How To Trouble Shoot 4x4 Actuator

That sounds like it could be an issue with the sensors on top of your T-case.

 

4lo the shift rail should be all the way back(rear the transfer case)

Edit: added a picture for clarity

 

I'll join the party. Dad drove my truck all day, in 4WD on the tar. Came home and said, "Son, the truck is hopping around corners and backing up funny...". I said, "NOoooooooooo......!!!!"

So, first I was a parts changer and I changed the front diff actuator. I used a Dorman from Rock Auto; I read so much bad news on aftermarket parts for this system, I just tonight swapped it for an OEM part. Back to Amazon this DM goes...

It is now STILL not working and I decided to take a look at the transfer case today. I removed the 3 main bolts and don't know how to remove the actuator. I think a little gear has to come out, hope I can re-time this thing...

The 3 bolts on the plastic case, all snapped off, and each one had cracked the plastic housing. It appears this has been taken apart before, and the transfer case actuator i=needs cleaning and soldering. I didn't know how to continue removing it without disabling the truck, I need my truck....

 

Just received my AISAN ADD from Rock Auto. $300 CAD Duty/Shipping included. Ready to get her installed

 

Will you be opening it up to solder the points, bend the 3 prongs and use some quality sealant before installing it?

 

I don't plan on opening it up. Brand new. Warranty good for 3 years. The old one will be back up.

 

Well, new ADD installed today, 4 wheel drive working again. thanks for the advise everyone on this forum because it was a complete guess that mine was in fact the ADD issue. I haven't taken the old one apart yet as the screws are seized in and I have to wait to get some tools from home and do it properly. The Rock Auto part was fast delivery from the states, 2000 kms in three days from Denver to Fort Mac AB Canada, shipping DHL air express cost me $23. CAD, excellent pricing. Install was done by Toyota Dealer, bit expensive but done professionally. Happy feller here now.

 

post a picture of the inside after you open it up please!

 

Yes I will for sure.

 

WAY TOO late to help you. BUT, if others have this issue on this truck, I had pondered my options as well...

What I found worked the best/fastest for me, was to take out the vertical diff casting mount bolts, L+R side that hold the diff, and then the 17mm/19mm bolts out of the diff where it bolted to these brackets/mounts. I still used a pry bar, but I got it out...

It gave me enough room to use extensions, swivels and sockets (both long and short!!) to get to the 4 bolts on the front diff ADD. And then freed it up enough that you could get the ADD out; The 2003 is NOT easy to get out, but doing what I said, I had 100% access. Roll assembly, fork out last! That was the easiest way I found....

 

Ok so I did this today. It took longer for the sealant to cure than it did to do this whole thing. Total time with replacing front diff oil. 2 hours.

Had the common green 4x4 blinking light that came on intermittently. Took the actuator off and drained the front diff fluid. Only one screw on the cover gave me a hard time but some vise grips took care of it immediately.

Opened the case and saw this...... that botch had a good 1-2 oz of water. I tested the motor and it spun no problem. Cleaned the whole thing out and added new lithium grease and added RTV seal to the cover for extra measure. Soldered the terminals and threw it back on and put fresh fluid in the front diff.

Just tested it out and it’s all good.

Thanks for the thread. Heading up the hill next weekend and I’ll need 4x4 due to the snow!

 

I am absolutely fascinated that Toyota made something that seals so poorly; That's NOT how OEM Toyota parts go! I can't understand why they seal so terribly...

After I got my used front diff actuator apart and cleaned it, as well as the new actuator, I added silicone everywhere I see a O-ring type gasket that had contamination.

It doesn't make me want to play in the water, that's for sure...

 

Agreed! The quality of my Tacoma compared to my 94 land cruiser is night and day.

I haven’t even played in the water with my taco yet. This has to be from driving in the rain and or the occasional wash.

It’s pathetic to be honest

 

***UPDATE***

went to test out 4wheel drive today to ensure things were still all good from the repair.

The green 4X4 light blinks even though 4x4 is engaged. I drove it around the block and it would not go solid green. Then I was unable to get the transfer case into 4Lo just got the annoying beeping and blinking red "4Lo" icon.

I'm going to try and take to a dirt area where I can drive in figure 8's to try and get things to function (that's what I used to have to do in my land cruiser if I hadn't engaged 4x4 in a while).

Even after turning the dial back to 2WD the light still blinks and 4x4 does not disengage. But if I stop, turn the ignition off and restart it, I can hear it disengage and then its all good.

Any ideas?

 

^ I'll have to read into what your issue was, did you take it all apart and back together again?? Now that I've done it, it seems easy...

Those shafts have to move correctly so the ball detents read the shaft position. Either something isn't lined up right for full engagement, or you have an actuator hanging up and so on.

All I had to do was take the cover off the transfer case actuator, and BINGO, contamination....

 

That makes sense, but everything was functioning fine yesterday. Shifted into 4hi instantly and 4lo without any issues. And then all of a sudden nothing.


Is it possible that the arm of the actuator wasn’t installed onto the ring in the diff correctly?

 

Another thought as I have been obsessing over this the last few days: when I disassembled the unit the moved the fears back and fourth when cleaning and decreasing. I’m wondering if I need to turn the gears the opposite direction as they may be at their limit hence why it will only shift into 4hi and not 4lo and then not be able to move back into 2hi. I’m going to take the actuator off and apart again on Wednesday and see if that fixes my issue. I’ll let you know how that goes.

 

I am new to Toyota and just purchased a 2010 Tacoma V6 this spring.

Now that we have snow where I live I've discovered this problem.

I'm going to attempt this fix tomorrow, but wanted to see if anyone has input on one thing I've noticed.

When I turn to 4hi I get the flashing dash lights, they don't go away when switched back to 2hi, but do when engine is turned off. HOWEVER, I noticed that when they ARE flashing that I can hear a strange sound when pulling away from a stop. It's hard to describe the sound, but it almost sounds like
rubber slipping (if that makes sense to anyone). Also hard to tell where the sound is coming from, but from the drivers seat it sounds like it could be below and behind me, not up near the engine.

Any input would be fantastic and very much appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

So took it apart again, reset the gears and tested the actuator out. Gears worked fine going both directions. I’m wondering if the 4x4 system or Ecu needs to be reset. Still goes into 4wd but the light continues to blink. Truck will still not go into 4lo. Can someone advise on this? Thinking of ordering a new actuator from rock auto just to see if the original unit is possibly bad.

 

Don’t be a tool like I was, I put my new actuator in and didn’t slide the fork into the proper place in the differential sleeve. I actually had 4wd and it blinked and no low. After I reinstalled the actuator correctly ,all the 4wd functions worked and no blinking light.