'92 XLT 4x4 Shift Motor, Oil Sending Unit and Cruise Control Questions

I purchased a '92 XLT about 6 months ago with 148,000 miles on it. It seems to be very solid and generally in good shape. However, with all vehicles that old with that many miles on it, there are a few small problems -- of which I have a few questions.

First, the 4x4 worked when I first got it, but now it is not. Reading through everything, I think I have the problem with the shift motor on the transfer case (it being a push button shift). I am reasonably mechanically apt and would like to take a shot at tearing down the motor and fixing it. However, as it is my only current means of transportation if something goes wrong with the rebuild and I have to pay for a new/rebuilt motor, can the vehicle still operate with the shift motor removed (in 2WD, where it is currently at, of course) without causing any additional damage?

Secondly, I am pretty sure the oil sending unit is not working correctly. While it should be easy to replace and I think I have located it on the vehicle, does the oil need to be drained prior to changing it or is it sitting high enough that oil won't spill out of the hole when it is removed? Also, will standard teflon tape be acceptable as a thread sealant?

Finally, the cruise control works -- but works strangely. If I accelerate to, say, 45 mph and engage the cruise control, the truck will slow down about 4-5 mph and then engage. It will then maintain speed at 40-41 mph. If I accelerate back up to 45 using the SET button, it does the same thing and drops back to 40-41 mph. The only way to set it at a given speed is to accelerate to about 5 mph above where I want to set it and then engage it. In urban conditions, there is not always enough room to accelerate 5 mph faster than surrounding traffic to engage cruise. Also, maintaining 5 mph under the current flow of traffic will get the ire of all around you. Is there any adjustments that can be made to to system to get it to operate properly?

Thanks in advance for any/all help.

PJ

Can't anyone help out with any of this?

Please?

Your truck will run fine without the transfercase shift motor on it. The TF shift motor is an externally mounted motor that just rotates a shaft. A few members have opted to make their own rig to completely get rid of the shift motor, to shift into 4x manually. (others have gotten a completely manual transfer case and swaped it out)

As for the other two questions, I dont know much about the oil sending unit but i would assume you would have to drain the oil to replace it.

And my cruise control doesn't work any longer so i can't help you there.

you don't have to drain the oil to change the sending unit . use teflon paste or tape on the threads when you re-install it . as for the cruise , I can't help you .

Thanks for the info, guys. I got lucky with the shift motor. I took off the balancer (the bolts were a real ***** to get loose, even with penetrating oil) and decide to try the "tap it gently" method on the motor. With a plastic mallet, I lightly (...and I mean lightly) tapped the rear of the housing in an upward (counterclockwise) direction. Hopped into the driver's seat, turn the key to RUN, pressed the 4x4 button and, bingo, it was all working again. May not be a permanent fix, but if it happens again now that I have had a look at it, it seems very doable to rebuilt it.

Thanks for the info on the oil sending unit. I have teflon tape, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now I have to go out and buy the unit.

Anyone have any cruise control knowledge?

Thanks again!

It sounds like your cruise control is weak.. as in weak I mean that even when it does finaly pick the speed, if you hit a hill it won't be able to open the throttle far enough to maintain the speed (but it doesn't turn off).

If that is the case (I had that issue once) I'd check the dump valve. It the valve under the dash that gets pushed when you hit the brakes. On our truck it got mis-adjusted when I was running some wires for gauges. The dump valve should be have any preload on it.. You want it to dump after you hit the brakes.. our was touching even when we weren't on the throttle so it wasn't holding the vacuum.

~Mark

Actually, it maintains speed just fine. It just drops 4-5 mph when I engage it. For example, if I am traveling 45mph and engage the cruise control and let my foot off the gas, it will coast down to about 40-41mph and then maintain that speed just fine -- even up some pretty steep hills. If I then hit SET/ACCEL and let it speed up to 45mph on it's own, it still coasts down to 40-41mph or so and again maintains that speed just fine. The only way I can get it to maintain, as in this example 45mph, would be to speed up to about 50mph, engage it at that speed, and let it coast back to about 45mph. It is the same for any speed I set it to. It drops about 4-5mph before engaging. In a lot of cases it is not a problem to speed up 5mph to set the control (assuming our friends in blue/brown are not around at the time) and drop back down, but particularly in heavy, but smoothly flowing traffic, there is not enough room to do that without rear ending the car ahead of you.

Do you know how the cruise control senses the speed that it is set at? I know that in the very early days of CC, there were magnetic pickups attached to the driveshaft. I assume things have progressed greatly since the dark ages...