Need help! Transfer case and transmission woes

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Ramathorn15

New member
Hey all!

So my friend had a major incident with her 98 sr5 v6 5speed 4wd rear locker truck. I believe her double cardan broke while she was on the interstate and ripped everything apart.

We found a JDM transmission and transfer case on eBay and ordered it.

I got them in today and the transmission seems perfect but I can't seem to wrap my head around the transfer case. It seems to only have 3 positions (4H-N-4L) which leads me to believe it's an AWD one. the issue is there's no center diff lock actuator so I'm left without any clues. It looks identical to the J shift type she previously had, but doesn't seem to have 2H.

Did Japan offer an AWD only 4runner without 4wd? Any help is hugely appreciated! Im a land cuuser guy so the different options avaliable with different 4runners is foreign to me.
 

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I'm not sure if the Hilux came in a AWD model or not, someone else should be able to tell you that. On face value though, it sounds like the transfer case you got is not compatible with her rig.

All of the US model 3rd gens will have 2H. Do you have more details about the tranny/transfer case you bought? I'm hoping the replacement tranny was from a 96-00 or the tranny won't work either. I'm also not sure what you mean by " the issue is there's no center diff lock actuator". I believe all 96-00 transfer cases automatically lock the center diff but the 01/02 have a selectable locking center diff. Don't quote me on that but I believe my assumptions are correct.

Is there a kick down cable coming out of the tranny, or at least the spot for one? If not, you have a 01/02 tranny and it won't work on her 98.
 
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Not sure if I follow. Wouldn't a kickdown only be on an auto? Also, if there it has a selectable center diff, it has to have an actuator on the transfer case itself to actuate the selection?

It seems I have the right 5-speed manual, but the transfer case only seems to have 4h and 4 l, and no way to lock the center diff for proper 4wd.
 
Ramathorn15 said:
Not sure if I follow. Wouldn't a kickdown only be on an auto? Also, if there it has a selectable center diff, it has to have an actuator on the transfer case itself to actuate the selection?

It seems I have the right 5-speed manual, but the transfer case only seems to have 4h and 4 l, and no way to lock the center diff for proper 4wd.
Click to expand...

Yup, sorry I missed that it was a 5 speed so no kick down cable.

I'm not sure how the internals of the 96-00 transfer case work but I do know that it is locked when in 4WD and no way to unlock it (part time 4WD, unless you have multi mode that comes on a Limited trim level). The 01/02 transfer case has a selectable center locking diff which is why they are considered "full time 4WD" and not part time 4WD.

It would seem that the transfer case you got is for a AWD (full time 4WD) vehicle. Not all transfer cases have a locking center differential, my wifes AWD highlander would be a good example.

Hopefully some others chime in who may know more about what's going on.

Do you have any more details about the tranny/transfer case you bought? Got a link to the site?

PS. Somewhere on here is a post about all of the different 4x4 systems available for the 3rd gen 4runner, a search would hopefully lead you to it.
 
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Also if you do a google search, look at the pictures of the different shifters. There is the standard J shifter which has four positions. All the way forward and to the left is 2H, straight down from there is 4H. If you then move it over to the right (and slightly up), you would be in neutral and the final position (forward) would be 4L.

If the transfer case you have only has three positions, I would assume it was from a Limited with multi mode. All the way forward is 4L, the middle is N and all the way down is H (where you would normally leave it). To shift into 4WD on that transfer case, there is a button on the side of the shifter.

If you really only have 3 positions (Forward, middle and down) than you have a multi mode transfer case and it wont work (at least it seems that way based on what you've described). You would need to get the correct transfer case. What makes it even more confusing is the Limited trim level (which has multi mode) were never available with a 5speed??

Transfer case shifter pictures

Where are you located? I actually have one but I'm in Wisconsin.

Otherwise, look on craiglist or car-part.com and find the correct transfer case (assuming the one you have won't work).
 
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thegipper said:
Here

This should help
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies.

I've been looking at that thead an non of them seem to be what I have.

I played around with it more today and found that there is more than 3 notches. There are 4, and one is 2wd. That's good news but it still has a different patter than the J

It's this

4L
|
N
|
4H---
.......|
.......2H

(The periods are only there for formatting)

I wonder if it's a different pattern because it was a right hand drive truck.
 
Slightly off topic here.

What happened to that 4runner??? Please tell us so we can all try to avoid having that happen.

Thanks and Good Luck.
 
Scramble said:
Keep all of your DS zerks lubed. Looks like her u-joints failed.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, every ujoint in the double cardan is fine. The pin in the center of the double cardan sheered off, which would explain the acute failure. Not sure why that happened though.


I think it's all going to work. One new issue is when I switched the tcase shifter housing with her LH drive one, it got stuck in 2wd and won't shift into anything else even if I switch back to the RH drive housing it came with.

Im just hoping it frees up...
 
Ramathorn15 said:
Interestingly enough, every ujoint in the double cardan is fine. The pin in the center of the double cardan sheered off, which would explain the acute failure. Not sure why that happened though.


I think it's all going to work. One new issue is when I switched the tcase shifter housing with her LH drive one, it got stuck in 2wd and won't shift into anything else even if I switch back to the RH drive housing it came with.

Im just hoping it frees up...
Click to expand...

I guess it cold be a rare manufacturing defect. I've never seen that happen, even to people who wheel their rigs hard. What kind of LC do you have? I'm looking to get a second rig. Larger than a 3rd gen T4R.
 
That picture gives me the heeby-jeebies. Glad nothing worse happened!

I had a friend with a BMW and the driveshaft broke off the front and acted as a pole vault, throwing the entire vehicle in the air.
 
Scramble said:
I guess it cold be a rare manufacturing defect. I've never seen that happen, even to people who wheel their rigs hard. What kind of LC do you have? I'm looking to get a second rig. Larger than a 3rd gen T4R.
Click to expand...

I have a 100 series. Did a 96 tacoma, 05 Tacoma, 2003 4runner sport, 2005 4runner sport again, then the 100 series and I finally found just the right fit. It's by far the best truck I've owned.
 

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Ramathorn15 said:
I have a 100 series. Did a 96 tacoma, 05 Tacoma, 2003 4runner sport, 2005 4runner sport again, then the 100 series and I finally found just the right fit. It's by far the best truck I've owned.
Click to expand...
Very Nice, thats what I've been looking at and the Sequoia. I just need a dog hauler & an 8cyl to tow my boats & T4R to the trails. I love the 80 series but the 6cly is a turn off. Wish the 100 had a SFA. I might get an 8cyl 4th gen or GX too. Most of it depends on price. condition & rust.
 
So it turns out we found a new version of transfer case. The shift pattern is not the J, but it looks exactly like a J shift case. The only difference, it's about 1" longer than the J case making the rear shaft too long and the front shaft too short.

I'm going to have to find a J case now. I can't seem to find any out of a truck with a 5-speed. Anyone know for sure if the J case matched to the auto is the same as the 5speed?

This is really starting to turn into a fiasco. Only cases I can find are on eBay and they all say auto trans and only show the photo of the wrecked truck. Wish I could find one locally.
 
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For any future searchers. It seems the tcase from the 3.4 5speed transmission is unique to that setup. So when finding a donor, it has to come from the same 3.4 5speed setup.

Also, there is a JDM AWD transfercase that looks identical to the J shift case. I believe it must have come from an AWD helux.

You can see the awd case on the left. It's just a couple inches longer than the J case.

Hope this helps someone!

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Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk
 
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