How to: Rebuild 4X4 Shift Motor

[jdlowe]

I have a strange one, my shift motor failed. I replaced it and now the truck revs really high along with weird shifting and my o/d light flashes on and off, does anyone know what this could be? Thank you very much.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It's called a shift flare. Find out what the code numbers are.

 

[jdlowe]

Thank you for that info, I just read up on shift flares, my symptons do not match all of those, it is like mine wont go past 3rd gear. At 60 km/h I am revving 3000+ RPM. It doesnt shift past 3rd gear, when I turn the wheels and hit the gas it jerks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Find out what the code numbers are as previously suggested.

 

[jdlowe]

New transfer case motor fixed the problem

 

[sharold491]

This is a general how-to thread for fixing the transfer case shift motor for the 4X4 models. Many posts on this site have been great sources of information, but pictures are worth thousands of words. I wanted to put something up for people to point others to when they have 4X4 problems. So here am going to list some key words to help the searchers:
Transfer Case Electric Shift Motor 4X4 4x4 4WD 4wd 4X Borg Warner 13-54 BW1354 BW13-54

First thing is where is that 4X4 shift motor￾? You have to crawl underneath and look at the back of the transfer case (which is behind the transmission). Looking at it from behind it will look something like this:

 

[jdlowe]

It is under the drivers seat on the side of the transfer case

 

[Itchybruno47]

Hey all.......Can't find the answer to this one anywhere, feel free to send me to the answer if you know where i can find it. I want to drop my transfer case to trouble shoot my 4x4 and get it going. Hasn't worked since I bought the beast. Problem is, is that it is my daily driver, and I have not done the transfer case shin dig before. You drop the transfer case and now your rear drive shaft is not connected to the tranny which = no driving until you get the transfer case back in. My question is (finally), can I take a stock 1st gen 2 wheel drive,drive shaft and throw it in place of my 4x4 transfer case and rear drive shaft and now have a rear wheel drive exploder for the time being while I am dickin around with my transfer case rebuild??
Other Info:
93 exploder, xlt 4 x4, 4.0 OHV pushrod engine auto tranny 4 door with air. Thanks all!!!!
Itchybruno 47

 

[DeRocha]

Itchybruno 47, What exactly is the problem with 4x4 that you want to drop the T-Case?

 

[Itchybruno47]

Hey DeRocha, thanks for the reply. Wanna drop the 4x4 transfer case / shift motor as the 4x4 is not working. The 4x4 trouble shooting guide on here says to give the rebuild on it a whirl if the 4x4 comp says itself is ok. I am wondering if I can make myself a 2 wheel drive for a bit, while having the transfer case / shift motor on te bench and getting cleaned up.......thanks ahead,
IB47

 

[DeRocha]

Hey DeRocha, thanks for the reply. Wanna drop the 4x4 transfer case / shift motor as the 4x4 is not working. The 4x4 trouble shooting guide on here says to give the rebuild on it a whirl if the 4x4 comp says itself is ok. I am wondering if I can make myself a 2 wheel drive for a bit, while having the transfer case / shift motor on te bench and getting cleaned up.......thanks ahead,
IB47

Itchybruno47, By not working, if you mean when you press the 4x4 button it doesn't activate then you don't need to remove the T-Case to fix 4x4 engagement issues. You just need to remove the Shift motor from the T-Case. The electronic 4x4 system is 99%+ the cause of all 4x4 engagement issues.

If by not working you mean pressing the 4x4 button turns the 4x4 lights on, but the front drive shaft fails to move then you may have an issue with the T-case.

 

[Itchybruno47]

Thanks again DeRocha. So then what You are sayin is that it is an electrical issue. The 4x4 comp checks out GOOD according to the self test. The lights on the dash are intermittently on beside 4x4 LOW (button lights), but never on beside 4x4 high (button lights). The dash lights that tell you that you are actually IN 4 wheel drive have never been on (gauge cluster lights beside abs light). I get nothing when I hit the buttons. No clicks, clacks, whining, grinding anything. All that being said, You said that it is 99% of the time an electronic issue, would that still point to the shift motor, and if so, can I pull the shift motor to wrench on it and still drive the exploder with just rear wheel drive without screwing anything up? Thanks again,
IB47

 

[DeRocha]

Correct Itchybruno47, You can remove the shift motor without affecting the T-Case and drive shafts. Most often the issue is the plastic stop bumper within the geared position sensor case has deteriorated and fallen apart. This causes the geared sensor to get Jammed against the metal stop preventing the shift motor from being able to move it. Look over the beginning of this thread for lots of info and pictures on how to check and fix the stop bumper..

