Help please 4 wheel drive out!!

[johnmcgarrah]

Help guys!! I'll tell you the situation. I was driving and could not avoid running over a tire retread from a semi. I heard it hitting underneath. I thought I was fine, I drove 20 more miles and gassed up. When I started the truck back up I drove about five miles and my 4wd and 4low lights started to flash. They would flash six times and go out. When I got home the I tried to engage 4wheel and it did nothing. I disconnected the battery, next morning, reconnected it and everything was fine. Two days later I hear some kind of sound in my front end, not a grinding but a kind of whining. I tried to engauge 4 wheel and it worked. The lights started to flash, and again nothing works. I got under the truck and can not see anything obvious. That is why I need your help. Current condition: I start the truck and 4wheel works, then after driving a few miles the lights will flash and 4wheel will not work. I shut it off, and go again and it will work again. I have an appointment with the ford dealer, but any heads up would most certaily be appreciated.

Thanks in advance fellas,

 

[Robert]

Since I doubt that a tire re-tread would hurt anything internal to the transfer case, I would suspect that it did some kind of electical damage. The things that affect your 4WD are your transfer case shift motor and the front and rear speed sensors. All of which are located on your transfercase. I would look closely at the transfer case and try unplugging and plugging back in the above items to see if that cures it. Once your High and Low lights flash the system switches to 2WD since it detected a problem. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I would definately try my suggestions before paying Ford to.

 

[Archie]

same problem

I am having same problem, but mine is locked in 4-Hi only engages when switch turned on. Tried unpluging main wire to transfer case no change. Ford tech thinks it could be control module. When called over the phone. Where are the speed sensors located? Might try next.

 

[gorgo]

johnmc....

Your problem appears to be with the front and rear shaft speed sensors. The control module requires the vehicle to be moving before it can figure out that there's a problem with the speed sensors. This is why it appears to work fine on startup and starts flashing lights after you've been driving a little while.

I wonder if the tread trashed the electrical connector and/or wires to the transfer case. You may want to check this out before you go after the sensors.

 

[WHITE93STALLION]

HEY GUYS, ANYWAYS THAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT MINE USED. I GOT IT AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND THE NEXT DAY IT WOULDNT SWITCH INTO 4WD. I TOOK IT BACK AND THEY SAID IT WAS THE SWEEPER ON THE MOTOR ON THE TRANSFER CASE, THAT MIGHT BE IT, I DONT KNOW IF ITS THE SAME THING, JUST THROWING MY 2CENTS IN,.......TRAVIS

 

[Archie]

Hanyes service manual

I picked upthe Hanyes service manual today, there seems to be information that could help with the transfer case problems. Overall it looks pretty good for all the explorer service info.
Going to try and fix this weekend gotta get back on the trail.

 

[brandon11]

4wd out

It sounds like the tire tread might have hit the motor or wires to the motor to engage the 4wd,on the back of the tranfer case there should be a connection between this motor and agroup of wires that go th the control unit in the side (back where your jack is located if you press the 4wd button and the led light (red) on the control unit blinks but nothing happens it is the motor that engages the trasfercase