Hi new to the forum... Question 1...I have a 2007 Ranger 4.0L 5spd ; my transfer case was engaging intermittently..& now not at all ,first thing i did was unbolt the transfer case motor & tried turning the switch to see if it was moving ( goes through all the cycles fine ) all the lights in the dash are coming on when there suppose to...so i tried putting it in 4wd (on the ice ) put it in gear , held the brake & gently spun the back wheels to see if the front driveshaft was turning...its not moving at all , friend tells me he thinks the transfer case is bad ?? .

2nd question is i have a spare case out of a 2006 ranger 5spd transmission that i want to swap out but the case motor has a different connector on the harness....will my motor from my old case still work on the 06 case ??
Any help greatly appreciated .
Tks D

 

Yes, transfer case shift motor is the same so 2007 will fit/work on 2006 and visa versa

When shift motor was off did you try and turn the shift rod to 4hi and 4low?

In this image shift rod is pointed at 4high: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums...88-jpg.233105/

Opposite 2H, between 4H and 4L, is NEUTRAL, not marked but its there
Vehicle WILL roll when shifting transfer case manually so be careful, have a tire blocked, but this can also be used to test if transfer case is shifting via shift rod, i.e. can you get NEUTRAL

But yes, it reads like the shift rod is not working to change transfer case ranges

 

Yep, seems these 4x4ShiftMotors tend to weaken with age & eventually will
not have enough strength to reliably shift\rotate the TransferCase stem,
but when unbolted\removed from the stem may shift\rotate correctly & falsely appear okay.

 

So i should try to manually turn the triangle rod on the transfer case to see if it moves at all to neutral ...??( truck itself in neutral ..?? with block to stop any roll ....i'll try that hopefully tomorrow , if my 07 case motor happens to be weak? can i cut the wire connector & put it on the 06 which has a different connector end different color wires as well ??...tks guys you've given more info to work with before i go tear that case out ..will let you know how i make out as soon as i get chance to check it out .tks again

 

The connectors should be the same so not sure why they look different, color of the wires on the shift motor part doesn't matter, it could be a 3rd party shift motor replaced by previous owner

Read this thread, and post #6: https://www.therangerstation.com/for...0l-4x4.178433/

 

Hopefully that's the problem

 

So i put the truck in the garage this morning in 4H.....pulled the transfer case motor off ( had to pry on it as there seemed to be a lot of tension against it ??) and pic one shows where the the transfer case was pointing to....in order to put the motor back on i had to rotate the shaft back backwards to get it to line up in order to get the motor bolts back in....( strangely the position it stopped in 4H ; seem to be where it was suppose to be ....meaning when i rotated the shaft from 2H > 4H > 4L thats where they seem to fall into position on the transfer case??).Pic 2 shows where the shaft is pointing in 2H.....i drew a blue line on pic 1 , wondering if that is appx where it should have landed to engage 4H..............it looks like it ended up exactly in that neutral position from your photo...........so thoughts , motor or case...the motor seems strong when you hold on it & flip through the positions ??
tks D

 

With the 4x4ShiftMotor removed from the TransferCase TriangleStem,
& the TriangleStem rotated with ViceGrips to each of the 2WHi~4WHi~4WLo positions:
does the truck drive & run as it should in each of those positions?
If yes, then problem is a Weak\WornOut 4x4ShiftMotor, an Easy fix.
If no, then problem is a bad TransferCase, a NotSoEasy fix.

If not done recently; now is a good time to Drain+ReFill the TransferCase with fresh MerconLV (not MerconV).

 

shi* stupid me ; never thought to try that ; duh!!....i will try that later this week , assuming it does drive in those positions then that would point to the motor being the issue...the pic you showed , your shaft was pointing nearly straight to 4H , whereas mine is pointing to that neutral position you suggested ...
Tks again very much & i will try that later this week & post back how i made out

 

When you re-attach the 4x4ShiftMotor to the TriangleStem,
just use ViceGrips to rotate the Stem to match the position of the ShiftMotor.
Be sure to set ParkBrake & block Wheels when ever you're under the vehicle.

 

Right on..many tks

 

The shift motor is a self contained device
It has the two wire electric motor(same as a power window motor) that uses a worm gear to move the worm wheel, like this: https://www.metrosprocket.com/images/worm_2.jpg

The worm wheel is what turns the transfer case shift rod

On the side away from the transfer case the worm wheel has the "contact plate", looks like this: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-6.JPG

So a plate with metal traces(contact points)

On top of that plate, are the "contacts", seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-3.JPG

Only 5 of the 6 contacts are used, they are the OTHER 5 wires on the shift motor, so 7 wires total on shift motor connector

When the shift motor turns the worm wheel the 5 Contacts are connected(closed) and disconnected(open) as it turns, 2H, 4H and 4L each have a set pattern of open and closed contacts

The 4x4 Controller "knows" the Pattern for each, so it powers the shift motor until that pattern is shown, the pattern chosen is done by the driver using the 4WD switch on the dash

There are no sensors inside the transfer case, ONLY the shift motor, worm wheel and controller have the control of the shift rods position, 2H, 4H or 4L

With shift motor off of the transfer case and connected to wiring harness, when you select 2H then worm wheel(triangle) should move to 2H position, same for 4H or 4L, if the position of the worm wheel does not match transfer cases position for 2H, 4H and 4L then something is wrong with the shift motor OR controller

Simplified contact positions

 

Thats awesome..sorta points to the motor incorrectly locating its position.....will have a good idea after i try the manual shift thing ...TKS

 

So this says " if the position of the worm wheel does not match transfer cases position for 2H, 4H and 4L then something is wrong with the shift motor OR controller "
is the controller the module in on side of the radio ??