 

[jdlowe]

I have a 4x4 auto model, I have been having issues where the only gear I can get into is 4lo, 4hi and 2wd will not engage. I pulled.off the shift motor and my tcase looks different from the one knows. This pic, this one shows 2wd, 4hi and 4lo, mine only has had neutral, and lo, is it possible the wrong tcase is on my truck?

 

[jdlowe]

I have a 4x4 auto model, I have been having issues where the only gear I can get into is 4lo, 4hi and 2wd will not engage. I pulled.off the shift motor and my tcase looks different from the one knows. This pic, this one shows 2wd, 4hi and 4lo, mine only has had neutral, and lo, is it possible the wrong tcase is on my truck?

Can anyone help me out on this, this is what my transfer case on my truck looks like, any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[DeRocha]

Can anyone help me out on this, this is what my transfer case on my truck looks like, any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

Sorry.. my expertise lies in the 1st generation explorers (91-94) for which this thread primarily relates too. You may have better luck in the 2nd generation forum (95-01)

 

[Itchybruno47]

Correct Itchybruno47, You can remove the shift motor without affecting the T-Case and drive shafts. Most often the issue is the plastic stop bumper within the geared position sensor case has deteriorated and fallen apart. This causes the geared sensor to get Jammed against the metal stop preventing the shift motor from being able to move it. Look over the beginning of this thread for lots of info and pictures on how to check and fix the stop bumper..

Much appreciated DeRocha......again!
IB47

 

[Itchybruno47]

4x4 shift motor removal to work on but still drive the daily driver...

Hey DeRocha and anyone else here for the same reason as myself. I wanted to know about getting the 4x4 working again while still being able to use my beast as my daily driver, and ended up here. DeRocha has helped me out to the point of figuring out that I can remove the shift motor from the 4x4 transfer case and still drive the exploder (93 xlt auto, 4x4, 4 door with air, 4.0 liter OHV pushrod engine), while I have the shift motor off and try to rebuild it. MY QUESTION: what is this:

http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/I...empsensorcopy_zps084ecfa2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/I...ShiftMotor001_zps1e98b061.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

and why was there metal shavings / filings stuck to it when i removed it?(I know it is magnetic), but should i be worried about the filings / shavings or is this its purpose? and the wires coming from it make me think it is some sort of temp sensor????

and why when i remove it does a little bit of what looks like tranny fluid come out of the hole where it was?? I am assuming this is transfer case fluid, but next question......can i drive with this out and not have transfer case fluid spraying / dripping out?

Next Question.....everyone mentions how you have to make sure when you put the shift motor back on to silicone / rtv / whatever seal it back onto the transfer case to keep crap out, maybe this isnt necessary, but this is what I did to keep crap out of where the shaft comes out of the transfer case, if anyone is interested.

http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/I...ShiftMotor005_zps96a05a21.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

Next may have been answered somewhere already, and I am going to go back and look to make sure it hasnt and will edit this if I find it:
what the hell torx bit did anyone use to get the cover off the sensors / gear stop housing on the shift motor? The screws have the nubs in the middle to make it dealer servicable only....do you carefully drill them out so you can get a bit inthere or what??
Thanks ahead, anyone and everyone. Hope my pics help and if not....whatever....
IB47

 

[DeRocha]

I've edited your pics to be an in-line image as well as a link.
That is a Magnetic sensor used to measure the speed within the Transfer case. It is "Normal" for it to have some metal shavings stuck to it from the normal wear within the T-Case. The speed info is used by the 4x4 computer to determine how fast you're going which is part of the circuit to to ALLOW you to go into 4x4 LOW.. If you're going faster than 3mph it disables the 4x4 LOW button as a safety feature. The T-case is filled with transmission fluid. As for sealing up the T-case selector shaft I don't think it's necessary unless you are going into deep water where it could leak in..

You need a Torx 20 security bit to remove the T-case screws (picture in the 1st posts of this thread).

 

[Itchybruno47]

Thanks DeRocha. I did find that when I went back to searching, but didnt get a chance to omit my question about the torx bit. Sorry for asking sh*t that was answered already. I did NOT know though that the speed sensor was ok to have the metal shavings on it, so thank you for filling me in on that one. I like many others opened up the shift motor and found the plastic bushing split and am hoping that this is the problem! Thanks again all,
IB47