200/LX570: T-Case Actuators - Anyone replaced?

[cruiseroutfit]

I've seen some threads and have had a bit of local experience but I've not had much call for the actuators. We have the opportunity to buy these out of Japan from the OE supplier (AISIN) and was wondering what if any market there has been or will be for them.

Anyone replaced yet?

 

[GoISU]

I had to replace the front differential actuator on my 2007 FJ. I’m sure that’s of no help whatsoever but it did look a lot like the one pictured above.

 

[Malleus]

Based on the lack of reliable operation mine has given me, I'd say yes. I have anecdotal wisdom that the problem is the grease used to lubricate the mechanism, but if I tear it open, I'm replacing everything I can get my hands on.

The only reason I haven't done it yet is that my 80s are keeping me busy at the moment.

 

[studawg]

Personally, I don't see a market for them for 2 reasons. One, because I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with them. After my recent experience it seems it is just as Malleus says above and what Trollhole suggested. Its just the hardened grease and lack of use. When mine initially jammed, I had just started the car and nothing was warmed up. I speculate that if I had been driving it for a while and then tried it, it may have never even jammed at all. The second reason I don't think there will be any particular demand for them is because they can't be removed from the T-case separately. T-case has to be dropped and split open. So its not like people are going to just buy a new one and slap it on there if theirs fails. They are most likely going to send it to some random transmission or repair shop, and if they in turn diagnose it to be the actuator, rightly or wrongly, the shop is just going to order one from the closest Toyota/Lexus dealer.

That's just my limited experience and take on the subject.

 

[OregonLC]

Kurt, are those replaceable externally? The diagram makes it look like there are set screws on the forks that would be internal to the case? Or do those shafts not come as part of the actuator assembly?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Personally, I don't see a market for them for 2 reasons. One, because I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with them. After my recent experience it seems it is just as Malleus says above and what Trollhole suggested. Its just the hardened grease and lack of use. When mine initially jammed, I had just started the car and nothing was warmed up. I speculate that if I had been driving it for a while and then tried it, it may have never even jammed at all. The second reason I don't think there will be any particular demand for them is because they can't be removed from the T-case separately. T-case has to be dropped and split open. So its not like people are going to just buy a new one and slap it on there if theirs fails. They are most likely going to send it to some random transmission or repair shop, and if they in turn diagnose it to be the actuator, rightly or wrongly, the shop is just going to order one from the closest Toyota/Lexus dealer.

That's just my limited experience and take on the subject.

Great thoughts hence my reservation to order a bunch up

The fact AISIN is making them available leads me to believe they are seeing high quantities ordered by Toyota, I don't know that for a fact but AISIN makes a plethora of products and only aftermarkets 5-10% of them, generally all higher volume movement parts. Fwiw, we sell to as many shops as DIY guys so I'm more wondering if there a need not so much a market on Mud if that makes sense.

That said they also recently released just the door lock actuators for the LH and RH lower tailgate and I can't imaging much need for those.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Kurt, are those replaceable externally? The diagram makes it look like there are set screws on the forks that would be internal to the case? Or do those shafts not come as part of the actuator assembly?

Very internal

 

[KenB]

Looks just like at least one of the two actuators I took off my 2001 Tundra two winters ago, disassembled, and cleaned internally. They were inoperable and full of hard grease and corrosion. Technically the whole case was supposed to come down and get split to change the actuator at a cost of over $3K. If you’re careful to keep all the guts in time (not easy) you can disassemble most of it in place and remove everything except the rods and internal forks that stay inside the case. I can see why Toyota wouldn’t service them like I did, but I had nothing to lose by trying it. I would have probably bought a new one at the time if the price was reasonable. I’m surprised I got the electronic wiper switches inside to work again as bad as they were corroded.

 

[studawg]

Looks just like at least one of the two actuators I took off my 2001 Tundra two winters ago, disassembled, and cleaned internally. They were inoperable and full of hard grease and corrosion. Technically the whole case was supposed to come down and get split to change the actuator at a cost of over $3K. If you’re careful to keep all the guts in time (not easy) you can disassemble most of it in place and remove everything except the rods and internal forks that stay inside the case. I can see why Toyota wouldn’t service them like I did, but I had nothing to lose by trying it. I would have probably bought a new one at the time if the price was reasonable. I’m surprised I got the electronic wiper switches inside to work again as bad as they were corroded.

Interesting, I wondered about this. TIS says explicitly that the actuator can not be disassembled. I came across a thread on here I think where a Russian guy was trying to do it. The reason you can't apparently, is that if you unscrew the screws on the plastic housing actuator itself, that the gears in there are lined up in such a way that once they come out, it would be impossible to get them back in correctly. The conclusion of his thread was on some other forum, in RUSSIAN, so I don't know how that turned out. I'd say its worth finding out of the LC200 actuators are the same used on that Tundra you had.

 

[Malleus]

Interesting, I wondered about this. TIS says explicitly that the actuator can not be disassembled. I came across a thread on here I think where a Russian guy was trying to do it. The reason you can't apparently, is that if you unscrew the screws on the plastic housing actuator itself, that the gears in there are lined up in such a way that once they come out, it would be impossible to get them back in correctly. The conclusion of his thread was on some other forum, in RUSSIAN, so I don't know how that turned out. I'd say its worth finding out of the LC200 actuators are the same used on that Tundra you had.

Cannot be, or should not be? I haven't read that yet.

 

[studawg]

Cannot be...

 

[bjowett]

The actuator can be disassembled... the tricky part is clocking the gears to the shafts so the shift fork is in the proper position relative to where the actuator expects it to be. I spent hours figuring out how to fool the LC AWD t case and actuator to work in place of the part time Tundra case. It takes the swapping of internals, measuring shaft protrusion, and then inserting the gear at the proper angle/point. An external swap could happen, but we would need to break the case down and measure how far the shafts protrude at their various drive modes. Then, make the info available.