Transfer case HELP!

[Southern Gent]

I've not been on this forum for a while due to illness but I have a problem & I need some help PLEASE!!

My son has a 1996 XLT 4.0 with AT tranny & 4X4. He was driving it the other day when all of a sudden the tranny wouldn't work while out on a busy highway. We got it towed & after checking it I found the tranny wouldn't do anything except gove me an awful "ratcheting" sound when trying to put it back in park. I tried putting the "T" case in 4high but got no light so I tried 4low & it engaged. I put the tranny in drive & walla. I'm pretty sure the truck is the early generation based on the selector switch for the 4X4. AUTO/4H/4L is what it says on the switch located on the dash.The truck moved but it steered really hard on the dry pavement. NOW I cannot get it out of 4low. Then my son tells me he dorve the truck in 4high on DRY road for at least 25 miles if not more & now I have this problem.

Can this be the engaging motor gone bad or the "T" case gone bad & could someone tell me how to go about checking it out. I'm a "fair" backyard mechanic & understand how things work most of the time but I'm trying to find out how to troubleshoot it in order to determind the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The Explorer is the only thing he has to get back & forth to work.

 

[IZwack]

I'm 99% sure this is the transfer case - and the reason why the vehicle wouldnt move is because the transfer case was in its Neutral position. But when you moved it to 4LO, it moved the sliding gear out of neutral.

And the reason why you heard it grinding away when you tried to put the transmission in Park is because, with the transfer case in Neutral, the output shaft of the transmission is spinning and the transmission tried to engage Park while its output was moving (which is a bad thing). If the transfer case wasnt in Neutral, then the brakes would have stopped the output shaft from spinning and the transmission would have safely engaged Park. FYI - if this happens again and you need to engage Park, first shut the engine down and wait a minute for the transmission to stop, then put the transmission in Park.

But to get back to your problem - odd as it sounds, sometimes people with transfer cases that are misbehaving (like not being able to get out of 4LO) find that disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, putting the switch back to AUTO, and reconnecting the battery solves the problem because the system seems to undergo a reset. But if that fails, then I would suggest swapping in another transfer case because rebuilding often costs just as much and also quite a bit of time.

And just to make sure in case you dont already know, never engage 4HI or 4LO on dry pavement - it will kill the transfer case mechanically.

 

[2000LXS]

You have to have the tranny in Neutral and your foot on the brake to get out of 4lo.

 

[Southern Gent]

I did some more checking today & found out the following information. I removed the transfer case motor & let it hang & made sure it was grounded. I then started the truck & moved the 4x4 selector switch from 2wd to 2wdAUTO then to 4LO. The motor never moved at all. But when the motor is bolted onto the transfer case, 4LO "IS" engaged. It's my understanding there is a fuse that protects the motor so my next step is to locate it & check it out. My question is this. Actually 2 questions.

1. Can I just disconnect the front driveshaft & be able to drive the truck home where I can work on it easier? And how do I actually get the transfer case out of 4LO. Maybe i am not understanding what I'm being told but I'm confused on that part. And since the truck will go forward & backward while in 4LO, does this inidcate the transmission is bad? I really appreciate all the help as I have no one around close to help me out on this problem.

 

[Southern Gent]

You have to have the tranny in Neutral and your foot on the brake to get out of 4lo.

So if I understand you correctly I have to have the engine running(?) with the tranny in neutral while holding the foot brake & just switch the 4X4 switch back to 2wd? Nothing else? And if this doesn't work, whats next?

 

[IZwack]

And if this doesn't work, whats next?

If you just want to get the truck home:

1) Park the vehicle on a solid flat ground.

2) Put two bricks in front and behind one of the tires - leave a few inches between the brick and the tire and put the transmission in Neutral. The vehicle should not move but you should be able to push the vehicle back and forth a few inches until the tire hit the bricks.

3) Remove the shift motor (zip tie it to something else, like the frame rail) and under the shift motor, you will see the shift rail. The shift rail is triangular. Around the shift rail will be a stamping on the transfer case itself that looks like a clock. On one end it will say "4L" and on the other end it will say "2H" (or something similar).

