2WD Lo Mod

I just realised I havent posted this on this forum, I worked this out a few years back and its been invaluable since:

I heard a while ago about a mod for the Diahatsu Fourtrak which enabled you to used the low box in 2WD. After doing a bit of research I realised that the 4x4 setup on both the Fourtrak and the LandCruiser 70 series were remarkably similar so I decided to see if it was possible to do the same thing on my KZJ70........................ and it is!!

This has the be the easiest and most useful mod Ive ever done:

1) On the side of the transfer case you will see two wire coming from position switches:

The lower one is for the 4x4 dash light and the upper one is the 4Lo switch, this is the one we want to disengage:


(from the manual, ignore the writing. Just to show a clearer diagram of the switch and connectors).

2) Trace the wires up till you find a connector, be careful you trace the right wire as the 4x4 indicator light wire are bundled next to the 4Lo wires and there are two connectors.

3) Disconnect the 4Lo connector, seal it with tape and cable tie it out of the way.

Done! You can now select 2WD Lo.

I jacked up the rear wheels to test it was working as planned.

How it works:
The 4Lo switch activates the vacuum solenoid for the transfer gear (the bit that engages the front prop) when you select Lo with the transfer lever, by disconnecting it the transfer lever shifts into Lo but doesn't engage the transfer gear leaving the transfer in 2WD. To engage 4x4 just press the 4H button on the dash. So now you have 2WD hi (Transfer lever in Hi), 4x4 Hi (Transfer lever in Hi, dash button depressed), 2WD Lo (Transfer lever in Lo), 4x4 Lo (Transfer lever in Lo, Dash button depressed). I re-labelled my dash button to suit:


The interesting thing is the 4x4 dash light still only engages when the transfer gear is engaged so you still know for definite if you are in 4x4 or not.

The reason:
Enables you to use the Low box on sealed surfaces (tarmac etc.) for crawling or trailer shunting and is useful off road for rear end digs etc.

So there you are, a very useful and very easy mod for your 70 series, I would imagine that this would also work on hilux and surf too?

great write up, thanks for sharing.

when i want 2wd low, i simply set the front hubs to FREE, and put the transfer stick in the 4 low position.

it looks like some one has stuck a yellow 4x4 sticker over your 4 high switch.

I used to set the hubs to free to use 2wd Low but this mod saves me getting in and out of the truck to lock\unlock the manual hubs. I can now select what ever I want from 2wd hi/lo or 4x4 hi/lo on the fly from the drivers seat. Its really useful for shunting heavy trailers on sealed surfaces (tarmac etc.), crawling in traffic, steep hill starts whilst towing etc.
I stuck the sticker on the 4 High button because this mod now means the button engages 4x4 not just 4 high.