4 lo won't disengage

06Silver_SportT4R

06Silver_SportT4R

New member
Hi all! I'm new to the forum and have a bit of a problem with my rig, I've been searching for a solution for sometime now and can't seem to find anything that covers my exact issue so if there's already a thread to this problem I apologize in advance.

Ok here goes, I have an 06 sport V8 AWD and my problem is that I can not get it to disengage from 4lo and the 4lo dash light is constantly flashing. I've read the actuators on these get stuck quite often and that's the most common issue but I haven't seen anything on how to solve it. I've already tried the most common ways to get your truck out of 4lo but nothing seems to work and I'd rather try to take care of the problem myself before taking it to the stealership. And help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks is advance!
 
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Starting with the simple solution: No offense intended, but are you switching out of 4 lo the right way? Truck stopped, in neutral? D-N, shift out of 4 lo- back to D

Second, if that doesn't help. Tap the actuator with a brick or a big hammer to see if you can get it to unfreeze if it's stuck.
 
None taken. Yes I think I've tried every gear/brake/rolling/swerving combination possible, and also got underneath with a hammer and tapped on the t-case and the black box that holds the actuator. We even went as far to take the cover off the box with the actuator and were able to get to one motor that was seized and free it but since there's two in there I'm assuming that was the one for the diff lock since that did nothing for us.
 
I thought I saw somewhere that the actuator for the Hi4 was internal and HiLo was external??? (can't find that thread)

Anyway, if tapping to t/c isn't working, keep at it. This guy did: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/62382-new-guy-fixed-4lo-my-runner.html#post521319

Although he never finished or updated his thread (he's VERY CLOSE to completely solving it), some good info if you don't feel like handing over $1500-2000 to the dealer to fix it.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/151582-4lo-actuator-rebuild.html#post1492153
 
I haven't seen anything about the 4lo being external but if you find anything I'd love to see more about that.

I also tried the tapping of both the t-case and the actuator while running in N and turning the switch, along with reading the thread on the rebuild. That was actually one of the reasons I decided to open it up and try for myself
 
No. It is in the same box and the same device.

So, wait.. it went INTO 4lo and now won't get out. Well, that sucks. If you have tried tapping.. which you should keep trying, also move it into a garage and let it warm up.

Maybe the cold has made the grease in there less than mobile. Other than that, I am so sorry. At least when it refuses to GO into 4lo, you can drive it like normal.

Going into 4lo, then deciding to go on vacation. Well, damn. That sucks.
 
I had an 08 limited v8 and it would get really moody on going into or coming out of 4lo out in the cold. The warm garage helped/solved it both times. May have been a coincidence but I put some heat in the garage and both times after I gave it time to think about it, it functioned normally. Another time it wouldn't come out in the sand but after spinning the tires forward and reverse it came out. Sure this is useless but my reply is free. Good luck.
 
DC runner said:
No. Going into 4lo, then deciding to go on vacation. Well, damn. That sucks.
Click to expand...

That has to be the best description for my sh!tty problem I've ever heard, thank you lol

But correct it went into 4lo the light flashed at me and it's been there ever since. I've actually been keeping in my garage since this has happened and it's not always heated but we do usually have a fire going and if I need to just be in there for a little bit I'll throw the torpedo heater on and that gets her pretty warm.

This weekend I had a fire going all day Sunday while out working in it, had it up to 70 and it still made no difference
 
Yea, the industrial grease they put in the acuator box to help it move has an expiration date like anything. After so many hot/cold cycles it can get cranky.

Had a wheel hub that acted up in the cold until I re greased it with new grease. If it was cold, say 25 or below, it would yell at me until it warmed up and went away. Once I re-greased it with new grease, never did it again.


You might try a hair dryer or space electric heat on LOW (don't want to melt or burn anything). Place them in the vicinity of the box and give it an hour or two.
 
based on the pics from the threads linked above, I wonder

if someone couldn't build a linkage shifter that somehow attaches to the shift rails that stick out.

similar to an np205, or many other tcases.

there would be a market for this im sure.
once the R&D was done, it should be a simple matter of pulling the old junk off. bolting on the new stuff, routing a cable into the cab, and attaching it to a control box. boom. manual, remote t-case shifter.


I wish I had a broken t-case and actuator, I would work on it....
 
That's a good idea, I'll have to give the blow dryer thing a try.

Nothing inside the box seemed too cruddy or over greased, it was actually surprisingly clean.
 
06Silver_SportT4R said:
I haven't seen anything about the 4lo being external but if you find anything I'd love to see more about that.

I also tried the tapping of both the t-case and the actuator while running in N and turning the switch, along with reading the thread on the rebuild. That was actually one of the reasons I decided to open it up and try for myself
Click to expand...

Here it is:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/80283-2004-v8-4x4-actuator-replacement-2.html#post1047993

and here:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/probl...ge-followed-propler-procedure.html#post415133

I haven't even tried to engage 4lo since I bought mine about 4 years ago. After seeing what appears to be a (random?) problem, I'd rather not even touch it. Hell, I'd be willing to "service it" somehow with someone who knows what they are doing to make sure it works (and stayed working).
 
nevada said:
based on the pics from the threads linked above, I wonder

if someone couldn't build a linkage shifter that somehow attaches to the shift rails that stick out.

similar to an np205, or many other tcases.

there would be a market for this im sure.
once the R&D was done, it should be a simple matter of pulling the old junk off. bolting on the new stuff, routing a cable into the cab, and attaching it to a control box. boom. manual, remote t-case shifter.


I wish I had a broken t-case and actuator, I would work on it....
Click to expand...

Reading on pirate4x4 and a few other sites, it's been done plenty of times. I was just reading the other day on FJ transfer case swaps. There are a few SAS'd 4th gens here and on pirate, and I'm sure they have switched to a manual transfer case.

This guy swapped his Tacoma out and then made a switch on the dash for the ADD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbDpQdMUZ80&feature=youtu.be
 
JBecker said:
Reading on pirate4x4 and a few other sites, it's been done plenty of times. I was just reading the other day on FJ transfer case swaps. There are a few SAS'd 4th gens here and on pirate, and I'm sure they have switched to a manual transfer case.

This guy swapped his Tacoma out and then made a switch on the dash for the ADD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbDpQdMUZ80&feature=youtu.be
Click to expand...

you're saying they've swapped the t-case? I know that can be done.
I was talking about just building a manual shift linkage for the existing t-case.
 
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