Hello. Great site. I have a 2001 tacoma 4x4 trd. The rear locker is stuck in the locked position. I DO NOT have the grey wire mod. Both rear tires spin on the ground and on the jack. It binds when making turns. It is stuck even in 2wd. I put it in 4 low and pressed the locker switch but the light flashes. I drive left and right and still the same. I can hear the rear actuator moving but it is still stuck. Can i disengage this without removing the actuator. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Maybe disconnect the battery for a while, then retry it.

 

check this site http://carterswebsite.com/4runner/mods/locker/

you can do it wiht some wire and a battery

 

Removing the actuator only requires taking 3 bolts out and it's extremely easy to access. It's also probably the best way to troubleshoot your problem. What you need to do is take the actuator out and then while you are holding it have someone hit the lock/unlock switch and see if the gear turns on it. If it does then it is a mechanical bind in your diff... If it doesn't turn - then it's a short in the wiring or a bad actuator. If you still aren't sure what it is... then take a long screwdriver and try to toggle the fork's arm to the unlock position.. If it won't budge with the rear tires off the ground then there's some kind of bind.

You mentioned the gray wire mod - so I'm guessing this is a factory installed e-locker?

Another thing you could try is lift the rear tires off the ground completely and switch it to the unlock position and then have one person on one tire and someone on the opposite tire... each try to turn in opposite directions rapidly to unbind it.


EDIT: Ok I just re-read and noticed you said you can hear the actuator try to disengage. Still.. the motor could be stripped though. Most likely there is a mechanical bind and you should try to disengage it with the rear tires off the ground and jerk each tire around until it disengages.

 

Thanks for the info. I removed the actuator and moved the actuator arm to unlock it. I did this alone on a icy driveway and i will wait for the warm weather to start trouble shooting the problem. I found a excellent website www.worldpath.net/~thompson
with a detailed write up and pics.