NEWB NEEDS HELP!!! (i searched and searched!)
 

hey guys ive got a problem thats confusing the hell out of me! ive owned 4 4runners and a toyota pickup before and this 4runner i just picked up has me stumped! first sorry i have searched the forum over and over to try to answer my question, anyway here it goes....

so i have a 1994 4x4 4runner 3.0 that i just bought knowing the 4wd doesnt work. so i did all the research, ran all new vac lines, tried a different set of VSV's , a different relay (under dash) swapped the old stuff into a good 4runner and the 4wd worked fine on it so i know that stuff is good to go. i know i have the vac lines setup properly as well (used the other 4runner as a reference) ok so i pulled off the ACC unit to make sure it wasnt stuck (i can blow into the vac line and it moves) so i checked the sleeve that the ACC unit moves, it was NOT able to be pushed twords the passenger side manually to engage the 4wd, so... we jacked up the driverside wheel off the ground and turned it and i was able to line it up and manually put the sleeve into 4WD. put it back together and the 4wd works just fine. i was able to switch it back to 2wd but NOT back to 4WD after that. so the conlusion is the sleeve is not catching on the cog (gear or whatever its called) when driving. ive tried backing up, driving around the block a few times etc.... im confused because when you roll the car backwards with the ACC unit off i could not slide the sleeve over (both sides where the sleeve meet are turning) so do i have a hub problem??? mind my ignorance but i just cant figure it out! please help!!! o ya and low works too just not getting front wheels to spin (meaning it kicks down the gear) thanks so much in advance for any help!!!

I think you need to ask a more coherent question.

maybe i was a little confusing with what i asked, sorry it was midnight when i posted ;) , my 4WD will not engage. and my above post is what i have tried!

Have you engaged the sleeve both ways by hand? I saw where you said you did it one way & it was difficult...maybe it's just gunked up? They don't use a very strong vacuum to move the actuator arm. I'd recheck the movement of each part & see if it's binding up due to corrosion or something.

yes i did engage it both ways by hand. i got some good news for me! it was the stupid vac pressure tank, it was rotted all the way through and has TONS of rust in it. the one simple thing i forgot to check ha ha! thanks for the input luckily i got it fixed cheap! thanks guys

good job!

That stupid tank was what was bad on my old lady's Trooper. I just bolted the ADD actuator into the locked position & put manual hubs on it.

funny thing is, it wasnt just the tank, also that orange and black check valve was blowing both ways instead of one, which was leaking vaccum and that line is teed into one of the lines that goes to the VSV, so i replaced both for $6 at the junkyard and its all good to go! now only if i hadnt spent 10 hours working on everything else that i thought was wrong ha ha. at least its fixed!

The same thing most of us think at one time or another. Congrats on the fix!

at least you know you shouldnt have many problems crop up with the 4x4 system now!

lee