Hello, I am new to several things lately...
this post and I am also new to 4WD, and dumb as they come!
I have a 1990 4 runner with auto lock hubs.
I ran over a huge pile of rocks that a neighbor put on the side of our street, partially blocking the street. Like the smart--- that I am, I decided to put in in 4wd just in front of the pile and proceded to go over the pile with one side of the vehicle the pile must've been about 3 feet high
So, Now I've done it!
I was later informed that the vehicle already had a broken transmission mount, and that I was supposed to give 3-4 tire rotations before I took on the pile which I didnt do.
Now it is binding up when I back out of the drive, and when I take turns. Sometimes it feels like the front wheel is going to break off!
Please someone help me! The old man is going to kill me! [color:"blue"] [/color]

I think I broke something! multiple choice
	need help repairing
	any advice would be appreciated
Votes accepted starting: 02/08/04 06:00 AM
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Sounds like your still in 4 wheel drive.

maybe your auto locking hubs are f-ed up as well as still being in 4wd

hope you didn't break anything <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

Just so you know, binding is normal from the drive shafts while in 4wd on the street, or any high traction areas. This is because your drive shafts spin at the same speed since you do not have a center differential. This is bad. Only use 4wd on slippery surfaces or straight roads.

yeah man I think you are still in 4wd

Totaly sounds like you are still in four, I have an '87 that used to have auto hubs and ocasionally after attempting to disengage them it would act like that, I had one side that wasn't disengaging. Auto hubs are complicated and more fragile than manual hubs. They take a while to engage too, so as you crawled over the rock pile I would guess that they engaged under a load as you were climbing the rocks, you probably broke or bent the tabs of the brake shoe spring. My advice would be to go to a wrecking yard and pick up a pair of manual free wheeling hubs, aisin are stock or warn and superwinch are ok too, and swap them out, Just grease em good.
This site has a good walkthrough at http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/autohub/
You will need slightly different parts to attatch the rotor to the spindle for the manual hubs. On an auto hub there is just one adjusting nut that holds the wheel on the spindle, on a manual there are two nuts and two washers. Just go to the Toy dealership and tell them that you want to swap the auto hubs for manual hubs. You will need from the inside out a washer/adjusting nut/lock washer/lock nut to replace the auto hub adjusting nut. Cost me fifty bucks for the hubs and thirty for the nuts/washers both sides. The whole procedure is pretty simple, took me less than an hour a side, you just need a torque wrench with the big ass 54mm or 2 1/8 socket for the nut and a hammer and punch to get the cone-core washers out of the hub, see the article for how to do this. good luck! I would be happy to help you through it if you decide to swap them out and have any questions, manual hubs are wayyyyy better and you will be glad you switched. Cheers! Tayo <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

You didn't need 3 to 4 tire rotations before touching the rocks. That didn't hurt anything.

When you're on dry pavement in 4WD none of the tires can slip easily, so it will bind up. Shift (more likely, pry) the transfer case back into 2 wheel drive and the binding should go away. If it's really bound up, you may have to drive STRAIGHT forward and backward up and down the driveway a couple times to relieve enough tension to let you beat it out of 4WD. But any time you turn in 4 wheel drive, all 4 tires travel different distances making that turn, so the drivetrain gets all bound up until something snaps or one of the tires slips. On wet/slippery surfaces it's not an issue since the low traction means a tire will always slip before something breaks.

I am assuming that Joelle shifted out of 4WD after the rock pile, chime in Joelle if I am wrong. But broken auto hubs that won't disengage or intermittently engage will still make the truck jump and grind, especially in reverse, even if the transfer case is in 2WD. Mine did.

Thank You sooo much for your extremely useful information Tayo!
My husband says that he's not going to let another woman drive his 4runner including me!
I say this woulda happened to him all the same, considering he knows about as much about four-wheeling as I do!
And to think I found the answers before he did cracks me up!
It kinda goes back to that paranoia that men have about asking directions!
Incidently, I'm on my way to tape your post on his forehead while he's sleeping!
One more question though, is it harmful or dangerous to drive it like this so I can go get the parts?(or he, if he wont let me drive it anymore)
Thanks again!
Jo <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

yes, I shifted out of 4wd as soon as I got off the pile, and no, it didnt lose traction a bit, which was disappointing since that was my intention, to spread his gravel all over the street!
One thing for sure, it is acting totally different than before, so I know I did something to it!