Hey everyone,

New to the forum and new to having a ranger. Recently purchased a 1999 Ranger XLT and loving it.

I wanted the truck for home depot runs and something that could get me up the mountain for snowboarding and other fun.

So the 4x4 switch clicks and sometimes engages both 4x4hi and low. Other times and more often, it clicks and then fails and flashes the lights on me. It seems I have to wait several hours to try again before the lights stop flashing.

I don't have much experience working on vehicles. I saw how to replace the transfer case motor and could attempt that but I don't know if that is indeed the issue. I'm also tempted to take it into a shop because I really want to use it reliably.

Looking for any advice and I appreciate you for looking!

 

If the 4WD lights flash that indicates a problem with the shift motor in most cases
You can rebuild the shift motor, usually just new brushes and some sanding of the armature, or replace it with a new shift motor

Rebuild info here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...e-shift-motor/

The brushes are spring loaded into slots on opposite sides of the armature, brushes seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-9.JPG
Armature seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-8.JPG

The brushes can get worn and/or temporarily stuck in the slides, both need to be in contact with armature for motor to work
Armature can get dirty/corroded over time
These things can cause the motor to not work and then work randomly, just the vibration driving can free up a brush, some find that tapping on shift motor with a hammer will get it working again, but both are just temporary fixes

You can first check the 8 pin connector under the Ranger by the shift motor, unplug it and look for corrosion or ???, inside, clean and then plug it back in, see if it works better

 

Thanks so much for all this information, Ron! I really appreciate it!

 

Thank you, Ron!

Just tried checking the connector. It looked pretty clean. I still wiped off what I could. I tried the 4x4 and it worked first attempt. I'll try it again tomorrow to see if it my results improve.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Best thing for these shift motors is to shift to 4high and 4low once a month, just sitting in the driveway, you do it to keep the brushes and armature clean and the grease in the drive section spread out
In my opinion what kills these the most is disuse, never used for 10-11 months and then used for 1 or 2 months(winter) or summer off road trip

 

Very familiar very experienced with what you're going through with your four-wheel drive engaging I'm going to tell you what happens You need to pull those hobs apart those automatic hubs have them cleaned out They get packed with grease and it sets up really hard usually from not being engaged enough or being changed in the differential pretty soon it can't push enough grease out there and they start to stick so I've taken mine off every couple of years clean them out new grease They packed in there like solid mud although it's just grease and it doesn't take very long and you'll be clicking in and out like new. It's a real common problem with those. Again I didn't see what I think is the right answer well I know the right answer but I didn't see it and I'm sorry if I overlooked it Hope it helps or I hope you've already solved it Good luck.

 

Sticking autohubs is not going to cause the 4x4 lights on the dash to flash