4th Gen 4Runner stuck in 4lo

[Tidal]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post but I’ve looked around and read for awhile on here.
Today I finally encountered my first problem with my 4runner after 200k miles. I have an 06 SR5 with 198k miles, the things a beast and I’ve never had a problem until today! I was out duck hunting in Nevada and needed to make a tight turn up a hill which involved me reversing with 4lo engaged. No big deal, I’ve done it quite a few times with no problems, until today...After making the turn I placed the car in neutral and switched back to 4wd then 2wd. All lights on the dash went off so I though everything was cool and I was back in 2wd. When I got back in the car a few hours later I noticed the car was revving high, lurching while shifting and felt like it was in 4lo still. Long story short, I did everything I could to try to get it to disengage from 4 lo, I disconnected the battery, tried switching in and out of modes, different turns, etc. I got the car towed back to my place but I’m wondering if anyone has any experience on this or may have any idea what the problem could be. I appreciate any help. Thanks y’all.

-TJ

 

[importman]

I think the common reply on here is gonna be to just keep working the switch. Some people have had luck doing that. If you haven't been using it, apparently the actuator gets sticky and will fail to work. There's actually a thread on here that gets bumped once a month to remind everyone to operate all the 4wd functions to prevent this from happening. Oh and I've noticed with mine it works faster after driving a little bit to get everything up to operating temperature. Might want to let it run for 20-30 minutes then try it. Good luck.

 

[Direwolf82]

Somewhere on the site is a fix from someone that sounds extremely promising. The actuators are supposedly rated to 90 volts, he just figured out which terminals to hit on the actuator and fed it more voltage. More voltage equals more torque the motor is putting out, his freed up after the extra voltage was used.
Don't remember what year, engine etc he had but I'm betting they will share voltage ranges.
I believe he also opened the actuator housing, drained off some moisture and re lubed everything. After reading and looking at things I think he was correct, the actuator seals go bad and let moisture in and that starts gumming up the works.
Hopefully that helps with your situation!

 

[m3y3rRunner]

Somewhere on the site is a fix from someone that sounds extremely promising. The actuators are supposedly rated to 90 volts, he just figured out which terminals to hit on the actuator and fed it more voltage. More voltage equals more torque the motor is putting out, his freed up after the extra voltage was used.
Don't remember what year, engine etc he had but I'm betting they will share voltage ranges.
I believe he also opened the actuator housing, drained off some moisture and re lubed everything. After reading and looking at things I think he was correct, the actuator seals go bad and let moisture in and that starts gumming up the works.
Hopefully that helps with your situation!

Yes here is the link - Fixed my T-Case actuator w/ electricity and logic.

The motors are rated for 30 volts. You should be able to use the info from that post to see what state the system is in and you could try the procedure to move the actuator.

Matt

 

[Tidal]

Thanks for posting that link, I'll give it a try when I get back from work tonight.

 

[Tidal]

Update:

After a lot of unsuccessful trouble shooting, I finally gave in and took the car to the mechanic. The mechanic had the car for 8 days, and couldn't figure out the issue. They said they've never seen this with a 4runner before, so decided to bring in an electrical tech to check out the problem. They weren't able to figure it out either. After reading on here quite a bit, I figured it had to be an actuator problem. So I pulled the entire transfer case, ordered a new actuator and put it all back together...biggest car project I've ever done. I reinstalled the actuator and TC and the car still sin't shifting out of 4lo and is now just blinking the 4wd icon and 4lo icon at once. The mechanic originally thought it might have been the TC that was the problem, so I decided to order a new one. $2600 and 6 days later I had a new TC at my doorstep. I pulled the one I had just rebuilt and much more smoothly than before, installed the new TC. The car is now out of 4lo and in 2wd, but won't shift into 4hi or 4lo. So now I'm even more lost and don't want to spend too much more money. My question is, have any of you every seen this? Also would the computer possibly have to be rest since I installed a new part? Any suggestions help. Thanks.
-TJ

 

[eleven14]

I'm not sure where you go from here but can corroborate the truck isn't happy if you try and go from 4LO to 2WD in one shot.

Once or twice I've forgotten to step mine out of 4LO (2008 V6) and the system freaks out. Once I return to 2WD in the proper sequence (Neutral, 4LO -> 4HI, drive -> 2WD), it's fine.

What steps did you take after installing the new transfer case to get back to 2WD? And what is it doing if you try 4H? Just blinking? Can you hear the actuator moving?

 

[Tidal]

I used the proper method the owners manual suggests for switching in and out of drives. Car in neutral, foot on the brake 2WD to 4HI, wait until it engages then switch to 4LO. I didn't have to take any steps to get it back into 2WD. Once the new TC was in, I turned the car on and it was no longer stuck in 4LO, but it seems to be stuck in 2WD now. When I tried to switch it to 4HI, the light just continued blinking. I could hear the actuator working, then stop working, but never head a "clunk" that I've heard before when it actually engages. The light continued blinking and from the way it drives I can tell it hasn't switched over.

 

[keithyota]

I used the proper method the owners manual suggests for switching in and out of drives. Car in neutral, foot on the brake 2WD to 4HI, wait until it engages then switch to 4LO. I didn't have to take any steps to get it back into 2WD. Once the new TC was in, I turned the car on and it was no longer stuck in 4LO, but it seems to be stuck in 2WD now. When I tried to switch it to 4HI, the light just continued blinking. I could hear the actuator working, then stop working, but never head a "clunk" that I've heard before when it actually engages. The light continued blinking and from the way it drives I can tell it hasn't switched over.

Have not had the problem and sounds like a trip to the Toyota dealer.
My thought though when I see screwy electrical problems is...shorted wires...especially at that age.

Cheapest past his let Toyota figureit out then determine who you want to fix it.

 

[Tidal]

Have not had the problem and sounds like a trip to the Toyota dealer.
My thought though when I see screwy electrical problems is...shorted wires...especially at that age.

Cheapest past his let Toyota figureit out then determine who you want to fix it.

I think that's the plan, I was trying to avoid them like the plague but that seems like the only means to an end. Hey...maybe a trip to the Toyota dealership will just end in another 4runner :naughty:

 

[scw1991]

If not mistaken, the front differential actuator must engage first, then the transfer case actuator engages to complete 4WD sequence.