4 wheel drive takes a while to engage

[bantis556]

Lately my 4runner has been taking a LONG time engaging 4 wheel drive. Like 5+ minutes sometimes. It will occasionally engage quickly but it's usually at least a couple minutes. It takes a while to disengage as well.

When I first bought it last year it seemed fine and would take only seconds but I think it's sticking. I changed the center diff fluid the other day and am doing the front and rear soon. Would that help? Am I SOL?

 

[cmoua]

It's a common problem. Engage 4x4 periodically and you should be fine. If you don't engage it for long period then you end up having engage/disengage problem as you describe. Use it or lose it.

 

[MarkinWMich]

It's a common problem. Engage 4x4 periodically and you should be fine. If you don't engage it for long period then you end up having engage/disengage problem as you describe. Use it or lose it.

Exactly!

Once a month, or so, do some driving with it in 4H, then in 4L. It doesn't have to be much. I just run mine slow through the neighborhood, around the block a few times. I'll do a few cycles of running it through 2H, 4H, and 4L, just to make sure everything is functioning properly. The main thing is to have that actuator working well. I think it just gets a little "gummed up" from lack of use and then struggles to engage.

 

[Synister]

Just some techniques…Its easier to engage while you are moving, neither accelerating or decelerating so the gears are not tightly engaged. If you are stationary, I have found that putting the truck in neutral (not req'd, only for 4LO) helps out so the gears can mesh a little easier also.

 

[bantis556]

I have been putting it in and out of 4x4 a lot lately. Will it eventually get better?

 

[MarkinWMich]

I have been putting it in and out of 4x4 a lot lately. Will it eventually get better?

:shrug:

Another "trick", if you can call it that, is to run it through it's cycle when the trans and diff are thoroughly warmed up. In my experience, if mine is going to have delays engaging, it is usually when it is cold outside, has sit overnight, and I am trying to get it to engage first thing on a cold Winter morning. However, if I have driven it for a while and everything is warmed up, then try to engage it, there doesn't seem to be a delay.

So, in Winter, most often, it's my neighborhood that is the worst and rarely gets plowed. I live in one of the "rural" subdivisions. I just leave it in "H4" while leaving the neighborhood, and if the main roads are OK, I'll switch it to "H2". When I am on the way home, I'll switch it back into "H4" just before entering the neighborhood.

 

[marked]

I engage mine fairly often and most of the time it will go into 4H within 20 seconds. Sometimes, however, the lights keep flashing for some time without it engaging, and occassionally I'll hear the gears crunch for a bit, but it still doesn't engage. If I stop, go from D to R to D, then try again, it will engage just fine.