HELP!! Transfer case stuck in 4wd high

[firefighter1]

Ok I have a 2000 Ford Explorer XLT with Auto Electric 4WD V6 SOHC. For some reason it went into 4wd high. It must have lost some traction in some sand on the road or something. But it is stuck in 4wd high. I have cycled through 4wd low and it goes in fine. It will go back to 4wd high but will not go back to 2wd. I jacked up the front end and can spin one tire and the other tire spins the opposite way. (normal) However I cannot rotate the front drive shaft. Started the truck and tried both park and neutral and I still could not rotate the front drive shaft. I removed the actuator motor and the pin was not all the way to neutral position. I moved it to neutral and still no change. I have removed the transfer case and can feel the difference with 4wd low but none between neutral and 4wd high. It hard to describe but if you rotate the front and rear opposite it feels like a clutch rubbing together. I can feel the fork click but no change in the fwd unlocking. It had plenty of fluid. A little old and ready to be changed but not original. Is the clutch pack stuck or something? The truck does have around 205000. The engine was replaced at 70k do to a failed oil pump shaft snapping and breaking several chains. The transmission last year was replaced. So yea its got some mileage but its what I have right now. Times are tough. The front diff is leaking some at the pinion seal some and I have been keeping an eye on it. was going to do it this spring when warmer. Oh and when the truck was running I could hear a slight whining noise coming from transfer case while I was under the truck.
So what recommendations? Do I find a good junk yard transfer case, try and rebuild it myself or take it to someone to rebuild or what? This is my daily driver and I am stuck right now.

 

[wood1]

No answers yet huh. Does your truck have auto 4wd? If so there is a clutch in the TC that could have failed. Can you remove the front drive shaft for now just so you are mobile?

 

[albi1cnobi1]

What wood1 said!

 

[rhyno]

Same thing happened to my old truck. Bang the heck out of it (Tcase) with a hammer and that worked for me a few times to get it unstuck. After that i just removed the front drive shaft and drove it in 2wd until i sold it.

Good luck.

 

[Bobbylew]

My '94 decided to stay in 4WD, too. I took the shift motor off and can turn the shift shaft but it stays in 4WD. I'm sure it's a problem with the forks or the helical cam, so until it warms up and I can finish the 240VAC wiring for my hoist, I removed the front shaft, too. I'm hoping that the winter is enough gone that we don't get any more freaking snow.

 

[firefighter1]

I replaced my transfer case with a used one. Unfortunately the used one had a bad magnet in the auto lock system. Meaning the auto fwd doesnt work. But anyways. Its most likely not a bad fork. When I took mine a part 10 of like the 18 clutch disks were used up and coming apart. It caused them to stick together causing it to lock up. It isnt worth rebuilding. Its easier and cheaper to get a used one. Its a pain just to open the thing up but I wanted to know what had happened. I had clutch disk material floating in the fluid it was so bad. Anyways. Good luck.

 

[Bobbylew]

What a Mess

I finally ended up pulling the unit (B-W 1354) because some Numb Nut had used Urethane Adhesive for the case gasket and not RTV, so the case was glued together. I finally was able to drive several single edge razor blades in there and soaking it with Carb Cleaner and MEK, hoping to get the halves separated. Now I have another problem. I can't get a socket on the freaking front yoke retaining nut! It's a 30mm, but nothing I've found will fit in the yoke recess. Impact sockets have too think of a wall and I can't find any standard wall thickness sockets in 30mm. I guess I'll have to drive a 100 miles just to find something that will work.

After replacing the rear differential in the wife's Five Hundred AWD, I sure didn't need this!

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

 

[drdoom]

I bought sockets from Amazon and advance impact they fit.

 

[Bobbylew]

Thanks

Thanks for the tip. If I don't find anything later today, I'll have to do that. I'm going to toss the case in the pickup and go here and there, trying various sources. Frustrating for sure.

 

[Bobbylew]

Sorry that it's been so darn long, but here is an update on the '94 Transfer Case. It turned out to be a worn out "Mode Fork", The blasted things are made of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) and the case got very low on MERCON. There went the fork. While I had it apart, it got a new chain, seals and bearings. Works great now.