I'm looking at a Limited V8 full time 4wd. Anything in particular I should check or test? 4L? Lock the center diff?

If it has been remotely close to taken care of you should be fine.

In most cases the Limiteds will not have been ridden hard and put away wet as they are more likely to have owned by an adult who prefers the nicer appointments to the rough and tumble "overland" type drivers. If it doesn't have huge tires, a lift and a full length roof rack it was more likely a soccer mom's vehicle. In this instance buying a nearly stock vehicle might be the best indicator of its' previous treatment.
If it has all those things, look for stripes down the sides from offroad use. If it has scrapes and scratches in the paint this may indicate hard use. On the Limited look for broken front or rear valences and rocker trim. Those parts tend not to fare well in heavy off-roading. The other possibility is it just might be a mall crawler done up just for the look of being an off-roader by someone that just wants the cool factor.
I have a 4Runner as we have snow and ice here in Iowa and like the extra safety factor in the winter. I do a bit of nature photography and do get off the pavement at times but not the real heavy stuff like some enjoy. Of course, I am somewhat older than many of the 4R drivers. If you are buying privately, the age of the owner might also be a clue as to how it was used, toy or reliable transportation.

Deal fell through.

Vehicle seemed pretty solid and in decent shape. Few minor things that weren't disclosed up front that were annoying but resolvable: worn tires, include spare, rear passenger window is not original (not sure if accident of break in), rear door was painted, rust in many places under the car (didn't seem bad but it was obvious and plentiful).

But the deal didn't seem right - something fishy with the paper work and such. So, we bailed on the transaction. Something didn't seem right.

The search continues for an 2009+ SR5 or 2003+ Limited. I've given up on finding a Trail / TRD.


It's okay -- I'll use the time to learn more about part time 4wd on the SR5 vs full time 4wd on the Limited. For me, I should probably be indifferent. But I'd still like to know which I should prefer

Question re: SR5 vs Limited. Still researching and trying to understand this nuances. Help?

The SR5 has part time 4wd with no front/center/rear lockers. Relies on A-Trac, I believe, to provide locking like behavior.

The Limited has full time 4wd with 4H and 4L. It also has a Torsen LSD / Locking center diff and A-Trac.

If both the SR5 and Limited are in 4L, neither has a locking rear. So, would both be basically the same? Or is there a difference between part time 4L and full time 4wd in 4L?

If both basically the same, would the Limited have an advantage in some situations (what?) with the locking center?

Should I prefer the Limited over the SR5 for my usages?

Part time 4WD implies that it has a locking center diff - i.e. the manually shifted transfer case.

Torsen does provide an advantage over ATRAC in that it is completely mechanical and response time is practically immediate versus ATRAC. However it does not provide equal torque across the axle, unlike locker.

Torsen ceases to work if one wheel in an axle is either lifted off the ground completely or has almost zero traction (such as one wheel is on slick thick ice). In this case, slight pressure on the brake will introduce some "traction" felt by the Torsen and torque transfer would resume. This is how military Humvees work.

In the above post, I was talking about Torsen LSD in an axle. If Torsen is in the transfer case, it works in the same manner, transfer some power to each front and rear drive shaft. In this case, Torsen LSD would cease to work if you high center your truck and let's say both front wheels are completely off the ground. In this situation, there will be no power transfer to the rear wheel unless you apply some brake pressure or ATRAC takes over.

The reason they have to put Torsen in the AWD system is because as you turn, let's say a right turn, your front wheels would turn faster than rear wheels since front wheels travel longer distance than rear in a turn. If your part time 4WD system is locked in 4WD in this turn, damage could occur in the xfer case because the front driveshaft needs to be turning faster than the rear shaft. Torsen LSD allows for differentiation between its shafts while transfer some amount of power to both even in low, but non-zero traction situation. A locker or part time 4WD transfer exactly 50% of power to each shaft, no matter the circumstances but absolutely no speed differentiation between its shafts.

Also, in a right turn, the left wheels need to be turning faster than the right wheels. So if you lock your front or rear lockers, damage could result within the locked axle.

If you Limited has a locking center diff, then by locking it, it would be essentially same as a locked part-time 4WD system.

One clarification. On the 4th Gen 4Runner you could get either a V6 or V8 in both the SR5 or in the Limited.

It's not the trim level (SR5 or Limited) that dictates the 2WD/4WD vs. AWD transfer case. Rather it's the V6 vs. the V8 engine.

So V6=2WD/4WD in either the SR5 or Limited.

And V8=AWD (as I described it in my previous post) in either the SR5 or Limited.

Hopefully this makes your search a bit easier as it pertains to the 4th gens.

You briefly mentioned a locker on the front. Unless you have a solid front axle, which you won't in a 4th Gen 4Runner, I personally wouldn't install one due to it being an IFS setup. Solid axles are much stronger than IFS. CV joints on an IFS are a weak point, installing a locker on one will only increase said weakness. It can be done, but expect to empty your wallet as you beef up numerous other parts. And honestly, for off-pavement driving, lockers won't be needed.