Transfer case actuator question

I have mostly not working 4 wheel drive in my 04 DC.

If I push the 4HI button, I get a flashing 4HI light unless I tap on the transfer case actuator, then it instantly goes into 4HI properly.


I pulled apart and cleaned and greased the transfer case actuator with no change.

I think the actuator is just weak from age/mileage. Any other tricks/tips before I spend hundreds on a new actuator? I don't trust quality of the cheapo eBay actuators but also would prefer not to spend 900 bucks on a new OE part.

 

Hey Nick, Did you ever get your 4x4 working better. I have same problem with my 04

 

Forum says @nickrick78 hasn't been around in almost 18 months, since June 2020.

Give some more details about your situation. Does tapping on the actuator make yours engage also? What happens when you tap 4HI? If you can enter 4HI, what happens if you shift to neutral and tap 4LO?

Nevermind, I'll read your replies on the new thread over here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/4x4-problems.117170/

 

Weird because I posted that in July of this year.

Anyway, I swapped in a junkyard transfer case actuator, then I got no movement at the front diff actuator even with tapping on the transfer case actuator (which was working before).

Ended up also needing the front diff actuator. I'm assuming both were bad/on their way out from lack of use.

 

Interesting. Now it's showing you haven't been here - maybe it's your privacy settings on the forum:

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And I guess that's why Toyota recommends firing up at least 10mi per month with 4HI engaged...

 

Not sure. But absolutely I am an advocate for regular use at this point. No one seems to know the "use it or lose it" with the 4x4 system

 

That's because nobody bothers to RTFM anymore these days

Else they'd see this, clear as day, in the red box: https://www.tundras.com/threads/what-is-the-problem-with-the-4wd-on-my-tundra.93142/#post-2350798

We could keep an entire subforum going here just on 4WD problems alone. "Use it or lose it" seems to be the manufacturer's take. And this seems to be exponentially more important if you drive in salt.

 

Who reads things?? Lol we'd rather just talk about the sake topic over and over.

There should be a pop up when you pull up tundras.com that says "here's what to do if your 4x4 doesn't work and how to maintain it"

 

Make it happen!

I'm glad things have problems. It's a good icebreaker, and none of us would be shooting the breeze here if it weren't for that.

I do wish we had better info on how to troubleshoot 1GT 4WD, but I'm guessing ~90% of the members here in the 1GT section, despite its popularity, couldn't explain exactly how 4WD actually works at a deep level. Not going to lie, me either, for example ... if you asked me to speak in detail about exactly how the actuators play into the bigger scheme of what happens in the transfer case, I'd need a reference to go over, then I could speak to it. But it's not intimately stuck in my brain.

The part that gets me is we've seen - what, 2 or 3 just in the past year? - members who had bizarre shit problems like this w/4WD and it turns out it was the damn 4WD ECU that went bad. Lights would light up in the dash, but nothing would happen. Several hundreds spend on actuators, only to learn it was the cheaper 4WD ECU That went out... Surely there must be a definitive way to test this stuff for the layman, without needing a sillyscope and other EE tools....

Worst part is, it's a mix. You've got mechanical and electrical at play. Electrical actuators, causing actions on mechanical parts. Trying to figure out whether it's the mechanical part, or electrical part, or the logic part (4WD ECU) ... oof.

I'm lucky, it's rainy as hell here today, I was able to get out on the interstate for 45 minutes today w/4WD going. Knock on wood, still engaging like a champ.