03 4-runner Transfer case stuck in 4lo

CasterTroy

CasterTroy

Faster'N You
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Wallburg
I got a buddy who has a 2003 4-runner that's a SR5 sport
150k miles
Electric locker
He was in the steep part of his back yard this weekend and put it in 4 lo. This was the FIRST time he's put it in 4lo in a LONG time. First time in 4wd period in over a year *his daughter has been driving it and she won't hardly drive in rain)

Now, apparently it won't come OUT of 4lo

It acts liek it goes into 4hi and 2hi by way of the lights, but the gearing tells him otherwise.

Also....it acts as if it's in 2lo rwd only o_O He will confirm when he gets home tonight by putting it up on jack stands, but he said he tried to drive it in his neighborhood to bring it up to temperature to maybe get it to come OUT of 4lo. I asked him when he turned to go down the road did it "buck" like it should when it's in 4wd on pavement. He said it did NOT. And doing donuts in the field down the road only merited rear wheels spinning.

He said that the toyota forums all say "If you don't USE 4wd you LOSE 4wd" o_O and that his only option is taking it to toyota or getting a new transfer case.

Anyone have experience with that era yota transfer cases and common fixes?
 
So I'm working entirely off of memory from my Toyota days. The front axles in those are a CAD design that is shifted via pixie input from the tcase into the 4wd confuser. With that being said the tcase is still manually shift from the top like all standard toyota cases. My guess is it's bound up some fierce and it just off the 4wd switch which unlocked the front. I never had issues in my toyota but it was always common to hear the use it or loose it. If it were me I'd put it in gear and pull on the shifter while moving the truck back and forth. If that doesn't work then I'd drop the driveshafts at the tcase and pull on the shifter and rotate the outputs. If that doesn't work then it'd probably be time to pull the case.

Edit: this only applies to the 02 and down. 03 and up were electric shift. Not nearly as easy to fix.
 
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Chris_Keziah said:
Edit: this only applies to the 02 and down. 03 and up were electric shift. Not nearly as easy to fix.
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Does it work the same? Electric motor to shift the range box and a CAD solenoid up front? If so, the CAD solenoid is probably unlocking, but the electric motor isn't shifting back to high range, so he's in 2lo. Might could pull the motor and see if it works in your hand, or see if it's spinning a shaft or something that you can put some pliers on.

Those t-case shift motors seem to be a common source of failure, no matter the manufacturer. It's old enough for it to make sense, too.
 
shawn said:
Does it work the same? Electric motor to shift the range box and a CAD solenoid up front? If so, the CAD solenoid is probably unlocking, but the electric motor isn't shifting back to high range, so he's in 2lo. Might could pull the motor and see if it works in your hand, or see if it's spinning a shaft or something that you can put some pliers on.

Those t-case shift motors seem to be a common source of failure, no matter the manufacturer. It's old enough for it to make sense, too.
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The cad works essentially the same. The cad is either all electric or electric over vacuum.

The t-case actuators are way more complex than they need to be and have to be timed correctly or they'll never work right. Most end up replacing the entire case or spending shit tons of money at the dealer. Why manufacturers didn't just use air or electric actuators for a simplistic and cost effective solution is beyond me.
 
Chris_Keziah said:
Most end up replacing the entire case or spending shit tons of money at the dealer.
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That's what David found. He exhausted 4 days researching all the Toyota forums before he called. Said most cases they ended up replacing the transfer case, or giving in and dropping stupid money at the dealer. He found a used one for $700 but feels like there HAS to be a better solution
 
Chris_Keziah said:
Why manufacturers didn't just use air or electric actuators for a simplistic and cost effective solution is beyond me.
Click to expand...

The domestic ones I've messed with are just little stepper motors or something along those lines. They spin one way, cycle through the gears, spin the other way, cycle back.

But Toyota (??)
 
On fourth gen 4runners the t case has to be opened up to remove the shifter motor. If it is the shift motor on the t case that is stuck ( extremely common) the cheapest route is to replace the entire transfer case. Did this on one i had about 4 months ago.
 
shawn said:
The domestic ones I've messed with are just little stepper motors or something along those lines. They spin one way, cycle through the gears, spin the other way, cycle back.

But Toyota (??)
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Similar, most every where I have seen that tried it hasn't worked. The largest problem is keeping the gear timing the same through 4+ reductions since you can't reprogram the set points.
 
I do remember one trick I remember reading about for 4th gen 4runners stuck in 4 wheel, or low range. It is to unplug the 4wheel control box (behind the glove box) , and start the truck a few times with it unplugged. This will supposedly reset the control box, and might make it come out of 4wheel or low range.
 
Chris_Keziah said:
Similar, most every where I have seen that tried it hasn't worked. The largest problem is keeping the gear timing the same through 4+ reductions since you can't reprogram the set points.
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This! I tried for 3 days to get the last one I worked on set correctly.
 
Bottom right - shift actuator. Sorry about the artifacts.. picture of monitor does not work well. Looks like the rails are part of the actuator. Can run off a PDF of the transfer case section and email, pm if you want it.

IMG_20190605_233455212ss.jpg
 

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Big huge thanks to @Chris_Keziah

He went by and "tapped" on it and wiggled the right things. As he was leaving David followed him out HOPING it would come out of 4lo and it DID just as he got to the top of his driveway. He can now drive it in 2wd hi range and won't put it into 4lo until he buys a MANUAL transfer case :rockon:
 
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