prado stuck in 2WD

Hi there cisco18, On the transfer lever please excuse me if I'm wrong because I know they did a series two around the 2000 mark, but if its the same as mine I have on my transfer lever starting at the bottom, 4H, 4HL, 4LL, I think on the series 2 they just have high, low then a button on the dash to lock in the centre diff giving 50/50 front & back. Is it Auto ? I know mine will move from 4H to 4HL on the go, from 4HL to 4LL I must be in neutral and stopped. Do you have the little orange light on the dash still lit up or did that go off when you last moved it from 4HL back to 4H?? I dont know alot about the prados as I have only had myn a few weeks and yet to take off road but I can ring my mate and see if he has had any issues at work with them as he works for Toyota and may be able to give me some info to pass on if he has heard of the problem before. Regards Steve

Might have a little rock got up in there and jamming it , I had a Rocky 1993 model and the little vacuum thingy that sucked into 4x4 got mud in it ,Motorama in Moorooka charged $360 to fit 2 new ones and all that was needed was to pull them apart and clean them , lazy Ba$ta*ds

If this is an inherrent problem/fault, why not check with the Prado Owners Forum, someone there should be able to advise you of a fix/remedy. Aust 4WD Forum

Hi cisco18

I had a similiar problem on fraser in my 99 prado RV6 (Manual). After 2 weeks of driving around in 4H and 4HL i could not get the transfer case to shift into 4LL when i needed to recover another 4wd. The Answer is simple, smack it into place as hard as you can. I know this sounds stupid, but honestly it worked. The guy i was recovering said he had seen it happen before and just to jerk it into place as hard as i could. Now i am telling you if it was as tight as mine was you will practically have to kick it in place, i was waiting to hear a snap.. Good luck!

Hi there cisco18, rang my mate and has not heard of this problem before. He said as the transfer lever goes directly into box there would be nothing caught up externally. I told him you have tried to move it on the go, stop, reverse etc, and has made no difference you still cant move it. I also told him from one of the replys above about shoving/forcing etc and he said dont put to much extreme pressure on it. He said as you would no that it should move in without such sort of pressure. He said there must be some thing internally jamming it up. His wory is that if you do put too much pressure on it and it does go forward that you wont be able to pull it back into 4h you might possibly be stuck in 4HL or 4LL. I told him you had been out previous weekend and had no issues untill now. He said some times the only issue they have had is where some one has owned vehicle and never used it in 4HL or 4LL and the transfer lever will move but it wont lock centre diff lock as they are vacuum operated and get sticky from not being used that is the only trouble he has ever had. All he said you can do is to try what you have already tried a few more times either idling along or stopped or poosibly in reverse and see whether it releases for you other wise it will be a mechanics job. He said if you know some one that can do it for you or some one other than Toyota cause all they will do is pull it out and send it to a gearbox place anyway and you will pay more for Toyota's labour then if you took it direct to some one else. He is going to ring another mate of his that works for Toyota some where up Queensland way and see if he has heard of the problem before, maybe with more beaches and things more people use them up there than the local shopping trolleys around here. He will ring me back later this arvo and I wil get back to you hopefully with sme more info. Regards Steve M

Hi cisco,
The problem is not too serious. It tends to happen after a prolonged period of time when driving in lock. It is though to be heat / tolerence related. I had the problem happen to mine some time ago.

What has happened is that the selector ring under the transfer lever has rotated and the transfer lever is not able to slide in the slot to push it forward to the HL N and LL positions.

To fix you will need to remove the console around the transfer lever and take the retaining cover of the transfer mount.

This will give you access to the selector ring. You will need to rotate it by hand (well by screw driver) so that the notch where the transfer lever lines up.

If these seems too hard, a mechanic who is familiar with Prados should be able fix.

Cheers,
Mal

mate,

Had a similar problem with my 98 petrol crossing the Simpson. There is a spring located on top of the transfer case that locates the selection lever in position. At times this spring can become dislodged from its locating holes, the result is that the lever locks solid in whatever position it was in. Pull the console apart then remove the top plate of the transfer case. You will then see the spring - remove it and reassemble - your problems are now fixed. The spring is designed to allow the transfer from 2wd to 4wd in motion, you are now restricted to changing when you are stationary. BUT all you problems are fixed,

Cheers,

Mark

Hi there cisco, just wondering how you went with the problem with the prado. Did you end up getting the transfer leaver to move and if so what was the issue ?? Regards Steve M

Hi there cisco, glad you fixed the problem. Hnady thing to know incase I have the same problem at least it will give me an idea what to look for. Good outcome and a cheap one at that. Regards Steve M