Beat em down, on price. Pay em. Post pictures.
Trying to decide between two rigs and going in circles (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter kcjaz
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- decision mileage rigs vehicle tech
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xeuxaz
SILVER Star
In for pictures, 30k seems like a very fair deal.
Worst case the dealer cost to drop the transfer case and swap a new actuator in is $2600. Really a new set of Aisin actuator motors is only $600 plus the labor to remove and replace them, and they are likely the issue with 4Lo/CDL anyway.
Seems like a great deal.
There’s really nothing to the actuator itself, it’s just a pair of rods with a C clip retaining them. So long as the rods move and aren’t bent any issues are with the motors.
I think the worst worst case is a new transfer case, which is about $4k plus a few hours of labor. But that’s highly unlikely, as what you experienced with engagement is what most people see - the actuator motor struggles to turn or stops in the wrong position and the system flashes the CDL because the position isn’t perfect.
It’s very very likely pulling the actuator motors, cleaning the contacts, spraying cleaner in the little motors, and then reapplying dielectric grease will fix them. If I was pulling them from a vehicle with 175k I’d just opt to swap in new Aisin motors since they wouldn’t require cleaning and are relatively cheap and should get you a long time without issues. But $600 buys a lot of dielectric grease and electronics cleaner I suppose. The biggest hassle is clocking the motors and dropping them into place correctly. Pretty sure I could do the R&R in an hour or two now. Just don’t fiddle with the little contact switch in the CDL motor if you choose to clean them - that’s what got me into trouble.
And I’ll check the FSM but to my knowledge no the actuator can only be tested once it’s been removed from the transfer case - doing so while it’s installed can break it.
Details about my transfer case tune up are in this thread starting a few posts back.
forum.ih8mud.com
Summary: Don’t touch the microswitch, make sure the truck is in neutral, push both actuator rods all the way in (should be how they are already if you’re in 4Hi and CDL disengaged), and when you reassemble use a putty knife or paint scraper to hold the CDL motor together when dropping it into place.
I failed, then gave up after a few attempts as I needed the truck. I’m 99% sure I could do this job correctly now. I’m probably overconfident but still I don’t think this is significantly more difficult than changing brake pads or transmission fluid, per se. And if your CDL is sketchy I’d still recommend just buying an Aisin actuator and reusing the motors from it.
Transfer Case Tuneup and Fix
Well after 5 attempts i gave up. If anyone knows WTF might be wrong please let me know. (Paging @bloc, @TeCKis300, et al). The actuator road won’t move in or out, and I don’t know how far is “fully inserted” but I can see all the teeth plus a bit of smooth rod so I’m assuming it’s all the way...
forum.ih8mud.com
Summary: Don’t touch the microswitch, make sure the truck is in neutral, push both actuator rods all the way in (should be how they are already if you’re in 4Hi and CDL disengaged), and when you reassemble use a putty knife or paint scraper to hold the CDL motor together when dropping it into place.
I failed, then gave up after a few attempts as I needed the truck. I’m 99% sure I could do this job correctly now. I’m probably overconfident but still I don’t think this is significantly more difficult than changing brake pads or transmission fluid, per se. And if your CDL is sketchy I’d still recommend just buying an Aisin actuator and reusing the motors from it.
kcjaz
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #48
Now you have spooked me with an 11 page 218 post thread on the topic. This doesn't sound as simple as I was hoping for.Details about my transfer case tune up are in this thread starting a few posts back.
Transfer Case Tuneup and Fix
Well after 5 attempts i gave up. If anyone knows WTF might be wrong please let me know. (Paging @bloc, @TeCKis300, et al). The actuator road won’t move in or out, and I don’t know how far is “fully inserted” but I can see all the teeth plus a bit of smooth rod so I’m assuming it’s all the way...
Summary: Don’t touch the microswitch, make sure the truck is in neutral, push both actuator rods all the way in (should be how they are already if you’re in 4Hi and CDL disengaged), and when you reassemble use a putty knife or paint scraper to hold the CDL motor together when dropping it into place.
