Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice with vacuum talk

We had BONG Rd. Rumor has it that the sign is now welded.

 

Out to eat with an older gal tonight, I'm a bit nervous.

 

Did it start with you being unable to unlock the locker? If so, maybe start with that. Check out this vid, maybe some of it might be helpful…even if it’s just to “emergency unlock” the rear diff by sliding the rack to the other side. If you manually unlock it on the rack, you might need to also turn the gear on the actuator to the unlocked position as well, as this guy on the vid mention that the gear is supposed to be clocked to a certain position for locked and unlocked. Perhaps the position of the actuator gear is also where the “locekd/unlocked” signal is generated.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IYmQIyjUqr4


Regarding 4wd:
If 4wd actually engaged but is not indicated, then I think it can only be that the add hasnt clicked over yet. I would maybe try putting it in 2wd for a min; then try 4hi again to see if it actuates the ADD.

 

I’d go drive around and try to go in and out of 4 and see if it figures itself out. It might just be confused. I believe the locker switch is on / off so make sure it’s flipped to off. I’ve had a couple times where just going through the diff modes straightens it out.

or a connection is messed up / corroded or a sensor died.

 

Lol chill dude. Was making a joke.

To everyone who has run their fuel pump consistently dry and doesn't have an issue, congratulations. But across the industry it's pretty common for people who do this consistently to have more issues than people who don't. Hence my comment. Sorry for ruffling your feathers.

As for the four-wheel drive issue, @Shellshock has a great idea about trying to drive it in two high and then cycling through everything while you're out and about. That being said, getting a code reader and pulling codes could also be helpful. It's possible you simply got a corroded leader sensor somewhere.

Just remember diagnosing over the internet is difficult and things will have to be done step by step. Apologies if something is suggested that has already been tried.

Meanwhile

Cheers

 

Not that lucky

 

Definitely going to check out that video! Thank you!

As far as the 4wd indicator: If the ADD wasn't engaging, it would not be in four-wheel drive. So, the ADD must be engaging.

I'll probably try messing with some of this again tomorrow. Maybe I'll study the video Carlos shared and do some more putzing once I walk away from it for a while.

Thanks!

To be clear about the fuel pump thing; I'm not recommending anyone ever actually runs their tank dry. When the range is at zero miles, the 4Runner has about 3.5 gallons of fuel left in it.

And, I figure that if driving it till the light comes on is going to hurt it, then the engineers would have made the light come on sooner.

I appreciate the insight.


For a little back story about the locker -

Last August I had a situation where it did not disengage, but indicated that it had. I didn't realize it till I got back on to pavement. Limped it to a gas station and managed to get it to disengage going back and forth. The next time I tried using it in September, it would not engage. Since then, I really haven't tried to use it. Today, I thought I would try removing it and putzing with it, even though I actually have no idea what I would be looking for. So, after realizing that trying to work on it without a lift really sucked, I just sat in the truck and kept hitting the button over and over again. It would click, but not engage or disengage, and then it stopped clicking. That's when the four-wheel drive indicator on the dash stopped working, and that's where I am now.

I disconnected the battery again, and I'm certain everything reset, because it stalled when I finally started at, which also indicates to me that I probably could stand to clean out my throttle body. The diff locker light is still flashing, it will engage and disengage all modes of four-wheel drive, but it does not indicate 4 wheel drive on the dash.

 

If you’ve disconnected the battery for an extended period, it’s not abnormal for it to start and die the first time. The tundra and 4Runner both do that. The Tacoma doesn’t. Found this out messing with tuning the tundra.

if you’ve pushed the button a bunch of times, it’s probably trying to figure out it’s position. I would go into 4lo with the locker switch engaged, drive a bit zig zagging and see if it grabs. If it does, you should be able to just hit the button again to release. If not, just hit the button again and drive a bit and see if it keeps flashing.

after that I would do a couple cycles of 4lo - 4h - 2h - 4h - 4lo and see if it goes through each of them. I usually do 2h to 4h on the fly. 4h to 4l stopped in neutral.

 

Man, now I really wish I had that 4Runner that they sold out from under me a few years ago. That way at least have a little more experience playing with all these buttons and things you have

 

I think I've got the solution - you need to reinstall your missing rear mud flap. Your T4R is just telling you it needs its symmetry back and then all your issues will be gone.

Problem solved, you're welcome.

 

Or it’s time to buy a Land Cruiser

 

The Tacoma might, if enough crap builds up in the throttle body. I learned about this when we did the timing belt on my previous 4Runner at like 230 or 240,000 mi.

It wouldn't stay running until I cleared the build up out of the throttle body. As the stuff builds up over time, the ECU compensates for it. But once I reset the ECU, it didn't know what to do anymore. The internet solutions were either to start it and sit there and feather the throttle to keep it running until it figures it out, or clean the throttle body. I chose the latter.

Definitely going to putz with it tomorrow. Thanks!

Buttons are nice, lol! But, sometimes I wish I had just bought a plain Jane off-road or SR5 and just put my own aftermarket locker in.

I do have the mud flap in the garage. Maybe I will try this.

 

I am really liking that new Land Cruiser. I wonder how bad the gouging is going to be. If the car market doesn't correct itself soon, there's a slim chance I'm going to be in one of those anytime soon. But, on the other hand, if a lot of things go right over the next couple of years, I could really see myself in one of them.

 

I probably should. I've only bought 2 vehicles in the last 6 years.

 

This is always the correct answer.

 

Yeah. Most people would probably have had 3 Toyotas, a Nissan, and a Subaru by now.

 

Edited- or, was it 3 Toyotas?