1998 EB 4.0 4 x 4 transmission not shifting into gear

[rogueexplorer1]

Drove the suv a lot in the last few days. Up & down passes so I took it out of O/D several times along the way. Did't hear any clunks of bangs. Drove it yesterday, parked it, then went to drive again & it wouldn't go into gear at all. No reverse, D or any lower gear & when I went to put it back into park, it just had a grinding noise. I have a 1997 Limited 4.0 4 x 4 parts car & think the tranny fits my EB 1998. No Check Engine light on & didn't notice the o/d light flashing or anything there. No major leak under the car either. Thoughts?

 

[rogueexplorer1]

Drove the suv a lot in the last few days. Up & down passes so I took it out of O/D several times along the way. Did't hear any clunks of bangs. Drove it yesterday, parked it, then went to drive again & it wouldn't go into gear at all. No reverse, D or any lower gear & when I went to put it back into park, it just had a grinding noise. I have a 1997 Limited 4.0 4 x 4 parts car & think the tranny fits my EB 1998. No Check Engine light on & didn't notice the o/d light flashing or anything there. No major leak under the car either. Thoughts?

Posted this in the wrong spot! Should have been stock not modified.

 

[wollimann]

Any DTC,s? If you switch to R, the reverse lights work? Enough tranny oil?
If you unplug the main transmission electrical plug and try it you should have 3rd gear and reverse.
If not it is internal, no pressure...

 

[rogueexplorer1]

Any DTC,s? If you switch to R, the reverse lights work? Enough tranny oil?
If you unplug the main transmission electrical plug and try it you should have 3rd gear and reverse.
If not it is internal, no pressure...

No DTC's. Reverse lights work. Yes enough tranny fluid. I'll try the unplug & see what happens. Will keep you posted. Thanks.

 

[410Fortune]

Miles?

Sounds like you lost your trans or t case
Try the unplug and manual shift see what happens

Yes 97 trans will fit 98


Is the fluid red and brite? Or brown and burnt?

 

[rogueexplorer1]

Miles?

Sounds like you lost your trans or t case
Try the unplug and manual shift see what happens

Yes 97 trans will fit 98


Is the fluid red and brite? Or brown and burnt?

Unplug & manual shift?

 

[amj441]

Unplug & manual shift?

yes, what he means is disconnect your electronic shift actuator from the transfer case, and see if you can move the transfer case lever into gear. it sounds like your transfer case may be stuck in neutral.

 

[rogueexplorer1]

Miles?

Sounds like you lost your trans or t case
Try the unplug and manual shift see what happens

Yes 97 trans will fit 98


Is the fluid red and brite? Or brown and burnt?

Looks pretty red & don't smell burnt but will check again. Did filter & fluid about 7k miles ago. Changed the diff's & trans case fluids @ the same time along with engine oil.

yes, what he means is disconnect your electronic shift actuator from the transfer case, and see if you can move the transfer case lever into gear. it sounds like your transfer case may be stuck in neutral.

Can't see a way the manually shift the transfer case. I un plugged the actuator, started the car & shifted the column lever & still get the same thing; no reverse or any other gear change & grinds when I try to put it in park.

 

[Turdle]

Looks pretty red & don't smell burnt but will check again. Did filter & fluid about 7k miles ago. Changed the diff's & trans case fluids @ the same time along with engine oil.

Can't see a way the manually shift the transfer case. I un plugged the actuator, started the car & shifted the column lever & still get the same thing; no reverse or any other gear change & grinds when I try to put it in park.

