Toyota RAV4 Forums banner

Is it possible to disable the 4wd system?

6K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  coupi 
#1 ·
Hello

Quick question. I know in some vehicles you can pull a fuse to disable the 4wd and render it fwd. Is this possible in the 97 rav4.1(auto)? I just got the truck, and the only reason I ask, is because one of the back tires does not match the other three, I know this can easily break components in the 4wd system. Its going to be a couple weeks until I can afford a whole new set of tires. I am not sure how long its been driven on mismatched tires. My mechanic said he heard a humming from the rear diff with a stethoscope when it was on the lift. The two wheel bearings in the rear also need replaced so my personal opinion is that the humming is a result of the faulty wheel bearings as i drained and replaced the rear diff w/ royal purple. the old diff fluid looked fine with just the finest finest finest metal shavings on the magnetic plug.

anyways, now im just kinda rambling.... I did search prior to posting, but couldn't find anything specifically about disabling the system.

Any info would be appreciated!
 
#2 ·
The 4wd system in the RAV 4.1 (yours) and 4.2 (2000-2006) cannot be disabled they are full time (allways engaged). There is no fuse that can be pulled to disengage them as far as I know. How bad is the one tire worn compared to the others? Is the spare in better shape to switch out with?


Good that you changed the diff oil. I had my '97 (5sp) transmission, transfer and differential oil changed out. The mechanic said it was due because it also had some metal flakes in it.


Good luck, and have fun with your RAV!
 
#3 ·
Well the mismatched tire actually has more tread than the other three tires. It looks like the previous owner got a flat and bought a single new tire and put it on there. If thats the case, its probably been like that for several thousand miles at least... so leaving it for another week or so, can't imagine it'll do more harm than it already has(if any) unless I go start doing burn outs! lol
 
#5 ·
Well can't tell you much about tires. I always have 215-70-16 Winter on my '97. Winters seem to be good for moderate off road when I need them too. I also use the same size for winter on my 2004/05 model. In the summer the '04 has 235/60-R-16 Summer's on the original Alu-mags. Lowers it a bit, but handles almost as good as an Audi Quattro on moutain roads. My '04 uses Nokian tires for winter and summer. The '97 has a cheaper winter tire (Semparite I believe) but performs pretty good in rain, snow and mud.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top