3rd gen j-shift transfercase not coming out of 4lo?

[overfedfish]

Ive had an issue with my 3rd gen where I can easily put it in and out of 4hi, and am able to stick it in 4lo as well as the transfer case in neutral, but when I go to take the car out of 4lo the stick is usually stuck in 4lo, and if I am able to pull it back, the tcase grinds. I am only able to get it out 4lo by turning the car off. I know this is horrible for my tcase. Does anybody know whats going on?

 

[4Running Daily]

What transmission? Are you stopped when taking it out of 4 Low?

 

[overfedfish]

What transmission? Are you stopped when taking it out of 4 Low?

Auto, 3.4 V6. Yes I am completely stopped, have tried it both in park and neutral.

 

[4Running Daily]

Auto, 3.4 V6. Yes I am completely stopped, have tried it both in park and neutral.

I had a very similar problem caused by my manual transmission not being completely out of gear. But it was resolved just by double checking that I'm in neutral and completely stopped.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

 

[jeremyc74]

Auto, 3.4 V6. Yes I am completely stopped, have tried it both in park and neutral.

What kind of surface are you on when you're trying to take it out?

Try backing up 6-8 feet and see if that makes any difference. Your tires may be worn unevenly (front to back) enough to be causing some binding.

 

[overfedfish]

What kind of surface are you on when you're trying to take it out?

Try backing up 6-8 feet and see if that makes any difference. Your tires may be worn unevenly (front to back) enough to be causing some binding.

What do you mean by binding? Where would the binding be?

 

[jeremyc74]

What do you mean by binding? Where would the binding be?

If the tires aren't the same diameter they will cause binding in the transfer case. This is because the front and rear driveshafts are trying to turn at slightly different speeds.

On low traction surfaces the tires just slip enough to relieve the stress, but if you're on pavement it can be very noticeable. There's enough pressure on the gears that they don't disengage easily.

This is an issue on any 4WD with a locked center differential.

 

[BrianSD_42]

This is just my opinion but there is probably nothing wrong, it's likely old just age.

Now you have to turn off the truck when going 4HI/LOW/HI/LO. No big deal. Just accept it.

I've had the same thing happen to me the last several trips. This time I was able to shift HI/LO, with the truck stopped but running and trans in N. So on this trip it didn't grind but the last several trips it did, causing me to have to turn the car off.

When these trucks were new the manual said you can shift HI/LO while driving 30mph in 4HI to LO. Well it turns out that after 100,000 miles on the ODO these trucks make a terrible noise if you try to do that. The manual and Toyota just didn't fully account for wear and tear off the gears.

 

[overfedfish]

This is just my opinion but there is probably nothing wrong, it's likely old just age.

Now you have to turn off the truck when going 4HI/LOW/HI/LO. No big deal. Just accept it.

I've had the same thing happen to me the last several trips. This time I was able to shift HI/LO, with the truck stopped but running and trans in N. So on this trip it didn't grind but the last several trips it did, causing me to have to turn the car off.

When these trucks were new the manual said you can shift HI/LO while driving 30mph in 4HI to LO. Well it turns out that after 100,000 miles on the ODO these trucks make a terrible noise if you try to do that. The manual and Toyota just didn't fully account for wear and tear off the gears.

I had no idea what it was, but your theory sounds right, as I have researched the issue to find no one else with the same problem, and both the 4hi and 4lo work as they should.

 

[Chuckles89]

when these trucks were new the manual said you can shift hi/lo while driving 30mph in 4hi to lo. Well it turns out that after 100,000 miles on the odo these trucks make a terrible noise if you try to do that. The manual and toyota just didn't fully account for wear and tear off the gears.