Stuck in 4WD

[Biffer]

Could use some help figureing out what went wrong. My problem is the vehicle is stuck in 4WD. First I have a 97 XLT 4.0 V6 4x4 with 127000 miles on it. At a 126K I brought it in to the local goodyear to have the 120k service done. They replaced the fluids in the Transfer case, rear differential and Transmission plus other maintenance. They do have a history of putting wrong fluids in as they did on the 90K service they replced the rear with 90 weight gear oil instead of synthetic plus additive. Replaced with correct fluid and it was fine. Also I was towed at one point and this problem showed up immediatly after. So my questions are 1) If the inccorect fluid was put in the transferr case could this cause the the problem? 2) When towed could some damage occure that would cause it to lock into 4WD? By the way I am abel see the lights on the 4WD switch go from off to 4 HI to 4 Low. When in neutral I hear a click going from 4 Hi to 4 LOW when actuatting the switch but no clunk. Also the turning radius is severly reduced as is normal when in 4WD, but it does seem to be more then usual.

THX
Looking forward to your replies

Biff

 

[410Fortune]

Finally somebody included all of the needed info in the first post!

However I am still gonna tell you to search this happens alot and is covered occassionally, in fact I am pretty sure there is a thread about a 97 doing the same thing just last week.

So try a search ,see if you can find your answers then ask questions....

Good luck! and Welcome to Explorerforum, the best damn site on the intraweb.

 

[Biffer]

Couldn't find any answers to my to questions about towing or wrong fluid if they could be responsible for the problem.

Biff

 

[410Fortune]

towing should not be an issue.

By wrong fluid yo mean they filled the t case with gear oil? Because the t case and tranny share fluid = I would be a little more then pissed, and YES gear oil in where ATF goes = can cause all sorts of problems.
ATF is a cleanser, coolant, lubricant and a hydraulic fluid, gear lube is a lubricating oil.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

The transfer case could be bind up -- lift the vehicle and spin the wheels freely with it out of 4wd (on the swithc) and then test drive again... see if your still having a hard turn.

-Drew

 

[TPLYNCH]

Try disconnecting the battery to reset the computer and your 4x4. And, just to be sure, you are in neutral with your foot on the brake when you are switching out of 4Low correct?

 

[IZwack]

Because the t case and tranny share fluid

do they? i wasnt aware of that.. i thought the transfer case is completely sealed (except the breather tube). as far as i can remember, the fluid thats sometime found at the transmission's tailshaft never actually enters the transfer case. but then again, im wrong very often (world war 2 was my fault)

if the inccorect fluid was put in the transferr case could this cause the the problem?

i doubt gear oil in the transfer case can cause a transfer case to get stuck in 4wd. I've ran and I am still running synthetic gear oil in my manual transfer case.. im not saying you should have gear oil in there (too lazy to change it right now) but what i am saying is it shouldnt do too much harm - if any.

you can check whether or not ATF or gear oil is in the transfer case - just remove the fill plug and stick an ear cotton swab in the fill hole.. if the cotton swab is soaked with red fluid, then its ATF. gear oil is more clear when new but comes in a variety of colors - most of the time its light yellow. as gear oil is used, it turns to a dark brown. if its gear oil that u find, then change it out when you get a chance.

 

[gijoecam]

Actually, a conventional tow **could** cause issues with the transfer case.... The way it's designed, if it's not getting fluid properly, and the front wheels are held in position while the rears are on the ground, it's possible some damage can occur. The clutch assembly that controls the front driveshaft engagement on the ControlTrac transfer cases doesn't like to do that. It just depends on how far, how fast, and how hot everything got. It's certainly possible that something got hot and fused together in the clutch assembly. The wrong lube could cause similar conditions.

Now that I think about it, gear lube in the ControlTrac t-cases would be a bad thing.... way too thick for that application IMHO....

-Joe

 

[wasabenow]

my bronco ii is stuck in 4wd. everything is manual. help