Well, I dumped 2 or 3 ounces of water out of the actuator motor cover, so that'd be the problem.


But, I took the motor apart and cleaned the commutator/brushes and all the rotary contacts in the case. They're pretty pitted from either arcing or corrosion, but some 800 grit sandpaper, MAF sensor cleaner, and white lithium grease later and it works again. Not sure for how long, but it works great. In and out of 4wd and center diff lock without problems at all.


Also, for anyone who might need to replace the actuator, this might actually be possible without having to split the case.

This morning I found this video, which deals with an older style multimode tcase where you can pull the pinion gear on the shift rod out through that little triangular inspection cover. The 01-02 style case doesn't have that cover, so you can't get the actuator off that way. But, when I had the motor assembly off to clean it, I gently tugged on the spur gear with the electrical contacts that's attached to the pinion/shift rod and got a face full of gear oil, so I think you can probably get that little pinion gear out that way and then pull the actuator off the shift rod without splitting the case. Timing it when you put it back together looks like it'd be a *****, but if it'll come off like that, timing is doable and WAY cheaper than splitting the case.