2004 Limited leaking.....what part is this?

[missslucrew]

So let me start....I'm a girl. My husband is hunting and not home. I pulled into the garage today to notice a puddle under my 4 runner. It's near the middle of the vehicle. I removed the black cover over the area I thought the fluid was coming from. I found this. What is it and do you think is an easy fix? Like a seal replacement or something?

 

[4x4Homer]

An easy way to check what kind of leak, soak up the liquid with a white scott towel. What color is it? What does it smell like? Most fluids have distinct colors and smells that make it pretty easy to narrow down.

 

[missslucrew]

Well I think I figured it out from other posts. May be the actuator o-ring.....which is not an easy fix. Fan-freakin-tastic.

 

[Powder_Hound]

Well I think I figured it out from other posts. May be the actuator o-ring.....which is not an easy fix. Fan-freakin-tastic.

If it is indeed your actuator O'ring it is a pretty big fix. However, if you're not shifting between 4H and 4L you should be ok to drive. Mine crapped out on me last winter and it cost around 2 grand to fix (my actuator rods and gears were trashed and the leak at O'ring was the symptom.

Good luck....

 

[missslucrew]

If it is indeed your actuator O'ring it is a pretty big fix. However, if you're not shifting between 4H and 4L you should be ok to drive. Mine crapped out on me last winter and it cost around 2 grand to fix (my actuator rods and gears were trashed and the leak at O'ring was the symptom.

Good luck....

With yours, were you able to shift from 4Hi to 4Lo without error lights? Mine seems to be working fine in that respect.

 

[Powder_Hound]

With yours, were you able to shift from 4Hi to 4Lo without error lights? Mine seems to be working fine in that respect.

Yes, but the leak is what triggered the same feeling you are having. When the job was done, they ultimately found that one of the rods was bent and therefore wallowing out the O'ring. When they went to replace O'ring they found the other internal damage and subsequently the need for a new actuator.

In hind sight I'm suspecting I created my issue in 2 ways:
1) For our all time 4WD vehicles (IMO) we need to shift between 4H and 4L monthly to keep thing moving and lubed properly. I use the monthly use your 4WD PSA to remind me to do this.

2) I started my T4R in very cold weather, pulled behind a stuck car, shifted to 4L and pulled out the car. I didn't let my T4R properly warm up and I'm guessing the fluid was pretty thick in actuator and caused the problem. This is my own thought and the actuator could have just taken a dump.

 

[missslucrew]

Yes, but the leak is what triggered the same feeling you are having. When the job was done, they ultimately found that one of the rods was bent and therefore wallowing out the O'ring. When they went to replace O'ring they found the other internal damage and subsequently the need for a new actuator.

In hind sight I'm suspecting I created my issue in 2 ways:
1) For our all time 4WD vehicles (IMO) we need to shift between 4H and 4L monthly to keep thing moving and lubed properly. I use the monthly use your 4WD PSA to remind me to do this.

2) I started my T4R in very cold weather, pulled behind a stuck car, shifted to 4L and pulled out the car. I didn't let my T4R properly warm up and I'm guessing the fluid was pretty thick in actuator and caused the problem. This is my own thought and the actuator could have just taken a dump.

Oh, ok...good to know! I know that I haven't used the 4Lo as much as I did about 3 years ago (had a baby, car turned into a Mommy missile). I am definitely going to start shifting it to 4Lo more often, just to keep it moving in there.

Last night I got under there and cleaned around the seal again...I "worked" the actuator like someone else had said to do on another thread. Then I shifted from 4Hi to 4Lo several times then drove about 10 miles or so. I woke up to no drips underneath and no drips off the actuator like before. I had my husband take it to a shop I like this morning. They looked at it and said the o-ring looked good (how they know that I don't know). But thankfully they said they have seen the issue before. They doctored up the seal with some goo (girl term) and topped off the fluid. I will keep an eye on it and hopefully it doesn't leak for a while until I can get some overtime and have enough to pay for the true fix!

Thank you for your input...I appreciate it!

 

[missslucrew]

UPDATE....

Drove the car today. Still no leaks, awesome! I decided to try the 4wd to see of everything was working. Locked the differential, good to go. Drove slowly for about 1/4 mile. Put in 4lo. Good to go! Back to 4hi still good! BUT.....now it's stuck in 4hi. I push the lock button and the light blinks and the VSC light stays on. I had to back up a bit too get it to unlock. Any advice on this new issue? It's going back to the shop tomorrow. Ugh.