No 4WD?

To reference this 2018 Tacoma and use see: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/real-dirt-on-2016-trd-off-road-suspension-upgrades.548028/

Son is in Oregon for fire season and called today telling me he could not shift into any level of 4WD. He had already dropped it off at a Dealership to see what's up. Was still driveable 2WD, no grinding/noises and it has been maintained to MIL-SPEC standards. He called me back later to say he had the truck back and it was diagnosed with a bad transfer case shift actuator...he had already purchased the unit from them...due tuesday...with a tentative for them to replace. He further asked if this is something he and his co-worker/buddies could do themselves to save money. I used a copy of the 2016 Tacoma SM for a quick study...and while vague...it seems to require splitting the xfer case to do. Can anyone confirm, link or advise before I go to "my" Dealership tomorrow? I have friends there and I am a career wrench, but Son is more than 2K miles away, so this isn't something I can fix for him directly.

Thanks.

 

Read up on the front differential disconnect. (ADD) The actuator fails even on new models.

It's not a hard fix, but it needs to be diagnosed properly.

Typically if the transfer case spins the front drive shaft, but no front diff action, its a ADD.

If the prop shaft doesnt spin, but the diff engages, its the transfer case actuator.

 

Thanks. Can only go by what Son tells me they told him. P/N he has on order is 5615839. Also...he was given no DTC, which he's getting for me tomorrow.

 

Not saying your son did anything wrong but usually they fail when people go several months without putting it in 4WD and "exercising" the solenoids and linkages. Personally I don't do the 10 miles a month like the manual says but I shift into 4wd several times a month for a mile or 500 feet or some short distance. Good luck to your son and this is a straight forward repair, maybe a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Not real hard but a bit beyond most weekend warriors.

 

I’m my experience, mil-spec means it’s trash but, YMMV.

 

No need to open the tcase, it just bolts on the rear.

 

It looks like it, but its a shaft that goes into the tcase and has forks pinned to it. 100% have to open case.

 

Yeah, for our company and product we are a few orders of magnitude better than the mil spec requirement.

 

Yea, you won't get the shift rail out without opening up and getting to the shift fork, but can't you still disassemble the actuator and remove the shift rail drive pinion portion and then remove the actuator from both the tcase and shift rail? I thought this was still doable with the 3rd gen actuator.

 

Yet another 4x4 Toyota issue,their design is complete junk.

 

Yea, Toyota is know for "junk" 4x4's. Some one show this guy the back door...

 

In this thread someone demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the words "mil-spec" and another person commits blasphemy by insulting both the 4x4 Toyota gods and the intelligence of TacomaWorld users.

 

That and privates can break anything.

 

Well I wouldn’t grab the pitchfork yet . I know my 16 off-road has been great @ 93 k miles 4 hi/lo and locker works just fine 60 k has been driven lifted with full armor . Through mud ,rocks and up to the door weatherstrip in brackish water . Every time loaded with gear the wife and myself and our two sons .


We never know what his sons truck has been through . The part is exposed also .

 

To be fair, this particular design is poorly designed and could be construed by some to be ''junk.''

Personally, I long for the days of a lever actuated transfer case and while we are at it, manual lockout hubs.

If I could find some way to put in the old NP205 TC I have sitting in my workshop, I'd do it and laugh at all the electroweenie gizmo ones in 4x4's today.

If it would work, I'd most likely have to add a couple leaf springs to the back to support the added weight.

 

Meh there are always bad designs if a perfect car or truck existed everyone would drive the same one . That would be very boring .

my 81 sr5 4x4 has locking hubs but the solid axle has felt wiper seals at the front corners . They let water in . Nobody has ever perfected a vehicle. There just practicing like doctors practice medicine. Lol

 

First thing I would do when I bought a FJ40 [5] was drain the balls on the front axle and fill them with grease. I did that for a heck of a long time with no adverse issues. The felt seals sucked for gear oil, were great with high quality grease. The balls didn't pit either.

I'm betting if there was a poll on what people wanted, either mechanical hubs and X-fer case or electronic/electric hub's and a X-fer case, the mechanical one would win with pretty much every person that didn't think dirt was ''icky.''

 

No doubt .