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4wd Actuator

jrsavoie said:
It's an upgrade!!
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It's a PITA. I have a brand new reman transfer case, proven to have been working. My mechanic could not get the new encoder motor to work, so he threw the old one back in and that one was already not working on 4 LO. It's a f'n electrical part problem, not a transfer case problem. This is not some build thread for all of you to enjoy from behind your keyboards.
 
An ATT is not stock, but surely improved your suburban. This is the same. And I haven’t checked pricing in last couple years but the kit from B&M transmission (not some fly by night) was same price as new unit last time I put one in.

The idea of a push button is nice, but real world functionality proves the cable better.
Many people experienced the failure commonly in snow- so associated it to the cold. I disagree. It happened all the time here in Vegas also. I think those people simple used 4wd in snow frequently so that is when they happen to have the failure.

Your truck, money, desires. I just offer suggestions. One of which is get inside by a fire! Haha

@jrsavoie
Yes the auto selected awd t case systems wear out sooner. Like the push button 4wd, it is a source of convince. My wife isn’t familiar with when to use 2/4h/4l so when she drove through snow, muddy trails, etc she pushed the magic button and just played with throttle/brake. Both are added expense in the name of convenience.
 
Will L. said:
An ATT is not stock, but surely improved your suburban. This is the same. And I haven’t checked pricing in last couple years but the kit from B&M transmission (not some fly by night) was same price as new unit last time I put one in.

The idea of a push button is nice, but real world functionality proves the cable better.
Many people experienced the failure commonly in snow- so associated it to the cold. I disagree. It happened all the time here in Vegas also. I think those people simple used 4wd in snow frequently so that is when they happen to have the failure.

Your truck, money, desires. I just offer suggestions. One of which is get inside by a fire! Haha

@jrsavoie
Yes the auto selected awd t case systems wear out sooner. Like the push button 4wd, it is a source of convince. My wife isn’t familiar with when to use 2/4h/4l so when she drove through snow, muddy trails, etc she pushed the magic button and just played with throttle/brake. Both are added expense in the name of convenience.
Click to expand...
Most of my experience was around farmers running in auto and tearing stuff up in short order.
I had enough issues with push button stuff that the dependability of the old cable stuff definitely appeals to me.
The times that stick in my mind were below zero and snow involved.

There were other times, but they don't stick out quite as much.

The 98 Suburban would never lock in unless it moved. So if you got stuck and it wouldn't rock at all, you stayed stuck.
I got stuck in Minnesota in a 1/4" of snow covered ice. If I had already been in 4wd, I'd have been fine. Luckily I was able to call someone not terrible far away. He pulled me maybe 5" and the 4x4 locked in.
I would never consider going mechanical anything but an upgrade.
 
Yeah, I would never go with a push button system for 4WD! I loved the 4WD actuation system on my early 80's Subarus - both on my stick and automatic equipped cars - a lever on the console that you pulled up that engaged the claw clutch and locked in the driveshaft to the rear wheels. It worked at any speed, any surface and in any direction. On my 84 turbo wagon Subaru if you pulled the lever up one more detent, it would put you into 4Lo.

When I was looking for a K2500 6.5TD Burb, I specifically did NOT want a push button 4WD actuator system because of the reliability (or lack thereof) of it. Give me mechanical lock in/selection of 4WD any day!
 
Husker6.5 said:
Yeah, I would never go with a push button system for 4WD! I loved the 4WD actuation system on my early 80's Subarus - both on my stick and automatic equipped cars - a lever on the console that you pulled up that engaged the claw clutch and locked in the driveshaft to the rear wheels. It worked at any speed, any surface and in any direction. On my 84 turbo wagon Subaru if you pulled the lever up one more detent, it would put you into 4Lo.

When I was looking for a K2500 6.5TD Burb, I specifically did NOT want a push button 4WD actuator system because of the reliability (or lack thereof) of it. Give me mechanical lock in/selection of 4WD any day!
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Great, it’s what I got and all new trucks come with push button 4WD. Mechanic should have finished the job correctly. Now I will.

Truck ain’t worth the hassle or the money to do a conversion.
 
Big T said:
Great, it’s what I got and all new trucks come with push button 4WD. Mechanic should have finished the job correctly. Now I will.

Truck ain’t worth the hassle or the money to do a conversion.
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At least not until you get stuck and it's 20 below.

Apparently I never thought it was worth the hassle Either. Or it was just one more thing that I never got to
 
jrsavoie said:
At least not until you get stuck and it's 20 below.

Apparently I never thought it was worth the hassle Either. Or it was just one more thing that I never got to
Click to expand...
It worked, save for 4 lo, for 235K miles. Then I changed the transfer case with the instruction to change the encoder motor (which I provided AC Delco New) and he could not get the encoder motor to work. I was down in SoCal while he was doing the work. Got back and received that feedback and hastily returned the AC Delco unit for a refund which they gave despite being a couple days past the drop-dead return date. I got the existing replacement Dorman unit from the canceled order from the shop in Portland, OR. Way overcharged me for a Dorman unit and said they could not return it, so I made them ship it to me. I replaced the NBSF and the TCCM in case they were the issue for no 4 Lo. I had 4Hi and AWD all summer and into fall, but that went out just prior to my foot surgery. Gets pretty tough to do the work when rehabbing the foot and rolling on the ground in snow. I may have a weather window here next week to get the job done. Meantime, the 4Runner is performing admirably and we have a new 4Runner Offroad on order.
 
Big T said:
It worked, save for 4 lo, for 235K miles. Then I changed the transfer case with the instruction to change the encoder motor (which I provided AC Delco New) and he could not get the encoder motor to work. I was down in SoCal while he was doing the work. Got back and received that feedback and hastily returned the AC Delco unit for a refund which they gave despite being a couple days past the drop-dead return date. I got the existing replacement Dorman unit from the canceled order from the shop in Portland, OR. Way overcharged me for a Dorman unit and said they could not return it, so I made them ship it to me. I replaced the NBSF and the TCCM in case they were the issue for no 4 Lo. I had 4Hi and AWD all summer and into fall, but that went out just prior to my foot surgery. Gets pretty tough to do the work when rehabbing the foot and rolling on the ground in snow. I may have a weather window here next week to get the job done. Meantime, the 4Runner is performing admirably and we have a new 4Runner Offroad on order.
Click to expand...
I'm really surprised you never had the same issues we did with the push buttons.
I hated them. It really ripped me every time somebody got stuck because they didn't engage.
At first all I knew for a fix was to change out the whole transfer case
I didn't know about the cable fix for a long time. Or maybe it wasn't available for a long time.
The 1997 gasser was the first push button we had. Then the 96 and 98.
 
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