Is the 1994 Ranger 4WD "shift on the fly" from low/4WD to high/2WD?

[BrightCalypsoGreen]

I have a 1994 Ranger 4L, V6, 5spd manual with 4WD. I have always come to a stop to engage 4WD and/or 4WD/Low Range. But I'm towing now and I'm wondering, if I start in 4WD/Low can I shift on the fly back to 2WD/High Range?

If I can't, can I swap 1st gear from a non 4L 5 speed trans to mine? (3.7 vs 3.4)

Thanks

 

[Bgunner]

Shift on the fly is 4x4 high to 2WD or vise versa only. 4x low is a stop the vehicle to get it in and out of.

I know nothing about swapping the gears in the trans so I can not help there.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

4 low can only be shifted into and out uf after stopping and shifting trans to neutral.

You could in theory use a TK 5 from a 2.8/2.9 that would give you a 3.96:1 first but it would be a headache to swap and be a serious downgrade in terms of durability, espicially towing with a 4.0.

A 3.0 or 4 cylinder M5OD would not even bolt to your engine

 

[gw33gp]

I am not sure about a 94 Ranger being able to shift into 4WD on the fly but my 89 STX had to be stopped to shift into 4WD. I know live front axle 4WD Rangers, starting around 2000 model year, can be shifted on the fly because the front axle is always turning allowing the transfer case to mesh the front and rear output shafts while moving.

If you have manual locking hubs and you have the hubs locked, you could probabley shift into 4WD on the fly, but I don't know of any Ranger that can shift into 4WD low on the fly. It is possible to be slightly moving when you shift from high to low and vise versa, but you need to have some skills to do it.

All this is assuming you have a manual transfer case. If you have an electronic shift transfer case, I am pretty sure it will not shift if you are moving.

 

[00t444e]

You can't shift in and out of low range on the fly with any transfer case (not supposed to at least). You can shift from 2wd to 4x4 high and 4x4 high to 2wd on the fly with any Ranger transfer case as long as your hubs are locked or you have a live axle.

 

[Josh B]

You need AFAIK auto hubs to shift in and out from 2WDH to 4WDH and back again, this is all done inside the transmission and can be done on the fly, per Ford up to 55 MPH. I have never tried it above 5 or 10 tops that I recall
Shifting into and out of 4WDL is done through an electrical switch on the transfer case and must be done while completely stopped.

 

[fastpakr]

I am not sure about a 94 Ranger being able to shift into 4WD on the fly but my 89 STX had to be stopped to shift into 4WD. I know live front axle 4WD Rangers, starting around 2000 model year, can be shifted on the fly because the front axle is always turning allowing the transfer case to mesh the front and rear output shafts while moving.

If you have manual locking hubs and you have the hubs locked, you could probabley shift into 4WD on the fly, but I don't know of any Ranger that can shift into 4WD low on the fly. It is possible to be slightly moving when you shift from high to low and vise versa, but you need to have some skills to do it.

All this is assuming you have a manual transfer case. If you have an electronic shift transfer case, I am pretty sure it will not shift if you are moving.

I'm surprised by your 89. My older Bronco II's could definitely be shifted in and out of 4wd on the fly.

 

[fastpakr]

You need AFAIK auto hubs to shift in and out from 2WDH to 4WDH and back again, this is all done inside the transmission and can be done on the fly, per Ford up to 55 MPH. I have never tried it above 5 or 10 tops that I recall
Shifting into and out of 4WDL is done through an electrical switch on the transfer case and must be done while completely stopped.

Doesn't need to be auto hubs, but manual hubs do need to already be engaged to shift on the fly.

 

[00t444e]

You need AFAIK auto hubs to shift in and out from 2WDH to 4WDH and back again, this is all done inside the transmission and can be done on the fly, per Ford up to 55 MPH. I have never tried it above 5 or 10 tops that I recall
Shifting into and out of 4WDL is done through an electrical switch on the transfer case and must be done while completely stopped.

There is nothing electrical to switch into 4x4 on a manual shift transfer case.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Ever think you might be trying to get too much weight moving with a Ranger?

