Need help figuring out broken 4x4

[killscree123]

Hey Everyone,

I bought a 2007 FX4 Level II Ranger about two weeks ago. When the 4x4 was lightly tested, it appeared to be working. Well, this past weekend I headed out to the cabin and decided to test it out a little further. I drove to the sand pit near the cabin and put it in 4 hi, the light illuminated on the dash. It was going through the sand alright, but I suspected the 4x4 had not engaged. So I took it up a slight hill, and got stuck in the sand. Sure enough, the 4x4 was not working. I tried 4 lo, 4 hi and back again, still nothing.

I noticed a loud grinding noise coming from underneath the truck when I gave the engine a bit more gas. I tired to find the problem but it was too difficult alone. I gave up and headed back to the cabin.


Once I got home I put her up on stands and proceeded to search for the issue. Again, the light illuminated, but this time, the grinding noise happened immediately due to the truck being on jack stands. I'll post a link to the video I took here.


https://youtu.be/urrK0xm9Cgo


Does anyone on here know what's wrong with my Ranger? At the cabin I thought it could be the auto hubs, but when the 4x4 switch is engaged, the auto hubs are locked as I can't turn the front wheels with them off the ground. With the 4x4 switch set to 2 hi, the front wheels can be rotated freely. The front drive shaft also spins with the front wheels.


Could it be that the shift motor is busted? Or is my whole transfer case toast? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[RonD]

2001 and up don't have auto hubs, front wheels are bolted to the axles, so front drive shaft should turn with front wheels all the time

4WD is done inside the transfer case only

It is good front wheels don't turn in 4WD, when lifted off the ground, that means something is happening when shift motor turns.

But grinding noise is not good, it could mean the shift motor has shifted position so not turning transfer case shift rod far enough.
You will have to pull of the shift motor to check this.

Good view of the parts involved here: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-rebuild-4x4-shift-motor.123542/

In 4th picture you can see the shift rod and it is pointed at 2WD, you can rotate this with a pair of pliers to 4hi and 4low
And just a heads up, there is a Neutral, across from 2WD, so have wheels blocked if moving the shift rod manually, because it WILL roll away when you hit Neutral

But what I would do first is to put it in 4high with switch on the dash, and THEN pull off the shift motor to see if it is pointed directly at 4hi.

If it is then problem is inside the transfer case, and its replace or rebuild time

You have a BW1354 transfer case, 4x4 Rangers used these from 1990 to 2012, very reliable units

 

[killscree123]

Thanks for the tips RonD! I'll test it out this coming weekend.

 

[killscree123]

Okay, so today I put the ranger in 4 hi, drove up some ramps, and removed the shift motor to look at the shift rod position. Whoever owned the truck before me removed the vibration dampener and never put it back, looks like I'll have to get a new one of those.

I took a photo of position to upload. So the motor did turn, but did it turn too much/not enough? The arrow isn't 100% dead on, so I'm not sure if it's in the right position for the 4x4 to engage.


Is the motor turning the rod too far? Or is it in the proper position meaning my transfer case is toast?

 

[RonD]

Needs to turn a little more counter clockwise to be sure, but should be far enough now

The plastic cover should have slotted holes so you can adjust it or metal cover that can be turned if the 3 bolts are loosened.

In the above "rebuild" link there is a picture of the Contact Wheel and its contacts.
This is what the 4x4 controller uses to "know" what position it is in.
So when you select 4high the 4x4 controller sends the shift motor 12v until Contact Wheel is in the 4high position then it stops the 12volts.
So the Contacts and the contact wheel sets the correct position of each of the 3 selections.
So rotate cover counter clockwise a few degrees , so 4x4 control moves the shift rod a little farther.

 

[killscree123]

Well the screws that hold the cover onto the shift motor are rusted and try as I might, the screw heads still got stripped. Sorta stumped now. It seems like the plastic cover is already rotated counter clockwise as far as it can be.

 

[fastpakr]

Can you just drill the heads off the screws?

 

[pjtoledo]

on that picture, can someone mark where neutral is?

 

[fastpakr]

Should be roughly midway between 4 high and low.

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