01 Transfer case issue

[ADH8796]

I was out playing around with the runner and thought I was having issues with my rear locker. I'd go to pull a hill and the front tires would spin but the rear driver side tire wasn't doing anything. I just figured my locker was acting up. Well after further investigation it turns out the other tire isn't spinning either and I'm getting nothing at the rear drive shaft.

So to recap if I'm in 2wd everthing is normal. But weather I use my push button (4hi) or my shifter (4lo) I loose power to the rear but gain power to the front. This is an intermittent problem every once in a while the rear will kick in and everything works as it should. My dash lights all work as they should (lock in solid green). First thought was I have a problem with my Transfer Case Actuator but I really don't have a good idea of how all this works in the 01-02 runners. Did some searching but didn't find anyone having issues with the front locking in and the rear essentially disengaging.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Anthony

 

[BigFishAllDay]

I ask this question specifically because I didn't see it mentioned in your post...

Are you locking the center differential?

The button is to the left of the steering wheel on the black section of the dash, where an OEM "RR Diff Lock" button would normally be found on earlier models. It has an icon showing 4 tires and a little "X" between them IIRC.

If you don't have the center locked up, it will act exactly how you are describing.

 

[ADH8796]

I had my wife driving while I was out looking at the driveshaft. Had her hit the button and it didn't fix the problem. Just took it back out and apparently it never engaged while she was driving because everything is working fine now. Not a big fan of having this as an option. I'd rather it be setup like my old 99. Thanks for the advice and easy fix.

Honestly always thought it was an optional deal. Didn't realize it worked like an open diff between the front and rear drive lines. Oh well I guess that's what I get for not readying about it when I purchased an 01.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

The setup can be very useful, and outperform, the setup found on older models in certain conditions... ie snow.

You should see a solid orange light on the dash @ the center of the 4wd display once the center diff is fully locked. Glad it was an easy fix.

 

[maclean216]

Disable Trac and VSC. I bet that's the problem.