Transfer Case Shift Actuator Timing for 3rd Gens

So the 4wd is no longer working on my 3rd gen SR5. My actuator died on my transfer case and Toyota denied warranty due to the vehicle being a rebuild title. I got the issue diagnosed at the dealership and they quoted 900 in parts and 1100 in labor to get this replaced. In an attempt to avoid this amount of money. I got the part number that they were going to replace and ordered it then tried to have a local shop replace the part for me. The local shop said they had worked on similar issues before and would have no problem. They were not able to get the actuator off the truck without cracking the transfer case so they decided to swap the internals of the new actuator onto the truck with the existing rod still in the t-case. This of course messed up the timing of the actuator so the 4wd is still not working.

I am wondering if there are any Toyota techs out there or if any of yall have had this issue before and know how to set the timing for the actuator so that the new actuator is not going to waste?

The dealer has no idea on how to set the timing and would not give any help.

 

Have you looked over the Repair manual?

 

Damn. It's been a long time since I tried to save money on a repair that I couldn't handle myself, but this is certainly reminiscent of the last time I did.
X2 on finding a copy or investing in the shop manual.

 

I think I have a copy on my computer. If you dont have it, let me know and I'll go boot it up and post it

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wCb1pU29yOgp9qlPwrKgqROwPGqj-VBu/view?usp=drivesdk

Hope this helps

 

Beat me to it

 

Bummer man. Idk enough about the problem to try and help. There has to be some feedback to let the ecu know it's position, they plugged it in and switched modes?

 

Hey OP, running into a similar situation. Was the timing ever figured out?

 

I believe this is the timing for large gear on parts out of the box which should be installed in 2WD.

 

I'm seeing a lot of threads on the faulty transfer case actuator's impact on 4wd. Does anyone know what impact this actuator has on general shifting between gears in 2wd? I've been trying to get to the bottom of some gear slipping (down shifting from 4 to 3 and then increasing rpm's during coast - whole truck jerks into gear, biggest example is getting onto highway and going from 2 to 3 or 4 gear quickly, or, going 45-55mph heading to a red light, lay off gas and truck coasts down to 37-39mph, then hit gas because light turns green). I've already done 2 flushes (one by dealer, one by transmission shop) and they both say they found no obvious signs in the filter, old fluid. I recently noticed the breather hose is disconnected on the actuator and now it has me thinking, could this be the problem? Going to take off the cover to see if there is any obvious corrosion.

Original problem started when on highway in traffic the trans fluid leaked out, hose rusted. Drove roughly for 20m at low speeds, probably 3-4 miles with little to no fluid. Immediately had it towed and fixed.

Slipping occurred, first mechanic claimed there wasnt enough fluid and they blamed previous mechanic saying (these tacoma tranmissions are tricky blah blah). Third/final mechanic, a tranmission specialist, did the following:
dex vi flush
lubegard additive
new filter
new gasket
They said they didn't notice anything, but I don't think they took it for a ride to notice the slipping.

I also had a KDMaxx pro 9 tune done prior to all this and I wonder if that needs to be redone. But I assume the computer adjusts to usage of the truck.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kdmax-pro-tuning-now-yotawerx-tuning.713699/

 

The 4wd actuator on the back of the transfer case has absolutely nothing to do with the problems you described. It is in no way, shape, or form, related to the shifting between gears within the transmission itself. Your issue lies solely in the fact that your trans fluid leaked out, and then you drove for 20 mins/3-4 miles, without fluid.

 

Thanks for confirming. Reconnected breather hose and not something I want to play with. All along this is the fear, that it took a beating when the fluid drained on the road. Thanks.