What an annoying situation

[challenger]

So, I got my Runner back in October and have been having 4wd issues since the start. I took it to a mechanic and had the ring and pinion replaced twice (Paid once). Now they say there might be something wrong in the center differential but I have to pay their hourly wage for them to check it. (Forget about it, these morons are not touching my vehicle again)

These are the same people that were blaming the ring and pinion going out on my tires and they saw that I had put duratracs on it and said "These vehicles are not designed for offroad use, they are just like that (Pointed at a Chevy Blazer) outside." and then I got a blah blah blah lecture about not taking it offroad and how it is pointless to have duratracs on it and that they might be the cause of the on going issues I am having. What freaking morons, last time I checked there is a quite decent amount of people on here and Yotatek running way more beefed up rigs than mine and people being way harder on their vehicles than I have been so far. Not to mention all the trails are still full of snow up here right now.

I guess this is kind of a rant, but does anyone have any ideas on what to look for in a decent mechanic? I can't afford to put more money into this thing with no results

 

[SCRunner12]

Some people are idiots and you shouldn't be taking your 4runner back to them if they think it should be mall crawler. They obviously don't know anything about 4runners and I wouldn't let them work on mine.
On a side note, this reminded me of my college roommate. My mom came to town in her Previa van and we decided to drive up into the mountains. We ended up taking some dirt road back and I was fish tailing it for fun. My roommate has a 2wd 4runner and had to ask if his 4runner was able to go on that road. I literally wanted to slap him in the face considering we were in a van. Some people just don't know the amazing capabilities their vehicles have.

 

[liqourish]

It wont engage into 4wd? Most people have the actuator problem from not using it monthly. Its obvious that mechanic is a carcist.

 

[challenger]

It wont engage into 4wd? Most people have the actuator problem from not using it monthly. Its obvious that mechanic is a carcist.

What is going on with it now is that it is having trouble engaging and once you finally get it engaged there is a grinding sound coming from the center area (Or so they say) Apparently the ring and pinion did not get destroyed this time. Oh and the 4wd indicator by the speedometer is all lit up and flashing. If it is something to do with the actuator, does that make it more simple of a solution?

Yeah, that is for sure with these people. I need to find someone who works on Toyotas, its all about GM's up here.