4WD and rear diff lock issues

Hey guys, I need some help on figureing out some things going on with my truck. When I go to put it in any kind of 4wd, It grinds until i Just "shove it in" (giggity)

Also, no matter what i am in, my rear diff lock light flashes but will not become solid to symbolize that it locked...

Another question that may be dumb, what does the 4wd button on the side of the 4wd knob do?

 

The button on the 4wd shifter activates the actuator that engages the 4wd system. That is, the front drive shaft is normally spinning passively when you are moving in 2wd. When you push the 4wd button an electronic actuator links the front drive shaft to the power coming from the transfer case.

Quick question, are you shifting into 4wd, without pushing that 4wd button in first? Because in order to engage 4wd, that button must be pushed in and you'll see the little green light showing 4 wheels and the axels iilluminate (bottom right of dash). The shift lever is only for moving from 4Hi to 4Lo.

As for flashing rear diff light it is likely trying to lock the rear diff, but failing. I believe this is also electronically actuated. Check out this thread for more info https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rear-e-lock-diff-light-indicator.194310/

Also, I believe you must be in 4Lo for the rear diff to lock, without having performed the "gray wire mod" https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/grey-wire-mod.4405/

 

If you have the same shifter as I have on my 4runner:

1. Keep the shifter in 4H at all times.
2. When engaging 4H, you can do it by simply pressing the 4WD button on the side.
3. To move down to 4L, make sure you have the vehicle in stopped and your transmission shifter in Neutral.
4. Shift down to 4L

If you don't do 3 and 4 when switching to 4L, it will grind.

 

i played with it a little more just now and the rear locker light finally stayed on and i heard it engage it just took a little longer after moving to engage than i had thought. I noticed that if i put the transmission shifter into park then it doesnt grind changing into any 4wd but it does when in nuetral.

The 4wd button is exactly what i thought lol... it was a dumb question! A friend of mine acted like i need to keep the 4wd lever in N all the time and switch dowt to High and up to low for 4wd... and thats not how any of my other 5 tacomas have been. As i thought the N on the 4wd lever keeps the trans and diff in nuetral no matter what gear the tranny knob is in...

so i guess everything is as it should be after all lol

 

Sounds like you got it figured out but it never hurts to reiterate the basics...

The 4wd button on the side of the 4x4 shifter activates 4hi. If you try moving the shifter into 4lo without pressing the 4wd button first (to engage 4hi) then it will just grind. Never engage 4wd on pavement, always be on loose dirt or gravel, snow or ice, etc. You can engage 4hi while moving at speeds up to 50 - 55 mph, and always try to do so while pointed straight.

After you've engaged 4hi, you are now in 4wd. To go into 4lo, you need to be at a complete stop with your truck in neutral (or the clutch pushed in if you have a manual trans). It is especially important that you do not engage 4lo on pavement.

The rear diff locker will only engage when your truck is in 4lo and only at speeds under 15 mph, otherwise it will just blink at you.

 

i have heard of a mod that makes it so you can engage the read diff lock without having to be in 4lo... any idea on how to do that mod?

 

Its called the 'grey wire mod', supposed to be pretty simple to do but I haven't done it myself. If you search for it using the search feature up top it will come up. I think it's also a stickied thread in the first gen section at the top of the forum.

 

awesome! I wonder how well it works..?

 

I know a few guys that have done it, it works great. Makes your truck much more capable in 2wd.

 

I included a link to a thread showing the mod in my first reply up top. I don't know how well it works. It is possible the e-locker is not extremely strong and too much force may be bad. I don't know, I think my manual says do not exceed 5 or 15 mph, and it's only for use when you're stuck. Check out ARB's air-lockers if you wanna get crazy and spend some $$

 

Yea im sure its not the easiest on the locker system lol

I really want to get the ARB lockers for front and back but unfortunately i will have to rob a bank first! haha

 

It'd be silly to ditch the factory e-locker for an ARB one, IMO. Waste of money, the e-locker is strong enough. Toyota puts it on the 2wd TRD Prerunners without any restrictions (might be a speed restriction, not sure). You don't want a locked rear end for going fast anyway, you'd want an limited slip diff for that.

 

right... i just figured a matching air lokcing system fron and back would be better. Idk im new to building a trail rig lol

so keep the elocker in the rear with an air locker in the front?

 

@tcBob

 

Grey wire mod is super easy, just find the correct wire and cut it, crimp a ring connector on it and ground it.

 

A. 4wd button engages 4x4 HI
B. stop, shit into neutral to shit into 4-lo
c. the rear diff, engage the button shift into drive roll a few feeet and should engage and turn solid

 

Issue was resolved months ago..