4X4 Not Working

[Ramblinwilly]

Need a reality check before I point a finger at the 4X4 Shift Motor. Worked last winter with no issues. I needed it on Saturday morning at 1:00am. Absolutely nothing. No dash light. No anything. I'm new to 4X4's but know enough to ask questions before ripping into anything. How do I determine whether it's the Shift motor, a "fuse" or solenoid or hubs that need to be repaired/replaced? I did my homework and searched. Found a great post here for repairing the Shift Motor but not much on diagnosing issues. If you can point me to a post or any other source of info that would be great. Thanks.

 

[5spdman]

When I had 4x4 issues on my 93 sport, I was having just about the same problems you mentioned; no dash light, no button light, no click from the rear of the vehicle (from the control, which is behind the rear driver side interior panel...you'll see it when you remove the cover to get to the bottle jack and tire iron.) Reason the lights, etc aren't working is because of the bushing in the shift motor that the write up tells how to replace.

The write up details it more, but the gist is that when the circuit board in the shift motor turns back to the 2wd position, the bushing stops the board from turning too far. When that bushing disintegrates (in my case), and the board does turn too far, it looses the contacts, which in turn looses your 4x4.

It's a pretty easy process...I think in all (special torx bit, sealant, short section of fuel line) it was under $10 and took maybe an hour and a half, if that, when I did mine; removal of shift motor, replaceing the bushing, letting the silicone cure and replacement. Did the same thing to my 91 XLT even though it still worked, and only half the bushing was left. It's worth doing just as a precaution, but will also help diagnose if it truly is the problem or not.

 

[toddious]

On my 02 it was a control module behind the glovebox that needed replaced when my 4wd stopped engaging.

 

[2stroke]

A fuse is a prime suspect, but I would be willing to bet there is a relay (although I cant confirm) as well as the button itself is known to fail.

 

[RangerX]

There's a good thread here somewhere on how to troubleshoot your 4wd.
Check the stickies in either stock 1st ten or stock 2nd gen forums.

 

[madbutcher]

There's a good thread here somewhere on how to troubleshoot your 4wd.
Check the stickies in either stock 1st ten or stock 2nd gen forums.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202166

 

[Ramblinwilly]

My bad. Should have looked for a Sticky. Thanks to all of the input. Will be diving into this soon and will take pictures and post for all to use. Going to start with module then shift motor.