How to: Rebuild 4X4 Shift Motor

[navynmr]

got the motor out

i got the motor out, got a pair of gloves and pulled it. Danm the torx bit bolts are hard to take off, so far i only got one out with a black and decker drill

 

[navynmr]

someone anyone?

i have a 2001 ex sport and the thing is when i pulled out the shift motor i didnt seem to have the printed circuit and stuff. I just had the motor and the shift knob on the transfer case.

also i opened my motor, and the brushing seems find. The white plastic with the etches seems to have a diagonal slit, is that normal or is it broken. will that affect my 4x4. my problem is it shifts sometimes out of 4x4 high not always

 

[Awagner]

Fixed it!!

i cracked my switch motor and the bushing was destroyed

replaced it with some extra washer fluid hose and it works very nice

well done brian thanks for this write up

 

[joekota90sm]

im new to this site. its wonderful.to the point, i have a rotted out 93 explorer that i use as just a yard truck, i plow snow with it. ive gone through this whole post and cant find an answer(sory this is so long). i took out my shift motor because it dont work and i wasnt going to put it back in, just click it in 4lo and forgrt about it, but now my transmition wont shift at all. does the motor have to be there, or is there some wiring trick i missed somewhere in this post, because all it does now when i put in drive is sit there and when i put it back in park it clicks . thank you all for any help

 

[DeRocha]

im new to this site. its wonderful.to the point, i have a rotted out 93 explorer that i use as just a yard truck, i plow snow with it. ive gone through this whole post and cant find an answer(sory this is so long). i took out my shift motor because it dont work and i wasnt going to put it back in, just click it in 4lo and forgrt about it, but now my transmition wont shift at all. does the motor have to be there, or is there some wiring trick i missed somewhere in this post, because all it does now when i put in drive is sit there and when i put it back in park it clicks . thank you all for any help

The shift motor doesn't need to be on the T-case. Was the transmission working OK before you removed the shift motor? When you removed the shift motor and manually moved the selector shaft did the transmission work at all? Was the selector shaft hard to turn to 4x4Low? Did you turn the selector shaft with the transmission in neutral? Have you tried turning the selector shaft back to 4x2?

 

[joekota90sm]

i figured it out. i just didnt turn it all the way, duh, it was in neutral. but it plowed as good as ever

 

[kustom77]

thanks for the detailed thread. Helped me save 100 bucks. thanks again

 

[jimmy9087]

Does this method of rebuilding work on 02 models too. Thanks Jim

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

First I would also like to thank you Brian you make this great thread. I only have two questions. Where is the gear with the slanted teeth? On the shifter motor, NOT the T-case. And is there a way to remove the redish/brown wire that goes to the t-case??


Thanks a lot

 

[DeRocha]

First I would also like to thank you Brian you make this great thread. I only have two questions. Where is the gear with the slanted teeth? On the shifter motor, NOT the T-case. And is there a way to remove the redish/brown wire that goes to the t-case??


Thanks a lot

See post #24 the red pin retainer can be pried out and the wire removed from the connector (I tried this but couldn't get it out, or rather figure out how to do it ). Otherwise you could cut and splice the wire back together (I used bullet connectors which allow you to connect/disconnect under shrink tubing in case I needed to remove this again)

The Geared selector shaft which is controlled via the worm gear on the shift motor is part of the shift motor assembly.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

thanks as always Derocha.

I did hit a few problems.

The t-20 screws were in tight. First I tried the right tool, I got a set of the securty bits. And bent/twisted the t-20. Then I soak it with WD40, I then cut a cross in the head of the screw and snaped it off.No problem the other two look good. Well the next one I cut the edges to fit a 6mm box end wrench, snaped it too. And just cut the last on off.

I had to use a large screw driver and hammer to help the gear out, ok.
The rubber stop use dust.

I replaced and started to reasemble. I linded up the marks I made on the gear and put it in and test fit the cover. Well the cover with the white plastic fingers is hitting the gear. So I tried to set the gear in place, no love. The cover in about the thickness of a washer, or the cork gasket. But the cover should touch the houseing some, Right????

 

[DeRocha]

thanks as always Derocha.

I did hit a few problems.

The t-20 screws were in tight. First I tried the right tool, I got a set of the securty bits. And bent/twisted the t-20. Then I soak it with WD40, I then cut a cross in the head of the screw and snaped it off.No problem the other two look good. Well the next one I cut the edges to fit a 6mm box end wrench, snaped it too. And just cut the last on off.

