4 wheel drive will not disengage and i never put in in to begin with

[Goodcruisin]

I've owned this truck for a bit over 2 years now.... I've noticed on occasion the 4high/4low light would flash on for a second at slow speeds, never thought much about it until a few months ago.
All of a sudden i would take a corner and the rear end sounded like it was going to explode.
brought it to a friend who is a mechanic and he told me it was in 4 wheel drive and we couldn't get it out. He told me to pull the drive line so i did. problem solved.
I have never put this into 4 wheel drive so I'm wondering why it did this. since i pulled the front drive line, I've noticed the 4high/low light flash on a lot more.
Is there anything i can do without taking it to a shop? I don't need the 4 wheel part but it's nice to know i had it.
2002 explorer ltd 6 cyl

 

[Mbrooks420]

Does the 2002 have a 2wd only setting? Abs light on?

 

[Goodcruisin]

It's 4wheel auto... Always in 2 wheel but will sense a tire slipping and automatically engages 4 wheel drive....unless I put it in neutral and manually do it.
Now that you mention it.... Yes... The abs light has been on since before I bought it.... Not sure I've own a vehicle that didn't have that light on lol

 

[boominXplorer]

I had a 2003 that did this before. You need a decent scanner to pull the 4wd codes. In my case it was the rear speed sensor on the transfer case, not an abs sensor.

 

[Goodcruisin]

Yeah....The Mechanic buddy was a Ford mechanic and he said he needed a Ford scanner to see what code it was throwing.

 

[jk7294]

I've owned this truck for a bit over 2 years now.... I've noticed on occasion the 4high/4low light would flash on for a second at slow speeds, never thought much about it until a few months ago.
All of a sudden i would take a corner and the rear end sounded like it was going to explode.
brought it to a friend who is a mechanic and he told me it was in 4 wheel drive and we couldn't get it out. He told me to pull the drive line so i did. problem solved.
I have never put this into 4 wheel drive so I'm wondering why it did this. since i pulled the front drive line, I've noticed the 4high/low light flash on a lot more.
Is there anything i can do without taking it to a shop? I don't need the 4 wheel part but it's nice to know i had it.
2002 explorer ltd 6 cyl

My 2002 started doing the same a few years back. I have been told that it is the 2 speed sensors on the transfer case. I wasn't too bad until recently. Being a bit short on cash and not wanting the drivetrain to eat itself up I disconnected the main wiring harness at the transfer case shift solenoid motor ( think that is what it is called). It stopped the transfer case from locking in when it sensed a speed difference between the front and rear driveshafts. It has not locked up since.

 

[boominXplorer]

Yes there are 2 speed sensors on the transfer case. They are the same sensor but one of them has about 3" longer wires. To swap them out you have to remove the pins from the main plug since they don't have their own plug. Napa does carry one of the sensors for about $60, it is the one with the shorter wires though.

 

[Goodcruisin]

My 2002 started doing the same a few years back. I have been told that it is the 2 speed sensors on the transfer case. I wasn't too bad until recently. Being a bit short on cash and not wanting the drivetrain to eat itself up I disconnected the main wiring harness at the transfer case shift solenoid motor ( think that is what it is called). It stopped the transfer case from locking in when it sensed a speed difference between the front and rear driveshafts. It has not locked up since.

I can see how that would stop it from trying to put itself into 4 wheel.... Are you still able to shift into it manually from the daah?

 

[drdoom]

I had a 2003 that did this before. You need a decent scanner to pull the 4wd codes. In my case it was the rear speed sensor on the transfer case, not an abs sensor.

Yes sir, one of my Explorers was putting itself into 4wd, I ended up hooking up my laptop and ForScan program. I read the live data while driving (not on a public road), and the rear sensor was showing 0.0mph. I replaced it and all is good now.

 

[Goodcruisin]

Yes sir, one of my Explorers was putting itself into 4wd, I ended up hooking up my laptop and ForScan program. I read the live data while driving (not on a public road), and the rear sensor was showing 0.0mph. I replaced it and all is good now.

and how much are these sensors?

 

[drdoom]

and how much are these sensors?

I paid $80USD shipped for one sensor, but that was from a dealer. So yeah no way I was paying for that until I probed it with a multimeter and read the data stream on ForScan. You can disconnect the harness connector right there and check the resistance.

 

[drdoom]

Yeah....The Mechanic buddy was a Ford mechanic and he said he needed a Ford scanner to see what code it was throwing.

That is good advice, the very first thing you should do is get the code(s).