Stuck in 4L, transfer case actuator spur gear would not budge

Put my Taco into 4L and heard grinding sound coming from the front and would not engage as it just felt like something just spins but the wheels are not moving. Also would not go back to 4H or 2H. The green 4WD indicator on the dash is solid but the yellow 4L light keeps flashing and beeping. It'll stop beeping if the knob is rotate to 4L but still flash. Regardless of what position (2H, 4H, 4L), the green 4WD light on the dash is solid and the yellow 4L light blinks.

Finally got the axles to engage but still stuck in 4L. Put the Taco on jack stands and all 4 wheels are spinning but the front passenger side wheel barely moves. It moves very slowly kind of like the seconds hand on a clock, just tick tick tick.

I tried to remove the transfer case actuator so I can push the rod back into the 2H position but after removing the the three 8mm bolts and taking the small triangle shape cover off, I couldn't remove the spur gear. I used a 90 degree plier, no deal. I rotate the actuator down far enough so I can use a needle nose plier, still no deal. Tried rotating the actuator back and forth while pulling on the spur gear but still would not budge.

Any ideas/suggestions?

I've searched the Gen 2 forum but no results. Doesn't matter if it's set to "most recent" or "most relevant", still no results.

Any info on how to remove the spur gear so I can slide the actuator out is appreciated!


My Taco's info:

2005

4x4

V6

6-Speed

 

The actuator is probably bound up due to the transfer case being stuck, there is a spring assembly that allows the actuator to move and tension the spring then the spring moves the rack once the gears in the transfer case are out of a bind and line up.

You probably gona have to remove the 3 bolts that hold the actuator motor and drive gear assembly and allow it to rotate to take the tension off the spring.

You will likely have to re-time it anyway.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-system-operation-help-thread.742420/


Also a thread about someones transfer case getting stuck due to a cracked shift hub.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/transfer-case-stuck-in-neutral.783773/#post-28982639

 

Thanks for the info!

I already removed the 3 bolts that hold the actuator so I can rotate it back and forth while pulling the spur gear out but still stuck.

Will try again tomorrow. If it's still stuck, I may just drill out the spur gear and see if I can slide the actuator assembly out. Or perhaps, disassembled the actuator unit and get it out that way?

Here's another potential issue?

Once the actuator is out, I hope I can push and/or hammer the rod back into the H2 slot??

Hopefully the rod is not so bound inside of the transfer case, that it'll be an issue.

 

Don't drill anything, leave that gear in place, put the cover back on it, and take the big plastic gear out of the actuator then the whole assembly should slide off the rack.

Won't know till you try but don't get too rough with it.

 

Tap on it.
Don't hammer on it.
Hammering on it will bend and break stuff.

The only way to replace the rod is by opening up the case.
At that point, you might as well just buy the whole Transfer Case.

 

My post is linked above with the cracked hub in the tcase. I spent a lot of time pulling and reinstalling that actuator.

Once you have the actuator pulled off and if you have trouble getting the rod to slide into the tcase..... One suggestion would be to lift all wheels off the ground. That way you can rotate the drive shafts a little bit which may help.

 

Thanks for the assist everyone! Can always count on the awesome TW members here.

I wiggled the actuator some more as well as tap it here and there with a hammer and was finally able to wrestle the spur gear out. I couldn't push the rod into the 2H position by hand so I hit it with a mallet and that did the trick.

 

The issue now is the green 4WD light still continues to lit while the yellow 4L continues to flash and beep even though it's in 2H. Like before, when the dial is switched to 4L, the beeping stops but the 4WD light continues to stay on while the 4L light continues to flash. I did disconnect the battery but that didn't fix it.

Is there a way to reset those lights and the beeping sound? Any ideas??

Any help is appreciated as usual!

 

Did you time the gear correctly?

This is where the contacts on the gear should be with the Transfer Case in 2wd (rod all the way in).
It may take a few tries to get it right.

 

Didn't even think to open the actuator motor up to time it, just slide it back on the rod. Will try that and see.

Thanks!

 

Yea the contacts have to line up with the positions on the contact plate in the respective ranges.

 

I didn't remove the whole actuator motor, just took the black plastic cover off and timed it by pulling out the big brown plastic gear and rotating it to the position as on your photo. The lights are off and no more beeping.

With that said, H4 doesn't engage anymore when I turn the dial to the H4 position, just flashes now. It worked fine before but maybe that whole L4 issue that started it all also broke the H4?

What do you think?

Thanks again, you've been a great help!

 

Did you check that the transfer case shifts freely while you had it apart?

If so then your either still out of time, forgot to plug something in or have another issue.
Do the limit switch voltage checks listed in my thread an post your results.

 

I can check in the next few days and see. I don't think the rod moves freely anymore. As stated, I couldn't push it in by hand so I used a mallet to get it back into the H2 position. I don't think the actuator motor is strong enough to move the rod if it's that stuck. But yeah will check again and see.

Per the L4 grinding issue that started it all, I think the transfer case may be damaged too. If that's the case, I can swap it out in the future or do a FJ TC swap. I use H4 90% of the time anyways so my Taco still operates fine in the current H2 mode.

Thanks!

 

I mean the rod doesn't move super easy but if you pull the actuator cover you should be able to turn the big gear by hand and move it.

 

My 3rd gen recently got stuck between 4L and 4H.
The actuator and timing are different than 2nd gen but the actuator rod remains the same concept.
I had to physically drive the rod into 2WD using a plastic mallet. Using more force than necessary.
It then would not pull back to 4H by hand.
I swapped out the case and called it a day.
Someday I'll open the old one and see what's up.

Edit: (For my 2016. I bought a used/salvaged t.case with 30k miles for $270)

 

Oh I see. I tried moving the big gear by hand while timing it last night but it did not budge too much, just wiggle maybe about a 1/4 inch each direction. I also didn't use a lot of force because the gear is plastic. I ended up pulling the big gear out, rotate it to the correct timing spot and pushed it back in.

Should I try again with more force?

How about manually moving the rod in and out of the TC to see if it'll loosen up some?

Worst come to worst, I can do a TC swap but I would like to look for other possible solutions before doing that.

Thanks!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! I may have to do the TC swap too down the road. That grinding noise in L4 did not sound good and it was loud too so even if I can get the H4 running again, the L4 may not be happening anymore without a new TC.

I think the L4 grinding issue that started all of this is due to lack of use on my part. I've used the H4 every now and then and even before switching it to L4 a few days ago, it worked fine but have not used the L4 in years.

 

My problem started with a grinding noise. End result was the the tcase would shift from 4H to 4L but wouldn't shift back to 4H. The shift rod could only be put back into 4H with a mallet.

I picked up a used tcase and swapped it out. I then opened up the tcase to find the problem. Pics of what if found here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/transfer-case-stuck-in-neutral.783773/#post-28982639

 

Ya. This is the thread @Dm93 shared with me.

Thanks for the write-up.
When I get around to opening mine, it gives a good place to start looking, as your symptoms were almost identical to mine.