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Getting 10 mi/month in 4WD

Discussion in 'General 4Runner Talk' started by backpacker, May 14, 2023.

  1. May 14, 2023 at 8:58 PM
    #1
    backpacker

    backpacker [OP] New Member

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    There's too much pavement around here to get the recommended 10 mi/month the fun way. What do people do without quick access to dirt and gravel? I might end up sneaking over to eastern PA or upstate NY once in a while.
     
  2. May 14, 2023 at 10:08 PM
    #2
    PVT Pablo

    PVT Pablo

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    You can just drive in a straight line on pavement.
     
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  3. May 14, 2023 at 10:13 PM
    #3
    backpacker

    backpacker [OP] New Member

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    I've considered that, but straight lines that long are uncommon here. I can find something dead straight for maybe two miles. I wish I had a better sense of how much total curvature it takes to wind up the drive train.
     
  4. May 14, 2023 at 11:32 PM
    #4
    Trekker

    Trekker Regular Member

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    I think simply shifting into 4wd and out again is enough. Don't even need to go a mile, shift into 4wd and out of it as soon as you see the light go on. In my opinion as long as the parts that need to shift get exercised you'll be okay.

    My 3rd gen had problems when I first bought it, and since then I've operated it at least once a month. Even at a light rolling up is enough opportunity to shift into 4wd and out without binding. One time I forgot to exercise 4wd for a month or two and when I finally did try shifting into 4wd momentarily, the automatic diff disconnect kept clicking yet failing to get into 4wd. Shifting into 4wd at slow speeds over short distances was enough to get everything working reliably again.

    As long as the parts that move to go into 4wd get moved, that will be enough from my experience. An empty parking lot should be large enough to do the bare minimum.
     
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  5. May 15, 2023 at 5:56 AM
    #5
    Trail Runnah

    Trail Runnah New Member

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    Dead straight for a mile or two a few X a minute month is probably fine. I think it's more about keeping the actuator from sticking than anything else. If that's the case, a few times a month for a short distance is probably better than the 10miles 1x a month.

    Even sweeping turns in 4Wd aren't going to be bad, it's tight turns that really bind things up.

    Honestly I'm bad, I rarely do this on mine. There's an area that I hike with my dog that's at the end of a dirt road, I usually do it there. Last time the front end was a little finicky about disengaging, so I haven't messed with it since.
     
  6. May 16, 2023 at 12:41 PM
    #6
    Captain Spalding

    Captain Spalding . . .

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    I think I remember reading somewhere that it’s not just about keeping the mechanism freed up. You gotta get the oil good and hot to cook the accumulated moisture out of it. Or maybe I dreamt that.
     
  7. May 16, 2023 at 1:01 PM
    #7
    Spare Parts

    Spare Parts New Member

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    I recall this as well, I feel it makes sense, but still think it’s better to shift into 4 by once in a while even if just a short distance. Thanks for the thread, I need to shift mine again, it’s been a few months.
     
  8. May 16, 2023 at 1:11 PM
    #8
    Kyblack76

    Kyblack76 New Member

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    Owns 4runner,.... cant find dirt to drive in.

    No wonder i dont see many of these on the trail every weekend.
     
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  9. May 16, 2023 at 1:21 PM
    #9
    hossler1788

    hossler1788 Turtle

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    Where are you located? I'm in eastern pa, Rausch creek and aaoa is very close to me. Everything else is pretty much just logging roads.

    I haven't needed /used 4x4 in what feels like for ever
     
  10. May 16, 2023 at 1:59 PM
    #10
    auspilot

    auspilot Old Member

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    Two miles out and back = 4 miles. Do it once a week and that's 16 miles a month. This is what I do on a route I drive weekly.
     
