3rd gen transfer case fix/stuck in 4wd fix

I am stuck on a trail in mammoth area. My truck will not go into gear. I was in 4 wheel lo and I tried to put it back into 4 wheel high and heard a decent clunk. After that tried to put it back into 4 lo and the 4lo light is solid the 4 high is blinking. When I try to put it in gear it grinds and nothing happens. What can I do. My truck will not go into gear or move. Thanks.

 

Whenever, you change in or out of 4LO, you must stop and put into "N". Then change.

 

Try rocking the truck back and forth a few inches, if you can. It sounds like the actuator is working but the gears may not be lining up.

 

In gear? Both 4 high and 4 lo are flashing

 

Fuck yeah. I pulled the transfer case wiring with the truck off and waited 5 minutes and plugged it back in and turned the truck on and it was on 4 high again. Put it in gear and I’m back in business. Thanks

 

Nice. Strange problem though

 

Thanks me too. We stayed the rest of the weekend and continued with all our plans of exploring the areas. Almost all was just dirt roads like fire roads so nothing hard at all. Mostly all 2wd. Stayed our last night at ancient bristlecone pine forest at the top of bishop. Got to see the comet Neowise really clearly which was awesome. Used 4lo going down silver canyon Rd to get down to the valley faster and sure enough it happened again. This time I tried to unplug the same cable and it kept flashing. Turned truck off and left the knob on 4hi again and disconnected the battery for about 2 minutes and hooked it back up and sure enough it was back. I switched to lo and high and back to 2wd and everything worked again. So weird. Everything works fine when I’m using any of the three options until I use low and try to come back to 4hi. Wonder if the solenoid or transfer case issue or some sort of computer error is happening. No check engine light, just 4lo and 4hi flashing at the same time and transmission stays in neutral. Won’t go into gear at that point. Not even park works when this happens. I had it in park and it was able to be moved if I let go of the parking brake. Not sure if this has happened to anyone yet. I’ll search around.

 

Silver canyon rd from my drone. You go from 11000ft of elevation back to 5000 I believe at the bottom, like 6 creek crossings. Only steep on the switchbacks which is 2 miles long.

 

Bringing this one back from the dead. Did you ever find a solution? Diagnose a faulty part etc? I am dealing with this exact problem. Dropping it off at the dealer tomorrow since I am still under powertrain warranty and transfercase/axles should all be covered.

 

So after messing with my actuator I figured it out. I took apart the black can over that piece with all the copper in it(sorry don’t know the name). Took off the cover over the gear inside that turns the transfer case(the part with the wires).

what you find inside is this.



So my truck got stuck in 4lo last night after playing with the little gear inside by turning the green piece. What I found to fix my entire system was to rotate the green piece clockwise with a finger on the end of the green piece to turn the gear clockwise until the gear wouldn’t spin any longer and the green piece tries to back itself out. Once the gear inside is at that point stop, turn the green piece counter clockwise until it sits in all the way. At this point your good put everything back on. You need to hold the gear with a set of needle nose pliers or hand cause when you put the black can on which has two large magnets inside the green piece will try to back out into the can, but if you hold the gear down and in place the green piece will not move and the can will go on without any issues. Screw that back on and put the gear cover (the piece with the wires) back on and screw it in and plug in the three plugs. Make sure you are in 4lo when doing this cause that’s what I was in and basically what’s happening is the gear is too far away from the point of it turning the transfer case. This is where the pin should be before you put the cover back on the gear.
And for reference I went thru each drive to see where the pin was at on the gear after I adjusted the gear in order for 4lo to disengage. Started at 2WD and worked thru all of them.


4HI


I can’t say how long this will work since I just figured this out and will have to test it after I drive for a while to see if everything remains stable. But I did cycle thru 2wd, 4hi, 4lo and back to 4hi and 2wd several times and was flawless every time. What I think is happening is when we go on washboard roads it slowly turns the green piece which turns the gear a little further away from where the pin/gear needs to be at to work properly. My guess. But at least mine works again and it was a free fix. Be careful not to damage the little black O-ring if the gear comes out with the cover with the wires on it. Last, but not least there is a black plastic split collar on the gear shaft that goes into a specific slot on the shift actuator body that has to line up in order for the gear to sit in body properly. Hope this helps someone. Just be careful and take your time. Easy fix though. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I am just sharing what I found to fix my system this may not fix yours since other things can go wrong in the system itself. You do not need to remove the entire shift actuator to do this.

 

Ok so it was corroded? Jammed?

 

It wasn’t corroded or jammed. The pin in the gear went beyond the point that would turn the transfer case back into 4hi. So by me removing the cover and manually turning the piece in the black can back to right before it changes back to 4 hi when I turn the 4hi 4lo knob it immediately switched it back to 4hi and then back to 2wd with ease. Cycled thru all of the modes and worked great. Seems like the gear moves past a certain point for some reason. I’m assuming when I barrel down a washboard road at 40-50mph it may turn it a little further in 2wd and then when I go to 4hi it’s past it’s sweet spot and just gets further away. Not 100 percent on that, but makes sense to me. The piece will only allow you to turn it to a certain point then the piece in the can will try to back itself out, that’s where it needs to be to get it to be in the sweet spot again, but for how long I’m not sure of. I bought a new actuator and took that apart to compare to see if there was any damage and everything looked perfect. So after I fixed the issue I cycled thru all the modes and removed the cover to show where the pin/gear needs to be. Just refer to the pictures.