 

Yes, in 2004 to 2011 Ranger the 4x4 Controller was behind the radio, these can fail but usually its a "dead" failure, no movement of shift motor at all, however anything is possible
As the only "moving part" of the electric shift 4WD system the shift motor is the more likely to fail part

 

So i got chance today to remove the case motor....I had no one around to help , so i put the back on jack stands & lifted the front end clear...used the vise grips to position to 4H , i then took my foot & spun the front wheel ; both wheels were spinning & the driveshaft was turning in both 4H& 4L .the vehicle was in 1st gear ( not running ) so i assume the rear wheels wouldn't turn anyways ??. Is that shaft coming from the the transfer case suppose to have spring tension on it ?..it seems when you position it to 4H manually & just move it slightly it springs ahead to that neutral position between 4H &4L....the same when your in 4L , move slightly back & "boing!!" right to that neutral position ....i checked another case i have & it is also springy ?? ...so is everything still pointing to the motor not positioning correctly .
Tks D

 

The front drive shaft shouldn't turn in either 4WD position if rear wheels are down or trans is in Park or manual in 1st
The front wheels may turn since its an OPEN differential at the front, but not the drive shaft, it should be locked to rear drive shaft in 4WD

Yes, the shift rod has springs so needs to be held in place

It reads like your transfer case is the issue, not the shift motor

Look at this pic: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hoyTVaCRCaA/maxresdefault.jpg

The shaft in the center is the shift rod, triangle tip
The chain and gear on the left is the front drive shaft connection
Larger shaft on the right is the Main shaft, the rear drive shaft and input shaft from transmission
Pic is from the back of transfer case

The green shift fork is moved "up and down" by the cam on the shift rod, this engages 4WD, it connects the chain drive to the "main shaft", rear drive shaft, when its moved, so front and rear drive shafts are locked together

4H and 4L is done by planetary gears on the main shaft which is under the green shift fork and chain drive so not visible, and not your issue

For some reason the green shift fork is not moving to engage the chain drive, so no 4WD, could be a few things but for sure not the shift motor if you can turn front drive shaft with shift rod in either 4WD position

 

ok...i will go re access what i was seeing & make sure on the driveshaft movement...so if REAR wheels clear of the ground.........front wheels clear.... ( 5spd std in first gear , truck not running ).... the FRONT wheels spin when manually turned to 4H... ( driveshafts should NOT turn : front wheels will move ).......the REARS dont spin.... &if the driveshaft DOESNT move , that more so indicates the shift motor.............i'm hoping i can find someone tonight to help star the truck & try it that way ..........here we go agin
Tks for the patience guys..rookie here

 

So i just went & re-did the steps ( getting good at it lol) ...and the driveshafts "DO NOT MOVE"..... just a little twitch in both driveshafts as i was spinning the wheels with my foot ..........there is some amount of tension on that spring when you go to move it from 4L back to 2H.....i guess that is normal..........so still leaning on a bad shift motor..trying to narrow my options before i go & pull the case .
Tks D

 

If drive shafts are locked together in 4H or 4L then that part is working

Turn shift rod to 4H with vise grips and tie vise grips into place
OR
Use your car battery to manually move shift motor into 4H position and bolt it on, that will hold shift rod in place

Go for a drive, see if 4WD is working like it should

 

ok will try that next...thought..if i put the case manually in 4H & then turn the switch/motor to 4H position before i put it back on , if the motor is positioning correctly then it should line up fairly easy..not be way off vs the position of the shaft ??

 

Hay this is really good. Hope to see you figure this out. im so interested how this goes. doc

 

You don't need to put shift motor on transfer case, its a self contained unit, motor and position sensors all in one
Just plug it in and select 4h, 4l or 2wd and it should move to that position, compare to actual position of that on transfer case

 

Hello again..so i removed the motor today ; manually moved the shaft to 4H with vise grips ,started truck, put it in gear & everything working fine in 4WD...wheels turning shafts turning....no issues !! shut every thing down : manually put case back in 2H ...made sure the selector was in 2H and put the motor back on ( now the motor didn't line up exactly with the 2H position on the case..was a bugger to get the shaft lined up so the motor could bolt back on )..I don't think the motor is the correct one for the case when comparing photos of the Dorman 900-631 ( suppose to be the correct one ) and the Dorman 600-807 appears to be whats on it ...I've seen post where people say there using the 807 ( there upwards of $150 difference in price in the two units )...they both fit on ?? ..
So I'm thinking it has to be the motor ?? ...
If anyone can tell me if the 600-807 which is suppose to be for years up to 2005 does work ...it would certainly save me a lot of money vs buying the 600-931........

 

Dorman#600-807 is listed as 4x4ShiftMotor for my 2001, so likely NOT version you need.
CarDone also makes+sales these motors; that's what is on my 2001 for 2+ years now.