4Lo is a No Go

F

FlamingoFats

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Anti-Flame Request.

2004 T4R, 4x4, Sport Edition, 112,000mi.,v-6.

My second T4R

I have read the manual, read the visor card, and taken it to the dealer to see the 4Runner guy. It goes into 4Hi, no problem, diff lock aok, but the 4Lo does not engage. Both the Toyota dealer Tech and I followed the sequence, and tried everything, forward, reverse, park, neutral, brake, etc. etc. and it just doesn't engage 4Lo. I have a drop off appt. on Monday at the dealer fora "computer fault analysis" to figure out what is going on. Estimated time for the "analysis" is "couple of hours". I trust the service tech, but I trust you guys more, so I am trying to get some insight as to what may be wrong. The 4Lo was not, if ever, used by the prior owner. Scheduled service was done by the prior owners {2}.

So I would greatly appreciate your insight. WTF.

Now for those of you looking for a Flame opportunity, I will herewith provide it, only if you agree to provide me with helpfull suggestions as well.

Flame opportunity: When I test drove the vehicle, on dry pavement, I only tested the 4Hi not the 4Lo. Trust me, I know what a jerk I am, but enjoy.:ybrick:

The vehicle is under a 30 day, parts and labor, warranty, followed up by a purchased 24/25000mi "warranty".
 
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FlamingoFats said:
Anti-Flame Request.

2004 T4R, 4x4, Sport Edition, 112,000mi.,v-6.

My second T4R

I have read the manual, read the visor card, and taken it to the dealer to see the 4Runner guy. It goes into 4Hi, no problem, diff lock aok, but the 4Lo does not engage. Both the Toyota dealer Tech and I followed the sequence, and tried everything, forward, reverse, park, neutral, brake, etc. etc. and it just doesn't engage 4Lo. I have a drop off appt. on Monday at the dealer fora "computer fault analysis" to figure out what is going on. Estimated time for the "analysis" is "couple of hours". I trust the service tech, but I trust you guys more, so I am trying to get some insight as to what may be wrong. The 4Lo was not, if ever, used by the prior owner. Scheduled service was done by the prior owners {2}.

So I would greatly appreciate your insight. WTF.

Now for those of you looking for a Flame opportunity, I will herewith provide it, only if you agree to provide me with helpfull suggestions as well.

Flame opportunity: When I test drove the vehicle, on dry pavement, I only tested the 4Hi not the 4Lo. Trust me, I know what a jerk I am, but enjoy.:ybrick:

The vehicle is under a 30 day, parts and labor, warranty, followed up by a purchased 24/25000mi "warranty".
Click to expand...


Search the forum threads for "actuator". There have been threads about the transfer case actuator sticking from lack of use. IIRC, some members have gotten their's to work by repeatedly cycling and trying to engage it. Hope you are within the 30 days if you need an actuator because it is big $$$.
Good luck. Let us know.
 
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Crawl under the 4runner and give that actuator some love taps with a hammer.

As they say, "If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem."
 
Yup its frozen and needs replacement.

It was ~$2500 under warranty for me.

They have to take the entire transfer case out of the car to remove the $1 seal. Around a total of 14 hours it took them I think.
 
Same thing happened to me. I have a 2003 V6 Sport Edition 4x4 that i bought with 79k last year. I took it to a dirt parking lot by my house right after buying it and found out the 4Lo didn't work. I took it back to the dealer right away and they agreed to fix it under warranty. They didn't have the part available so I had to deal with having just 4Hi for a few weeks. I live in the Philadelphia area and this happened to be right around the time we got that huge snow storm last winter. Luckily I could get around fine in 4Hi. They eventually replaced it and it works flawlessly now.
 
Is the actuator that shifts from 4HI to 4LO the same part that shifts from 2HI to 4HI? Just curious.

Last winter, after not using 4WD all summer long, it took a few back-n-forth switches to get my 4R to shift from 2HI to 4HI. I think it was a bit sticky.

Maybe I should get in the habit of shifting into 4WD (4HI and 4LO) on occasion, just to keep the parts moving freely.
 