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  11. May 16, 2023 at 2:32 PM
    #11
    Ripper238

    Ripper238 New Member

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    Google dirt roads, that's how i found one locally. If not just put it in 4L and drive straight for a bit and test Locker on/off, that should be fine, better than noting. But I bet if you google dirt roads you will find one, this came up when I searched: gravelmap.com
     
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  12. May 16, 2023 at 3:02 PM
    #12
    CalcityRenegade

    CalcityRenegade New Member

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    Where do you live where you don't have 10 miles of straight roadway? Martinsville Speedway? LOL
     
  13. May 16, 2023 at 3:08 PM
    #13
    backpacker

    backpacker [OP] New Member

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    It won't be long before I'm back on the dirt roads in UT. I'll probably start with Road Canyon or Snow Flat Road, but the list is pretty long.
     
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  14. May 29, 2023 at 9:53 AM
    #14
    McSpazatron

    McSpazatron New Member

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    That makes sense for the front diff oil which would otherwise sit there and do nothing.

    So I usually dont have any problem pulling the lever back once in a while, pretty much anywhere straight, even if for a hundred yards at a time. It’s super easy, and a fun thing to do. Cycling the add is the biggie. The diff lock actuator I get to less often though, since that’s takes longer to do, and you cant do it in traffic.

    I see people talk about activating 4wd with hesitance, which I don’t get. I wonder if the hesitance thing comes down to lever actuation, vs the electric dial switch? Does the dial make the whole process more nerve-wracking? Is it worry about things breaking just in the process of shifting?
     
  15. May 29, 2023 at 10:01 AM
    #15
    backpacker

    backpacker [OP] New Member

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    Yeah, the manual mentions exercising the front drive train components.

    My wife was startled by the vibration she felt just putting her hand on the lever at highway speed. It didn't help that I told her it was a live connection to 300 hp.
     
  16. May 29, 2023 at 1:15 PM
    #16
    ReRunner

    ReRunner Fred Berry Enthusiast

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    Whenever I'm out, in an under 50mph zone, and its raining the 4wd gets exercised. Pop in 4hi for a bit and look for a puddled up parking lot. Then 4lo across the lot. Might even use MTS in one that's heavily flooded. Just for fun, and the symphony of Toyota traction control. I do avoid turns that need a full steering wheel rotation. I also make sure I'll be able to keep the 4hi above 10mph for the playtime. Takes 10-15 minutes. I don't pay attention to the mileage.

    Frequently, I go for a few weeks without driving the Runner. If thats been the case and I'm at home and the rain starts, I take a 20 minute 4wd funtime break to go play in the rain.
     
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  17. May 29, 2023 at 2:12 PM
    #17
    McSpazatron

    McSpazatron New Member

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    :D Next time warn her that the shift has to be properly timed. Then, with a steely-eyed thousand-yard stare, say “Bob was never the same after that one time…”

    The reason I wonder if people are more hesitant to shift the electrical dial, is that I have heard them shift very hard and very ugly sounding. Usually it’s when the dial is turned in situations where the steering wheel is slightly turned, your stopped, and/or when slightly articulated. These are the same situations that would lead to grinding in a manual lever transfer case.

    Maybe the electric dial just gives the impression that it’s more automatic/advanced than it actually is, so the grinding freaks people out.

    For anybody that is hesitant, as long as you engage the 4wd in the right conditions (relatively flat ground, straight steering wheel, below 50mph) everything will be fine. Thinking you’ll break it shifting, and avoiding actuating it will actually cause it to fail. And if something fails when you shift, it’s not because you shifted. I’d just hate to think that people lose the 4wd function because they’re avoiding it.
     
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  18. May 29, 2023 at 8:43 PM
    #18
    qcTRDct

    qcTRDct New Member

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    Ok maybe I'm way off base here, but doesn't the front diff spin all the time? We don't have manual hubs, or vacuum hubs, just constant locked hubs. Pretty sure if you crawled underneath while she was driving (joking) you'd see the front axles turning with the wheels. So it's just the transfer case oil that isn't moving.
     
  19. May 29, 2023 at 9:13 PM
    #19
    McSpazatron

    McSpazatron New Member

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    You sir, are correct.

