunch...

My suggestion is read your manual, and then go out into the dirt and just have some fun. If you don't have manual hubs, you can shift from 2 hi into 4hi at speeds up to 50 mph. 4 lo is another matter. You need to stop, put it in neutral, and THEN go to lo. But get out there and have fun.

tc

4Low is good to learn stick on - almost impossible to stall it. You can engage 4WD on dry pavement so long as you only go STRAIGHT (don't turn even the slightest amount)

drguitarum2005

why no turning the slightest amount? as long as the locker isn't on, the diffs are still open unless this has to do with my lack of a center diff

tc

Exactly. When turning each of the four tires travels a different distance, which causes stress between the front and rear axles since there is no slip in the transfer case.

AH64ID

Even though the front and rear diff are open there is still a 50:50 torque split. Whe you turn you get all 4 tires moving at different speeds. What this does is creat excessive torque loads on axles, diffs, driveshafts, and most importantly xcase. You will notice that if you drive on a dry hard surface it will be VERY difficult to take the truck out of 4wd due to the torque on the system.

On another note, you should probally find a dirt road and once every month or so drive a mile or 2 in 4wd, keeps eveything lubed properly. Also a good idea to engage the locker at the same time.

Avsfreak1234

not to ask a stupid Q but what about driving in 4HI on snow and ice on pavement so that you dont end up in a fence with $1350 worth of body damage?

tc

Well, now, you're not really on pavement then are you?

The lower traction of the dirt/snow/ice/mud allows the tires to slip a bit, minimizing the stress on the drivetrain.

Avsfreak1234

thats what I was assuming but I didnt want to put more stress on my drivetrain than I already do

Bobakazi

[QUOTE=drguitarum2005]When shifted into 4lo, do you start out the same way as in 2wd or 4hi? By this I mean, same clutch and pedal sequence/timing or is it handled differently? Once going, do you go up the gears in 4lo or just keep it in 1st?QUOTE]

Imagine a 10 speed bicycle. You have 2 gears up front, and 5 in the back. With the different combinations, you have 10 gears. This is the same with your rig. You can start off in any gear you want, but it is obviously harder to start off in the upper gears. In 4lo, I always start in 2nd or 3rd unless I need to go really slow.
BTW, nice rig with nice extras!

Glenn

It depends on the situation. Usually I start in 2nd or 3rd when in low range. First gear in high range is slightly lower (numerically higher) than 3rd gear low range for my application.

final ratio---gear---final ratio
low range----------high range

41.037-----1-----18.030
22.220-----2------9.763
14.364-----3------6.311
10.379-----4------4.560
8.822------5------3.876
42.459-----R------18.655