Did I order the right transfer case for my 2007 4.0 Mountaineer?

[TheRotorHead]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum after lurking for sometime.

I recently found what I thought (and hope still was) a good deal on a 2007 Mountaineer 4.0 Base with the tow package. Unfortunately, it has an issue that has proven to be a little troublesome in diagnosing.

When accelerating under load, there is what I would describe as a banging or popping noise coming from the drivetrain. The sound is entirely dependent on the load placed on the vehicle and is not present at cruise. I originally misdiagnosed this as bad CV axles and replaced the front pair with Motorcraft replacements. This did not solve the problem so I enlisted the help of my more mechanically inclined brother and we isolated the sound to the general area of the transfer case. From reading these forums I gathered that the issue could either be a bad CV joint on the front drive shaft or it was a problem inside the transfer case. It seems that the general consensus is to pull the front drive shaft; if the noise goes away you know the drive shaft is bad, if it doesn't go away you know it is a transfer case problem.

When we pulled the front drive shaft, we discovered that the vehicle would not move at all. There was a rather awful sound that--to me--sounded like some sort of electronic motor trying to engage or disengage. We installed the front drive shaft again and the vehicle again operated as it was prior to the shaft being removed.

Given that the vehicles drives beautifully otherwise and appears to have been very well maintained, I am fairly confident that it is not a transmission issue. Since the vehicle appears to not be sending any power to the rear wheels, that would indicate to me a transfer case issue. Subsequently, I ordered a transfer case from a junkyard online, and it is supposed to arrive in the next couple days.

Here is my big concern though, I'm not sure if I ordered the right one.

The part I ordered is for "6L24-7A195-AF thru AH" according to the website. RockAuto lists two part numbers (RTC4414F1 and RTC4412F2) for 4.0L AWD vehicles. According to CarID, it looks like those parts are interchangeable. I couldn't imagine that Ford would use different transfer cases on the same year and drivetrain of a vehicle, but it appears that might be the case and now I'm concerned that I will have the wrong part when it arrives.

Hopefully some of you who are more familiar with these vehicles can help me figure out what is going on here.

Thank you in advance!

 

[CDW6212R]

Welcome, and check the transfer case by the backside visually, plus the application. Almost all of them were 4WD transfer cases(A4WD), which all have a shift motor on the back of them. The only other possible TC should be the BW 4410, which is actual AWD, and has no shift motor at all.

Be careful about the descriptions, what you see and read, plus what you say etc. Most likely you have a 4WD Explorer, or automatic 4WD if you want best accuracy, thus A4WD, and not AWD. Ford made very few AWD's ever, those all have no shift motors, and they drive all four wheels all the time. Every other TC Ford produces is for a 4WD vehicle, and they all have a shift motor on them. If it has an automatic function, which is inside it, then it's A4WD(not AWD) and those run in 2WD constantly until it automatically senses slip, and then becomes 4WD.

I know Ford and everyone calls the newer cars AWD, those are all poor(wrong) descriptions, which create these problems of identifying parts and features.

Again, look at your old transfer case, see if it has a shift motor on it, which will have several wires going to it. You just need a TC from a similar model trans, with the shift motor on it. The connectors and wires should match, and the TC should be a direct swap. Note that parts sources may remove the shift motors, leaving a space with small bolt holes to mount your motor. The shift motor should come with the TC, but some people are cheap SOB's. The shift motor has been under $100 new for a long time, they are fairly reliable and common over many models of TC.

This is the latest AWD TC that Ford used in the Explorers, the BW 4410 and supposedly up until 2010(2002-2010).

 

[TheRotorHead]

Welcome, and check the transfer case by the backside visually, plus the application. Almost all of them were 4WD transfer cases(A4WD), which all have a shift motor on the back of them. The only other possible TC should be the BW 4410, which is actual AWD, and has no shift motor at all.

