4Runner Transfer Case Doomsday!

[djt294]

I replaced the transfer case actuator on my 2003 V8, after reassembling the transfer case and mating it back to the transmission, the car will now no longer move when shifted into any drive gear and grinds when shifted into park. The actuator assembly does move, I can hear it when switching from 4Lo to 4Hi. I left the transmission in neutral when I took the transfer case out. When mating the transfer case back to the transmission the it went in smooth up until the last 1/2 inch. I tightened the bolts down pulling them together with no resistance. The grinding noise is loud and I can't pinpoint it. Any suggestions for what the problem could be would be appreciated, I am at my wits end and await what I assume is financial ruin lol. I should add that there are no error codes and the car will not move at all in any gear, but can be pushed in neutral.

:Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry::Cry:

 

[hetzler_l33]

I can’t say I’ve done the same job on a 4Runner but you didn’t miss anything when you reassembled the transfer case? You checked that the splines lined up properly before you tightened down the bolts?

 

[xtremewlr]

Not the end of the world. My advice is to stop ****ing with the stock transfer case. Throwing money at it isn't doing you any good and it's just going to get more expensive.

For less the $1000, more like $700 to $900 depending on how well you shop and how much of the work you do yourself, you can do an FJ transfer case swap and never have to worry about that shitty OEM transfer case again. You can't even repair the stock transfer case for that price.

Read this - (Another) FJ T-case swap question

 

[djt294]

I can’t say I’ve done the same job on a 4Runner but you didn’t miss anything when you reassembled the transfer case? You checked that the splines lined up properly before you tightened down the bolts?

Yes, the transfer case slid in okay on the splines until the last inch, lining up with the dowels just fine. I put the bolts in and pulled it in the last inch by tightening them down.

 

[djt294]

Is there any timing or syncing that needs to be done when replacing a transfer case to a transmission? I bought a brand new actuator, I did not disassemble an old one so I figured there was no need to do any timing or syncing.

 

[zidaro]

haven't pulled a 4th gen t-case. but a first gen case "can" have the shift forks misaligned when replacing the shift lever. and doing that would resemble what your describing. any way that could have happened when replacing the actuator? forks incorrect placement with the actuator lever?

 

[hetzler_l33]

Yes, the transfer case slid in okay on the splines until the last inch, lining up with the dowels just fine. I put the bolts in and pulled it in the last inch by tightening them down.

Alright, well your best bet will be to remove the transfer case and inspect. Either way you’ll have to pull it as it’s not functioning. Keep your head up, stuff happens

 

[importman]

I can't add a whole lot to this but I believe that for whatever reason, the transfer case is in a neutral state. That's allowing the transmission to spin freely with the engine running. Then when you try to put it in park, the parking pawl is grinding. Unfortunately, I have no idea why it's in neutral.

 

[djt294]

Ok, thanks. It is the first time me and my buddy did anything like this, we have done the usual timing belts and other maintenance but this is a bit new to me. I wonder what the symptoms would be if the split bearing fell off when we put the cover on? I really did not hear anything (we did a trial run before the gasket sealant went on and we did knock it out in the trial run but I heard it plink (and my hearing is not all that good). The last time with the sealant on we did not hear anything. Sorry, maybe grasping at straws.

 

[rdruss]

There are threads on here that discuss your situation, I would suggest looking them up and reading through them carefully, that repair can be a real PITA as you have found out. xtremewheeler has the ultimate solution, but it's not for the timid either.

 

[xtremewlr]

There are threads on here that discuss your situation, I would suggest looking them up and reading through them carefully, that repair can be a real PITA as you have found out. xtremewheeler has the ultimate solution, but it's not for the timid either.

It's really not that hard at all. If the OP can remove and take apart and reassemble the stock t-case (even if it isn't working), then he can very easily swap to the FJ t-case.

 

[djt294]

There are threads on here that discuss your situation, I would suggest looking them up and reading through them carefully, that repair can be a real PITA as you have found out. xtremewheeler has the ultimate solution, but it's not for the timid either.

Hi, Thanks, I have read the threads on this forum and they have been very helpful and informative. Just to be clear, I installed a new actuator assembly, I did not try to take the actuator apart and muck with the timing, that is way over my head. The transmission seems to be confused (will not go into gear, even though I hear changes in rpm when I shift, weird thing is when I shift into Drive it sounds like it would as if you were going into neutral, revs increase). It is very possible that I screwed up the reassembly of the transfer case somehow. I can hear the TC actuator runnning when I put it in 4LO and the indicator on the dash is no longer flashing and beeping. I was just curious whether anyone else ran across this same problem. I will search again, but I am pretty sure the difficulty most people ran into is when they try to actually fix the actuator/motor itself and were not able to get the timing back to factory. Thank you for responding.

 

[ryanking61]

It's really not that hard at all. If the OP can remove and take apart and reassemble the stock t-case (even if it isn't working), then he can very easily swap to the FJ t-case.

Agreed. If you're looking for another resource for the FJ transfer case swap, I have a thread detailing the swap into my 4Runner. The link is in my signature. FJ case will definitely be cheaper than dealing with all the electronic actuating crap.

 

[djt294]

Resolved: Transfer Case Doomsday

Well, the second time around removing and disassembling the TC was alot faster. We found our dumb mistake. We did not have the B shift fork connected in the shift sleeve, neither of us caught it. After reassembling and reinstalling the TC the second time, everything worked fine, a little clunking at first going into 4lo but everything smoothed out. We used the cheap Harbor Freight transmission jack(the $80 scissor type with the top shaped like a V). We drilled holes in the jack platform and mounted angle iron on the jack that mated with the mounting holes on the TC (I forget the exact term for those holes on the TC, probably used during manufacture). This greatly helped in aligning the TC with the transmission, which was one of the harder parts of the job.

 

[djt294]

Not the end of the world. My advice is to stop ****ing with the stock transfer case. Throwing money at it isn't doing you any good and it's just going to get more expensive.

For less the $1000, more like $700 to $900 depending on how well you shop and how much of the work you do yourself, you can do an FJ transfer case swap and never have to worry about that shitty OEM transfer case again. You can't even repair the stock transfer case for that price.

Read this - (Another) FJ T-case swap question

I will look at your thread, I wish I had explored my options sooner. The case swap sounds like a good idea and makes a lot of sense, knowing what I know now. I would go this way if I did it again. Thanks for the comment.