4x4 won't disengage

[maxel]

Hi, my 1994 Explorer Limited won't disengage 4x4, I didn't even engage it myself. It has a button and the light next to it is on and it says 4x4 on the instrument cluster.

My u-joints at the front are in bad shape and I will not replace them soon so this is not so good :/.

Also, much less fun at roundabouts in the rain

 

[James909]

First of all, stop driving the vehicle in 4x4 on pavement! It sounds like you've been lucky so far but it's just a matter of time till the transfer case goes from the load caused by driving on pavement. If you must drive the vehicle then either drop the front driveshaft or remove the shift motor and turn it into 2wd with a pair of pliers. Regarding the problem, it sounds like the shift motor has gone bad. What does the truck do when you try to disengage 4x4? You could try lightly tapping on the shift motor to see if it frees up.

 

[maxel]

First of all, stop driving the vehicle in 4x4 on pavement! It sounds like you've been lucky so far but it's just a matter of time till the transfer case goes from the load caused by driving on pavement. If you must drive the vehicle then either drop the front driveshaft or remove the shift motor and turn it into 2wd with a pair of pliers. Regarding the problem, it sounds like the shift motor has gone bad. What does the truck do when you try to disengage 4x4? You could try lightly tapping on the shift motor to see if it frees up.

Umm, first off all, I didn't even put it in 4x4 my self :/

This button that supposedly turns it on/off just doesn't work.
I'm doing it right yeah? Put it in P or Neutral and push the button? What can interfere with the button?

 

[James909]

You don't have to be in park or neutral to engage/disengage 4x4 high, the vehicle can be in gear and moving at up to 50mph. Try disengaging 4x4 with the vehicle slowly rolling. When you hit the button do you hear any clicking towards the back of the truck?

 

[maxel]

You don't have to be in park or neutral to engage/disengage 4x4 high, the vehicle can be in gear and moving at up to 50mph. Try disengaging 4x4 with the vehicle slowly rolling. When you hit the button do you hear any clicking towards the back of the truck?

I will try it tomorrow ok?
But please if you have any idea what is wrong please write.

 

[James909]

I am leaning towards it being a bad shift motor. When you hit the 4x4 button you should hear clicking in the rear of the truck. These are the relays and indicates that the signal is getting to the 4x4 computer. So if you hear this clicking then the shift motor is probably stuck and not shifting the transfer case to 2wd. However if you don't hear clicking then the signal is not getting to the 4x4 computer. This would indicate an electrical problem such as a bad relay.

 

[maxel]

Thanks for the info

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Sounds like a bad shift motor to me.

 

[troy11556]

manually disengage it!!!!! turn the shaft on the front 1/4 to 1/2 turn and disengage it i do when i am in a bind and not able to move to lock the front in............

 

[glfredrick]

There is more to the electric shift than just a button. There is also a relay box that could have shorted out. It is burried up under the dash, and really difficult to get at, but its there.

Pull the shift motor assembly (the wire to the sensor on the t-case comes out of the motor harness, pop the little clip in the center and it pushes out). Then, twist the triangle-shaped stud that sticks out of the t-case with a pliers or vise grip. Turn it until it disengages. You can drive it with the shift motor removed, it won't hurt anything. That will buy you some time to figure out what else is going wrong.

Oh, and NEVER hit the shift motor to try to make it work. You break the magnets very easily, and once they are broken, they wedge the shift mechanism locking it in place -- which is exactly what I suspect yours is doing.

 

[maxel]

There is more to the electric shift than just a button. There is also a relay box that could have shorted out. It is burried up under the dash, and really difficult to get at, but its there.

Pull the shift motor assembly (the wire to the sensor on the t-case comes out of the motor harness, pop the little clip in the center and it pushes out). Then, twist the triangle-shaped stud that sticks out of the t-case with a pliers or vise grip. Turn it until it disengages. You can drive it with the shift motor removed, it won't hurt anything. That will buy you some time to figure out what else is going wrong.

Oh, and NEVER hit the shift motor to try to make it work. You break the magnets very easily, and once they are broken, they wedge the shift mechanism locking it in place -- which is exactly what I suspect yours is doing.

Ugh, that's explain why it went into 4x4 all by itself?

Well I tried driving at a slow pace and pushing the button, doesn't work.

And I can hear the realy clicking in the back.



So this all indicated that the shift motor is stuck or has broken magnets?
Equals replacement....
the motor is pretty easy to replace right?

edit: I will try to manually disengage it and I will let you guys know hot it worked out.

 

[DeRocha]

Have you looked at the 4x4 troubleshooting thread yet?

 

[maxel]

Thanks, got it manually

 

[smtcapecod]

Hm...I'll try the manual process on the front driveshaft tomorrow (#9), but otherwise I'm in the same bolt. Except- I pulled the shift motor, and couldn't rotate the selector! It was in between 4Lo and 2H, I'm worried something is bound up in there, can't get out of 4Lo.

 

[DeRocha]

Hm...I'll try the manual process on the front driveshaft tomorrow (#9), but otherwise I'm in the same bolt. Except- I pulled the shift motor, and couldn't rotate the selector! It was in between 4Lo and 2H, I'm worried something is bound up in there, can't get out of 4Lo.

To manual get rotate the selector shaft out of 4L you need to put the transmission in Neutral otherwise there will be alot of resistance when trying to rotate the T-case selector shaft.

 

[Michiganbear]

Also, the selector WONT go from 4lo to 2hi without going thru 4high... ie, go 4lo to 4hi to 2 hi

 

[smtcapecod]

tips

Thanks,

I appreciate the tips- yes it was in Park. I shoulda thought of that (N) - i get doubly stupid when working with systems I'm not familiar with. Fingers crossed, and snows coming! Thanks also re: rotating through proper sequence.

 

[fixxxer]

If you want to get a little deeper into troubleshooting this issue, try 93-Explorer-Elec-Transfer-Case-Shift-Diagnostics and if you are handy with a voltmeter:93-Ex-TCase-Circuit-Testing
These diagrams are for a 93 4x4 but should be the same for all 1st gen 4x4 Explorers

 

[Four0Sport]

and if your problem is the shift motor dont forget there is a rebuild thread on them

 

[mikeinri]

YES!!!!! I can't stress this enough: Follow the links from derocha and fixxxer.

Actual troubleshooting can be worth hundreds of dollars vs. blind part-swapping...

BTW, welcome to the site!

Mike