grinding and pulling

sbpc · 03-29-2012, 02:13 PM

Hello All,
I have been having an issue with my 99 Ford Explorer. It began making grinding noises when accellerating and pulling slightly right. I put the truck in a shop and spent way too much money to not get it fixed as they replaced my front and rear diff and I still have the same problem. They ended up unplugging the transfer case motor which immediatly made all of the grinding and pulling go away. I only plugged it back in over the winter during some bad weather. Any ideas on what this problem might be? It almost seems like 4 wheel is engaging when accelerating or something. I always leave the truck in 4 wheel auto.

Thanks for any thoughts on this,
Steve

crazymind · 03-29-2012, 02:26 PM

If unplugging the shit motor worked you have it narrowed down already. Take the shirft motor off and check to see if it works. If it does sounds like the clutch in the tcase or shift fork is fobarred.

sbpc · 03-29-2012, 03:00 PM

Thanks for the fast response crazymind.
Im just wondering what could cause the shift motor to engage at all. I am probably just not understanding the shift motor and how it is suppose to work but I thought it would only be used when switching into 4 wheel High, low or auto. Thats why it seems odd to me that unlplugging it fixes the issue.

crazymind · 03-29-2012, 03:59 PM

How the the 4405 works is that when its in auto 4wd its it 2wd untilled the gem sees wheel slippage threw the ABS. When it sees the wheel slippage it'll engage a clutch in the tcase to make 4wd. If its not disenganing there is a problem with the clutch. And also that clutch is how the front drive shaft is engaged there isn't any chains to drive the front. In 4 low it uses a planetary drive for the reduction. With that I take back shift motor and say the clutch in the tcase is your best bet. That's a crash course for the 4405 so I may be wrong on some parts.

sbpc · 03-30-2012, 08:47 AM

Thanks for the info. I will remove the motor and test it.

*jremington59* · 03-30-2012, 11:11 AM

Are your tires all the same and uniform? If there's a big variance it may think a wheel is slipping and engage the 4wd.

sbpc · 03-31-2012, 01:05 PM

The tires are the same size. I do have different brands on the front vs. the rear but the same size tires.

I did end up putting a new shift motor in since the local store had one in stock rebuilt for 100 bucks. Unfortunetely that did not solve the issue.

Driving after installing the new one did present some new symtoms though. At first it did the same old thing leaving it in 4 wheel auto i could hear and feel grinding like it was in 4 wheel high. When i put it in 4 wheel high the light would come on and it would pull right pretty hard. After driving a few miles around the block in 4 wheel auto it started riding smoother however the hi low light started flashing every once in a while. Then when i would put it in 4 wheel high. no lights would turn on however it did seem to be in 4 high.

I read a couple other posts about flashing lights and tried cleaning the speed sensors and pulling the battery for a bit with no luck.

Any suggestions?

If it is in fact the transfer case clutch is that something i can pull and replace?

Thanks again.

sbpc · 04-01-2012, 01:55 PM

So the weird thing is now is on first start the grinding happens. Putting it into 4 wheel high works. Then after driving for a bit in auto the grinding stops and the lights flash. 4 Wheel high still works howerver the light does not stay on.

Once i stop the turn off the truck again the same process happens.

crazymind · 04-01-2012, 04:19 PM

The flashing lights are a code that need to get pulled and that'll help narrow the problem even more. Also if memory serves me right with no lights on in 4wd its not engaged.

cbbubby · 04-03-2012, 07:50 PM

mine is kind of doing the same thing, however i can take off and go a little ways before mine starts vibrating and what seems like it is trying to switch back and forth in and out of 4wd. i can put it in 4 high and it quits but then it starts a moaning sound. wonder what is causing it?

sbpc · 04-04-2012, 09:08 AM

I dropped it off at the local Ford dealer to have them check the codes and diagnose. I will let you know the results.

cbbubby · 04-05-2012, 03:38 AM

i bet your problem is that your shift control module is going bad. its that little black box that is installed behind the glove box. atleast thats where mine is anyway

03-29-2012, 02:13 PM	#1
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	grinding and pulling Hello All, I have been having an issue with my 99 Ford Explorer. It began making grinding noises when accellerating and pulling slightly right. I put the truck in a shop and spent way too much money to not get it fixed as they replaced my front and rear diff and I still have the same problem. They ended up unplugging the transfer case motor which immediatly made all of the grinding and pulling go away. I only plugged it back in over the winter during some bad weather. Any ideas on what this problem might be? It almost seems like 4 wheel is engaging when accelerating or something. I always leave the truck in 4 wheel auto. Thanks for any thoughts on this, Steve Last edited by sbpc; 03-29-2012 at 02:24 PM.

