4WD not working

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Rhino5000

Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Threads
5
Messages
50
Location
12401
Hello, I recently got a 96 FZJ80. It snowef yesterday and it struggled to make it up a low angle hill with less than 2" of snow on there.

I put er in N then switched to 4L the yellow light illuminated, but no 4wd. Next back to N and turned the locking differential dial they both blinked red lights then the rear became solid and was able to climb the hill.

I thought my first step is to check the fluid in the front differential. I wasn't able to get the filler plug out, but I didn't have too much time to mess with it today.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you.
 
tires....

your 4wd system is working fine (except your front dff didn't engage). You lost traction, then locked the rear and center and made it out.

What are you worried about
 
Rhino5000 said:
Hello, I recently got a 96 FZJ80. It snowed yesterday and it struggled to make it up a low angle hill with less than 2" of snow on there.

I put er in N then switched to 4L the yellow light illuminated, but no 4wd. Next back to N and turned the locking differential dial they both blinked red lights then the rear became solid and was able to climb the hill.

I thought my first step is to check the fluid in the front differential. I wasn't able to get the filler plug out, but I didn't have too much time to mess with it today.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
I'm going to guess you don't have a lot of experience in a four wheel drive and/or driving on snow. I recall being surprised in my first 4x4, when there were hills I couldn't climb. I can recall being surprised the first time I did a four wheel skid on snow/ice even at a very low speed in a ski resort parking lot.

I don't know how low the angle was on your hill, or how icy the 2" of snow was. I don't know what tires you have. Your Land Cruiser has full time four wheel drive, so it was "on". When you locked the rear differential, you kept all the torque from going to the wheel with the least traction. With tires better suited for snow, you may have climbed the same hill without engaging the locker. As you get more experience with your truck, you may understand better what went on. There will be hills you can't climb. If you saw someone else go up the same hill, the same day, you'd have a better idea if something was sub-optimal on your rig. I've seen tire tracks in places I could not go, and generally pass it off the the other vehicle crossing on a day where traction was better. Sometimes it is because they had better gear. (tires, lift, suspension articulation, or the all important skill with their rig)
 
You might have an issue with your trans case CDL - I forget the permissives since I have the CDL switch & pin 7 cut, so I control all my situations.

Your ZIP leads me to think you are in the NE - yes?

I say as ice beats any tread, you need chains or studs or walnut shell tires to mitigate real ice.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

Something doesn't seem right with the rig or that was a dissapointing performance. This is my first LC. Tires aren't bad.

After I got up the hill I picked up 2010 tundra which i used to plow all night. No problems with that truck getting through the snow and much steeper hills.

Whats a 7 pin mod? CDL?

Thanks again
 
After doing some reading about CDL 7 pin mod I have to say I really don't know, but wouldn't be suprised.

It's been modified alot to be an off road vehicle back in its day before i got it (exhaust is welded and tucked high up in, P does not hold, pin must have snapped from parking on steep slopes, rely on nparking brake now). Truck now runs pretty good, but it's kind of a beater at this point.

I'm not sure why one would do that. I'll find a snowy patch and try again.
 
Were your front wheels spinning under power in high or low?
 
That's a great question and i don't know! Didn't bother to stick my head out the window and look. Was more concerned about making it up the hill (driveway). What i did do was back up several times and attempt again with acceleration until I made it.
 
The pin 7 mod allows you to shift into low range without locking the center differential. (CDL) Although it may be great in the opposite situation (steep hill with great traction) you don't need your center diff unlocked for your current situation. If you have the pin 7 mod on your truck, it means the CDL does not lock just because you shift into low. You would need an external switch to lock the CDL. That would also mean you can't lock the rear differential (on Landcruisers with diff locks.)

If your rear wheels were spinning (or one was), and neither front wheel was spinning, a previous owner may have installed a "part time" kit.
 
The sage advice we give all guys who are either new to the 80 lockers or are diagnosing any issues is to take it to a flat, dirt (or snow for you) lot & seriously just play with the controls.

It takes wheelspin or a unequal wheelspeed like a sharp turn to lock a diff, so keep that in mind & don't worry if the rear locks later than the front, you'll know locked by the wheelhop in the rear or difficult steering of a locked front.

You could be locking & the indicators are gummed a bit - locked per the cluster is steady lights for the diffs where they blinked when you shifted but not yet locked.

Also, if anything is gummed, unlock it all & start over - it's like stretching before excercise - if you work it enough sometimes that frees up gummed parts that have been unused for a bit.

Also, as you prob read - no diff lockers in hi range on case if you don't have pin 7 - so to make sure you are really working the lockers start out all your playtime in lo range. Work from there.
 
Hey thanks for all the help everyone.

I'm gonna play around with it like suggested on the flat in some dirt or snow and do more research on the 7 pin CDL mod (the vehicle was an off roader back in its day). Then I'm gonna get back to you all.

I agree the importance of tires. I've been plowing driveways for a while now with many toyota vehicles and other makes and models (although not a land cruiser). If 4 or AWD was engaged it would've made it up extremely easily.
 
Rhino5000, just a dumb question, and i know it's probably not your problem, but you never know when buying a used truck. But did you happen to look under the front of your truck, to check and see if your front drive shaft is even hooked up? In all the years I've worked on customers cars, I've seen some crazy stuff missing from their cars when they brought them to me find out "why" something wasn't working.
 
I think that's a great question, it is hooked up.

Also the ABS light is on constantly
 
The Toyota Land Cruiser is always in four wheel drive, it is a full-time four wheel drive vehicle. Unless your previous owner installed a part-time kit (which I figure would be mentioned at some point in the sale) you have four wheel drive.

I would recommend reading through the FAQ section in order to become familiar with this new to you vehicle.

Here is a link that explains the Pin 7 mod. Slee - Pin 7 Mod for CDL (Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser) Unless you have a CDL switch I doubt the PO has done this mod. But you never know.
 
Rhino5000 said:
... P does not hold, pin must have snapped from parking on steep slopes, rely on nparking brake now). ...
Click to expand...

This a good indicator that something isn't right, most often drive isn't reaching one or more tires. The park pawl is very durable, not likely to fail. When the CDL is locked, does park work?
 
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