I can't drive unless I'm in 4 low.

[davewharris]

I have a 95 with an automatic trans and electric shift transfer case.
It stopped pulling in anything but 4WD low.
Any guesses?

 

[Verno]

Try putting in N with foot on brake and shift to 4Hi. Problem is in electric motor

 

[Glen4X4]

Welcome To The Forum! I'm taking it as your truck won't drive unless its in 4low? If so have you checked your transmission fluid level? How does it operate in 2wd or 4auto in reverse?

 

[davewharris]

Try putting in N with foot on brake and shift to 4Hi. Problem is in electric motor

Tried that and no luck.
It will move forward or back only in 4wd low. I did notice that if I try to put in park while in 4wd high or 2wd it makes the noise you get when you try to put a moving vehicle in park.

 

[Verno]

Tried that and no luck.
It will move forward or back only in 4wd low. I did notice that if I try to put in park while in 4wd high or 2wd it makes the noise you get when try to put a moving vehicle in park.

Fluid level? Sounds like possibly the torque converter. Generally if an auto tranny goes, it won't matter what selection the transfer case is in, that just "transfers" the drive from tranny to wheels. Can you manually change T/C with engine off

 

[davewharris]

Welcome To The Forum! I'm taking it as your truck won't drive unless its in 4low? If so have you checked your transmission fluid level? How does it operate in 2wd or 4auto in reverse?

Thanks! And yes it only moves in 4wd low and the fluid looks good. It does nothing in anything but low.

 

[Verno]

First thing to identify is if you are actually getting any change at transfer case when changing selection of 2wd/4hi/4lo. Before going further we all need to know the truck is actually going into 2wd. Then lets look at tranny function. Just saying these electric motors get us in some funky places.

 

[Glen4X4]

Ok, then I too would be leaning toward either a tranny problem or torque converter. Did you experience any thing before this suddenly happened?

 

[davewharris]

I don't think it is the transmission because it goes fine in 4wd low and shifts up and down as it should.
I suspect that it is a gear in the t/c.

 

[Glen4X4]

Well I have experienced that in my 95 explorer when the tranny went out it would move in 4low but would go no where in 4high once fixed it worked like normal again. But if you think that the t-case its self is not shifting you can take the shift motor off the back of the case and manually move it yourself.

 

[Verno]

I don't think it is the transmission because it goes fine in 4wd low and shifts up and down as it should.
I suspect that it is a gear in the t/c.

Shouldn't be getting much shifting in 4 low as you're limited in speed to around 25 tops

 

[davewharris]

So you think the trans may be too weak to pull in anything but low?

 

[davewharris]

My son was driving it and says it just quit going down the road. He drove it home in low about 40 miles. I cant imagine what else he screwed up doing that.

 

[Verno]

Ok, now were getting somewhere. Are you convinced that you are shifting into 2wd mode fully? If so, then yes the tranny and/or torque converter is too weak to pull in anything but 4 low. I'm wondering how fast he was pushing it the 40 miles he had to "crawl" home in 4 low

 

[davewharris]

Well the lights on the dash say it has changed and I hear noise from the t/c as usual.
40 MPH according to him. The oil is about a quart low and dark.
The motor runs fine and the coolant is full so I don't think it got hot but it looks like he revved the heck out of it.
That was last time he will ever drive it.

 

[Verno]

Well the lights on the dash say it has changed and I hear noise from the t/c as usual.
40 MPH according to him. The oil is about a quart low and dark.
The motor runs fine and the coolant is full so I don't think it got hot but it looks like he revved the heck out of it.
That was last time he will ever drive it.

Just remember Dave, You and I were both young sons once... At least he did what he could to get it home rather than abandon it. At 40 mph, he was stressing the PI*S out out 4 low, and everything else! Might be time to look for a DONOR tranny

 

[davewharris]

Thanks. I'll try to remember but I don't recall ever doing anything wrong! hahah.

 

[Glen4X4]

I remember being in his position when I wrecked 5 years ago when I was a teenager try not to be too rough . But as far as driving it that far that fast your CV's probably have excessive wear if the roads were anything near dry and that would have definitely stressed the tranny more driving that far that fast in low. I too would look into getting another trans.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've renamed your thread, and moved it into the transmissions & transfer cases section. It sounds like a transfer case issue unrelated to the transmission.

 

[gijoecam]

I personally don't think it's a trans problem. My money would be on the transfer case, soecifically a shift rail bore issue or shifter fork problem. The key is that when he tries to put it in park with the t-case in 2wd or 4auto, the buzzing sound occurs. That tells me that when it was in gear, the output from the transmission was spinning. When you put it in park, the park pawl tried to engage a spinning output shaft like it would if you were driving down the road.

The link between the trans output and the t-case outputs is the t-case itself. My money would be on something in there.

Good luck!