Won't disingage?

Hey folks, I just got a 98 a week ago, its an automatic trans,I noticed it takes a while to go in 4wheel low, then, when trying to put in reverse, it grinds, same with park, had to put in neutral and shut off, put back in park while off, then restared it, and shifter moved, as moving more in park, any ideas?, Its my first ford, and 4x4 so any help appreciated.

BTW forgot to add, doesnt grind if its in 4 wheel high.

When shifting from 4 Hi into 4 Low (or back) you need to come to a stop and shift the trans into N, not P. Then move the switch from 4 Hi to 4 Low. Wait until the light in the dash goes from 4WD to 4WD LO. You should hear a clunk when it shifts, it takes a few seconds. You shouldn't hear any grinding if you follow this method.

Three things to remember when going from high to low or low to high: Stopped, in neutral, with your foot on the brake.

Now, if you do that, and it still grinds when you put it in gear, let us know.

-Joe

I had it in neutral foot on brake, sorry for the missed info, but goes in high fine, only probs with low, I hear it trying, then the gears just spin, when I try drive or revervse, like trying to put a stick shift in gear with know clutch, also wont go back into high, or auto, unless i turn it off in park, because of the spinning gear noise, i have to turn off in neutral.

Sounds like a problem with the shift motor. If you look at the back of the transfer case, you will see a motor that looks a lot like a wiper motor. The motor turns a shaft to switch between low and high range in the transfer case.

Are you getting any flashing lights in the gage panel? If the shift doesn't complete, you are supposed to get a flashing 4wd light. There are sensor plates in the shift motor that tell the GEM (computer) that the shift motor is in the correct position compared to the switch on the dash.

No flashing lights, 4 high stays on, it spins gear down then clunks like its in low, but the gears spin again, have to leave in neutral or drive and reverse grind also, have to shut off motor in neutral, has clicking in dash board like a relay system, does it several times, then gear spins, and a clunk like it went in low, but, then spins again, does this 3 times, then nothing anymore.

Does the 4wd light come on when the switch is set at 4wd High? Also, does the 4wd Lo light come on when the switch is set at 4wd Low?

Here is what Ford says to check when you can't shift to 4wd Lo:

is that grinding noise happening while ur vehicle is in [N]eutral? if so, then thats probably the transfer case motor spinning away.

how comfortable are you working under ur vehicle? i ask because, as dogfriend pointed out, the shift motor is a round cylinder (about the size of a soda can) that sits between the transfer case and the gas tank.. and one sure way to check whether or not ur transfer case motor is shifting to the right positions is to remove the motor and check to see where the shift rod is pointing.

Thanks Dog, and IZ, now i have a spot to start, and yes in neutral before it sounds like it clunks in low, then no reverse, or drive, just light sound grinding, or spinning.

it sounds like ur transfer case is getting stuck in "Neutral" and not going all the way to "4LO" (even tho ur in-cab switch doesnt have a neutral position, the trasnfer case does and it has to go through neutral in order to get to the 4LO position).. i think thats why u hear those sequences of grinds as the shift motor keeps trying to shift to 4LO.. if u do decide to check the shift motor out for yourself, take a few minutes to read this thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143921

here are the shift positions - you can see the Neutral position at the bottom:

Indeed.... it's either going to be the motor not shifting the shaft all the way around, or the yoke inside the transfer case that rides in the shaft not moving with the shaft like it should.

Here's another random thought..... Does anyone know what the difference is with the neutral tow kit installed on a '01 or '02? (I'm pretty sure the SportTrac for '01 or '02 had the neutral-tow available as a dealer-installed option.... Just have no idear what it changes....) What I'm getting at is I wonder if the system thinks it needs to go to neuitral instead of 4 low? Maybe a bad switch, throwing off a weird signal to the GEM which it's interpreting as a neutral command, not a low range?

Here's anotehr thought: Bad Transfer Case Shift Relay not telling the motor to go all the way to Low.....

In any case, it looks like you need to pull that motor off.... Personally, if I was doing the troubleshooting, I would do it with the truck in neutral (blocked, of course) with 4 low engaged.... put it in neutral, flip the switch, then pull the motor off and see where the motor and shaft are pointing.... that'll tell you whether or not the motor is positioning itself correctly. If it is, then it's probably something in the t-case. If it's not, it could be the motor itself, or whatever is telling it to move (i.e. the TCS relay or the GEM)

IZ, do you concur?

-Joe

yeah i agree with those diagnostic steps.

do i concur? ahah well obviously you know more than me cauz i didnt even know about that 'neutral tow kit'... so no need to ask whether or not i concur, ill probably just sit here and take notes.

OK, I found out, that when I start it, switch from auto, to low fast, it will go in low, if I switch it slow, as to stop in 4w high, then switch to low, it will not go in low, just grinds, clunks like it went in, and some clicking in the dash, so, I switched it fast, several times, and it went into low each time, BUT, it will not switch out, unless i put it in park, and turn it off, wait a minute or so, and start it up, and it will go back in auto, dont matter, still having a blast with me ole explorer, but, still like me GM's, lol

___________
I Stand Alone

gijoecam said:

. Does anyone know what the difference is with the neutral tow kit installed on a '01 or '02? (I'm pretty sure the SportTrac for '01 or '02 had the neutral-tow available as a dealer-installed option.... Just have no idear what it changes....) What I'm getting at is I wonder if the system thinks it needs to go to neuitral instead of 4 low? Maybe a bad switch, throwing off a weird signal to the GEM which it's interpreting as a neutral command, not a low range?

Click to expand...

Neutral Tow was available as a dealer installed option on 97's also. I would assume that it probably included a new switch and reflashing the GEM as a minimum.

I'm thinking now that there might be a problem with the switch, mainly because it works when going directly from Auto to 4wd Lo.

Testing the switch is easy, the switch is actually a set of 3 resistors. The GEM determines the position based on the resistance (drop in voltage) from the switch.

I'll post the values for the switch when I get a chance.

KoonSkin said:

OK, I found out, that when I start it, switch from auto, to low fast, it will go in low, if I switch it slow, as to stop in 4w high, then switch to low, it will not go in low, just grinds, clunks like it went in, and some clicking in the dash, so, I switched it fast, several times, and it went into low each time, BUT, it will not switch out, unless i put it in park, and turn it off, wait a minute or so, and start it up, and it will go back in auto, dont matter, still having a blast with me ole explorer, but, still like me GM's, lol

Click to expand...

ehehe thats interesting - r u sure ur transfer case is full of fluid? when was the last time you replaced the fluid?

Testing the Switch in Auto

In 4wd High

In 4wd Low

IZwack said:

do i concur? ahah well obviously you know more than me cauz i didnt even know about that 'neutral tow kit'... so no need to ask whether or not i concur, ill probably just sit here and take notes.

Click to expand...

Sorry... it was an obscure reference to the Tom Hanks/Loenardo DiCaprio film, "Catch Me if You Can"..... Too much obscure humor....

As for the switch, those are the correct values....

I'm still curious.... even if the switch values came back as being in the range for neutral, I thought the GEM needed to be flashed in order for it to know where the transfer case should go? If not, I wonder if you could get the neutral to capability by installing a separate switch to bypass the 4wd switch that has the correct resistance value for neutral? Hmmm.... time for another thread....

-Joe