How to: Rebuild 4X4 Shift Motor

[Daddy]

thanks for this info. question, got the 8 bolts off and motor loose, now how do i get the last two wires that are attached off, do they just pull off? one is skinny wire, the other has the black plug like thing on the end as seen in pics, also I dont want to forget to mark with a sharpy, where do I make my mark. Sorry guys i am a newb.

Thanks again

 

[adamsbro2]

thanks for this info. question, got the 8 bolts off and motor loose, now how do i get the last two wires that are attached off, do they just pull off? one is skinny wire, the other has the black plug like thing on the end as seen in pics, also I dont want to forget to mark with a sharpy, where do I make my mark. Sorry guys i am a newb.

Thanks again

The one with the black connector if I remember right, the whole connector will pull out you may have to wiggle it/turn it back and forth a bit but be careful cause the plastic can be brittle but it should pull straight out after the bracket that was over it is off......the brown wire goes to the large connector and can be removed by pulling the inner red ring out of the connector with a pick or paper clip then you have to carefully pry out on a little piece of plastic that lock the pin in the connector.....or it can be cut and spliced back together with a heat shrink connector so it stays weather proof. As far as where to mark I took a sharpie and marked from the center of the back of the cover all the way down the shift motor and onto the transfer case but all that's really needed is a mark on the very back of the cover onto the body of the shift motor......the cover is held down just by the shoulder of the three small torx head screws so it can easily be misaligned....

 

[Daddy]

The one with the black connector if I remember right, the whole connector will pull out you may have to wiggle it/turn it back and forth a bit but be careful cause the plastic can be brittle but it should pull straight out after the bracket that was over it is off......the brown wire goes to the large connector and can be removed by pulling the inner red ring out of the connector with a pick or paper clip then you have to carefully pry out on a little piece of plastic that lock the pin in the connector.....or it can be cut and spliced back together with a heat shrink connector so it stays weather proof. As far as where to mark I took a sharpie and marked from the center of the back of the cover all the way down the shift motor and onto the transfer case but all that's really needed is a mark on the very back of the cover onto the body of the shift motor......the cover is held down just by the shoulder of the three small torx head screws so it can easily be misaligned....

Thanks Adamsbro2 I really appreciate the response. I ended up getting the sensor plug out successfully but was bamboozled by the brown wire. Also was not 100% sure about where to make mark. Thanks again to everyone involved with this thread. Godbless

 

[Big_Stig352]

okay, so heres where im at. bushin was in peices. so replaced it with hose, but me in my ability to only half do somthing, didnt mark anything, i tried the trick to realign it by manually putting it into 4x4h. which its now stuck in, but i get nothing from the motor, so my next step was to hold the sensor gear (the peice with the bushing on it) against the contacts, and i got my 4x4hi light to turn on. but thats it, nothing from the motor nothing. my shift motor is in peices under the truck right now, the magnets look good, but it does have that black ring around where the brushs make contact. and also, adding my 10cents in here, becareful when you take apart that shift motor because there is 2 cork rings on both ends of the canister(as i call it) mine just fell apart. so be careful with thoes. do you even need them though? thats my question. and if you do what do you replace them with? but end of story, stuck in 4x4hi, tricked the control module into lighting up the button, but still no shifting action, attatched to the xfer case or not. any help?

 

[DeRocha]

The cork gaskets on the shift motor can be left off. These gaskets are to prevent moisture from getting in when going through deep water. You can use any gasket or RTV sealant in it's place

The trick to manually re-align the shift motor only works if the Sensor Case and Cover are Installed Correctly. Basically if the case and cover are installed correctly the geared position sensor can be installed anywhere between 2H and 4H (which allows you to rotate the case so the mounting bolts can be installed). Once you turn the truck on the shift motor will rotate either to 4H or back to 2H.

 

[DeRocha]

IF you have a multi-meter you can "Try" re-aligning the cover by using the continuity readings. I had to do this back in the day to fix a shift motor because the cover was off by 1/2" (Not marked when disassembled). In order for this to work you need to put the T-case in either 2H or 4H In stall the shift motor case, geared selector shaft, and then put the cover Loose so you can rotate it. You then have to probe the wires in the harness such the continuity is correct.