Could be the transfer case is hung up between 4wd 2wd. Grinding sound in neutral or park makes me suspect this also.
That's why you are being asked to shift it into and out of 4wd. Hoping to reset it to 2wd posistion

 

[amj441]

Behind the shift motor is a triangular shaft. you can try to actuate through the drive selections with it. Or you can always disconnect the harness to the motor. note the pins that correspond to the wire colors above and put power to see if you can get the actuator to move. see if you can get the actuator to move with the switch first.

additionally theres a relay behind the center dash that you can check

 

[rogueexplorer1]

The latest update; Just out of curiosity & thinking about taking the simplest route, I checked the fuse box in the engine bay to make sure there wasn't a fuse blown, Pulled & replaced the 20 amp fuse & the relay (Both #6 in the box). Fuse was good; didn't test the relay but thought I heard it click. It went into reverse & drive but it was in limp mode; shifted very quickly to 4th then the O/D light started flashing. Drove straight back & disconnected the battery for about 25 mins, Started & drove & same limp mode. So now that it's flashing the O/D light I'm sure it's kicked a code but my buddy's old reader couldn't read it so another buddy is bringing his & another iPad type reader tomorrow to see what the code is. Thinking since the transfer actuator was shifting, this may be in the tranny. Maybe a solenoid? Stay tuned & thanks so much for all you're help guys!

 

[rogueexplorer1]

The latest; Codes it's kicking; P1838; P1352; P1729; P1000. It goes into park now without noise. Goes into reverse & drive but very quickly shifts through the gears to OD. OD light comes on & flashes shortly after. Went through 4 High, 4 low & back to auto. In 4 hi it makes a binding sound when you tun but no noise in 4 low or driving straight. It's been making the binding noise badly when I put it into reverse & back out with hard steer to the right especially, not so much to left, for a while now. Once in the highest gear it drives fine. Can drive pretty fast but haven't tried over 30. Don't wanna hurt anything. Looked up the codes. P1838- May have to replace the trans shift motor. P1352- has been running rough when cold. May need coil replaced. P1729- Is this the switch on the interior panel? Have the parts car to grab these from. Gonna swap the parts I have & see how it works out. Already swapped the trans case shift motor.

 

[amj441]

The latest; Codes it's kicking; P1838; P1352; P1729; P1000. It goes into park now without noise. Goes into reverse & drive but very quickly shifts through the gears to OD. OD light comes on & flashes shortly after. Went through 4 High, 4 low & back to auto. In 4 hi it makes a binding sound when you tun but no noise in 4 low or driving straight. It's been making the binding noise badly when I put it into reverse & back out with hard steer to the right especially, not so much to left, for a while now. Once in the highest gear it drives fine. Can drive pretty fast but haven't tried over 30. Don't wanna hurt anything. Looked up the codes. P1838- May have to replace the trans shift motor. P1352- has been running rough when cold. May need coil replaced. P1729- Is this the switch on the interior panel? Have the parts car to grab these from. Gonna swap the parts I have & see how it works out. Already swapped the trans case shift motor.

P1838:
Probably stored when you unplugged the transfer case shift motor. did you make sure to plug it back in? and after you did did you clear the code?
also: 97 Expedition transfer case shift motor P1838 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums similar issue with expedition

P1352:
Issue with primary side of coil A? could be the connector going to the coil pack or the pack itself

P1729:
4x4 Low Switch Circuit Condition. most likely when you messed with the 4x4 switch on the dash or harness to the shift motor. Or issues with continuity in the circuit or relay behind the center radio bezel.

P1000:
pcm emissions test not complete. typical code not to worry

 

[rogueexplorer1]

P1838:
Probably stored when you unplugged the transfer case shift motor. did you make sure to plug it back in? and after you did did you clear the code?
also: 97 Expedition transfer case shift motor P1838 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums similar issue with expedition

P1352:
Issue with primary side of coil A? could be the connector going to the coil pack or the pack itself

P1729:
4x4 Low Switch Circuit Condition. most likely when you messed with the 4x4 switch on the dash or harness to the shift motor. Or issues with continuity in the circuit or relay behind the center radio bezel.

P1000:
pcm emissions test not complete. typical code not to worry

P1838- Yes, plugged it back in- cleared the code too- I didn't check the relay like that guy did in your link.

P1352- Gonna leave that 1 alone for now until I get the truck back on the road. It runs a little rough until warmed up.

