E locker Failure

Optimistic thoughts, but that's not my experience, at least with a manual transmission, ATRAC is inclined to force you into a stall when attempting a climb up steep and loose terrain. Engaging the locker and disabling ATRAC allows you to crawl right up that same hill.

As for the replacement, that's what I'm trying to figure out, is if I'll have to pull the diff apart in order to replace that switch or not. It's looking like the diff does need to be pulled to replace that switch.

 

I have not done it myself, so I have no personal experience... but I interpret that they got it back in.. ( I think)

 

Yes I'm curious what he actually did, some sort of temporary shimming.

 

Maybe drain the oil
Make a sleeve that keeps the switch extended with a string out the bottom of the diff
Get the switch installed, then pull the sleeve out.

 

It sounds to me like he put a shim in between two of the plates in the diff in order to get the sensor into place, then hoped that the wood flushed out when he changed his oil. Sounds bold, and I don't know how sold I am on that method yet. I'm worried that trying to pull that sensor out may break it and then I'd end up with metal floating around...

 

@perpetualenigma3 If you're still around, can you give me any thoughts or info on that switch?

 

There should be better info in the repair manual than us just guessing... will try to look tonight if I get the chance.

 

You’re not going to break that sensor. It’s metal and very rigid.

 

The Toyota Manual I have says pull the diff apart. Pretty poor drawings of the sensor so I couldn't gauge what if any interference issues there might be.

 

Just order a new sensor and cut the tip off and you’ll be fine.

 

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to start with tomorrow and see where that leads.

 

How does this work? It just becomes a plunger and is no longer captive?

 

Yeah, the only thing it does is keep the light on the dash from blinking. Mine has been like that for a year now and I wheel a lot and have never had an issue with the locker not engaging.

 

Hmm, I have owned 3 Off Road Tacoma 4x4s, the first two with just the locker but the third with A-TRAC, which I have extensively tested and compared. I think you have yet to discover how well it works. The idea is to not spin the tires for traction. A rear locker just spins the back two tires with no guarantee of traction. Keep testing the MTS or A-TRAC. The rear locker is for emergency only and I have not found it to be better than all four wheels powered by A-TRAC. Happy to help you make discoveries.

 

Sometimes you just need a locker...

 

I think we all want one and are glad it is there. The thing I want is to educate people that the other traction systems on the Off Road work and work on all four tires not just the back ones. The locker should be a last resort not the first choice. You may be very surprised.

 

Update since I finally got this resolved.

About a month ago I did an oil change on both differentials. Upon pulling the drain plug on the rear differential this is what I found:


As this was fairly concerning, I immediately called the dealership and asked them if it was now covered by warranty, as they had previously told me that it couldn't be covered because the damage was external. They of course gave me the run around via phone with no solid answers, until this past week when I finally had a chance to go in person and show them the chunk of metal that I pulled out. At that point, they said they/Toyota would cover pulling the diff apart for an inspection.

Ultimately they found the locking plate for the diff had cracked, which in the process had taken out the internal portion of the sensor, which is the big chunk of metal in the picture. They ended up replacing the sensor, plate, coil and some bearings under warranty and I now have a rear differential that will lock and indicate whether or not it is locked.

Dealer is still going to be getting a 1-2 star review and terrible scores on their survey as the customer service and especially communication was horrendous from my experience.