Low-4 Questions

I think I may have made a beginner mistake.

I took my 4runner into the desert and I shifted to Low 4 and put it into Sand and loose dirt mode.

I got carried away and went 30 MPH.

Now when I turn my steering is a little sticky and when I accelerate its not as responsive.

I plan on taking it into the dealership. But I thought id brain dump here and ask around before I get "scammed".

 

Admit to nothing

 

Take it to a car wash and clean off every bit of sand that you can. Yeah, get rid of the evidence. Then take it to the dealership and tell them it "Suddenly started happening while driving on a straight-paved road."

Like my fellow degenerate brother admitted in the previous post, admit nothing.

 

I resemble that remark.

 

Means

 

Just your imagination. I’ve gone about 50mph in low.

 

I would be honest with the dealer. As soon as they hook up to the ECU they will know every little detail of the vehicle.

Get underneath and see if you smell something a bit out of the ordinary around the diffs. Like burnt oil. The diff oil could have gotten overheated and chunks of the diff could have been compromised. That would be my first check. Good luck.

 

In the context of Halloween, a black bucket, particularly when used for trick-or-treating, often symbolizes darkness, mystery, or the unknown. We don't know yet....let's open the diffs and see what you did.

 

This is what it's designed for. You didn't do anything wrong. There's no reason to believe that going 30 MPH in 4L did any damage. It was probably in 4th or 5th gear and revved to about 4K. No problem. Be honest if you truly think something is wrong. If the dealer won't diagnose and fix a 4WD problem because you were doing 4WD things, I'd tell them to pound sand.

 

I don’t think mine will even go 30 in 4L, but then, I never tried.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

It has 4 speeds/gears in 4Lo. It can definitely go beyond 30.

I can’t see a connection between going 30 in 4lo and the vague problems you’re describing. Can you be a bit more specific?

 

nope. I did that and they blamed the noise on modifications and wouldnt warranty it. Screw them, tell them you have no idea what was happening. You were on your way to WalMart and BAM, all of a sudden noise started happening.

 

I agree. The symptoms described make it sound like the vehicle was never shifted back into 2 high.

 

4low can be used up to 4th gear redline, so just under 55 mph with stock tire size. In the desert, your speed will be limited by aired-down tires (~40 mph).

Looks like you're still in 4hi even though the lever is approximately in the 2hi position. I noticed this behavior a couple of times this winter. Shift into 4hi while moving straight, wait for the indicator to turn solid, then shift back into 2hi. The lever should snap into its 2hi detent crisply.

 

It most definitely will.

These Toyota's don't have a very low "low gear"
Even in 4-Low I can cruise around trails at 30-40mph. It doesn't do any damage.

OP I'm not sure what's up with your truck but you may double check that you shifted back into 2-hi... Doing what you described shouldn't do any damage.

 

It will go faster than that in Drive/4-low, been there fone that

 

Ok, I didn’t know that. Never had a need.

 

@MandoRaider , any updates? It sounded almost as if it hadn't been shifted out of 4wd by the description.

 

This made me curious, so I went for a ride in 4lo yesterday. Around 4100 RPM's at 40 MPH, so you'd be around 55 before red-lining it, as mentioned above. Hitting 30 shouldn't cause any trouble.

 

I think i read somewhere that temps get hot after 50mph when in 4Lo. Which means sense...why would you need to be going that fast and with that torque in 4Lo. The tranny...probably will feel it. Just saying...not sure though.

 

4lo actually tends to make things easier on the transmission, and reduces the need for the torque converter to be…torque converting lol. Basically, the trans will stay a lot cooler than it would otherwise. That said, the increased torque and engine available and engine braking available in 4lo makes it much easier to physically break things in the drivetrain if you were to make aggressive throttle transitions…

I could imagine the engine might have trouble keeping cool if it’s near redline for extended periods of time at slow speeds.

 

she’s gonna blow!

 

It’s a balancing act. If you’re pootling along a trail in high gear then sometimes the engine can overheat because the coolant isn’t moving quickly enough through the radiator, which as a consequence of the pootling is getting decreased air flow as well. Putting the t-case into 4LO will raise the RPMs and pump more water through the radiator. I’ve been in conditions (in a different vehicle) where the coolant temp would rise on a long technical climb even in low range and I’d have to turn on the heater to manage the temperature.

 

Not to mention the fan clutch is going to be engaged and pulling air through the radiator at the equivalent RPM.

 

^This!

Plus it is much easier on an automatic transmission when pulling hard, because of the extra gearing.