Center Diff Lock takes a long time to engage, sometimes won't...

[cmpcmp123]

Hi all. I am well aware that the center diff lock actuator can seize up and is a costly replacement. But, mine seems to work sporadically. Sometimes it will engage/disengage easily and repeatedly. Sometimes it will take a while, like 20 blinks of the dash light, before it engages, and sometimes will just blink and blink and never engage. Is there anything I can do here? Is it on the way out? I'm afraid that it will get stuck engaged or half engaged. Maybe I should just leave it alone. I don't really use the diff locker now, but would like to in the future. I am planning of replacing the t-case and diff oil soon (transmission too), could that help? At least my 4LO works well. I have a 06 V8 with 110k btw. Thanks.

 

[Ruffian]

Yes.....do the fluid drain, flush and refill. I just did this about 3 months ago and mine shifts so much smoother now.

 

[JB.]

Hi all. I am well aware that the center diff lock actuator can seize up and is a costly replacement. But, mine seems to work sporadically. Sometimes it will engage/disengage easily and repeatedly. Sometimes it will take a while, like 20 blinks of the dash light, before it engages, and sometimes will just blink and blink and never engage. Is there anything I can do here? Is it on the way out? I'm afraid that it will get stuck engaged or half engaged. Maybe I should just leave it alone. I don't really use the diff locker now, but would like to in the future. I am planning of replacing the t-case and diff oil soon (transmission too), could that help? At least my 4LO works well. I have a 06 V8 with 110k btw. Thanks.

Forgetting about it is an option if you're sure you could live without it.

I'm curious about the circumstances under which you are engaging it. If you're driving straight down the road, it should engage and disengage pretty easily. More easily after doing it the first time. Playing with the accelerator can help the process along. Give it a little gas and then get off the gas, etc. If the wheels are turned, that can delay or prevent it locking/unlocking. Even though it's capable of locking/unlocking with some steering angle, you should keep the wheels straight or nearly so. If you, say, lock it with the wheels straight and then do some turning, you can introduce some drive line windup which could then make it hard to unlock.

If it were me, I'd get out on some straight pavement and work the heck out of it until it worked reliably and I'd do that daily for a while.

 

[TRDCal]

^^X2...I'm typically stopped when I engage my diff lock and it normally engages instantly (11 years old and 125k miles...gotta love Toyota's!!)...when it doesn't I just take my foot off the brake, let it roll a bit in drive and then it engages. Just kinda helps things in the t-case line up.

If yours isn't predictable like that, then like JB said, you need to work it until it is.