OK, little history on this here issue.

I went out on the Spring MEGARUN, and blew a seal in my transmission, took it to garage they dropped the tranny and replaced it, had to go back a second time because it didn't seal properly.

Today is the first time I actually tried to go fishing and needed my 4WD to work due to the mud by the river... 4WD will not engage and light does not come on either.
I can put the shifter into 4H or 4L, but my light won't come on and it won't engage. Checked the fuse under the dash and that's fine.
Anyone have any ideas as to what the heck is going on?

I'm at a loss and my garage guys i'm beginning to think are idiots!

One thing to note, sometimes the J shifter has an issue coming back into 2WD.

2001 Tacoma automatic V6, 3.4L

 

Why did you wait so long to check the 4x4 operation??

I would look for a plug not plugged in or damaged wires or plugs.

I am not a Big Auto person so I would just be guessing from here.

 

^^ this. Auto or manual transmission, it's still a transfer case.
Which seal went out in your transmission?

 

it's a 2001 Tacoma automatic V6, 3.4L, J shifter for 4wd.
I waited cuz i didn't go offroading until i needed to, I figured the guys at the garage fixed it correctly.
As to which seal, it a round plastic seal about 3-4 inches in diameter that sits between the engine and the transmission, can only be accessed by removing the tranny.

 

It's possible they put the transfer case shifter in improperly.
I'd also agree to check for connections not plugged in under the truck on the transfercase.

Try this: put it in 4wd and try spinning the front driveshaft. Does it spin? If it doesn't, then that would mean the case is locking in 4wd.
If it does, the case isn't locking in.

Once the case is in 4wd, try spinning the passenger side CV (the wheel will have to be in the air). If it does spin, that would mean the actuator isn't engaging for whatever reason.
If that's the case, there's probably a failed electrical connection between the transfercase and the harness.

 

Ok, when its in 2wd the front driveshaft freewheels, when its in 4wd it doesnt turn, so its locked in just not engaging. I also noticed that my A/T P light comes on when i put it in neutral on the 4wd j shifter. Never seen this light cone on before ever. Doesnt matter if it in drive or park.

 

Sounds like some of the connections under the truck are fubar'd and not letting the ADD actuator on the front diff do it's magic.

 

Thanks for the help, my problem is resolved. It was an electrical connector on the bottom of the tranny that went to the actuator motor that the garage forgot to connect.

 

Shame on you for not making sure it was all good before you paid for any work.

In most cases once the invoice is paid your pretty much out of luck or put on the back burner.

Some lessons are more expensive to learn you got off cheap!!

 

Well not that I got off cheap but the garage owner is a personal friend of mine. All the work was done under the table, so no invoice and no taxes.

It's just that he normally doesn't work on 4x4's unless they are friends.
The original seal issue only cost me $600.00. If I had taken that to Toyota or somewhere else it would have been 3 times that amount.

But thanks for your input.

 

That is a different story happens when the whole story is not told.

Well we all know why some things were forgotten it is easy to do when your not used to working on 4x4 vehicles .

Owning these trucks gets very expensive if one needs to pay for all the work done.