2010 Tacoma 4x4 not engaging

2010 Tacoma 4x4 will not engage
Light on dash flashes will not light up to show engagement.
Stealership not much help. Said it could be front differential actuator
. part cost $399.67 . How intensive is this project and time involved?
Will this fix my engagement issue?
Any help appreciated I don't want to fork over bucks to Stealership

 

man, i had the saaaame exact issue on my 2015.
i ended up pulling the actuator for the front differential and soldered the two little prongs for the little motor back on their terminals.
wasnt a bad job at all, its only like a 2 hour job max if you don't know what you are doing it may take you about 3 hours https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-trouble-shoot-4x4-actuator.263525/

 

CroResident
Thanks for the speedy response. That's a much better fix than paying $399.00 for the part. I'll take a look at the wires first before ordering the part

 

thats the road i would take also.
by the way welcome to tacoma world bud

 

Man, if my 2015 starts doing that, I'm taking it back and letting THEM do it. If I were to mess up the easy fix that you did, I could see them not covering it under warranty, and I wouldn't blame them.

 

i hear ya man. im just really picky about who works on my truck and after the other horrible experiences i had with this dealership, i wouldnt want them touching my truck again.

apparently this has been a very common problem with these tacomas on this forum. ive seen many many many many threads here recently about this SAME issue. and no one seems to have an answer for any of these poor souls posting about it. i recently just resolved this issue on my truck with the help of that link i posted in here earlier.

 

Yep, same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago and soldering the connections of the actuator solved my problem. Not hard to do at all, just time consuming. I highly recommend a set of swiveling adapters for your sockets as it will help with the removal of 2 bolts on the actuator tremendously. I used the video below as a reference along with the link posted by @CroResident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OeVZsresGo

 

You need to figure out which actuator is the problem, the transfer case or the front diff actuator

 

i noticed everyone was having trouble removing the four bolts that hold the actuator on. i just supported my front diff with my floor jack and backed out the 3 support bolts for the front diff then lowered it haha. took me no time

 

Oh wait you're totally right. I was trying to do it without dropping the front diff at first and then decided to stop being stupid.

 

same thing happened to my 07 right after my frame was replaced.
it went back to the dealer and they replaced the whole unit no charge.
we figured when the tech put the diff on the ground during replacement, it dislodged the connections.
these actuators stick.
if it went on me, I would try repairing myself.