Hey All,

Need some advise on how to get the actuator back on....

Mine was toast; I removed it and got a new part (AISIN SAT-008) and its back on, works fantastic (timing is great, no issues there). But these are my questions:

1) The retaining bolts (the studs that are double threaded without a head on them) - do they have a bottom? It doesnt feel like they have a bottom, but I could be mistaken? When i was pulling them off - it seemed like there was a lot of thread overtop of the nut, and when putting them back on, there is less. Do they just free spin in the threads and then the nut on the top is the back-pressure to hold them on?

2) The bottom retaining bolt seems to be open into the differential. I did not drain the diff to replace the actuator - just plugged the hole and then quickly got the new one on, and the bolt through. Is that normal? Is it JUST thread sealant that creates the seal or was there some washer/gasket O-ring that I am missing?

3) Has anybody ever heard of the retaining bolts rattling out? Maybe I am being overly paranoid, but if the bottom retaining bolt is open to the diff (ie. it drains oil) how does the thread sealant close that up when its fighting a lubed surface?

Any help would be apprecaited. Got the truck in the air now, and its either I leave it, or remove the bolts and try again.

I have not done this on my rig, so I am just guesssing, I would think maybe drain the oil, clean the surfaces and use some lock tite,

I do know that there are several videos on youtube about changing the actuator, you may have to look at tacoma but its the same system

I've swapped out my elocker 3rd member and actuator. I'd use some type of thread sealant on the bolts. Kind of like liquid Teflon stuff.

1 - run the stud until it stops, don't jam it down just snug. Usually the untreaded section bottoms out on the female threads.

2 - no bolts on the 3rd member, they are all studs. Except the diff lock actuator. One bolt and 2 studs. So if you have bolts, 2 things happened, the stud came out (best outcome) use a double nut and remove stuck nut. Or the previous owner used bolts instead, replace with correct studs.

3 - that is why you have to clean the threads of the hole and stud/bolt before applying thread sealant. Thread sealant is different from thread locker. Yes I have seen tons of bolts/nuts/studs come loose over the years.