You also need to make it stop too...

 

[Josh B]

There is nothing electrical to switch into 4x4 on a manual shift transfer case.

I don't recall mentioning a manual shift transfer case sir

 

[rusty ol ranger]

He specifically asked about shifting from low on a roll. So 2wd to 4wd is irrelevent

 

[Josh B]

He specifically asked about shifting from low on a roll. So 2wd to 4wd is irrelevent

Right, my apology

Nope!

 

[gw33gp]

I'm surprised by your 89. My older Bronco II's could definitely be shifted in and out of 4wd on the fly.

I think I recall the manual said to stop, push the 4WD shift button and back up about 10 ft. I never did the back up 10 ft thing, but I think it was to make sure the auto locking hubs locked in. Or was that when I shifted out of 4WD to disengage the auto locking hubs?

 

[don4331]

I have a 1994 Ranger 4L, V6, 5spd manual with 4WD. I have always come to a stop to engage 4WD and/or 4WD/Low Range. But I'm towing now and I'm wondering, if I start in 4WD/Low can I shift on the fly back to 2WD/High Range?

If I can't, can I swap 1st gear from a non 4L 5 speed trans to mine? (3.7 vs 3.4)

Thanks

The guts of M5ODR-1 transmission

4th is direct drive aka 1:1, no gears involved. - we can ignore it from here on.​

All M5ODR-1 transmissions have 23 tooth (I'm going to abbreviate that as 23T) input gear.​

All M5ODR-1 transmissions have 52T/23T 5th gears​

4.0 transmission has counter shaft with 38T---34T-25T-17T, Input, 3rd, 2nd, Reverse and 1st combo respectively. (Extra dash is space for 4th)​

non-4.0 transmission has counter shaft with 38T---32T-24T-16T, same order as 4.0​

Note: The gears are machined into the countershaft - no pulling them off to mix and match.​

4.0 (staying in order in transmission) 3rd 27T; 2nd - 31T; 1st - 35T (I'll ignore Reverse)​

non-4.0 (staying in order in transmission) 3rd 29T; 2nd - 32T; 1st - 36T​

Note 2: There is additional countershaft for reverse​

​

Maybe easier to visualize in a table:​

4.0	Input		4th	3rd	2nd	1st/Reverse	5th
Input	23	Output	-	27	31	35	23
Counter shaft	38		-	34	25	17	52
non 4.0
Input	23	Output	-	29	32	36	23
Counter shaft	30		-	32	24	16	52

​

Once upon a time, @Shran asked where I came up with my ratios and why they didn't match Ford brochure - well, I counted teeth on the gears and did the math. 38/23 * 36/16 = 3.72 for 1st in non 4.0 while 38/23 * 35/17 gives 3.40 in 4.0, similar for rest of ratios. If you put 31T 2nd gear from 4.0 transmission with 24T main shaft from non 4.0 transmission, the teeth on the gears would barely engage and very quickly break. So, it is all or nothing swap.​

I can't say if all inputs will work with all countershafts as I haven't tested, I've always swapped matched shafts (gears tend to be happiest when matching pairs, so I have always swapped inputs as well as counter shafts and gears.) And I can't tell you if Mazda used better steel in 4.0 HD transmission (We will note the 4.0 input shaft had a different part number). So, I can't tell you if the non-4.0 really has the strength in 1st behind 4.0 or not.

The old helical gear transfer cases (Dana 18, 20, 24, 300 & NP 203, 205) could be shifted from low to high like you would shift a crash box - shift out of low into neutral, match revs and shift into high (NP203 is easiest as range is really 2 spd. crash box; Dana 18 isn't bad as you're only moving 1 gear, the others are tricky as the linkage is...sloppy, better when they are set up for twin sticks). The newer transfer cases with their planetary gears e.g. BW1354 in Ranger, are next to impossible to manually shift due to design of teeth on shaft; electronic transfer cases have a "nanny" to prevent shifting if in gear/going more than 5 mph/8 km/h.