so this is probly a dumb question hence the post in this section:
when the steering wheel is turned all the way to one side and the truck is moving what makes the whirring/ buzzing noise that i hear and i know its probly just a general car thing but i still wonder... and y when in 4 wheel drive is steering range limited i know it has to do with the fact that the cv axels are now moving but just another piece of knowledge that i lack.. so any enlightenments would be appreciated...THanks

 

Probably power steering pump, makes noise when it hits the steering stops, because that forces it into the highest pressure mode.

Steering in 4WD is harder because you likely have no center differential (would help if you posted the type of vehicle in question in the post or your profile). But to see what is going on, find a vacant parking lot with a puddle. Drive through the wanter then make a hard u-turn. Hop out and examine the wet tire tracks. Notice yhow the two front wheels swing a wider arc than the two rear wheels? That means the front wheels are making more revolutions than the rear wheels. However, in 4WD, front and rear axles are locked together (assuming part-time 4WD, i.e. not full-time/center differential). So that forces the front and rear wheels to turn the same speed, but in a turn the fronts want to turn more revs than the rears, but can't. So the front tires end up pushing, drivetrain binds up and steering gets hard, at least on high traction surfaces like pavement. This is why 4WD should only be used on low traction surfaces.

 

ya sorry about not posting the vehicle its a 98 4runner 3.4 L 4wd so part time (gotta make a sig line) and that was a lotta good information and leads to a few more ?s... so is it bad to max out on steering in both 4 and 2 wheel drive... and if there is a new rotational buzzing sound when im maxed out on steering is that a bad thing and any ideas on potential culprits?

 

stock btw 175 70 r16 tires if u need to know

 

Well, if that is the source of the noise, it is a sign that the steering is complaining to you. You can generally tell when you hit the steering stops and can hold the wheel there gently, but trying to crank it harder will only put unnecessary loads on things and probably not good to do in the long run. Not like anything will break tomorrow, but it heats up the power steering pump and fluid, adds stress to the steering linkage, etc.

 

alright thats what ive always done so thats all good but in 4wd the steering wont go all the way to the steer stops so is it bad to steer as far as i can then or should i only go until theres extra strain or is it not relevant
btw my power steering fluid is brown thats bad right haha

 

Well, steeling should go lock to lock in 2WD or 4WD, so maybe something is binding up. What sort of surface are you on when this occurs? Pavement (wet or dry makes no difference), dirt, gravel, etc.? At least on the earlier trucks, the power steering fluid is actually auto-trans fluid (ATF) and that is usually red when new. May be time for a drain and refill there.

 

well most notably would be on pavement but i have noticed it some on dirt and it seemed about the same... i sorta understand the whole 4wd part but r u saying that being on gravel vs pavement would be easier becuase the fronts would spin more becuase of less traction making up for the equal rotation with the back..? and what did u mean by "pushing " in your first post?

 

Yes, you need a low traction surface to use 4WD, after all that is the whole purpose of it. Pushing means that the front tires want to make more rotations than the rear tires in a turn, but can't since they are all locked together. So instead of rolling freely as they would in 2WD, they are kind of sliding to make up the difference, leads to understeer. Like they call in in Nascar when a car does not steer right (understeer), it "pushes".

 

ok thanks that helps a lot