steering TOYOTA 4RUNNER 1996 User Guide

79
To shift from H4º to H2º
, push the
4WDº button again to turn it off. This can be done at any vehicle speed.
If the indicator light does not go off when you shift the transfer into H2º, drive
straight ahead while accelerating or de-celerating, or drive in reverse.
SHIFTING BETWEEN H2º OR H4º
AND L4º
To shift from H2º or H4º to L4º , stop
the vehicle and put the transmission in
Nº. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, move the front drive control lever.
To shift from L4º to H2º or H4º , stop
the vehicle and put the transmission in
Nº. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, move the front drive control lever.
When the 4WDº button is pushed in, the
transfer shifts into H4º; when the buttonis left out, the transfer shifts into H2º
If the indicator light does not go off when you shift the transfer into H2º, drive
straight ahead while accelerating or de- celerating, or drive in reverse.
The rear differential lock system is
provided for use only when wheel
spinning occurs in a ditch or on a slip-
pery or ragged surface.
This differential lock system is effective in case one of the rear wheels is spinning.
Before using the rear differential lock sys-
tem, first shift the front drive control into
L4º to see if it works. If this has no ef fect,
additionally use the rear differential lock system.
Do not use the rear differential lock
in the conditions other than above.
Large steering effort and careful
cornering control will be required. CAUTION
!
Rear differential lock system

Part 3How to start the engineÐ
(a) Before cranking
Before starting the engine
139
STARTING AND DRIVING
Before starting the engine
How to start the engine
Tips for driving in various conditions
Off-road driving precautions
Winter driving tips
Trailer towing
How to save fuel and make your
vehicle last longer, too
1. Check the area around the vehicle be-
fore entering it.
2. Adjust seat position, seatback angle,
seat cushion angle, head restraint height and steering wheel angle.
3. Adjust inside and outside rear view mirrors.
4. Lock all doors.
5. Fasten seat belts.
1. Apply the parking brake firmly.
2. Turn off unnecessary lights and acces- sories. 3.
Manual transmission: Press the
clutch pedal to the floor and shift the trans-
mission into neutral. Hold the clutch pedal
to the floor until the engine is started. A
starter safety device will prevent the start-
er from operating if the clutch pedal is not fully depressed.
Automatic transmission: Put the selec-
tor lever in Pº. If you need to restart the
engine while the vehicle is moving, put the
selector lever in Nº. A starter safety de-vice will prevent the starter from operating
if the selector lever is in any drive position. 4. Automatic transmission only: De-
press the brake pedal and hold it to the
floor until driving off.

142
CAUTION!
Always observe the following pre-
cautions to minimize the risk of seri-
ous personal injury or damage to
your vehicle: Drive carefully when off the road.
Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
Do not grip the steering wheel
spokes when driving off-road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and
injure your hands. Keep both
hands and especially your thumbs
on the outside of the rim.
Always check your brakes for ef- fectiveness immediately after driv-
ing in sand, mud, water or snow.
After driving through tall grass,
mud, rock, sand, rivers, etc., check
that there is no grass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand etc. adhering or
trapped on the underbody. Clear
off any such matter from the under-
body. If the vehicle is used with these materials trapped or adher-
ing to the underbody, a breakdown
or fire could occur.
The driver and all passengers
should fasten their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.
NOTICE
If driving through water, such as
when crossing shallow streams,
first check the depth of the waterand the bottom of the river bed forfirmness. Drive slowly and avoid
deep water.
Take all necessary safety mea-sures to ensure that water damage
to the engine or other components does not occur.
Water entering the engine air in-take will cause severe engine dam-
age.
Water can wash the grease fromwheel bearings, causing rusting
and premature failure, and mayalso enter the differential, trans-
mission and transfer case, reduc- ing the gear oil's lubricating quali-ties.
Sand and mud that has accumu-lated in brake drums and around
brake discs may affect braking ef-ficiency and may damage brakesystem components.
Always perform a maintenance in-
spection after each day of off-road driving that has taken you
through rough terrain, sand, mud, or water. For scheduled mainte-nance information, refer to the
separate Owner's Manual Sup-
plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.

143
Make sure you have ethylene-glycol
antifreeze in the radiator.
NOTICE
Do not use alcohol type antifreeze.
Check the condition of the battery and cables. Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to provide enough power for winter starting.Chapter 7-3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased tocheck the level of charge.
Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See Chapter 7-2 for recommended vis-
cosity. Leaving a heavy summer oil in your
vehicle during winter months may cause
harder starting. If you are not sure about
which oil to use, call your Toyota deal- erÐhe will be pleased to help. Keep the door locks from freezing. Squirt lock de-icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing. To open
a frozen lock, try heating the key before in-serting it. Use a washer fluid containing an anti-
freeze solution.
This product is available at your Toyota
dealer and most auto parts stores. Follow
the manufacturer's directions for how
much to mix with water.
NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any other substitute because it may
damage your vehicle's paint.
Do not use your parking brake when there is a possibility it could freeze. When parking, put the transmission into
Pº (automatic) or into first or reverse
(manual) and block the rear wheels. Do
not use the parking brake, or snow or wa-
ter accumulated in and around the parkingbrake mechanism may freeze, making it
hard to release. Keep ice and snow from accumulating
under the fenders.
Ice and snow built up under your fenders
can make steering difficult. During bad winter driving, stop and check under the
fenders occasionally. Depending on where you are driving,
we recommend you carry some emer- gency equipment.
Some of
the things you might put in the ve-
hicle are tire chains, window scraper, bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel, jump- er cables, etc.
Winter driving tips

