96 4x4 problem

[the_jks]

hey what up got a question for all out there that might know a little bout this 4x4system?? my 4x4 started actin up today on the highway i switched it in to
4x4auto and my transfer case made a clunk then my 4x4 &4x4 low lights started flashing ?? my 4x4 has sometime been taking a little longer to come out of 4x4auto &low and occasionaly flashed once or twice when switching from any 4x4 to 2wd but has worked fine on and off road except for the odd clunk in 4x4 auto when accelin in mud up hill pretty much when i believe the 4x4 kicks in, because in 4x4 low the truck sounds fine my front tire spins.

my question is do i have two seperate problems ?
1 my shiftmotor is failin or now failed ??( longer time it takes now to switch fr 2wd to 4wd, the occasional short flashing of dash lights and the now flashing 4x4 dashlights?)

2 the part of the tansfer case that engauges the 4x4 is starting to go or gone now too( the clunkin when 4x4 kicks in, the clunkin today when switchin from 2wd to 4x4auto?)

oh and i did search but found very little but i do wanna swap the tcase to a manual f150 if this ones toast
thanks

 

[BogFather]

first question, and not to make ya sound foolish. when switching to 4x4 high are you doing so from nuetral?? the clunking sound if it's just a small quick clunk when switching is the 4x4 locking in i do believe. may be wrong but thats what it sounds like to me. hope this helps

 

[the_jks]

no its cool
i believe a 96 has a 4x4auto feature usein speed sensor to engauge the front driveline when rear wheels are slipin i have no 4x4 high just ( 2wd/ 4x4auto/ 4x4 low) and the only time i have to put it in nutrel is when i switch to
4x4low

i could be worng though and have been f** the thing from the start

 

[the_jks]

ok so i tried switching it to 4x4 today it seems to be workin fine now but theres clearly a problem its still takin a bit longer than usual to engauge any suggestions?

 

[JDraper]

You may have a vacuum module issue. On the 95-96, there is a vacuum disconnect on the front axle that operates when you flip the switch from 2wd to 4wd auto. If the vacuum lines are cracked, that would cause the disconnect not to operate, which will make the dash lights flash.

The vacuum module that does the operation is mounted on the radiator support just to the passenger's side of the radiator. It's a black box with vacuum hoses leading into it. The actual mechanism is housed in a box built into the passenger's side of the front axle.

The other possibility is that the shift motor contacts are dirty/corroded. That's a common issue with the Explorer's. If it is working but slowly, cycle it a few times and see if that helps.

 

[the_jks]

alright thanks for the input i guess ill check that vacum line then clean up the connectors and thro some dielectric greese on em

is there any way i can check the vaccum with a manometer like dissconect the hose from the diff and see if its reading is right vaccum? i have a haynes repair manual it might tell me what its vac pressure is?