    Wait, doesnt stuff inside the TC spins all the time too?
     
  20. May 29, 2023 at 9:15 PM
    #20
    qcTRDct

    qcTRDct New Member

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    Hmm this I do not know
     
  21. May 29, 2023 at 10:00 PM
    #21
    Captain Spalding

    Captain Spalding . . .

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    Hmm. I don’t have a full understanding of the A.D.D., and maybe what I said above about having to engage 4WD and drive it long enough to get the differential oil hot is wrong. What I just read is that the ADD disconnects the driver’s side axle from the differential for 2WD operation and connects it to the differential for 4WD operation. In which case the differential innards would be spun by the front drive shaft in 4WD and by the right side wheel in 2WD. In either mode the differential oil would be hot. Can someone who knows chime in and clarify?
     
  22. May 29, 2023 at 11:08 PM
    #22
    ReRunner

    ReRunner Fred Berry Enthusiast

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  23. May 30, 2023 at 7:47 AM
    #23
    auspilot

    auspilot Old Member

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    This link goes into some detail on the ADD: http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/tech/the-automatic-disconnecting-differential-system-19259.html

    I think it is a little out of date because it references a vacuum actuator and I believe our actuators are electric now. But if the general concept still applies, they say "This means that both front half shafts and the front diff spin even in 2WD (but not the front drive shaft)."
    Reading around a little, it seems the fuel savings of the ADD system are pretty limited because only the front drive shaft is stationary. Seems to me like it would be better to control everything just by the transfer case shifter.
    A thread on the FJ cruiser forum says "when I drive in 2WD the front propeller shaft and front differential ring and pinion don't turn, the shaft stubs connected to the hubs do turn, and since the differential ring gear is not turning and only one of the front axles is disconnected the other front shaft is spinning the differential spider gears around like mad."
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2023
  24. May 30, 2023 at 8:12 AM
    #24
    wingo

    wingo New Member

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    I done both trails when I had my FJ. I prefer Rausch Creek, AAOA made my tires gray from the coal in the ground. Tried everything to get rid of the gray stains on the tires (had to replace them before selling). I have not been back to those trails since I got rid of the FJ. I am planning in the near future to see how my 4Runner will handle the rocky trails. The 4Runner is ready to hit the trails but I'm not.

    front update 2.jpg
     
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  25. May 30, 2023 at 8:58 AM
    #25
    scottiezilla

    scottiezilla New Member

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    I’d love to n keep hoping a group gets together for Rausch Creek…been slowly putting the truck together for what it’s meant for

    been hard to actually utilize it
    One thing after another let alone the world shutting down

    live in DE but I’m at my folks place in Chester county a lot
     
  26. May 30, 2023 at 9:32 AM
    #26
    Captain Spalding

    Captain Spalding . . .

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    Interesting. I saw a couple of references to ADD deletes for the purpose of increasing reliability.
     
  27. May 30, 2023 at 10:06 AM
    #27
    Lou

    Lou New Member

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    I'm coming up on 30,000 miles on my 2021 ORP, and I did not know this was something I was supposed to be doing. I've used the 4WD a few times each winter with no problems.

    Should I start doing this, and is it a problem that I haven't so far?
     
  28. May 30, 2023 at 10:15 AM
    #28
    Captain Spalding

    Captain Spalding . . .

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    Yes you should start, and no, if everything is working it’s not a problem.
     
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  29. May 30, 2023 at 11:46 AM
    #29
    MartianArmada

    MartianArmada New Member

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    It's also just good to practice getting in and out of 4hi/4lo so if you get yourself into a pickle, you'll have a good understanding of the process.
     
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  30. May 30, 2023 at 12:30 PM
    #30
    Stoney Ranger

    Stoney Ranger New Member

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    I ran my 4R up Pikes Peak, 4wd HI turning it on and off when practical. Think of the engaging actuator like a push-up. Once won't do much, but if you do 20 you will see results. Gotta "exercise" the actuator. Use it or lose it.
     
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