4wd Burning Smell

[nessanater]

I am fairly certain the 4wd has not been used in my 1985 SR5 for quite a while, the last year at the very least, but probably longer. I tried it out for the first time last weekend, and it worked great, got me off of the muddy hilly driveway and onto the pavement. BUT, I had a really hard time getting it back into 2wd, and so I had to drive it about 40 feet in 4wd, park it, and struggle it into 2wd. I turned it off afterward, and noticed a very distinct belt burning smell coming from the belts. Any ideas? Is there just a belt that only handles the 4wd part? I was thinking maybe a belt had slipped because the 4wd parts were hard to turn cause they haven't been used for so long, but I'm totally just talking out of my a** cause I really don't know. How do I check this out more without breaking something? Or do I just need to check it out further and let it break if it's going to break. I'll be using 4wd in the snow out at Snoqualmie Pass in the very near future, so I'd rather it break now than break out there where I can't get it repaired easily.

[dlb]

the 4WD is activated by a metal sleeve that slips over a cylinder (that's the easy way to explain it), no belts involved.

this is a common complaint but it's normal for it to be difficult to get back into 2WD if you are on an unforgiving surface, like dry pavement. it's best to switch out of 4WD while still moving, with the clutch pressed down, on wet, muddy, sandy, or snowy surfaces. even if your tires are not all matching, that can cause the same problem. and don't drive in 4WD on dry pavement or anything like that because it will cause the tires to bind and put strain on the differential. don't know about the burning smell, it could have been from your tires binding on the pavement (if you were turning lots) or clutch if you were riding it while trying to shift it out of 4WD. it could also be unrelated to the operation of the 4WD.

[Petros]

The smell is the tires most likely. make sure all your tires are the same size (same brand is best) and inflated to same pressure. this is causing the difficultly shifting into 4wd. Do not drive it in 4wd on hard dry surfaces or you will break something, likely the transmission or the diff (you do not want to do that!).

If your tires are even worn unevenly, or of different brands, I suggest get 4 new tires of same size and brand. Usually just putting 36 psi in each tire solves the issue.