2006 won,t go into four wheel drive....

I am glad the OP got it fixed but I too am not following the price on the actuator. List for the part is 363 Maybe the OP is in Canada & its more expensive?

 

Hi guys,sorry I didn't notice you're posts on page 2...I am up in Canada which probably explains but dosen't justify the price difference....And the actuator is located on the front just behind the fornt of the skid plate between the front axles...I'm over the cost and glad I'm up and running but still pissed at the poor quality and workmanship from the garage,I hate going to the dealer for anything....I change my oil myself and the one time I got it done at the dealership it was over filled and they lost the little rubber cap on the overflow from the filter,they can't even get an oil change right geez,I know I'm fussy about my truck but is it too much to ask to get it back in the same condition you brought it in....

 

damn, i guess my actuator is out too. the same thing happend to me last night, i went to hit some mud trails put it in 4wd and the light just blinks. i tried over and over again to get it to engage but it wont. i can here it clicking like its turning on, but just wont engage. and now my abs light is on as well. all i want to do is go out and have some fun

anyone know how hard it is to change an actuator out themselves??

 

Sounds crappy but if the dealer fixed mine and broke off bolts left greasy hand prints in my truck that would not go over well if he broke off tabs as well I would be upset.

They would of cleaned my truck, re taped that skid plate, and fixed that tab (I HATE rattles in my truck)

Least you got it fixed

 

sounds like your Tech did not know what he was doing. Its almost always the Actuator more commonly the front diff, but occasionally the transfer case actuator, both easy to test, Dont know why they charged you so much, We charge 2 hours to replace the actuator @ 95 and hour... so 200 in labor and about 350 in parts.. not sure what the gaskets they charged you for because the actuator seals to the diff housing with a high temp RTV, Def does not sound like a tech i would want to deal with, If i get grease on someones car it gets cleaned up before it leaves, and anything I broke would get fixed before it left, and I would let you know if I found it broke.... its guys like this that give the rest of us a bad name

 

^ yep its hard to find good techs now days

 

alright, i will try this when i get the time to do it. thank you for the suggestion. lets just hope that is all it is.

 

Sounds like you know what's up I've been having the same issue with mine on and off for about 8 months or so. Toyota has replaced all actuators...worked fine for a while as soon as I wash the undercarriage my 4wd starts blinking. I turn the truck off and restart that sometimes fixes it. Also when I turn it on and the light doesn't stop blinking I will leave it in 4wd hi turn it off and back on and the light stops blinking. Latley that doesn't work anymore it just blinks 4wd is on but won't stop blinking and I can no longer shift into 4lo I'm thinking it's the transfercase.
Any ideas anyone have a reputable dealer in Socal that won't try to BS around too much my truck has a lift and I don't want to hear "the lift caused it" excuse.

 

If all the actuaters have been replaced... assuming the transfercase actuator has been replace the transfer case had to be taken apart... maybe something was done incorrectly on reassembly?? who did this? a dealer? but it sounds to me more like you may have a electrical problem being intermitent and all.... if you want to you can test the actuators pretty easily get a wiring diagram for your truck and figure out which wires would supply power and ground to the actuator, depending on weather it is to be activated or released and run jumper wires to the correct terminals put a 12v power and ground source to them and listen to them operate if they work fine with no abnormal noises and do not sound to be straining then most likely they are alright and you can focus on another portion of the 4 wheel drive system. if you need any assistance i may be able to provide along the way feel free to ask... hope that helped at least a little

 

Yes the dealer did it. I was going to go back to them to see if they can check it out but sometimes I'm discouraged from going there and checking it out myself.
Thanks, I'm going to get under there as soon as I get a chance and try this out. Thanks for the detailed info. I'll let you know how it works out......

 

My 4 wheel drive stopped working so I took it to a local garage thinking that it was a minor issue and it would only take a day to fix it. It turns out that my transfer case and actuator motor both shit the bed. So far Im on the hook for $800 to replace the actuator and I'm fighting with the warranty company (I bought an after market extended warranty, big mistake) to cover the cost of a used transfer case. I think that the best way to prevent these types of issues is to never buy a Toyota ever again. Clearly their quality has gone way downhill and they seem to no longer be making quality vehicles.