What should I do? Is it a transmission problem or the transfer case?

[disablednotdead]

My son and I were coming home 3 weeks ago, he was driving, had the cruise control on, and was going a smooth 70 mph. Suddenly this whinning noise came on sounded like from the center of the vehicle. He turned off the cruise control right off then we stopped on the side of the road. The noise stopped, but in trying to figure out the cause of it, he switched between Auto and 4L and 4H then to Auto then to 4L again and that time it got stuck in 4L but he was able to come out of it. As soon as we got speed up to 40-45 mph the whinning noise came on again,and the only way it would stop is if you put it in neutral or re-apply the gas. But sure enough at 40-45 the noise came on again.I took it to the Ford dealership next day,4 mechanics couldn't figure it out,can I bring it in Fri to have it serviced?Brought it in Fri and they tell me it has to be the transmission, the torque convertor or the roller bearing,or?they would have to tear down the transmission to find out.I said I can't do that I'm on disability of $700 a month, I just bought this vehicle 8 months ago,I need transportation,what can we do?They said go home and they would figure out a way I could make payments.In the meantime they will search for a used transmission to swap out.I took the car to a mechanic friend of mine because I had that gut feeling it wasn't the transmission because it was changing gears just fine.Took him out for a drive and immediately he thought it could be a faulty sensor trying to switch between 2WD and 4L.Took it to their shop and they looked at it and after said that it was the transfer case and maybe the electric transfer case motor too.But they definitely agreed it was not the transmission.But it could cost me up to $2,000 depending on what it was and how long it took to replace.It's now stuck in 4L, I can still drive it like to the store but if I get to 25mph it starts to surge or hiccup like it doesn't know what to be in 4L or not.I have tried to disengage then re-engage it and it tries but still won't unstick itself. Could it be a sensor? Or some other electronic dum dum giving it the wrong reads? Help? By the way Ford didn't like it when I told them I took it somewhere else for a second opinion.I think they would just like to see me quietly go away,but they promised to replace or repair this vehicle now the service manager won't even return my phone calls. Guess I'll have to fill out paperwork now,huh I have a 97 Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.0 SOHC AWD and I Love It

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread to the transmission section.

 

[nitro71]

Guess I'm a little confused.. If Ford agreed as part of some kinda of warranty to fix your vehicle I'd press them on it.

And stop driving it and trying to hicup it out. Something needs fixing. Guess my next question is you are your son going to play mechanic on this or are you going to have someone else fix it?

It would seem you definetly have pin pointed the problem being the transfercase not wanting to shift correctly. Could be a sensor or the shift motor or switch or wiring. $2000 is laughable. I'd never go back there. They can get a replacement transfer case from a junkyard under $300 I would think. Should be about 2 hours labor to swap it in. Con artists at that shop.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I would suspect the transfer case. Call some local junkyards. Your t case is a bw4405, and is NOT AWD, it is 4wd, and has automatic 4wd. Should be no more than 1000 to have a shop replace, if using a junk yard case.

 

[gijoecam]

Your 44-05 transfer case is experiencing the oh-so-common shift rail bore issue or the fingers on the shifter fork have worn out. In either case, the issue is with the transfer case, not the transmission. If you have some sort of warranty coverage on the vehicle, you should look into whether or not this will be covered.

Otherwise, as mentioned, a good transmission shop should have heard of this issue before. It's nothing new. Figure $1000 for a used one installed (with no guarantees) or $1500 for a quality rebuilt one with a warranty. If you're capable, or know someone who is, changing it in a garage is not terribly difficult. Unfortunately, the only one that will bolt up and plug in to your '97 is another one from a '97. The 98-01 will lack the rear speed sensor, and the 95-96 will not have the correct front driveshaft output.

Good luck!

 

[laxmankk11]

100% sure its the T case shift rail bore issue, just had it happen to me get it fixed asap, i waited for a few weeks with the noise and lost reverse unless i put it in 4 low and sometimes park didnt work either. do some shopping around tho, i expected to pay around 1600 for it, ended up paying 2300 i believe i got ripped off:thumbdwn:

 

[disablednotdead]

Thank You for answering. No my son I would not let him touch my car he doesnt know anything about this sort of repair. I will take it to the shop where they have done work before and they let me make payments. Ford pretty much told me to eat it, so I have no choice.They quoted me anywhere from $200 on up depending on what it is. Yes $2,000 is way too much,but I think they were quoting me the worse possible scenario.

 

[nitro71]

They were quoting you the we want to goto Mexico on a fishing trip next week price.. I'll change that damn thing out for 2K and warranty it for 2 years!