I failed, then gave up after a few attempts as I needed the truck. I’m 99% sure I could do this job correctly now. I’m probably overconfident but still I don’t think this is significantly more difficult than changing brake pads or transmission fluid, per se. And if your CDL is sketchy I’d still recommend just buying an Aisin actuator and reusing the motors from it.
It’s not hard. I just suck. I wasn’t careful, then I was pressed for time to get it back up and running and kinda just gave up and decided driveable was good enough. I knew at the end what I likely needed to do to get myself back on track but at that point I didn’t have another free day to attempt it. Don’t let my screwup deter you from buying the rig, I’m pretty confident you can do this. As I said it’s really not any harder than changing brakes, other than you’re under the truck on your back instead of next to it
If you buy the rig and need help I’ll find the actual instructions that are posted for ya.
Yeah I haven’t spent near that much in maintenance on my 455k mile 100 over the 25 years I’ve owned it and 100s are much more expensive to maintain in general than 200s.
Previous service is key. Oil changes.....
kcjaz
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #53
Well, trying to work out logistics with the seller as her replacement SUV hasn't been delivered yet and she needs a DD. A little wrinkle has arisen with the dealer she is buying her new SUV from offering her $31K for the 200 after I thought we had an agreed to deal at $30K. Annoying for sure but probably not worth walking away over.
I have also been able to get more detailed service history from Toyota how ever here is only one record of changing the transfer case oil and that was by the first owner at 30K miles so potentially no transfer case oil changes in 140 miles. No records of any transmissions service either. Oil and general service done every 5K miles and overall the rig seems cared for pretty well, so kind of weird if the transfer oil was never changed. I would think the dealer would push the recommended service and the sell struck me as someone who would do whatever the dealer said to do. So kind of annoyed at the the $1000K price increase and now not seeing what I want to see in the service records.
As I mentioned above, I could swap my transfer/tranny with the new rig. I wasn't really serious but now I am kina thinking about it. I wouldn't think swapping the transfer case would be that hard. Not sure how hard pulling an automatic trans is. Pulling the manual from my Fj60 was pretty easy. If I could do it myself in a few weekends, maybe it would be worth it.
I have also been able to get more detailed service history from Toyota how ever here is only one record of changing the transfer case oil and that was by the first owner at 30K miles so potentially no transfer case oil changes in 140 miles. No records of any transmissions service either. Oil and general service done every 5K miles and overall the rig seems cared for pretty well, so kind of weird if the transfer oil was never changed. I would think the dealer would push the recommended service and the sell struck me as someone who would do whatever the dealer said to do. So kind of annoyed at the the $1000K price increase and now not seeing what I want to see in the service records.
As I mentioned above, I could swap my transfer/tranny with the new rig. I wasn't really serious but now I am kina thinking about it. I wouldn't think swapping the transfer case would be that hard. Not sure how hard pulling an automatic trans is. Pulling the manual from my Fj60 was pretty easy. If I could do it myself in a few weekends, maybe it would be worth it.
bloc
SILVER Star
Pull the transfer oil and send off for UOA.. same for transmission really.
bloc
SILVER Star
Swap in your stuff.
Transfer case can be swapped in a couple hours, I think. Dealer charged 5 hours of labor to drop mine, open it, replace the actuator, and put everything back. (Dealer wouldn’t just R&R the CDL motor, sadly)
No idea on the transmission. That feels a bit more involved to me as there are oil cooler lines and the torque converter isn’t exactly sealed in the transmission.
I agree on the UOA. If she didn’t do any towing or hard driving it’s probably fine to just change the A/T fluid and continue on. The transmission is designed to go 300k+ under normal usage.
molanginaeda
SILVER Star
If you don't buy it, pass the info. I'll fly over, paid cash and drive it back to NE.
That's a good price for 2015.
bloc
SILVER Star
This form of cancer is 100% preventable!I'd hate to sentence a rust free TX truck to a life in the NE.
