Help ID Transfer Case Shift Motor?

bluemoon · Jul 31, 2018

I have a 2003 Ranger FX4, Level II. My 4-wheel stopped working. I have eliminated the switch and the control module as the cause and am now focused on the transfer case shift motor.

I removed the motor, took it apart, and was assuming, from what I've read, that the bushing was probably cracked and broken. But, my motor has no bushing. It is quite different inside from the photos I've been able to find. In fact, most of the troubleshooting info I've been able to find is for Rangers that are older than mine.

Can anyone please tell me if the type I have is repairable? Can that nylon piece be replaced? Or does it look bad? I did notice that most of the grease is on one side of the piece and also on one side of the part that connects with it, and I would expect it to be equal on both sides. Also, do any of the other parts look like they have a problem?

I'm assuming that this design is supposed to be an upgrade from the older type that has the bushing? I'd sure like to fix it rather than replace it, if possible.

Thanks for any help!

adsm08 · Jul 31, 2018

Clean the gear off, add some new grease at the worm gear, and put that side back together. Your problem is in the other end.

The motor casing can come off with two screws, then you can clean your armature and contacts which is probably your problem. Use either electrical cleaner or MAF cleaner, don't use brake cleaner.

Then the contacts have to be locked back into the little grooves they sit in, the casing put on part way, and the contacts released so they can go make contact with the armature. If you don't lock them down first you will never get the casing back on.

RonD · Jul 31, 2018

Welcome to TRS

Yes, +1 ^^^

Your pictures are of the gear drive/contact wheel that tells the 4x4 Module the transfer case's shift rod position, i.e. 2WD, 4hi or 4low
The 5 wires in last picture are for the contacts, not the motor.

The motor itself looks like a "can" and has a smaller worm gear that turns the larger gear in your picture, you can see the edge of the worm gear in your first picture at the bottom.
Motor has 2 wires connected, these 2 wires are for 12volt and Ground, the 4x4 module reverses polarity on these 2 wires to turn motor clockwise or counter clockwise, same as Power Windows works, for up and down

This thread has pictures of the whole shift motor assembly: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-rebuild-4x4-shift-motor.123542/

They were all the same, just the wire connector was different on some years, extra wire was added

bluemoon · Aug 1, 2018

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

In all of the reading I have done, mostly on this forum and the Explorer forum, I have not seen a transfer case motor like mine in photos or in discussions. It seems like most everything is focused on the older model Rangers. Mine is a 2003.

I removed the motor from the transfer case. My motor does not have the contacts in it, but I did clean everything and apply new lubricant.

I then took out the armature. It's case does not have a removable bottom to it. The commutator did not look horrible, but I did clean it up so it looked nice and shiny. I also cleaned the brushes and blew out the rest with canned air. It was pretty clean though, to start. Putting it back together was a challenge. I finally had to hold the top of the armature in place with a screwdriver so I could get the housing back over it without the magnets pulling it out of the motor housing. Way fun!

I reassembled, hooked it up to my truck battery to test. Worked great! Remounted it to the transfer case, tested and all works fine now. I am adding a few more photos in case anyone else has this particular motor.

Thank you for your valuable assistance. This is an awesome forum.

Help ID Transfer Case Shift Motor?

bluemoon

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