P1729- 4low light on the dash wouldn't appear when I switched to that position. Tranny guy said that's because the TC shift motor is bad & won't shift into low.

 

[rogueexplorer1]

P1838:
Probably stored when you unplugged the transfer case shift motor. did you make sure to plug it back in? and after you did did you clear the code?
also: 97 Expedition transfer case shift motor P1838 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums similar issue with expedition

P1352:
Issue with primary side of coil A? could be the connector going to the coil pack or the pack itself

P1729:
4x4 Low Switch Circuit Condition. most likely when you messed with the 4x4 switch on the dash or harness to the shift motor. Or issues with continuity in the circuit or relay behind the center radio bezel.

P1000:
pcm emissions test not complete. typical code not to worry

P1838:
Probably stored when you unplugged the transfer case shift motor. did you make sure to plug it back in? and after you did did you clear the code?
also: 97 Expedition transfer case shift motor P1838 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums similar issue with expedition

P1352:
Issue with primary side of coil A? could be the connector going to the coil pack or the pack itself

P1729:
4x4 Low Switch Circuit Condition. most likely when you messed with the 4x4 switch on the dash or harness to the shift motor. Or issues with continuity in the circuit or relay behind the center radio bezel.

P1000:
pcm emissions test not complete. typical code not to worry

My other question is how do I make sure the new motor is aligned with the transfer case properly?

 

[amj441]

My other question is how do I make sure the new motor is aligned with the transfer case properly?

According to the repair manual, nothing is specified the only thing specified is the torque and a dab of silicone. Other than that, is the triangular shaft keyed to the motor in any way? can the shaft line up more than one way? if the shaft is keyed, then the motor should know where it is from the contacts inside the motor wheel.

 

[rogueexplorer1]

According to the repair manual, nothing is specified the only thing specified is the torque and a dab of silicone. Other than that, is the triangular shaft keyed to the motor in any way? can the shaft line up more than one way? if the shaft is keyed, then the motor should know where it is from the contacts inside the motor wheel.

It can only go in 1 way, not keyed. Where does the silicon go? On the face of the motor where it meets the TC or where the shaft meets the motor? Not sure why it would require any silicone, but OK.

 

[410Fortune]

The silicon is just to keep moisture out of the area where the t case motor bolts up.. that’s it

To align the motor just shift it into the same position that the t case is in, should be 2wd and then bolt
It up with 4ea 10mm bolts

If the t case is physically in 4 hi then you can simply plug in the shift motor, choose 4hi on the dash, the motor should rotate, now they match and you can bolt it on

 

[rogueexplorer1]

The silicon is just to keep moisture out of the area where the t case motor bolts up.. that’s it

To align the motor just shift it into the same position that the t case is in, should be 2wd and then bolt
It up with 4ea 10mm bolts

If the t case is physically in 4 hi then you can simply plug in the shift motor, choose 4hi on the dash, the motor should rotate, now they match and you can bolt it on

I have the transfer case shaft all the way clockwise to H. The new motor won't rotate at all & the motor is not going onto the tc shaft! It's a reman so it had paint in the hole but I removed that. I think the motor female accepter just isn't rotated enough to slip onto the shaft & with those 2 towers on the transfer case holding it back from rotating the motor anymore, it's not going on. Is there any way of rotating the motor a little more to the correct position? I loosened the 3 tore screws on the face of the motor thinking that would allow it to rotate but it doesn't.

 

[rogueexplorer1]

The silicon is just to keep moisture out of the area where the t case motor bolts up.. that’s it

To align the motor just shift it into the same position that the t case is in, should be 2wd and then bolt
It up with 4ea 10mm bolts

If the t case is physically in 4 hi then you can simply plug in the shift motor, choose 4hi on the dash, the motor should rotate, now they match and you can bolt it on

Are you saying to plug the motor into the harness, shift the dash knob to a gear to have it match the motor's position?