I have an 08 Tacoma that has been doing this same thing since day one. I have found that driving around in 4 low for a bit does eventually work but, not always. As was pointed out earlier that doesn't help you at all when you want it because your stuck. Which by the way is the only time my little toyota sticker on the door says you are supposed to be using it. It kinda defeats the purpose if it doesn't engage for you when you really need it. I'll try using it a bit more often and see if it doesn't start to engage quicker.

 

if its an 08, take it back and get it fixed immediately! do it before your warranty is expired. It shouldn't be having any problems and should engage instantly. The lockers in question in this thread are 10+ years old for the most part, not brand new..

You don't wanna know what a new one costs, so get it fixed for free. and the sticker is for idiots that don't know what it really is or how to use it, you can use it whenever you want haha.

 

Donno, if I see something where there is a possibility of getting stuck, I throw it on.

I think its in part of the drivers responsibility and not relying solely on the truck of trying to get you out where you put it.

Someone also mentioned they felt no increase in power when engaging the locker? You wont feel anything besides the resistance trying to do turns, and hearing your inside wheel skid while turning.

 

I am the same way. I'd rather use it to prevent getting stuck than wait until I get stuck to try it. I had the thought about the dealer and I am going to go in and get it fixed. And just to clarify I was joking about the little sticker. That is just proof that there are too many people that never actually use their toyota offroad and bought the package for the looks. Not that there is anything wrong with that. They are good lookin' trucks!

 

haha, I didn't mean you were an idiot by reading the sticker, I meant what SC4Runner meant, that there are too many idiots out there to not put a sticker like that on the door. And I agree with both of you guys. I engage the locker long before I get myself into a mess... it's nonsense to only use it once you're in a mess if having it engaged in the first place would prevent such an incident.

 

I am going to the dealer on Wed. to have it looked at. I played with it a bit tonight and it will engage if I drive slow and turn from side to side. A lot of luck I would have had if I would have waited until I got stuck.

 

that is normal. go find some dirt and engage and disengage that thing 20 times. sometimes it will go with a loud KLANG! and sometimes silent. it is all good. just don't hammer on it, engage it at 2mph not spinning the wheels. all it needs is usage.

it'll get better. save your loot, dealer will just say they found nothing wrong.

 

Just got it back from the dealer. Earlier than expected. They solved my other warranty issues great. As for the locker question, I was told that one wheel needs to actually slip a bit before it will engage. Hence being on dry pavement going straight to test it didn't work but, give the wheel a little turn and roll forward and it drops right in. So problem solved. Actually there was no problem. Thanks for your help and I'm sorry I hijacked this thread.

 

tsk tsk.... they have to do warrenty work on an 08... what is this, General Motors?

 

They actually fixed something that wasn't their fault. I went in because my blower motor was ticking and they found leaves in the there. Cleaned 'em out for me at no charge. So it definately isn't GM. I had 3 chevys prior to this and I guarentee you they'd have charged me.

 

well I am glad to hear that! Toyota has a few Quality Control issues they need to correct. I guess you could call them growing pains from their mega-rapid expansion, but still, it needs to be fixed, and now. The biggest issues in recent times has been with the 2nd gen Tundra's. I hope that Toyota is back on the path to the unparalleled quality that made Toyota what it is today.

 

My e-Locker light would also blink and no amount of going back and forth would get it to go steady. I jacked up the rear wheels and determined that the axle was locked. Trouble shooting the electrical, I found the switch that sits on the top of the e-locker to be bad. Interestingly that switch looked like the back-up light switch on a manual transmission I had replaced a couple of weeks earlier. I took out the back-up light switch and put it in the locker and presto a steady e-locker light. I then ordered another back-up light switch from NAPA, I know it's not Toyota, but it's a long drive to the dealer and the price was right from NAPA < $30. I don't know if Toyota got a bad lot of switches, but to have two of them go out would indicate to me that there is a problem with that switch.

 

I did the Grey wire mod (blue/red wire) today. i can year the motor trying to engage, but the locker still won't engage. I took it out and did figure eights fast and slow, tried driving forward and back and got it stuck so the back wheel was spinning and nothing worked. I am going to take the e-locker motor off and see if I can figure out what the heck is going on in there.

 

so my light was blinking ever since i got my 4runner. so today i wanted to figure it out. first i noticed a nice crack in the caseing, then after pulling the thing out.. it has a huge hole in it. so its pretty much junk. luckily i had an extra.

 

Holy crap! That is your actuator motor?? I don't think that is what is fragged on mine because I can hear it wirr when I hit the button and the motor is off. Guess I will find out tomorrow when I pull it off.

 

i was so shocked. somehow the metal just ate away. damn salty roads. yea best thing would be take it out. hopefully it comes out easy!

 

If these locking diffs are anything like the fj80's then a pretty common problem is water getting into the gear drives and causing them to bind. Really the best best is to take off the actuator and clean it up inside and out. And to an earlier post that "grinding gear" noise could have been the locker actuator fork not fully extending and causing the locker gear in the diff to only partially engage...bad news

 

I took mine apart on the weekend, and the big main gear was really stiff. I loosened it up, put it back together and it still didn't work. Then I pulled the motor cap off and cleaned the contacts. I used paperclips to hold the magnets so I could reinstall the wound part. After I put it all back together it would move, but only a very little bit.

I am wondering if it is possible I need to clock the big gear one way or the other when I reassemble the actuator to increase the load on the springs? It is very frustrating. I went wheeling that day and slid off the path into a water filled ditch. I was trying to get into position to pull a guy in a jeep out for the second time that day. I was going too fast, but I didn't want to get stuck.

Here is some video for your viewing pleasure. It is my Wifes DD and we were taking it out for the inaugural voyage to test out the new lift and tires.

http://s682.photobucket.com/albums/v...t=MVI_5966.flv
http://s682.photobucket.com/albums/v...extraction.flv

 

I don't think a locker would have helped you much there...

was the interior wet? that thing looked pretty close to flopping on its side haha... you got lucky.

 

damn. i'd start lookin for a new e-locker motor. nice videos. seeing that dog jump accross the water was wicked funny