146TIRES
Ensure that your vehicle's tires are
properly inflated. See Chapter 7-2 forinstructions.
The trailer tires should be inflated to
the pressure recommended by the
trailer manufacturer in respect to the
total trailer weight.
TRAILER LIGHTS Trailer lights must comply with federal,
state/provincial and local regulations. See your local recreational vehicle
dealer or rental agency for the correct type of wiring and relays for your trail-
er. Check for correct operation of the
turn signals and stop lights each time
you hitch up. Direct splicing may dam-
age your vehicle's electrical system
and cause a malfunction of your lights.
BREAK-IN SCHEDULE Toyota recommends that you do not
tow a trailer with a new vehicle or a ve-
hicle with any new power train compo-
nent (engine, transmission, differen- tial, wheel bearing, etc.) for the first
800 km (500 miles) of driving. MAINTENANCE
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will re-
quire more frequent maintenance due
to the additional load. For this informa-
tion, please refer to the scheduled
maintenance information in the Own-
er 's Manual Supplement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
Retighten all fixing bolts of the towing
ball and bracket after approximately
1000 km (600 miles) of trailer driving.
PRE-T OWING SAFETY CHECK Check that your vehicle remains level
when a loaded or unloaded trailer is
hitched. Do not drive if the vehicle has
an abnormal nose-up or nose-down
condition, and check for improper
tongue load, overload, worn suspen-
sion or other possible causes.
Make sure the trailer cargo is securely
loaded so that it cannot shift.
Check that your rear view mirrors con-
form to any applicable federal, state/
provincial or local regulation. If not,
install the rear view mirrors required
for towing purpose. TRAILER TOWING TIPS
When towing a trailer, your vehicle will
handle differently than when not tow-
ing.
The three main causes of vehicle-
trailer accidents are driver error, ex-
cessive speed and improper trailer
loading. Keep these in mind when tow-
ing: Before starting out, check operation of
the lights and all vehicle-trailer con-
nections. After driving a short dis-
tance, stop and recheck the lights and
connections. Before actually towing a
trailer, practice turning, stopping and
backing with a trailer in an area away
from traffic until you learn the feel.
Backing w ith a trailer is difficult and re-
quires practice. Grip the bottom of thesteering wheel and move your hand to
the left to move the trailer to the left.Move your hand to the right to move
the trailer to the right. (This procedureis generally opposite to that when
backing without a trailer). Also, just
turn the steering wheel a little at a time,
avoiding sharp or prolonged turning.Have someone guide you when back-
ing to reduce the risk of an accident.

147

Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle-to-vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) ofspeed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of control. This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of suddenbraking.
Remember that when making a turn,the trailer wheels will be closer than the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.
Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing sway. Pay atten-
tion to the rear from time to time to pre-
pare yourself for being passed by largetrucks or buses, which may cause your
vehicle and trailer to sway. If swaying
happens, firmly grip the steering wheel
and reduce speed immediately but
gradually. Never increase speed.
Steer straight ahead. If you make no
extreme correction with the steering or
brakes, the vehicle and trailer will sta-bilize.
Be careful when passing other ve-hicles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After passing a vehicle, do
not forget the length of your trailer and
be sure you have plenty of room be-
fore changing lanes.
In order to maintain engine braking ef-
ficiency, do not use fifth gear (manual
transmission) or overdrive (automatic transmission).
Because of the added load of the trail-
er, your vehicle's engine may overheat
on hot days (at temperatures over30 5C [85 5F]) when going up a long or
steep grade with a trailer. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge indicates
overheating, immediately turn off the
air conditioning (if in use), pull off the
road and stop in a safe spot. Refer to
If your vehicle overheatsº in Part 4 ofthis manual.
Always place wheel blocks under both
the vehicle and trailer wheels whenparking. Apply the parking brake firm-
ly. Put the transmission in Pº (auto-
matic) or in first or reverse (manual).
Avoid parking on a slope with a trailer, but if it cannot be avoided, do so only after performing the following:
1. Apply the brakes and hold.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place,
release your brakes slowly until the blocks
absorb the load.
4. Apply the parking brake firmly.
5. Shift into first or reverse (manual) or
Pº (automatic) and turn off the engine.