The manual says to drive in 4 wheel drive a certain amount of miles every month to keep the parts lubricated. I usually try to drive in 4Hi every once in a while when it rains.
 
bigonenine said:
The manual says to drive in 4 wheel drive a certain amount of miles every month to keep the parts lubricated. I usually try to drive in 4Hi every once in a while when it rains.
Click to expand...
The manual calls for 10 miles a month as bigone says, however the problem is that doesn't necessarily help the acuator for 4LO. Ocassional use is required to keep it healthy and working, even if for only a very short distance. My understanding is it's not about distance use with 4LO, but how often you make the acuator shift in and out.
 
eskimochaos said:
Yup its frozen and needs replacement.

It was ~$2500 under warranty for me.

They have to take the entire transfer case out of the car to remove the $1 seal. Around a total of 14 hours it took them I think.
Click to expand...

hahaha wowwww thats funny and sucks at the same time
 
I just got mine back yesterday. I had a transfer case leak. They had to replace the seal and acuator...$2100.
 
Isn't it OK to drive it in 4LO on pavement as long as you don't lock the center? Granted you wouldn't be going very fast.
 
A-OK. You can drive on pavement in 4-LO without the diff lock engaged. Good idea to do this at least once a month. Shift in and out of 4-LO a couple of times. Use it before you lose it!
 
bpatten0416 said:
A-OK. You can drive on pavement in 4-LO without the diff lock engaged. Good idea to do this at least once a month. Shift in and out of 4-LO a couple of times. Use it before you lose it!
Click to expand...
I shift into 4L regularly for a short distance and it works with no proble. However bpatten's mention of the rear differential lock switch begs the question....is there a danger not using it will allow that mechanism to seize up??
 
I had problems getting mine into 4lo when I first got it. The key to mine is to come to a stop in 4H and put it in Neutral. Then very slowly and I mean very slowly turn the knob to 4lo. Works every time for me. Good luck.
 
Hey guys I see you mentioning rear diff lock a couple times, where is this button located, and is it optional on 4th gens? I've seen the button to the left of the steering wheel with the "X" over the transfer case, but this only splits torque 50/50 front to rear, correct? Where's the diff lock?
 
not one on 4th gens unless you have an 09 trail edition. when we say diff lock we mean center diff lock like you described
 
clys said:
Hey guys I see you mentioning rear diff lock a couple times, where is this button located, and is it optional on 4th gens? I've seen the button to the left of the steering wheel with the "X" over the transfer case, but this only splits torque 50/50 front to rear, correct? Where's the diff lock?
Click to expand...

That is the differential lock switch, but I don't remember if the center differential locks automatically with the transfer case in 4LO. It did on my 80-series Land Cruiser, we had a mod for unlocking it, you can drive on pavement in 4LO with the center diff unlocked. We also had a fuse for the center diff we could pull to keep it locked or unlocked, not sure if there is one on the 4R, it was marked "diff".

I'd be nervous about locking any differential on pavement, sometimes they stick, especially if they haven't been used much. Guys have resorted to jacking up one wheel and spinning it to release binding and allow it to unlock.
 
Update!!!! Hold onto your seats!!!!

When I posted before, I advised that I had just purchased (Nov. 4)a used 4Runner that was in beautiful condition except for the failure to engage 4Lo.

I had an appointment for the diagnostics for Monday, Nov. 8th. On Sunday, my wife followed me to the dealer, I parked the 4Runner in the night drop area, filled out the service envelope, locked the 4Runner, and dropped the keys in the night drop. The tech advised they would know what was going on with the transfer case by noon, Monday.

About 10am on Monday I dropped by the dealer to see how it was going.

"Let me check, I don't know where your vehicle is."

Long story. My 4Runner was stolen from the dealer sometime Sunday night, as well as the Toyota Sienna some other customer had dropped off, and an Audi that had been left at the night drop at the Audi dealer down the street.

So now it is over a week since the truck was gone, insurance won't pay off for several weeks, and if I didn't have another vehicle, I'd be walking. My insurance company advised I had rental coverage, but the dealer and their insurance company has never mentioned a loaner or rental.

The thieves were able to somehow retrieve the keys from the night drops.

I have come to appreciate my other vehicle, BMW X3. If it ever needs service, I drive in, and drive out in a loaner.

So, I guess I don't have to worry about the actuator. :roadkill:
 
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