4) With a pair of (short nosed) pliers, rotate the shift rail until it engages "2H". You may have to move the vehicle back and forth a little bit in order to engage "2H" so it helps to have another person around doing the pushing while you try to rotate the shift rail.

Note that the shift rail has a clock spring and will try to snap back if it can not engage "2H" properly. So if its not engaging, rock the vehicle back and forth.


This is the shift rail you'll be working with (there are two in the pic). The end on the right is what you will see once you remove the shift motor.

 

[2000LXS]

So if I understand you correctly I have to have the engine running(?) with the tranny in neutral while holding the foot brake & just switch the 4X4 switch back to 2wd? Nothing else? And if this doesn't work, whats next?

Yes that is what it takes, it happens to alot of people when they first get an explorer.

 

[Southern Gent]

If you just want to get the truck home:

1) Park the vehicle on a solid flat ground.

2) Put two bricks in front and behind one of the tires - leave a few inches between the brick and the tire and put the transmission in Neutral. The vehicle should not move but you should be able to push the vehicle back and forth a few inches until the tire hit the bricks.

3) Remove the shift motor (zip tie it to something else, like the frame rail) and under the shift motor, you will see the shift rail. The shift rail is triangular. Around the shift rail will be a stamping on the transfer case itself that looks like a clock. On one end it will say "4L" and on the other end it will say "2H" (or something similar).

4) With a pair of (short nosed) pliers, rotate the shift rail until it engages "2H". You may have to move the vehicle back and forth a little bit in order to engage "2H" so it helps to have another person around doing the pushing while you try to rotate the shift rail.

Note that the shift rail has a clock spring and will try to snap back if it can not engage "2H" properly. So if its not engaging, rock the vehicle back and forth.


This is the shift rail you'll be working with (there are two in the pic). The end on the right is what you will see once you remove the shift motor.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I will definitly give this a try tomorrow & see if I can get it home. I just found a good deal on craigslist for the tranny, t'case w/motor & the 4X4 computer for $650.00 with a new rebuildon the tranny less then 12,000 ago. The truck got rolled & the guy is selling the parts at a good price to just get rid of them. I'm going to go pick them up Saturday. That way I will have everything I need hopefully to get the truck back on the road. Teh truck only has 175,000 on the clock & is in really nice shape so I have to repair it & hope it holds up for a while longer.

I really appreciate the help. I'll post the results of what I find after I get it home & check it out a little farther. Do you think it is more an electircal problem or engaging motor problem more then the t'case itself?

 

[IZwack]

You could try rebuilding the shift motor if that's not working. There's a Sticky on this somewhere. Also if you're fairly mechanically inclined, look into swapping a manually shifted transfer case (as opposed to the electrically shifted one the vehicle currently has). If you are interested in the manual case, search/browse for the "1354" case.
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[Southern Gent]

You could try rebuilding the shift motor if that's not working. There's a Sticky on this somewhere. Also if you're fairly mechanically inclined, look into swapping a manually shifted transfer case (as opposed to the electrically shifted one the vehicle currently has). If you are interested in the manual case, search/browse for the "1354" case.
Posted via Mobile Device

I replaced the transfer case from a wrecked Explorer & all is well for now. While it was in the shop the crankscase postioning censor needed to be replaced so I told them to go ahead & do it. NOW??? Somehow they managed to drop something in the engine & now they tell me a piston is busted & the cylinder wall is scarred pretty bad. My question now is can a 1992 4.0 V6 (long block) be used in placed of the 1995 4.0 long block? I understand there is a big difference in the engine sensors & mine has th3e plastic type intake manifold whereas the '92 motor has the aluminum intake. But basically can the block & heads be used in place of the 1995 4.0? It has new rings, bearings, oil pump & gaskets already on it now.

 

[IZwack]

...NOW??? Somehow they managed to drop something in the engine & now they tell me a piston is busted & the cylinder wall is scarred pretty bad.

That actually sounds like its the shop's fault. So they should take care of it

 

[Southern Gent]

It is their fault & trhey have admitted to it & said they would take care of everything. Since I have a 1992 4.0 I was just wondering about putting in the truck instead of repairing the one already in there. The one that is in there now has 178,000 miles it so
I was thinking of replacing it. Not sure if the 1992 4.0 will work or not.