Hello all. After reading some posts I know this is the best place to ask my question. I am not very familer with forums so I'm sorry if this question has already been aswerd somewhere else.

I have recently moved to the Dominican Republic where I have purchased a '97 Land Cruiser. It has the option to lock out the front wheels for 4wd. But it also has a button inside for on the fly H4. When the wheels are not locked in the front I hear a noise when pressing the H4 button. It is a small clunk sound. But, when I lock the wheels into place then it goes into H4 right away. I also have two more choices on the 4wd gear shift. 2nd gear start and and a power button.

My question is this one. Can I leave the front hubs locked all the time? I am frequently on and off the paved road (which to begin with is not very smooth) and find it very troublesome to constantly get out of my vehicle and lock the hubs before entering 4WD. I rarley need to use L4 but am always in need of the extra power for climbing and muddy terrain that H4 offers.

As you can imagine this is not the most friendly area for finding a good mechanic and I would hate to do anything to cause long term damage to my "new" vehicle. Also, do any of you know where I can download a scanned or online manual? As you can guess it did not come with one.

Thank you in advance for your help.

P.S. Could you also reply to these email addresses? Thanks!

mailto://discord2k@hotmail.com
mailto://doug@theswandas.com

 

I'm not familiar w/ the shift on the fly button you're referring to... there's a center diff lock switch that locks your front and rear diffs together as you have a viscous center diff... you can't activate the center diff lock unless you're in 4 low or if you have the CDL switch.... I wouldn't leave the front locked @ all... unless you need it. That'll just increase the wear on your birfields... and they're prone to breakage.

 

Here is a translated web page showing some specs on the Land Cruiser I have.

http://tools.search.yahoo.com/langua...1.htm&lp=es_en

I'm starting to think it's special for this area. The two front wheels have to physical dials you have to turn to lock out the diff. You have to put both transmissions into neutral, then with your had physicaly turn the dials which are in the middle of the two front wheels to the "free" to the "locked" position.

This is the only info I could find. It was taken from the LC FAQ on the angry peppers site.

http://www.angrypeppers.com/cruisers/tech/tlcfaq.txt

80 Series Specific Info
=======================

Full time 4wd
-------------
All 80 series Cruisers sold in North America and Europe are full time 4wd. In
Africa and Australia, a part-time system is still available. 80's produced
between '90-'91 have an open center differential which is lockable in 4HI and
automatically locked in 4LO. From '92 on, vehicles with ABS had a viscous
coupling that sent a maximum of 30% torque the non-slipping axle. The
differential is lockable in 4HI and automatically locked in 4LO.

Locking Differentials
---------------------
Locking differentials were available as options in all 80 series. From 94 on,
they were standard in Canada. The operation of the lockers is very elegant.
When the differential lock dial is turned to the "Locked" position, it switches
on a small electrical servo. The servo pushes on a dog clutch which is meshed
with the splines on the axle shaft. The dog clutch slides along the axle shaft
and engages on the side of the differential carrier. The axle is then
completely locked. They were offered from the procuction date 8/92 onwards.

As soon as I find a computer with USB I'll try and upload some pics. This LC has so many options. It has a toyota winch and even a built in, from the factory fridge/ice maker in the center console! It certainly is a hybrid vehicle.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Go to www.ih8mud.com the guys in the 80's section will answer your question. They know everything about FZJ80's

 

I wouldn't leave them locked all the time unless you are going over 45 mph.