I've searched, and found a couple posts about going from FWD to. AWD, but not the other way. I'll never use the AWD, and I'm wondering if I might be able to pick up a few MPG's by disconnecting the PTO and rear axle shafts. Anyone ever try this?

Edit: It's an '02 with the 3.0.

 

I am sure it would not be worth the trouble.

 

I just watched a TV show "Motorweek" where they test drove the new Toyota Rav4 4 cylinder 2.5 ltr engine. The difference in gas mileage between the 2 wheel drive and the 4 wheel drive was 1 mpg.
The 2 wheel drive has a combined rating of 26 mpg.
The 4 wheel drive has a combined rating of 25 mpg.

 

The car is all wheel Drive it may need to have the rear wheels hooked - up.
May be like a rear wheel drive car without a locking axle. Jack one wheel up off of the ground the car will not have any forward torque.

You will still have the weight of the rear axle to pull around.

 

You make a good point. To me it's not worth the hassle, and if I had all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive I would keep it that way.

 

My understanding is that the rear wheels are driven by a PTO off the transmission, which is the same transmission used for the FWD models. Essentially, a clutch engages when the difference in speed between the transmission's PTO output (which is dictated by the speed of the front wheels) and the rear axle exceeds a certain point. Unless there is actually a 3rd differential (as in a true/RWD based AWD system) in there somewhere, disconnecting the PTO should have no effect on the front wheels from a mechanical standpoint.

But... if it's not worth the effort, then it's not worth the effort