My 05 ranger fx4 clunks hard in 4 high and 4 low. It definitely pops out of 4 high back into 2wd when it clunks then back when it clunks again. Ive changed the transfer case and 2 shift motors on the tcase (electric shift). I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what could be the issue? I thought it could be wheel bind cuz my winters were worn a bit more on the back but when i put my summers on that are even it still does the same thing. everything feels normal in 2wd, no noises or clunking. Would it be possible that something is binding in the front end that wouldnt be noticeable in 2wd then kick it out of 4wd when its engaged? My gas mileage seems to be a bit down about 15.6mpg, Im pretty sure i got closer to 18 or 19 last summer with the same tires, could this be something related? Any ideas would be a great help, Ill probably take it to a dealer when i get a chance but in the meantime it would be nice to try and fix it.
Thanks,
Rick

 

its very common on these trucks for the shift fork, spring, and cam to wear out in these t-cases. If you have a used case, this could be the problem..i put 6 cases in my ranger before i got one that didnt pop out.

when does it do this popping?

 

I opened up my orignal tcase, nothing looked worn out to me? It pops out few seconds after I engage 4 high, you can feel lightly going slow, seems worse as you speed up like 30-70km/h you can obviously feel the clunk harder but it definitely is out even when its slow (got stuck on an icy hill). I bought the newer tcase from a wrecker, they said it had 40K on it and worked. I talked to the guy i got it from and he was sure it was something other ( probably didnt want to give me another one?)

 

that sucks , hope u find the problem

 

my vote is still that it is in the transfer case.

remove the shift motor and manually move the tcase in to 4x4 high and drive it. see if it still pops out

 

Yeah ill try that, I just find it strange that a tcase with low miles that worked would do the exact same thing? Ill take a close look at the orignal and tear it apart further and see if anything is toasted.

 

Wirelessly posted

Defiantly sounds like a worn shift fork. Are your gears matched?

 

All stock... I manually shifted it today, once i got it into 4 high without slipping into neutral area, it stayed in with no clunking or popping out of gear... what does that leave me with? motor, switch and computer? Im going to go take it out and play around off road and see what it does but so far no clunk with the motor off and manually shifted.

 

So the motor that held 4 high doesnt shift into 4 Low, I had it off and watched it... Spins half way to low, relays click, spins back past 4 high to 2wd then to 4 high again... I played with the sensor adjustment, nothing. I removed the sensor, nothing blocking the gear, moved the gear a couple teeth over and tried again, still same thing.. Should I just break down and buy a brand new motor? since the one that i got from a wrecker doesnt hold either... Anyone have any ideas on motor why its not going into 4 low? Or want to buy a ranger :P

 

if either motor wont go into four low, unplug the GEM and ohm the 5 wires from the shift motor to the gem. they will be contact plate a,b,c,d and signal return. a wire could be shorted or broken