149

Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop-and-go driving
wastes fuel.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or take
advantage of through streets to avoid
traffic lights. Keep a proper distance
from other vehicles to avoid suddenbraking. This will also reduce wear onyour brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on the clutch
or brake pedal. This causes needless
wear, overheating and poor fuel econ-
omy.
Maintain a moderate speed on highways. The faster you drive, the
greater the fuel consumption. By re-
ducing your speed, you will cut down
on fuel consumption.
Keep the front wheels in properalignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on the
engine, which, in turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle
free from mud, etc. This not only
lessens weight but also helps prevent corrosion.
Keep your vehicle tuned-up and in
top shape. A dirty air cleaner, improp-
er valve clearance, dirty plugs, dirty oil
and grease, brakes not adjusted, etc.
all lower engine performance and con-
tribute to poor fuel economy. For lon-
ger life of all parts and lower operating
costs, keep all maintenance work on
schedule, and if you often drive under severe conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-
nance (For scheduled maintenance in-
formation, please refer to the separate
Owner 's Manual Supplement/Main-
tenance Scheduleº).
CAUTION!
Never turn off the engine to coast
down hills. Your power steering
and brake booster will not function
without the engine running. Also,
the emission control system oper-
ates properly only when the engine
is running.

154
Connecting point for 5VZ-FE engine
Connecting point for 3RZ-FE engineDo not connect it to or near any part that moves when the engine is cranked.
NOTICE
When making the connections, do not lean over the battery or acciden-
tally let the jumper cables or clamps touch anything except the correctbattery terminals or the ground.
5. Start your engine in the normal way.
After starting, run it at about 2000 rpm for several minutes with the accelerator ped-
al lightly depressed.
6. Carefully disconnect the cables in the
exact reverse order: the negative cable
and then the positive cable.
7. Carefully dispose of the battery cover
clothsÐthey may now contain sulfuric acid.
8. If removed, replace all the battery vent plugs.
If the cause of your battery discharging is
not apparent (for example, lights left on), you should have it checked. If your engine stalls while driving
0
1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping
a straight line. Move cautiously off the
road to a safe place.
2. Turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Try starting the engine again.
If the engine will not start, see If your ve-
hicle will not startº.
If the engine is not running, the
power assist for the brakes and
steering will not work so steering
and braking will be much harder
than usual. CAUTION
!
If your engine stalls while driving

163
(b) Towing with wheel lift type truck From frontÐ
Manual transmission:
We recommend using a towing dolly un-
der the rear wheels. If you do not use a
towing dolly, release the parking brake
and put the transmission in neutral. Automatic transmission:
Use a towing dolly under the rear wheels.
NOTICE
Never tow a vehicle with an auto- matic transmission from the front
with the rear wheels on the ground,as this may cause serious damage to the transmission.
From rearÐ Place the ignition key in the
ACCº position.
NOTICE
Do not tow with the key removed or in the LOCKº position, as the steer-
ing lock mechanism is not strongenough to hold the front wheels straight while towing.
(c) Towing with sling type truck from front
Follow the instructions for towing from
front in (b) Towing with wheel lift type truckº.
Four±wheel drive modelsÐ
(a) Using flat bed truck
Toyota recommends this as the best method for your vehicle.
(b) Towing with wheel lift type truck From frontÐ Manual transmission:
We recommend using a towing dolly un-
der the rear wheels. If you do not use a
towing dolly, release the parking brake,
put the transmission in neutral and set the
transfer in H2º. Automatic transmission:
Use a towing dolly under the rear wheels.
NOTICE
Never tow a vehicle with an auto- matic transmission from the front
with the rear wheels on the ground,as this may cause serious damage to the transmission.
From rearÐ We recommend using a tow-
ing dolly under the front wheels. If you do
not use a towing dolly, place the ignitionkey in the ACCº position, put the trans-
mission in neutral and the transfer in H2º.
NOTICE
Do not tow with the key removed or in the LOCKº position when tow-
ing from the rear without a towingdolly. The steering lock mechanism is not strong enough to hold thefront wheels straight.
(c) Towing with sling type truck from front
Follow the instructions for towing from
front in (b) Towing with wheel lift typetruckº.

164
All modelsÐ
(c) Towing with sling type truck fromrear
NOTICE
Do not tow with sling type truck. This may cause body damage.
If towing service is not available in an
emergency, your vehicle may be tem-
porarily towed by a cable secured to
the emergency towing hook under the
front of the vehicle. A driver must be in the vehicle to steer it and operate the brakes.
Towing in this manner may be done only
on hard-surfaced roads for a short dis-
tance and at low speeds. Also, the
wheels, axles, drive train, steering andbrakes must all be in good condition. Before towing, release the parking brake
and put the transmission in neutral
(manual) or Nº (automatic). The key must
be in ACCº (engine off) or ONº (enginerunning).
CAUTION!
If the engine is not running, the
power assist for the brakes and
steering will not work so steering
and braking will be much harder
than usual.
ÐEmergency towing