4X4 problem

[zebz21]

It has been cold here recently.. -20 degrees with the wind chill but this has happened twice now. when i put my four wheel drive into high, it seems to lock in, but then doesn't want to come out. The lights blink a few times but still nothing..now i can get it back into 2wd if i mess around backing up and going forward but then if i try to put it in 4 nothing happens. Now the only fix i found was to put it in a heated garage and it seemed to work alright after that. Could there be moisture somewhere or whats the problem?thanks

 

[macewan]

If the cold really is the problem, it is likely in the hubs. Mine was doing the same thing and it all lead to the hubs. I am going to take mine apart and clean them and make sure the o-rings/seals are clean and not brittle.

 

[Ranger44]

My guess is with the shift motor. That the grease is very old and when it gets cold...gets very hard. Not only making it hard for the contacts to move, but easy for them to get lost, yes, lost. When the shift motor moves, these brushes/contacts, move on a contact disc. Contatcing different points, letting the motor know if its in 4lo, 4hi, or 2hi. If it doesn't know where it is, it won't shift. It'll just blink at you, going into a fail safe mode. The best way to fix this is crack into it and clean the the disc and remove the old grease. And bend the brushes down just enough to make good contact. Put new dielectric grease in and it should do. BTW, mine was doing the same thing. 99% sure its the motor:

Clicky:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89&highlight=shift+motor

 

[zebz21]

well lately my truck won't even move on the snow unless it's put into 4 dunno if thats right or not but today i was coming home from the doctor and put it into 4 on the snow and the truck seemed to do a continuous fish tale. i had to hold the steering wheel turned just to keep it straight. it eventually kicked in after a while

 

[Ranger44]

Check both hubs, and clean the shift motor as described. The hubs should have plenty of clean grease on them, and check to see if the plastic parts are worn or broke. If they are dried out or broke they may not engage right.