Purchase Help - Full time 4wd good for wheeling?

[Stevesnj]

Hi, I may purchase a 97 LC and it is full time 4wd, I used to have a 98 Taoma 4wd on demand. My question is will the Cruiser Full Time 4wd be just as capable handling the terrain such as mud and soft sand and such? I am suspecting that it should be more capable than my Tacoma was and I plan to use it for bad weather and wheeling here in NJ pinelands.

thanks for any help

 

[retrofive]

Hi, I may purchase a 97 LC and it is full time 4wd, I used to have a 98 Taoma 4wd on demand. My question is will the Cruiser Full Time 4wd be just as capable handling the terrain such as mud and soft sand and such? I am suspecting that it should be more capable than my Tacoma was and I plan to use it for bad weather and wheeling here in NJ pinelands.

thanks for any help

IMO yes and plenty more

 

[Stevesnj]

Okay so it is always in 4Hi on street and offroad? If I go off roading do I keep it in 4Hi all the time like going through water holes and speed for sandy areas? Or do I switch it to 4Lo for water and sand?

 

[yohavos]

Being "full time 4WD" means it's actually AWD... the majority of your power will go to the rear wheels, with some going to the front.

You can easily install a CDL to lock the center diff, effectively putting you in "4HI"

4LO is beastly, used offroad, just like a 4WD vehicle.

 

[Stevesnj]

Being "full time 4WD" means it's actually AWD... the majority of your power will go to the rear wheels, with some going to the front.

You can easily install a CDL to lock the center diff, effectively putting you in "4HI"

4LO is beastly, used offroad, just like a 4WD vehicle.

As you can tell im new to LC world. I went to the FAQ and saw a link for a CDL switch but the link is dead. Any other link on where to get the CDL switch for a 97 FT4wd LC?

 

[retrofive]

You can buy from Slee or other vendors, or just use a hazard switch with a little trimming. Even with the stock setup the 80 series is very capable. I don't have a lot of wheeling experience with the tacoma's, but with the 2007 and 2009 that I have, I prefer my 80.

 

[greentruck]

Your new/old Land Cruiser is a far more capable vehicle than the Tacoma. It actually offers more options than the smaller trucks, it's just figuring it all out that is the trick.

Also, the AWD nature of the 80's drivetrain is a big plus ON the road in rain and light snow. I never worried about locking the hubs with the part-time systems I've previously run (a FJ55 and a couple of Isuzus) in snow, just throw in and out of 4-Hi as necessary, but some people do. That's just another thing that's cooler about the way the 80 is set up, as it doesn't care, it's already pulling for you, as Red Green says.

Oh, the official welcome salute:

 

[Stevesnj]

Your new/old Land Cruiser is a far more capable vehicle than the Tacoma. It actually offers more options than the smaller trucks, it's just figuring it all out that is the trick.

Also, the AWD nature of the 80's drivetrain is a big plus ON the road in rain and light snow. I never worried about locking the hubs with the part-time systems I've previously run (a FJ55 and a couple of Isuzus) in snow, just throw in and out of 4-Hi as necessary, but some people do. That's just another thing that's cooler about the way the 80 is set up, as it doesn't care, it's already pulling for you, as Red Green says.

Oh, the official welcome salute:

Thanks for the salute

So sorry to be too much of a newbie but in normal driving is the range selector in 'N' or always in 4Hi? My tacoma it was in 2hi, is 4Hi the normal everyday setting in a FT4wd LC?

 

[ERG80]

Thanks for the salute

So sorry to be too much of a newbie but in normal driving is the range selector in 'N' or always in 4Hi? My tacoma it was in 2hi, is 4Hi the normal everyday setting in a FT4wd LC?

For driving it stays in 4hi. If you put it in N you wont go anywhere.

 

[maybe_a_80...]

...just use 4Hi all the time. When you get stuck, use 4Lo...until you get that CDL converted. 4Lo is a great "extractor" gear to be able to use when the truck is stuck.

Unless of course you have locking front and rear diffs, in which case 4Lo is simply a way to get your truck even more better stuck before locking the axles to extract...

welcome to the addiction!

 

[yohavos]

CDL is an easy mod, and can be done inexpensively (I got my hazard switch for free from a junk yard) as mentioned above. This, as well as the 7-Pin mod will give you a great deal of control over your cruiser and allow you to tailor it to different situations.


Full time 4WD is, as stated above, very nice for rain/snow/whatever as it's like being in a more street friendly version of 4HI. By use of a viscous coupler, you'll have differentiating amounts of power pushed to your front wheels.

Once you put the transfer case in L, your center diff will lock (on it's own, part of going into low) which will put you in 4WD, Low Range. Without the CDL mod, putting the rig back in HI will deactivate your center diff and you'll be back to AWD. The CDL will allow you to lock your rig's center diff while you're in HI (giving you 4HI). The 7-Pin mod will allow you to unlock your CDL while in LOW, giving you a "low range AWD" which can be nice for tight turns and what not.


Basically, you can't go wrong with an 80

 

[Otamiway]

If the LC80 you are getting has the factory Front and rear locker, the CDL will allow you to lock them in 4HI otherwise, you can only lock them in 4LO...

You will not be disappointed with a 80..

Welcome to the madness

 

[Polar Bear]

welcome!

Having gone from a nicely modified 96 tacoma (3.5 in lift, 33's, sliders, rear locker) to a 97 FZJ80 with lockers- I can confirm for you that you will not be disappointed. My 80 outperforms the tacoma in every imaginable way with ease (except fuel economy- 12 mpg). Obstacles which were challenging before are effortless in an 80.

I always heard the solid axle crowd making these wild off road performance claims and I thought it was BS- its not! The AWD system on these trucks works so well it makes things almost too easy lol.

You will not be disappointed.

 

[firetruck41]

Read this for a primer on the 80 series differentials and how they work (it is also linked in the faq>general>diff locks for dummies): Welcome to Land Cruiser Owners On Line