My truck is a 1992 Toyota pick up and it was given to me not to long ago and it hasn't been put in 4WD for a really long time so all the oil is at the bottom of the transfer case so I put it in 4WD and drove it slowly to get the oil through the gears. When I went to lock the hubs the driver side was already locked. So since the driver side was already locked I was driving around in 2WD with the passenger side unlocked and the driver side locked. Can that harm anything in the hub or wear out the tire faster?

 

1st of all your Transfer case is always getting an oil bath when the truck is in motion. Change the gear oil in it if it has sat for a long time.

2nd it is never good to leave the hubs locked in for a long period. Its never recommend to drive at highway speeds in 4 wheel drive in the first place.

3rd you will wear out the hub well before the tire goes.

4th keep them unlocked till you need them to work for you.

 

Actually...

1. Yes, the transfer case will always have oil moving around if the truck is moving. The front differential, however, only spins if either both hubs are locked or the transfer case is in 4WD.

2. Leaving the hubs locked for any amount of time doesn't do any harm. The front driveline will be spinning but it won't be under any load. Obviously this causes wear and tear because the parts are spinning, but no damage. There is no hard defined speed at which 4WD should not be used. I've driven in 2HI hubs locked at 70+ MPH no issue in wintertime. I've driven in 4HI at 55 MPH when the conditions were bad. Now, 4WD hubs locked on dry pavement is bad, that will break things as the driveline binds up.

3. Not sure what you think would wear out the hub. Technically, the hub wears more when unlocked. When locked, all pieces spin together therefore no relative movement. When unlocked, the inner gear doesn't spin at all. The hub body does spin as the wheel spins. There is a bronze bushing between the two pieces which only sees action with the hubs unlocked.

4. Keep them unlocked when not used such as highway drives. If you're heading off road or the weather conditions mean you might need 4WD lock the hubs. I used to keep my hubs locked through the winter when I lived in West Virginia.

So to answer the OP, having one hub locked will do no damage to anything. If you want to get the front driveline spinning every once in a while either put it in 4HI or lock the hubs and drive around. Either will spin the front driveline. Just don't do both at once on pavement. That will couple the whole system together and can cause damage on the street by putting the driveline in a bind.

 

You'll wear out the spindle bushings/bearings quicker. Other than that though...no real harm done. But I would still never do it "knowingly". Those bushings/bearings are pretty expensive, and not so easy to replace.

 

My hubs are locked in from First snow till the time in the Spring I remember to unlock them.

Some time like Memorial Day Weekend

 

Yes, or you'll end up like this

 

Haha, that's embarrassing.

 

The exception to the rule is if the vehicle is flat towed. The T/C doesn't get lubed properly

Flat Towing a Toyota
originally Posted by Marlin Crawler
On all auto chain driven and manual gear driven t/cases, if it is towed in two wheel drive, the output shaft will turn, but there will be no way for the oil at the bottom of the case to get to the top where the output shaft is. On the chain driven cases, the input shaft turns the planetary housing which drives the oil pump. Gear driven cases use the input gear and low range gears to throw oil on the inside of the housing that collects the oil via gutters and directs it to the rear of the case by gravity. Both style of cases, must have the input shaft spinning to lube the output shaft, speedo gears, and rear seal of the t/case. The rear driveshaft must be removed.

in my alaska days my truck was just like yours