Loud pop when disengaging 4WD happened once. Should I have any concerns?

Howdy Tacoma lovers. Just a quick question. Yes, I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD 4WD. I don't really need 4WD much if at all but I do know we need to engage it occasionally to keep things lubed up.

Yesterday I was driving to the doctors office and popped it into 4WD. When I finally disengaged 4WD, it make an extremely LOUD pop. On the way home I tested 4WD again, no issue.

I saw that the loud popping noise isn't unusual but should check things like ball joints, etc. That said, what is the noise itself and should I have any concerns with it? Should I be checking anything special?

 

All depends on how you engaged, speed, pavement conditions, were you going straight, no turns. Did you lift foot off gas pedal when engaging? Need more info. When was last time it was engaged, before that?

 

It happens from time to time, just make sure the next time you are coasting in a straight line and it won't do that.

It's just binding and speed mismatch that causes that. Nothing to worry about.

 

I turned it off when going straight BUT, I did not fully disengage until I was turning at around 3-5 MPH, but it was a VERY loud THUD/POP. I mean, I don't see any damage and testing it afterwards was fine. Just wondered if this was normal?

 

You'll be fine, the truck will be fine.

 

Meh, mine has a thud sometimes. Never had an issue with it.

 

Mine makes thud sound at times. Hasn’t caused any problems and I use 4wd a lot in Winter.

 

Do not turn or do anything else to put unnecessary strain on the drivetrain while it is transitioning 2hi <=> 4hi (indicated by the blinking light). The more strain, the rougher and louder the transition. If it still works, it's probably just fine. Don't make a habit of it though. I've screwed up a few times. It's fairly good at protecting itself from the driver.

When you turn the truck, the front and rear axles do not rotate at the same speed because the rear follows a shorter path. When you are in 4wd, the axles are forced to rotate at the same speed. When on a high traction surface, this puts lots of strain on the drivetrain and is a bad time to transition between 2hi <=> 4hi.

I've found that even after executing a tight turn on pavement in 4hi, the transition to 2hi can be finicky. I think this is caused by residual strain (aka bind up) in the drivetrain. This happens to me when I forget to put it in 2hi before entering my underground garage on a snowy day.

 

i engage 4hi when im going in straight line at idle rolling speed, i hear a click-pop sound when the mechanism engages in the transfer case.

 

forgot to mention, the clicky pop sound is loud enough for me to hear inside the cabin, but not so loud that i am shocked by the sound. its amost sounds like someone gave a very light tap of a hammer on a metalic surface. hope that helps

 

My 2005 made the same sound, I use to coast in neutral taking any strain off the driveline and it would come out of 4wd without making a sound. My 2022 makes the same sound of under any driveline load at all

 

I had a 4Runner rental from work once and engaged 4wd in the parking lot just for shits and giggles. Tried to turn it off before actually driving but it didn't so I thought if I just inched forward a bit, it'd turn off. It didn't until I had to make a turn in the lot and it disengaged in the middle of a turn with a loud pop. The vehicle is still fine to this day and it's still in our fleet with zero issues. It's been a few months at this point.

 

When it doesn’t make a sound you’re f’d

 

Mine also clunks every once in a while. Doesnt seem to cause any issues.

 

My 2001 tundra use make a loud clunk when you disengaged 4wd that shook the truck every time you did it, but nothing ever failed from this. When i got my tacoma, i couldn't believe how quiet and slick the 4wd now worked. Except for the green led 4wd on the dash, you'd never know if in or out of 4wd.