Locker Stuck Engaged on '04 TRD Double Cab

Hi, I have been away working so my truck has been sitting for the past 2 and a half months and only getting started up and driven around the block once in a while by my family....(oh yeah I live in Canada so winters are hard on vehicles that aren't started frequently....)

Sorry this is so long...i just find a lot of these posted problems just go back and forth till everyone gets ALL the info so I figured I'd put it all up at the beginning.

first a little background info (again; sorry....)

So I have done the grey wire mod, or whatever it's called where you ground out the one wire coming from the 4X4 ECU or whatever to get the locker to engage in 2WD or 4HI....this has been working just the way it's supposed to, with the mod, for the last 6 months, just fine.

Today my brother and I went out to explore an old army reserve area and had some difficulty engaging the locker.

i am not a newbie - I am very familiar with how my truck works and how 4X4 and lockers often need to be fiddled with by engaging in neutral or driving a few feet forward or reverse while turning the wheels...till you find how the truck likes it (eg: I know mine likes to be engaged and disengaged into 4HI at just around 30km/hr or else I get a clunk when I disengage...)......I've tried the locker lots on gravel, So I'm pretty sure it's not something I'm doing wrong with the buttons....but the Locker Light just kept blinking while we were trying to engage it...and it didn't feel like it normally does when it locks up...couldn't hear the rear wheels spinning when you turn like normal either....

so then we do some more wheeling without the locker button engaged....but next gravel patch we hit ...we could hear the rear wheels like when they're normally locked....

So then the rear end is actually locked....yes it definately is locked...doesn't matter if I'm in 2HI, 4HI, or 4LO - I've tried the usual turning side to side as i creep forward which usually engages and disengages the rear end...and in reverse...no luck. In the end I had to put it into 2WD with the rear end still locked to get home....just took the corners extra wide and slow on the dry pavement....still grabbed in some tighter corners tho...

I also tried disconnecting the battery (ECU reset) and trying to reconnect it with the button engaged and not engaged-still no luck.

So i think my locker is stuck since it's been sitting for a while and hasn't been engaged? I guess the next step is to go thru and test all the components thru the harness connector like it mentions on the manual inspection page? Thanks everyone....

 

You can manually disengage it with a screw driver

 

cool man thanks...i found the other post where silverback07 described how....didn't come up before till I searched for screwdriver or something....I'll try the way of removing the locker motor and manually disengaging it....do you think that it's kinda gotten stuck from not being used??

 

when was the last time you changed your fluid?? Mileage & time??

 

um......no I keep up on my fluids...synthetics everywhere on my truck!

 

I would just ck your fluid level & consistency while your in there... it wouldn't hurt!

 

yeah man for sure - I'll checker out for sure- thanks! yeah i also found another great site for info on the rear diff. actuator.... http://www.worldpath.net/~thompson/tacoma/locker.htm

 

thanks guys....I was able to remove my actuator & manually slid the gear over to disengage it. got it all back together alright....now it's all good and disengaged....just havent tried the locker again since reinstalling-I have to use the truck for a longer drive on the HWY tomorrow and the next couple days so I'll let ya know after that once I have time to take the locker apart if it sticks again...Thanks again!!

 

hey so I haven't had any luck....today I tried engaging the locker...it just kept blinking but actually engaged....now it won't disengage tho.....just like before....

So I removed the actuator again and just tried playing with the gear in the differential with a screwdriver while turning the wheel back and forth. This gear inside the differential is pretty hard to move so I'm thinking that this is the problem??

Probly just has a little oxidization and needs a little freeing up?? Would I be able to squirt some diff fluid up into and around that gear?? I want to slide that gear back and forth a bunch with a screw driver and try to free it up a bit but obviously I didn't want to go squirting WD40 or something in there.....any other ideas on how to free this gear up??? (or do you think the problem is something else?)

The actuator seems to be working perfectly when the button is pushed so thats what I'm thinking..... thanks again...

 

you can work some diff oil into that gear and hopefully it just needs a little lube and begins to work freely.

 

k thanks man i was pretty sure...Just curious (well not really) but what would be the next step if this doesn't seem to work? any ideas?

 

I wouldn't use the locker if that doesn't work... and then look on CL, ebay & wrecking yards for a good used replacement e-locker. I've seen them on CL for $250-$450 just for the locker... about $750 for the entire 3rd member. Good Luck!

 

x2 if it doesnt work you may need further tear down. i wouldnt just replace it if you think you can free it up and get it working smooth

 

thats what i was thinking too - thanks guys....let ya know how i make out (how exciting.....)

 

Hey guys - I opened up my e-locker actuator today. Cleaned it all up and got new seals today in town, put it all back together and it works!...well kinda - lol...
The locker works perfect: it engages and disengages just fine. The only thing is that the dash light just keeps blinking.
So I'm thinking either that little sensor is the problem or maybe I put the gear in the actuator in wrong and the contacts in there aren't touching properly. Either way, Im happy-I don't mind the blinking light as long as it works! (btw, the motor doesn't keep trying to engage like i thought it might, it just engages once like it's supposed too) So thanks again everyone, any ideas on the why the ECU keeps thinking it's not engaging?