Be careful about the descriptions, what you see and read, plus what you say etc. Most likely you have a 4WD Explorer, or automatic 4WD if you want best accuracy, thus A4WD, and not AWD. Ford made very few AWD's ever, those all have no shift motors, and they drive all four wheels all the time. Every other TC Ford produces is for a 4WD vehicle, and they all have a shift motor on them. If it has an automatic function, which is inside it, then it's A4WD(not AWD) and those run in 2WD constantly until it automatically senses slip, and then becomes 4WD.

I know Ford and everyone calls the newer cars AWD, those are all poor(wrong) descriptions, which create these problems of identifying parts and features.

Again, look at your old transfer case, see if it has a shift motor on it, which will have several wires going to it. You just need a TC from a similar model trans, with the shift motor on it. The connectors and wires should match, and the TC should be a direct swap. Note that parts sources may remove the shift motors, leaving a space with small bolt holes to mount your motor. The shift motor should come with the TC, but some people are cheap SOB's. The shift motor has been under $100 new for a long time, they are fairly reliable and common over many models of TC.

This is the latest AWD TC that Ford used in the Explorers, the BW 4410 and supposedly up until 2010(2002-2010).

View attachment 426915

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I’m still quite confused though as the Mountaineers (mine included) is labeled as an AWD rather 4WD. I was under the impression that the Mountaineers were actual AWD, but this is my first foray into SUVs. Are you saying that my Mountaineer might actually have an auto 4wd?

Even more confusing is that I don’t see any BW4410 transfer cases listed for my vehicle. The only options I see on Rock Auto and other sites are for the 4412 and 4414.

 

[94Eddie]

There is a difference between the Explorer and Mountaineer transfer cases. The Mountaineers have no 4WD low capability while the Explorer does. I don't know if this effects the ability to use an Explorer transfer case in a Mountaineer, and vice versa, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does. Your best bet is to get a transfer case from, or for, a Mountaineer.

 

[CDW6212R]

I believe all of the 4WD TC's will have a 4WD Low gear, that's what the shift motor will be for. The automatic feature is not for the shift motor, but for an internal clutch which engages the front drive shaft, or in later models, the rear shaft.

The BW 4412 I know is an A4WD TC, from my hunting an AWD(there isn't one) for the 6R80 trans. But those would only bolt to a 6R trans, and not the 5R55 models.

If your Mountaineer has a five speed 5R55 trans(different models for V6 and V8), those use a different bolt pattern than prior to 2002 Fords, and earlier than the six speed 6R's that came out in the end of the 4th gen trucks.

So for your 2007, learn as much about what you have first, that will all help you to figure out what parts apply, and which cannot be possible. Does it have the dash switch with 4WD selections, how many are there and what are they labeled? If there is no dash switch at all(I know later models have that in the instrument cluster so it's not a manual switch any longer(I don't know when that began in the cluster)), then it would/must be 2WD only or AWD always.

Is it a five speed, I bet it is, the six speed came along in the last of the generation, 2009/10 I think.

You can find pictures of the various Borg Warner transfer cases, and by the front, tell if it can bolt to the five speeds, or not(later six speeds). Here's the front of the BW 4410, which is how all the 5R55's(not the E model) bolt together. It's a huge bolt pattern, unlike the older Fords, and the later ones are also much different than that.

Below is the front of a BW 4410(AWD), and the BW 4412 which is A4WD and goes onto a six speed. The back of it shows where a shift motor bolts onto it.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There was a short time where the mountaineer,(or aviator?) had an automatic 4wd case that had the shift motor blanked off.

Someone here put a lot of work into making it low capable, but I don’t believe it worked out for them.

 

[TheRotorHead]

Well it gets more confusing.

The transfer case was delivered today, and it does indeed have the large bolt pattern of the 4410 you posted the picture of. It also has a shift motor attached and the remnants of a rubber hose attached to a nipple that is roughly in the same location as the orange nipple located on the 4412 in the 2nd picture. I was able to crawl up under my vehicle and there is no shift motor on its transfer case.