 

I appreciate your response in such detail. If you don't mind my asking, what did the actuator run you? OE or aftermarket?

 

this is all some good info to have. You should change the title of this thread so it is easier to find while searching for tcase actuator fixes.

 

No worries. I spent $400 for a new OE one on eBay. Didn’t need it though. From dealer it cost $1600. Rip off as usual.

 

I originally posted this info on the 4wheel drive error thread.

 

Changed the title. Hopefully this helps other people. I can’t guarantee that this will always be the answer to your problem, but it’s a damn good place to start.

 

Hey all,

Just read this all and have a shimmer of hope for my tundra.

I had the same issue after driving on sand trying to switch back to 4hi only to be met with a blinking light and a grind any time I tried to put it back in drive. Got to admit I panicked a bid and tried all sorts of things and finally after turning the knob to 4hi ( while stuck into 4low), turning it off, waiting some couple min, then turning back on it switched over to 4hi. Switching back to 2w was simple after that. The problem I have now is it won’t even switch to 4hi now. I tried to turn the selector, while driving under 60, and heard the gears start grinding so immediately put back in 2wd. I want to try out what was done here by Jimes but wanted to ask 2 questions.

1. Could this be caused by the same actuator problem?
2. What is the “green piece” Jimes mentioned?

thanks!!

 

Anyone else try this? I'm tempted as now I went to get in 4wd to cycle it and it just flashes 4hi you can hear a noise coming from the electric motor or solenoid that the original poster posted a picture of. But that's it I've tried tapping slightly with a hammer to see if something was froze with the solenoid nothing changed I've had issues with my 4wd about two years ago and managed to get it out 4hi and then didn't have any issues after that. But now I can't get it into 4wd at all. I can put it in 4hi it flashes shut the truck off crank it and it'll show a solid light of 4 hi but I don't have a good way to show if it's true. Debating on taking the cover off and comparing to pictures above just curious if anyone else has tried it. Mines a 2014 with about 220k miles. And yeah I have serviced the transfer case with the correct fluid

 

not sure what the green piece is called, but if you look at the 3rd picture with the red arrow and it says 4Lo you can see it. it's what is inside the black housing with all the copper wires. sorry for not being a little more clear on the post. hope this helps.

 

So @Jimes the Green part I think you are talking about is called the "Armature" from the reference diagram below. I am pretty sure its the Armature.



And here's your pic of the "Green piece" aka Armature, shown with the blue arrow.

 

This a good thread to read for troubleshooting if the actuator decides to stop working, which in my experience may be the biggest weak point of the Tundra (and all electronically shifted tcases for that matter). I just had a similar thing happen two days ago pulling into a gas station where the tcase for some reason shifted itself into neutral while at the pump. After trying multiple restarting configurations and rocking the truck around it for some reason decided to shift into 4Hi, and from there got it back into 2wd. Thanks OP for the research and testing, good to know if the shit hits the fan I can unbolt the motor and reset or manually actuate the tcase with relative ease.

 

2019 Tundra w/ 37k miles, never changed a TC fluid. It shifts to and from 4HI quickly. 4LO is harder, especially going out of it. I don't have to engage it often, may be a few times a year, to climb an icy hill, but when I want to disengage it, I stop on a lightly inclined surface, go to N with foot still on the brakes, release the brakes and put the dial into 4HI. The truck starts to roll very slowly, the gears inside the TC briefly go out of contact, that allows the actuator to shift out of 4LO easily. A bit annoying, but works every time.

I think the problem with 4LO and oil is that the gears do bind under the weight of the truck and huge gear ratio. Actuator motor then simply has no guts to turn the spindle, or its cog jumps out of notch. Similar binding happens often in free differentials in tight turns, it is usually cured by mixing in some slip additive, like MOS2. Slip additive maybe what Toyota has in its insanely expensive TC oil. But no one can prevent, say, Ravenol have similar amount of additives in its oil.

 

Those actuators need exercised. Regularly. If you almost never put it into 4Lo, then over time it's not going to like being put into 4Lo.

I just resurrected the 4Lo and center diff lock from the dead in my LX570 that had 149k miles on the original transfer case oil.

If your 4Lo is finicky, try this:
Fill your TC with new oil if needed.
Exercise the actuators (engage 4hi. then engage 4Lo in neutral) after the truck fully warms up.
Do it daily at the end of your trip when you get back home.
Turn your truck off and back on to clear flashing dash lights if needed (the flashing dash light means incomplete shift).

It only took a few days of doing this for my 13 year old LX's actuators to work perfectly. They engage and disengage easily now.

 

Mine was doing hard(er) 4LO since new.

 

Interesting. It should work easily at a dead stop in neutral. I would still try exercising it every day after the truck is warmed up for a week or two straight. If it never gets any easier, then that should fall under your 60k/5yr drivetrain warranty.

 

I never go to a dealer for any work. In past in 100% of dealer warranty deeds I had to redo or fix something. Easier and quicker to DIY.

Well, the exemption was a new air bag for my old Volvo: because the car production stopped more than 10 years ago, they were not selling airbags anymore. To get a new, improved airbag you had to travel to a dealer.