When are you using 4x4 Hi?

i was wondering what most people think about using 4hi.
I was here in government camp OR and I put my truck into 4hi when I got onto the snow packed road. I took it out of 4x4 to see how my traction was and I wasn’t slipping at all. I was wondering if I was doing damage to my trucks transfer case/drive train by putting it into 4hi as soon as I was on the snowy road.
Basically I want to know if I’m not slipping, am I doing damage to my 4x4 system?

Is it ok to drive on a snowy road with 4hi engaged even if I’m not struggling to drive on that road?

Do you guys put it into 4hi as soon as you’re on a snowy road? Should I not be? Is it bad for my truck or completely safe for the truck?


The road looked like this -

 

I'm in 4hi on roads with lots of relatively bare pavement all the time in winter. As long as there us some ice and/or snow on the road, I'll put it in 4wd. On a road that is completely snow covered, I'll always switch into 4wd, you're not doing any damage.

 

On hills with snow or possibe ice and engine breaking. Engine breaking with RWD isn't usually all that fun.

 

That is definitely 4hi territory there. I have also used it on mountain roads with patches of black ice. Some miles here and there are better than spinning off in a ditch.

 

Cool I wanted to make sure. I figured it was 4hi territory as well, as I saw other cars stuck on the side of the road. Even 4wd/awd vehicles. I was pretty surprised because my truck was powering through this in 2wd. Maybe it was my 3peak tires

 

When in doubt put it in 4x4. It isn’t gonna hurt anything.

 

Yup ^^^

 

I believe 4 hi with these truck is only part time 4 wheel drive so it will not damage anything. I have also been told that if you paid for 4x4 you might as well use it

 

On snowy icy roads, can you make sharp turns like parking without worrying about binding?

 

You’ll find it easier to switch out of 4HI for parking. Moving slow with very little throttle application means little to no slipping. Sharp turns close to wheel lock will end up with a ratchety feel as the tires bind and slip if you stay in 4HI even on icy/snowy surfaces.

 

Huh? Part time 4WD so no damage if used on dry pavement? Nope. It's only part time because you choose if it's in or out.

It's an electronic transfer case, but when you're in 4wd, it's locked front to rear. If you turn hard on dry pavement, you can definitely do some damage

 

I keep my truck in 4wd for the 4-5 months out of the year that we drive on snow and ice. It is fine on relatively dry pavement as long as you are not turning sharply (the only pavement that gets scraped clean during winter are the highways). In extremely cold temperatures, switching from 2 to 4 wheel drive is not always possible (actuator freezes up).

 

What makes it part time 4x4?

 

Part time 4wd has nothing to do with it not getting damaged by using it when you shouldn't. Part time just means that you have a switch to change from 2wd to 4wd. That's just about any truck. Full time 4wd has an open center diff that you can lock if you need to. Our center diffs are always locked, that's what can cause an issue on dry pavement.

 

No!

 

For me I've made a rule of thumb that if I'm going 50 or more on the highways and collector roads I'm in 4H because it takes just a second or a quick turn of the wheel (dodging other idiots) to loose the back end on winter roads. And the faster you go- well we all know about physics. No matter what tire you run your chances of losing control go down the faster you go in an emergency maneuver and staying in 4H helps minimize that risk IMO.

The only way I wouldnt do that is if our Taco s had "Auto 4WD" like GMC s etc.and 4HI came on in an instant when needed.

 

Id say that road is 4hi worthy. I think its recommended to keep it under 65mph while in 4hi.

It's also recommended to drive at least 10mi a month in 4hi to maintain the seals. I just dive down a country/gravel road when its raining.

 

You do.

But he's wrong.
If it's in 4x4, it's in 4x4. There's no slip except at the wheels.

 

Part time doesn't always mean there's no/locked center diff, but in the case of the Tacoma, that is how it be.

There is no center diff on the Tacoma. It's part time because sometimes it's 2WD and sometimes it's 4WD. When in 4WD, the front and rear are locked together with no differential.

Jeff

 

Shouldn't have any issue in those kind of conditions. I believe the owner manual says 4hi should not be operated over 60-65 mph. I doubt you'd be going any faster than that on snowy roads anyways.