4LO not engaging

[Eddie]

Hi, just came across this forum by accident and really like what I see. Very informative. I have a problem with my girlfriend's newly purchased 1996 XL that I could not find the answer to in other threads. Here goes.

The vehicle has a dial on the dash to switch from 2wd, 4hi, and 4lo. When switching from 2wd to 4hi, dash light illuminates, and 4wd engages. This is good. Problem is that when going from 4hi to 4lo, nothing seems to happen. There is no significant difference in gearing, and I'm lead to believe (from the note on the visor) that another light should illuminate and say "LOW". This does not happen.

We had the vehicle inspected at purchase, and the inspector agrees that LOW is not working. It was too good a deal to pass up so it was purchased knowing this. I was not sure if we were attempting to engage it correctly or not. We are doing it at a dead stop, in neutral, with brake pedal pressed. Even waiting for a while does not seem to do anything. Only notice a slight change in engine idle if anything (very slight)

Any ideas?? vacuum hose?? fuse?? dial itself?? transfer case motor?? (I've read alot of threads about this but my symptoms seem different than others)

Any suggestions or ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Eddie

 

[madmike]

use the search feature , 4-low not working, there are an azzload of threads on this, i had to swap my auto hubs with manual ones and it fixed it.

 

[Dre]

I guess in order to put it in 4lo you have to put gear shifter in Neutral and press the brake pedal....... is that right? yeah, but you've been there already. well? I don't have my manual here but that's at least what I think needs to be done....otherwise?

and oh, yeah....... WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!

 

[X24]

Well, since you said you had it in neutral and brake pressed, that rules out my guess, but if you are doing that right (and I dont think you are messing that up... its pretty simple ) I would say call ford and hope you get a cool guy on the other end that will give you a couple of things you can check yourself. Either that or they will say just bring it in. 4X4 work is $$$. Wait it out on here for a little and keep bumping the thread up. Someone is bound to know the right answer. Good luck!

 

[Dre]

but, even though the light does not come on 4low might be on....... light bulb? did you put it in gear and drive it? difference will be very noticable...

 

[Eddie]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The suggestion that the bulb is simply out is a valid one that I will check. Having said that, even when the dial is in the 4LO position, I don't notice any significant gearing change which still makes me believe that it is not engaging. I could always bring it to Ford and have them check it out, but saving $$ would be better.

Have not gotten it dirty yet, but should have some fun in the mud soon. The girlfriend is excited about having her own off-road vehicle.

The suggestion about changing the hubs from automatic to manual would be a good one if I didn't have any 4X4 at all, but it does work in 4HI, so I don't think that's the problem.

Thanks for the welcome to the board, and I look forward to any other suggestions.

Eddie

 

[TPLYNCH]

Welcome Eddie. You can ignore the reference to the hubs.... The '95+ Explorers don't have the infamous crappy autohubs. When you switch to 4Lo, you should hear a clunking or similar sound as the system switches to the lower gearing. If you don't, then it's probably not shifting in. As long as 4Hi works, you can rule out relay or electical problems. If 4Lo was not used by the previous owner, then chances are, the shif motor in the T/F case is the problem. The contacts get dirty, or the motor becomes misaligned, and doesn't work properly. There are 3 or 4 options to try and fix. Starting from the cheapest and easiest.... 1) disconnect the battery for 30 minutes to reset the computer. If motor "forgot" where it was, this may fix. If no good, try 2) hitting the motor with a rubber mallet. This helps if the motor is just stuck. 3) Remove motor and clean it. Instructions under t/f case here - Dead Link Removed

If all this fails, then you may have to have the motor replaced ~ $300+

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions......

 

[Eddie]

Excellent ideas TPLYNCH. Easy to try. I'll attempt these this weekend and post my results.

Thanks