I went mudding today in a spot that was well pretty easy. When I first started I was in 4 hi and was doing good. I then decided to stop and put it in 4 low. When I did that my 4x4 stopped working.

I then got out of there and drove around trying to let it engage. After it didnt I stopped the truck and turned it off for about 20 min to see if the computer would reset itself or do what it had to do to engage. Well it didnt work.

Any suggestions on how to make my 4x4 work. What did I do.

 

check all your fuses....take the negative side of the battery loose and let it sit for about 10 minutes to reset the computer.......then try it......you might also have a bad shift motor...

 

Its raining right now so when it stops I will check those out.

If worst case senerio it was they shift motor whats that gonna cost to replace, could I do it myself?

Thanks

 

you can definately do it yourself.....it is held on with 4 10mm bolts.......unplug a connector........i priced them last week and at O'Reilly Auto Parts they were $80 new.....

 

Nice, that is def something not to kill myself over. I will try the battery first. Is there a way to check my shift motor and see if it is bad.

 

trying to figure that out myself!

 

So you were in 4Hi and it wouldn't shift to 4Lo? Did it shift back out from 4Hi to 2wd OK?

I'm missunderstanding how you were in 4Hi then you have no 4wd when you tried to go to 4Lo

 

there is a way to bench test the motor, but I dont know how...

 

this is a good point, if you were in 4hi and tryed to get into low, how did it all of a sudden end up in 2wd?

 

Just throwing this out there, but did you put the truck in neutral before you switched it to 4LO? I know in my truck it has to be in neutral to go into or out of 4LO.

 

i wish you knew that! i need to know that for my mom's Explorer before i go spend $130 on a new 1...

 

I was in 4hi and I stopped to put it in 4lo. After it wouldnt engage I tried to put it back in 4hi and that didnt work. So then I was stuck in 2wd. I then put it back on the 2wd switch on the dash and it drives perfect. I tried to put it in 4hi and 4lo multiple times but it wouldnt engage.

 

What fuses should I look at? How about the ones in the engine bay.

 

Should be in the manual where the fuses are. That and I think there are even diagrams on the fuse covers... but can't remember for sure.

 

on my '97 Explorer that i am having about the same problems with, there are 2 fuses under the hood and 1 in the dash.....

 

will it be under some thing like 4 wheel drive, shift motor, etc....

 

nothing that specific......look in the owners manual......it will say 4x4 and that is it......

 

Thanks. I did the battery but I am not sure if I did that right. When I rehook the battery will anything change as far as preset functions like my radio or clock. I will make sure I try it for longer.

Also were is my shift motor. Maybe it came up plugged. I want to check that.

 

everything in the radio will be off when you re-attach the battery..........

your t-case shift motor is on the back of the t-case on the driver side next to the rear driveshaft.....you can't miss it......it is the only part that is attached to the t-case with wires going into it........

 

here ya go....this is your t-case only upside down.....see the little round thing? that is the motor

 

So the T-Case is located by my drive shaft and muffler, right. Do I have to take the whole t-case off to get to the shift motor or is it just unbolt the old one and replace?

 

no.....your t-case is located at the end of the transmissions....the t-case is what the driveshafts go into......

no you don't have to take the t-case off to get to the shift motor....

 

Thanks for all the help. I will try the battery again, this time for a longer period of time. If that does not work I will get a new shift motor and see how that goes.

 

Those suckers give ppl problems left and right. Sorry to hear and wish I could help.

Ahhh, the joys of a manual transfercase.

 

bahhh hummmm bug!