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5th Gen 4wd question and buyers info

Discussion in 'General 4Runner Talk' started by essenz, Feb 25, 2021.

  1. Feb 25, 2021 at 5:58 AM
    #1
    essenz

    essenz [OP] New Member

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    Hi all, I apologize if this post is asking something thats already been asked, but I'm still confused.

    I've been looking to buy a 4runner for awhile, keep going back and forth between 3rd gen, 4th gen, 5th gen, etc.,. (I also have a wife to contend with).

    So the wifey will allow this purchase on a 5th gen, anything older I'll be in the dog house. I have a local public auto action that from time to time has nice dealer trades on 2010-2011 4runner. I missed one last month that sold for $4900 (2010 V6 4wd with 160k miles).

    I have questions about that 1st model year 5th gen. The first one is, was 2010 a good model run, or were there some hiccups with 2010 that have some issues that were fixed later.

    The next one is a more general 4wd question that has confused me as I've looked at 99 through current year models. This 2010 I'm looking at is 4WD and has the center diff lock. I know older models sometimes just have the rear diff lock, and maybe some even have both center diff and rear diff lock?


    Here's my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong:

    The 2010 4wd with center diff lock. Normally on the highway, its behaving like a RWD - but at any time it has the capacity via open diffs, traction control and the transfer case to move power to any wheel.

    Off road, or in snow, if I engage the center diff, I am gauranteed to have 50% power on the front axle, and 50% on the rear. They are still open diffs, so really only one wheel per axle has full power. So if I run into the diagonal effect and front pass and rear driver wheels lose traction, they both spin and I'm stuck. But.... if that happens on a 2010, I assume the traction control kicks in and the ABS pumps the brakes on those wheels forcing the others to move, correct?

    Now here is where I get confused. On a 2010 (there was factory option, and after market option) to add a rear diff locker. With that setup, I can engage both the CDL and RDL and achieve 50% power on both rear wheels, and 50% power on one wheel up front, so 3 wheels moving at once, correct?

    If my 2010 didn't have the factory rr diff elocker, can that be easily added?

    Thanks
    John
     
  2. Feb 25, 2021 at 3:31 PM
    #2
    Trail Runnah

    Trail Runnah New Member

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    The 2010 and up model that has the center diff lock would be the Limited, which is full-time 4 wheel drive. All the other models have a part-time case that allows for 4-wheel high, and 4-wheel low, with the default setting rear wheel drive. That part time case locks the center differential as soon as it's shifted into either of the 4wheel modes. More specifically, there is NO center differential, and that allows for a 50/50 split as soon as either of the 4WD modes are engaged. The upside of this is that is good for low traction and off pavement surfaces, the downside of this is that it's not good for dry pavement. So if say your wife was driving it in snow in four-wheel drive, she would have to know to shift it back out of four-wheel drive as soon as the road was free of ice or snow. Operating the part-time case in either of the 4WD modes on a high traction surface can result in damage.

    As far as the Limited with the full-time case, which is the one with the center diff lock, as long as the center diff lock is not engaged you can drive it all the time on any surface without any issue. If suddenly it starts snowing, nothing has to be messed with because the transfer case will distribute powers as necessary to the front and rear.

    And like you said, with the center diff lock, it will send 50 power front and rear. If you ended up crossed up, yes, one front wheel and one real will have the potential to spin. The 4Runner has ATRAC which is an off-road traction control, which will brake the spinning wheel to send power to the wheel with grip. This isn't as good as true locking differentials, but actually is quite effective.

    On the early models, the "Trail Edition" model was the one that came with the electronic rear locking differential. It was only available on the Trail package. It can be added aftermarket, or there are a number of different aftermarket rear locking differentials that could be added. From the factory though, you will not find one that comes with both the center locking differential, and the rear locking differential. They never offer the rear locking differential with the all-wheel drive model. I believe the last time Toyota did that in the US was in 1999, with the Land Cruiser.

    I have theTrail model, which is the one with the rear Locker. I've owned it two years and I've never used it. Granted, I don't really do any challenge in off-roading, and if you don't plan on either, the rear locker is not necessary at all. The few times I have had traction issues ATRAC has been more than sufficient.

    Hope this helps, and good luck scoring a deal!
     
    wfxt likes this.
  3. Feb 25, 2021 at 3:57 PM
    #3
    essenz

    essenz [OP] New Member

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    Super helpful, thanks. The 2010 I'm looking at is a base SR5 V6. So as you've stated, its basically a RWD vehicle under normal conditions. When I switch it to 4HI or 4LO, it becomes 4WD with 50/50 power split front to rear - so the equivalent of a CDL. But the 2010 SR5, I can still add a rear e-locker if I wanted to, correct?

    Also, you statement about 4HI or 4LO and dry pavement/good traction causing damage, isn't that only if your going fast? i.e. if I'm doing 20mph in the snow, and parts of the road become clear, but I remain at 20mph, I cant imagine why that would cause damage.

    Oh, and the wife really isnt going drive it!!! I dont mind the part time, Im either off-road, in snow, or regular highway. The first two, I'm going slow and being mindful, etc.,.
     
    Trail Runnah likes this.
  4. Feb 25, 2021 at 4:07 PM
    #4
    essenz

    essenz [OP] New Member

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    Oh shit, wait... I just re-ran the VIN, I wont be "visually" checking it out until next Monday before the auction, but according to the VIN its an 2010 V6 SR5 Trail Edition. So if its a Trail addition does that mean I have the part-time case for 4HI/4LO, and when in 4LO I can also e-lock the rear diff? If thats the case, I hit the jackpot as thats exactly what I wanted.
     
    Trail Runnah likes this.
  5. Feb 25, 2021 at 5:45 PM
    #5
    Trail Runnah

    Trail Runnah New Member

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    Yep! I have a 2013 Trail. It has the rear e-locker, crawl control, and multi-terrain select. My opinion, if you're going to get an early 5th gen, this is the one to get.

    As far as your question about four wheel drive on dry pavement, it really doesn't matter the speed so much as the conditions. So if you're going in a straight line in perfectly dry payment it's fine, even at highway speed. It's when you start making sharp turns that it gives you problems. And realistically, you're more likely to make sharp turns while going slow, such as in a parking lot. Actually, I was just texting with a friend that has a 2012 SR5, and she told me the other day she used four-wheel drive on the way home, and forgot to take it back out when she got home. She didn't realize until she got to work next day and it started jerking when she was trying to maneuver in the parking lot that she had left it in 4-wheel drive.

    I think you already know this, but to clarify it's because when the front wheels are turned, the front and rear wheels turn at different speeds. A transfer case with an open differential can compensate for this, a part-time transfer case with no differential cannot. That's what causes binding and the jerking behavior, and eventually breakage.
     
    wfxt likes this.
  6. Aug 4, 2022 at 5:21 PM
    #6
    JBauern

    JBauern New Member

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    I am adding to this thread. At Christmas time, I visit my daughter in DAYTON, NEVADA, and go across from MT.SHASTA to SUSANVILLE to Reno, and then Carson City. The road from Mt.SHASTA gets quite a bit of snow sometimes, but it is plowed. I had a JEEP with ALL WHEEL DRIVE and just drove it. With the TOYOTA SYSTEM ( I have the lever), do I just drive it slowly in 2wd, till the road is really covered, then engage 4W high? They have plows running the route all the time. I drove the route last year, and even tho I had my JEEP, I was still required to carry chains for some of the passes in Oregon and California.
     

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