2008 4x4 actuator? Please help!

I flipped my truck into 4x4 in mammoth, Ca. Then after the fun was over, tried to flip it back. No luck... I could hear faint clicking coming from what seemed to be the passenger glove box.

I had to drive from mammoth back to Anaheim all in 4Hi! Yikes!

my mechanic forced my truck manually into 2wd and said it’s my actuator. And apparently there is two? Not sure which one is bad or is it both?

the green 4x4 light is blinking with the amber 4lo light consistently.

I need to figure this out ASAP! Headed back to snowy roads soon!

Is this an idiot proof easy fix? Should I just take it to Toyota mechanic?

please help!

can anyone call me and advise me?

 

Rock Solid Toys is in Anaheim.

https://www.rocksolidtoys.com/

 

There are two actuators, one on the transfer case and one on the front diff. They are the weak links of the 4x4 system. I just had to do this on mine, except mine wouldn't engage the 4x4 at all. It's kind of a pain in the ass but not a super technical job if you've wrenched on cars much. You need to take the actuator off, clean it, and solder the connections. I also sprayed all the electrical connections and the positioning sensors with contact cleaner in the same go. It works better now than it ever did before. There are multiple threads here that show step-by-step how to do this if you search for them.

 

Here's 30+ pages about it: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-trouble-shoot-4x4-actuator.263525/

 

Where else would you suggest? These guys are packed up with projects apparently until mid january. Genuinely curious and desperate

 

The first actuator that went out on mine was the front. $300 OEM online. 4 bolts, a connector, and a vacuum hose and you're done.
Shortly after that the one on my T case went out. It's about double the price and I believe you have to split the T case to replace it properly.
At this point I went with a manual FJ case from Rock Solid. No regrets.

 

My front actuator has now been replaced ($700 later). The problem still persists.
I am still not able to switch out of 4WD to 2WD.

my trust worthy mechanic disconnected everything from trucks power and was able to test each component individually. To our surprise, all components (actuator and transfer case), once powered worked as they should.

We think that this tells us that there is something wrong electrically in the computer? I did hear clicking behind/in the glove box when switching to 4x4 but couldn’t be sure if that was for the same reason.

any thoughts?