Another 4HI blinking issue…but slightly different twist

Hi guys - I’ve read through a ton of threads on this and all of the info has been extremely helpful.

I’m just going to explain my issue though as it seems a bit different than what I’ve seen here so far.

So basically I realized I hadn’t messed with 4WD in quite a while (like over a year) so I started playing with it a couple days ago and found some issues, but after getting the actuators moving a bit, things seem to have mostly resolved themselves EXCEPT one specific instance:

My truck has no problem engaging 4HI (cruising at speed) or 4Lo (per the usual method), but my problem comes when disengaging 4HI. When I switch to 2WD, the transfer case does its thing just fine, but the front ADD only seems to stop blinking 4HI if I disengage below 10mph.

To be more specific, if I’m rolling under 10mph, switch to 2WD then all good. BUT, if I switch to 2wd going more than 10mph, the light keeps on blinking until I do one of two things. 1) Turn the truck off and back on, or 2) switch back into 4HI and then back to 2wd going under 10mph. When I say going under 10, that includes when stopped even!

The obvious solution would be to replace or repair the ADD, but I also have a slight steering issue where I have to hold the wheel slightly right in order to drive straight. I got an alignment done recently that did not fix this steering issue.

So finally my question…could it be the bad front alignment that’s binding the wheels and preventing the ADD from doing its thing when driving at speed, or should a decent ADD be able to handle that anyway?

I’m on fixed hours and budget now so would really appreciate any help!

 

These guys will be much better help:
https://www.tundras.com/forums/2-5-gen-tundras-2014-2021.27/

 

You're in the 1st gen section. You'd get much more accurate advice over here: https://www.tundras.com/forums/2-5-gen-tundras-2014-2021.27/

However, it's your lucky day- I happen to have spent a lot of time working on the ADD actuators on 1st gens, which are quite similar in design. I think you're right- the alignment could be putting a little bit of a binding force on the shifting mechanism, preventing it from shifting. Especially since you mentioned that it shifts properly when stopped.

The actuators in our trucks are different but I can say with confidence that the actuator on mine doesn't provide a huge amount of shifting force. I don't want to just throw a number out there because I don't know for certain, but I'd be surprised if more than 30 or 40lbs of force gets applied to the shift fork. If you're able to, I'd jack up the truck with all four wheels off the ground, and see if it'll shift above 10mph then. Carefully, of course. If it shifts in/out properly without the tires on the ground, then I'd say it's not unlikely the alignment is causing the issue.

 

Damn guys it’s my first post and I effed up royally haha. I swear I took time to select the correct forum too…

anyway many thanks! Fiat that’s a good idea thanks!

 

This is the actuator. Take a look at yours for any corrosion on the actuator and wire connectors. If you need to replace get AISIN which is OEM supplier. You should be able to find it for $180-200.