I had to use a large screw driver and hammer to help the gear out, ok.
The rubber stop use dust.

I replaced and started to reasemble. I linded up the marks I made on the gear and put it in and test fit the cover. Well the cover with the white plastic fingers is hitting the gear. So I tried to set the gear in place, no love. The cover in about the thickness of a washer, or the cork gasket. But the cover should touch the houseing some, Right????

Did you remove the shift motor housing from the T-Case?
After the Shift motor is installed on the T-case I would insert the geared position sensor over the selector shaft. It only fits on one way and you then press it down to seat it. If it fails to seat 100% it is because of how the gears mesh with the worm drive shaft on the electrical motor (sort of like how you may need to slightly tighten the wheel bearing nut in order to insert the locking key). Placing the geared sensor over the sector shaft and then Slightly twisting it Left or right while pressing in to seat it should help.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

Did you remove the shift motor housing from the T-Case?
After the Shift motor is installed on the T-case I would insert the geared position sensor over the selector shaft. It only fits on one way and you then press it down to seat it. If it fails to seat 100% it is because of how the gears mesh with the worm drive shaft on the electrical motor (sort of like how you may need to slightly tighten the wheel bearing nut in order to insert the locking key). Placing the geared sensor over the sector shaft and then Slightly twisting it Left or right while pressing in to seat it should help.

Yes I removed the motor from the t-case.

Good I Idea with putting it back one peice at a time.

I think I MIGHT drill and tap the out bolts??

 

[DeRocha]

Yes I removed the motor from the t-case.

Good I Idea with putting it back one peice at a time.

I think I MIGHT drill and tap the out bolts??

If you can't get the bolts out then you will need to drill and tap them..

 

[tanders2]

4X4 Shift Motor Rebuild - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts Serious Explorations

I love this post. I own a 1990 Bronco II and experienced many of the symptoms that were posted so I decided to delve into the motor and try and rebuild. After I got into it I remembered of what not to do when you receive a flashing light at the 4 X 4 control. !@#$%^&*( DO NOT TAP THE MOTOR WITH A HAMMER! After I went inside the magnet was broken in one piece. I decided I had nothing to lose so I glued the magnet in with Gorilla glue! Let it sit overnight, cleaned the rest, found some clear plastic tube to repair and put it back together. Works like a charm!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for all the great posts.

 

[thethirdmurph]

I have an 02 I just rebuilt the motor on. The motor seems to be working fine, travels between 4auto and 4low just fine but doesn't even try to go to 4high....

 

[richardnz]

2002 shift motor contact set

the contacts in the later shift motors are a sealed unit like this ,does anyone know if there and history of them failing to function correctly , has anyone opened one of these units up ?

i dare to presume because of the drive key that the computer cannot loose the location that is selected like i have read that the earlier models can ...

sorry about the crappy phone camera pic quality ..

 

[raceman]

the contacts in the later shift motors are a sealed unit like this ,does anyone know if there and history of them failing to function correctly , has anyone opened one of these units up ?

i dare to presume because of the drive key that the computer cannot loose the location that is selected like i have read that the earlier models can ...

sorry about the crappy phone camera pic quality ..

Mine is the same way on my 94 explorer, I took it all apart cleaned everything up an it still doesnt work, there wasnt no little bushing on the main gear either!? Anyone got a answer for this? I couldnt manage to get that cover off the controler either but it seems as if it could come out but didnt try that hard, didnt want to break it

 

[DeRocha]

Mine is the same way on my 94 explorer, I took it all apart cleaned everything up an it still doesnt work, there wasnt no little bushing on the main gear either!? Anyone got a answer for this? I couldnt manage to get that cover off the controler either but it seems as if it could come out but didnt try that hard, didnt want to break it

The OEM shift motor on all 1st gen Explorers (91-94) were not sealed. Sealed units came on 2nd gen+ explorers.. If you have one then chances are the original shift motor was swapped out for a later model.

 

[raceman]

Well im not sure if the previous owner did that or not but its definetly sealed, but like I said I tried everything as far as cleaning everything an still didnt work, when it started not working the lights on the 4 wheel drive switches were flashing an they would go out an they would come back on every once in awhile an start flashing some more an then one day the lights wouldnt flicker or nothing, anyone have any ideas? Could it be the computer or switches or relays? Anyone know if there is a way to test these? I heard you can bench test the motor itself by hooking up straight 12v to the yellow an orange wires goin to the motor, is that true?