In 2WD position, pin 10 (yel/wht, circuit 762) should show continuity with pin 6 (violet, circuit 771) and continuity with pin 8 (brn/wht, circuit 764), and should show no continuity with pin 7 (white, circuit 770) and no continuity with pin 9 (org/wht, circuit 763)

In the 4WD/Low position, pin 10 (yel/wht, circuit 762) should show continuity with pin 6 (violet, circuit 771) and continuity with pin 7 (white, circuit 770), and show no continuity with pin 8 (brn/wht, circuit 764), and no continuity with pin 9 (org/wht, circuit 763)


See the link below for more info and related content.
T-Case info

 

[Big_Stig352]

retested the cm. tested the motor without the sensor gear in it, and it purred right along in both directions. used the factory marks on the shift motor to realign the sensor cap. still nothing when i press the button. i hear the relay clicks, nothing with it attached or detached from the transfer case. how ever the 4x4 light is on. so it does know where its at i think. because it is stuck in 4x4 still. any ideas? thanks so much to everyone here that has gotten me this far. also the piece of hose i used is 9/32. i guess its only a dash bigger than the size hose everyone else uses.

 

[DeRocha]

My current thought is that the cover is not 100% aligned correctly. How do you know the cover is correctly aligned? When you re-installed the shift motor were the bolt holes aligned 100% so the bolts went in easily and didn't feel bound?

 

[Big_Stig352]

i took some pictures of the tranfercase motor pictured here and got a loose idea of where it needed to be.then when i was actually aligning it i found the match marks from the factory, on the peice the cap bolts too, there is one whole section on each side. if you seen it you would know what im talking about. which bolts are you talking about? they all went in pretty easy.

 

[DeRocha]

I know the raised bumps your talking about, but can't recall if they are actually aligned between the case and cover. Have you tried re-setting the 4x4 module by unplugging it (or by disconnecting the battery for 10-15 minutes)?

I was referring to the long bolts that attach the shift motor case to the T-Case. If the bolts go in tight it indicates the geared position sensor is too tight against the stop and may prevent the shift motor from being able to move it.

 

[Big_Stig352]

i have tried the shift motor on and off the transfer case nothing either way, and i only finger tightned them to test it on the xfercase. and judging by the pictures i took, and the marks, it looks like that was what the bumps were used for. ill try resetting the computer and let you know what happens in a few mins

 

[Big_Stig352]

disconnected both terminals on the battery for about 20min. still no avail. and i dont have acess to a multimeter. from "factory" position, whats gunna be my best bet to start turning the cap, counter clockwise?

UPDATE - the only time i can hear the relays now is when its in neutral (running or not) and i press the 4x4 low button. its stuck in 4x4 hi right now, i get no clicks with the 4x4hi button, but both 4x4 lights are on, next to the button and by the instrument cluster.

 

[DeRocha]

It sounds like you're "Close" but still not 100% correct. If the cover detects the geared sensor is at an "Edge" of the next transition it may not re-act to button input unless (Automatic transmission) in neutral and the speed sensor reading under 3 mph.

There are only 2 variables you control when re-installing the shift motor.

• Initial position of the Geared Sensor
• Geared Sensor Cover

As such I would remove the shift motor and rotate the selector shaft to 2H and re-install again. The point is to re-install the shift motor with the geared sensor not in the same position (4H ish) that you currently have.

I'm assuming you have an automatic transmission and the speedometer work correctly, right?

Note: If you need to drive the vehicle You can remove the shift motor, manually rotate the T-Case selector shaft to 2H and re-install the shift motor (the geared sensor can be left out to make it easier)

 

[Big_Stig352]

ive tried to rotate it manually even before i finished putting it back together, it clicked into 4x4 hi (the first notch) then from there (in park, engine off, key off) clicked right into 4x4 low. i can engage both of them manually (ive tested them in the yard) but when i try to but it into 2wd it wont let me, i have used wrenches, and put the gear sensor and used it as a knob, and it feels like the force of 1000 gods is working against me.

 

[DeRocha]

Just to be clear the Transmission needs to be in Neutral when manually (or by pressing the 4x4 Low button) moving the T-Case into and out of 4Low.

 

[Big_Stig352]

what happens if its not? because i deffinitly did.

 

[DeRocha]

Block the vehicle tires and ensure it won't move. Shift the transmission into Neutral. Use a large wrench (the larger the better) and try rotating the transmission (clockwise) out of 4L. I had to use a very long handle (18") wrench to move my selector shaft. It was VERY hard to move, but it moved..

 

[parris001]

Kudos to the OP. I didn't have a piece of hose or tubing to use as a bushing, made a double application of heat shrink tubing and it works like a charm.

 

[Flash]

Why isn't this a sticky?

 

[DeRocha]

Kudos to the OP. I didn't have a piece of hose or tubing to use as a bushing, made a double application of heat shrink tubing and it works like a charm.

As you have found out it doesn't matter what you use so long as it doesn't come off and provides a cushioning effect (to help the the stop bumper from getting jammed against the metal stop).

Generally I wouldn't recommend the heat shrink tubing as it doesn't offer the same cushioning effect of hose. It may hold up, but it also may get crushed and start to jam.