04-01-2012, 04:19 PM	#9
crazymind Wannabe Elite Explorer 99 mountaieer 4.0 Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 191 Vehicle Specs	The flashing lights are a code that need to get pulled and that'll help narrow the problem even more. Also if memory serves me right with no lights on in 4wd its not engaged. Last edited by crazymind; 04-01-2012 at 08:06 PM.

04-03-2012, 07:50 PM	#10
cbbubby Wannabe Elite Explorer 2003 ford explorer xlt Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 9 Vehicle Specs	same here mine is kind of doing the same thing, however i can take off and go a little ways before mine starts vibrating and what seems like it is trying to switch back and forth in and out of 4wd. i can put it in 4 high and it quits but then it starts a moaning sound. wonder what is causing it?

04-05-2012, 03:38 AM	#12
cbbubby Wannabe Elite Explorer 2003 ford explorer xlt Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 9 Vehicle Specs	shift control module i bet your problem is that your shift control module is going bad. its that little black box that is installed behind the glove box. atleast thats where mine is anyway

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03-29-2012, 02:26 PM	#2
crazymind Wannabe Elite Explorer 99 mountaieer 4.0 Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 191 Vehicle Specs	If unplugging the shit motor worked you have it narrowed down already. Take the shirft motor off and check to see if it works. If it does sounds like the clutch in the tcase or shift fork is fobarred.

03-29-2012, 03:00 PM	#3
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Thanks for the fast response crazymind. Im just wondering what could cause the shift motor to engage at all. I am probably just not understanding the shift motor and how it is suppose to work but I thought it would only be used when switching into 4 wheel High, low or auto. Thats why it seems odd to me that unlplugging it fixes the issue.

03-29-2012, 03:59 PM	#4
crazymind Wannabe Elite Explorer 99 mountaieer 4.0 Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 191 Vehicle Specs	How the the 4405 works is that when its in auto 4wd its it 2wd untilled the gem sees wheel slippage threw the ABS. When it sees the wheel slippage it'll engage a clutch in the tcase to make 4wd. If its not disenganing there is a problem with the clutch. And also that clutch is how the front drive shaft is engaged there isn't any chains to drive the front. In 4 low it uses a planetary drive for the reduction. With that I take back shift motor and say the clutch in the tcase is your best bet. That's a crash course for the 4405 so I may be wrong on some parts.

03-30-2012, 08:47 AM	#5
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Thanks for the info. I will remove the motor and test it.

03-30-2012, 11:11 AM	#6
jremington59 Elite Explorer Watertown, NY 97 explorer XLT AWD, 5.0 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,233 Vehicle Specs	Are your tires all the same and uniform? If there's a big variance it may think a wheel is slipping and engage the 4wd.

03-31-2012, 01:05 PM	#7
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	The tires are the same size. I do have different brands on the front vs. the rear but the same size tires. I did end up putting a new shift motor in since the local store had one in stock rebuilt for 100 bucks. Unfortunetely that did not solve the issue. Driving after installing the new one did present some new symtoms though. At first it did the same old thing leaving it in 4 wheel auto i could hear and feel grinding like it was in 4 wheel high. When i put it in 4 wheel high the light would come on and it would pull right pretty hard. After driving a few miles around the block in 4 wheel auto it started riding smoother however the hi low light started flashing every once in a while. Then when i would put it in 4 wheel high. no lights would turn on however it did seem to be in 4 high. I read a couple other posts about flashing lights and tried cleaning the speed sensors and pulling the battery for a bit with no luck. Any suggestions? If it is in fact the transfer case clutch is that something i can pull and replace? Thanks again.

04-01-2012, 01:55 PM	#8
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	So the weird thing is now is on first start the grinding happens. Putting it into 4 wheel high works. Then after driving for a bit in auto the grinding stops and the lights flash. 4 Wheel high still works howerver the light does not stay on. Once i stop the turn off the truck again the same process happens.

04-04-2012, 09:08 AM	#11
sbpc Wannabe Elite Explorer maryland 99 Ford Explorer Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	I dropped it off at the local Ford dealer to have them check the codes and diagnose. I will let you know the results.