'92 Explorer- can it be permanently locked in 4 WD?

[murf85]

I just got a '92 Explorer and am having a problem putting it in 4WD. The light goes on but it's not in 4WD. I will be using it off road only. Is there a way to manually lock it in 4WD, and keep it that way?

 

[Exploderpilot]

Your electric shift motor in the tcase is probably the culprit.
Welcome to the site! And as far as always being 4wd, yeah you probably could lock it in 4WD, but i don't recommend it. And i'm really smart.

 

[DeRocha]

I just got a '92 Explorer and am having a problem putting it in 4WD. The light goes on but it's not in 4WD. I will be using it off road only. Is there a way to manually lock it in 4WD, and keep it that way?

If the 4x4 button and dash lights are on then the front drive shaft is being powered.. If the front wheels are not grabbing it would be due to a broken or unlocked hub.. All it takes is for one hub to be broken and you're in 4x2. Do you have manual or automatic hubs?

Do you know if you're hubs work, or how to tell which one is bad?

 

[murf85]

Sometimes the red LED 4x4 light goes on, as well as the 4x4 light by the instrument panel, sometimes not, but either way the front wheels don't grab. It has automatic hubs. I hear clicking from the left rear side of the interior.
Also, even in neutral and my foot on the brake the low range light never goes on.

 

[DeRocha]

Sometimes the red LED 4x4 light goes on, as well as the 4x4 light by the instrument panel, sometimes not, but either way the front wheels don't grab. It has automatic hubs. I hear clicking from the left rear side of the interior.
Also, even in neutral and my foot on the brake the low range light never goes on.

The clicking (from the front wheels) is a sign the automatic hubs are not locking.. An Easy test is to get under your truck and rotate the front axle shafts (not the drive shaft).. After a few revolutions the autohub should lock in and be impossible to turn.. If you are able to keep turning the axle it indicates the hub is bad/gunked up.

To clean see the repair info in my sig line or find threads like:
Fixing/cleaning my automatic hub

How are you trying to activate 4L?

You need to be

1. Already in 4x4 High
2. Transmission in "N"
3. Clutch in for Manual trans

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I have a link in my list of useful threads which would help you with the automatic hubs. This is on a 92 Explorer: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122696. This is # 27 in my list of useful threads. # 26 is for a 97 Explorer: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149326&page=1&pp=20

 

[murf85]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I now have a decent understanding of how the system works. I'll try the troubleshooting techniques that you guys have recommended and go from there.

 

[DeRocha]

...I hear clicking from the left rear side of the interior.

The above clicking noise is the relays in the 4x4 computer receiving input from you pressing the 4x4 button. If the 4x4 button and dash lights come on it indicates the system was able to shift the T-Case into 4x4, otherwise the system detected a problem and was unable to activate 4x4. The most likely cause of this 4x4 shift failure is a broken stop bumper on the shift motor's geared position sensor. As mentioned in Brooklyn's post this information can be found in the shift motor repair thread..