AWD screwed up. please help

[spanishmauser_51]

ok so i bought this 99 Eddie Bauer 3 weeks ago and took it in for service after the 4wd high light kept blinking and some odd front end noise. i
have the AWD system and my mechaninc seems to think that the motor that engages the AWD automatically is aged out after 11 years and 103k miles. is this most likely the issue? and can i take it on a road trip with this motor not functionong properly? from say north carolina to Illinois. 21 hours round trip.

 

[X6StringerX]

We need to get a little more information first. Does your vehicle have the 5.0 engine or the 4.0 engine? If it has the 4.0, you do not have AWD. If it has the 5.0 and you have AWD, there is no motor that engages it.

 

[emtexplorer]

ok so i bought this 99 Eddie Bauer 3 weeks ago and took it in for service after the 4wd high light kept blinking and some odd front end noise. i
have the AWD system and my mechaninc seems to think that the motor that engages the AWD automatically is aged out after 11 years and 103k miles. is this most likely the issue? and can i take it on a road trip with this motor not functionong properly? from say north carolina to Illinois. 21 hours round trip.

You dont have AWD if your 4WD High Light is blinking you have 4WD

 

[spanishmauser_51]

well, the switch on my '99 says AUTO-4WD HIGH-4WD LOW
where as my 2004 sport trac says 2WD-4WD HIGH-4WD LOW so i assumed...
and my mechanic and the dealer both informed me that it is on demand AWD system tht you can lock in 4WD. but im not takin the dealers word on anythng they jsut wanna sell cars. so yeah... and its the 4.0L SOHC and i assume thats a 4 speed auto with overdrive.

 

[emtexplorer]

well, the switch on my '99 says AUTO-4WD HIGH-4WD LOW
where as my 2004 sport trac says 2WD-4WD HIGH-4WD LOW so i assumed...
and my mechanic and the dealer both informed me that it is on demand AWD system tht you can lock in 4WD. but im not takin the dealers word on anythng they jsut wanna sell cars. so yeah... and its the 4.0L SOHC and i assume thats a 4 speed auto with overdrive.

As far as I know only the v8's came with true AWD, I have a 95 and have control track 4WD 2wd/4high/4low I think your 99 has the 5 speed auto, others will chime in here im sure but if you have a v6 im 99.9% sure your rig is 4wd

 

[spanishmauser_51]

interesting. good to know bout the 5 speed tht explains my 18-24 i get mpg...
well if it isnt AWD what is coming up as a bad shift motor/solenoid or whtever the heck it is on the diagnostic? any ideas cause im kinda lost here haha

 

[X6StringerX]

AWD is a term that is used pretty loosely by many. What you have is a selectable 4WD system. If the computer senses that your rear wheels have lost traction while you're in 4WD AUTO mode, it will momentarily send power to the front wheels to help you regain control. A true AWD system such as the ones found in Subarus or in the 5.0 Explorers constantly send power to both the rear and front wheels with no use of a shift motor. The transfer case itself is completely mechanical.

I don't know if a bad shift motor will trigger a flashing 4x4 light because I'm not too knowledgeable of the 4.0/4x4 systems. Will your 4x4 engage? If it won't engage, you can try having someone toggle the switch between positions as you try to manually "aid" the movement of the motor with a BFH. If the shift motor isn't used often, it can become seized. Again, I'm not extremely knowledgeable of your system, but a flashing 4WD light may also indicate something much more serious than a shift motor being bad. I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall reading a few threads throughout my years here that related a flashing 4x4 light to transmission problems. Run a forum search for "flashing 4x4 light" or another variation and see what you can find. I know it's been discussed here, but I don't usually keep up with 4.0 or 4x4 specific problems.

 

[spanishmauser_51]

i usually use the term "on demand AWD system" but thank you so muc for your help!

 

[spanishmauser_51]

and i really hope this doesnt indicate a transmission problem. i'll take this puppy back to the dealer thats junks to expensive on a $5500 vehicle

 

[X6StringerX]

Actually, now that I think more about it, I believe it is a flashing O/D light that indicates a transmission problem. I'm sorry I had you worried, lol. Maybe it's just your shift motor solenoid.

 

[CDW6212R]

AUTO means automatic 4WD, A4WD. AWD means ALL wheel drive(full time).

Try to get any error codes pulled from the PCM and the 4WD system(different). Do that as soon as you can, fix it before your trip if possible. Most likely if it's the TC then you can take the trip. The normal operation is 2WD(switch says A4WD), and the electronics decide whether to engage the internal clutch for 4WD. So unless it has symptoms like the front axles binding(you'd know it fast), it is running in 2WD. Thus if it's the TC, without it being in 4WD, it should go fine for the trip. But do try to fix it ASAP, you don't want to find out late that it is the trans etc.

The shift motor isn't used very much, so that is a very common part to go bad, basically from lack of use. The shift motor is very common, it's about $80 on eBay for almost all of the 90's Ford electric shift TC's. Regards,

 

[spanishmauser_51]

so your saying that its probably the shift motor that engaes this automatic 4wd system? and the readouts from the shop said that was what had gone bad, along with the rear windshield wiper but thats irrelevent for now. haha

 

[CDW6212R]

No, I said the 4WD "electronics decide whether to engage the internal clutch for 4WD." That's inside the transfer case.

The shift motor is only used for one thing, just for 4WD LOW. If you never move the switch to 4WD LOW, the shift motor never does anything. The 4WD HIGH is achieved without the shift motor, by the same electromagnetic clutch used in A4WD. So the most used parts are that magnetic clutch, and the electronics inside the dash.

That's why I said if you don't feel any symptom of the 4WD engaging(in the dry, in turns), then it's in 2WD and not a big deal yet. This is a good general description of the 97-01 Explorers with that BW4405 TC. They do go bad, but we rarely here back on the forum about what really was wrong. Please let us know, so that we can learn and help others. Regards,

 

[spanishmauser_51]

yeah i sure will. the computer says the sift motors bad. and 4wd hasnt engaged except whn i flip the switch to 4wd high. so i, guessing its working ok and it just needed service. seeing as tht this vehicle has been drivin by a older lady who im guessing never engaed or serviced the TC. its been flushed and had new fluid put in it. and this motor will get replaced here shortly. i'll keep you folks updated.

 

[CDW6212R]

The shift motor won't do anything unless you select 4WD LOW. High comes from the internal clutch.

I have an unknown used shift motor I could sell. I bought a used Navigator TC for my 98 truck, and installed a new shift motor before ever using it. I have one on my old 93 TC also, they are all the same motors. I see them as spare parts, or scrap if they take up too much room.

 

[spanishmauser_51]

alright. its at the shop overnight. i jsut recalled that my mechanic said tht after the flush of the system the lights stopped blinking. and i dont doubt tht after 10 years of no use to b suddlnly dropped into Low 3 weeks ago whn i test drove it may have cause this all to start moving parts and doing thngs its not done before.

 

[CDW6212R]

Changing to new Mercon V is wise for normal maintenance, people forget to do the TC. I honestly only did my AWD one time in 74k miles. Night,

 

[spanishmauser_51]

best we can tell its fixed and alright. got some new tires rides great!