Safe to assume that what I received was the automatic 4WD transfer case from a V-6 Explorer?

And yes, just to clarify, my Mountaineer has the 4.0 V-6 engine with the 5 speed auto transmission.

 

[CDW6212R]

There was a short time where the mountaineer,(or aviator?) had an automatic 4wd case that had the shift motor blanked off.

Someone here put a lot of work into making it low capable, but I don’t believe it worked out for them.

Interesting, they made a transfer case with the automatic 4WD feature, but without the ability to shift to 4WD Low. That would mean they didn't want the user to have a switch to choose 4WD Low, but just have it automatically control the shifting to 4WD.

That kind of odd part makes finding a replacement really hard, those tags on the side of the unit become critical then, usually they are just a PITA(waste of time).

I'm betting that the vehicle here in question can use that in hand TC, but the shift motor will have to be disabled/unused. The wiring shouldn't be in the vehicle to connect the shift motor wires, so it should be just about making sure the internal shift lever is in normal 2WD drive position, and having it stay there permanently. That can be moved manually with the shift motor off, but it should be there normally now as it sets.

I look to the experts here for their experience with the 4WD shift controls, that lever and how it may be moved in all conditions. I'd say it shouldn't move unless made to by the shift motor or being in the wrong position as it came.

That rubber hose should be on your truck, as a simple vent hose.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Interesting, they made a transfer case with the automatic 4WD feature, but without the ability to shift to 4WD Low. That would mean they didn't want the user to have a switch to choose 4WD Low, but just have it automatically control the shifting to 4WD.

That kind of odd part makes finding a replacement really hard, those tags on the side of the unit become critical then, usually they are just a PITA(waste of time).

I'm betting that the vehicle here in question can use that in hand TC, but the shift motor will have to be disabled/unused. The wiring shouldn't be in the vehicle to connect the shift motor wires, so it should be just about making sure the internal shift lever is in normal 2WD drive position, and having it stay there permanently. That can be moved manually with the shift motor off, but it should be there normally now as it sets.

I look to the experts here for their experience with the 4WD shift controls, that lever and how it may be moved in all conditions. I'd say it shouldn't move unless made to by the shift motor or being in the wrong position as it came.

That rubber hose should be on your truck, as a simple vent hose.

I don’t recall the specifics, but I think it was a Frankencase design. I don’t think it actually had the ability to use low, but it had a place a shift motor could mount, and either used the electromagnetic clutch, or at the very least had the case that *looked* like it did.

I’ll dig for it in a second.

 

[CDW6212R]

That might or should have had no real hole in the back of the case, or some of those internal shifting parts. It sounds like a very rare item that didn't get unique mention in parts books or the parts models.

In any case, this 07 Mountaineer of member TheRotorHead has a rare transfer case. It could be difficult to find a perfect match to it. Depending on the cost of the one he just received, I might choose to keep it and find someone to take the old one apart. The parts it needs to fix it should be among what he has in the replacement.

I'd want to compare the cost to swap parts, versus buy the needed new parts, versus returning the new TC and find another correct one.

 

[TheRotorHead]

Thank you to you both for your help so far.

As far as I can tell, the transfer case that is inside my vehicle is your run of the mill BW4414--which itself seems to be more or less the same as the BW4410. I'm thinking that the 4414 is probably just a slightly updated 4410, as scouring around the internet indicates that there is a lot of compatibility between the two. None the less, I am going to put my Mountaineer up on jackstands and find the actual part code on the transfer case and go from there. Hopefully I can work with the supplier of the used part to get the correct one.

 

[TheRotorHead]

Just wanted to update everyone that I went crawling under the Mountaineer the other day and verified that the transfer case ID code is 7L24-7A195-CC, consistent with the 4410/4414 AWD. Looks like I simply ordered the wrong part.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good, and it's a shame you/we have to dig deep into the odd details of some vehicle builds.