On to the next problem... 4wd broke

[dreamison]

I have two trucks with the same problem... My 91 5.0 E4OD and 93 5.0 E4OD are bot suffering from a 4wd problem. The push button 4wd works perfectly in 4 high but will not work in 4 low. I have tried to shift them both in nuetral and in park but the 4low will not shift in. Has anyone else had this problem, I know the push button stuff can be tricky I'm just looking for a place to start.

 

[Truckin4life]

maybe the truck needs to move a little bit....
I know i cant always engage 4lo in my truck, and it has a lever on the floor...

try doing it, if it doesn't engage, move the truck a few feet or even inches and try again.

 

[LEB Paul]

Also make sure you are in neutral with your foot on the brake or it won't go in.

 

[Skandocious]

Also make sure you are in neutral with your foot on the brake or it won't go in.

Thats the only way it's going to go in. If it'll go into 4hi but not 4lo then I'm inclined to believe that the shift motor is good.

 

[KdPate]

Thank God for manual transfer cases......

Seriously, The case motor for shifting should be ok. If you have the original owner's manual might want to check and see what the procedure is for going into 4 low. Might have to do something different than normal.

 

[Skandocious]

I love my electronic transfer case. And when the motor fails I'll replace it and continue to love it.

My brother has the manual case and I watch him every time he wants to throw it in 4-- he has to pull over and stop the truck because the finicky shifter never wants to go in easy and he can't manage it while he's driving. I can just push the button while I'm cruising down the road and be on my merry way

 

[LEB Paul]

I've had both and the electronic ones are great when they work, but you never know for sure that it's gone into 4wheel. I like to be able to feel it engage. I am a fan of the setup on my superduty though - automatic with a manual backup, you can't beat that.

 

[Truckin4life]

I've had both and the electronic ones are great when they work, but you never know for sure that it's gone into 4wheel. I like to be able to feel it engage. I am a fan of the setup on my superduty though - automatic with a manual backup, you can't beat that.

Quoted for truth...

 

[Skandocious]

I've had both and the electronic ones are great when they work, but you never know for sure that it's gone into 4wheel. I like to be able to feel it engage. I am a fan of the setup on my superduty though - automatic with a manual backup, you can't beat that.

The amber light on the dash is triggered my a physical mechanism inside of the tcase and it will not light up unless the actual 4wd mechanism is engaged and contacting said switch. So if you see the amber light come on, you know you're in 4wd. Unless of course your tcase internals have suffer catastrophic mechanical failure but that's equally like on both style tcases.

I will agree that the super duty hubs are an improvement over the older auto hubs but I'm not talking about hubs. I use Warn manual hubs on my truck. I'm strictly talking about the electronic transfer case.

 

[LEB Paul]

Ahh, I see. I've never had a problem with the electronic case, just hubs. I still feel better with an actual lever to pull on for the tcase, but I guess that's just a personal preference.

 

[Skandocious]

Ahh, I see. I've never had a problem with the electronic case, just hubs. I still feel better with an actual lever to pull on for the tcase, but I guess that's just a personal preference.

I do agree about the auto hubs in these older trucks. They're complete garbage. People always told me to swap mine out and I always said "pfff they've done fine thus far"

Then they left me stranded in a snowstorm and cost me almost $400 for a tow and some tire chains

Needless to say I swapped in some Warn manuals after that.

 

[95F350XL]

Love manual t cases, my bronk and 150 I just sold have the electronic. The bronk for 4low sometimes it needs to move to get it to engage. Sometimes I have to throw from park to neutral then let off the brake and it goes in, or throw into drive and when it shifts the tcase does. Love my F350s, manual shift, i throw from 4H to 2wd like no other, if you have a manual shift and have probs from 2 to 4H you got other probs.

 

[blacksnapon]

might be 4x4 module (rf kickpanel)

Electronic Shift Operation

The transfer case is equipped with a magnetic clutch, similar to an air conditioning compressor clutch, which is located inside the transfer case adjacent to the 2W-4W shift collar. The clutch is used to spin up the front drive system from zero to vehicle speed in milliseconds. This spin-up allows the shift between 2-high and 4-high to be made at any vehicle speed. The spin up engages the front lock hubs. When the transfer case rear and front output shafts reach synchronous speed, the spring-loaded shift collar mechanically engages the mainshaft hub to the chain drive sprocket and the magnetic clutch is then deactivated. Shifts between 4-high and 4-low can only occur with the transmission safety switches closed and the vehicle at a full stop.

When a control switch on the instrument panel is depressed, the electronic control module will analyze certain input information and, if all the design conditions are met, the electronic control module will command the electric shift motor to execute the desired function. The inputs required by the electronic control module are from the:

transfer case shift position sensor to verify its current position
speed sensor information to verify the vehicle speed
neutral safety switch position to verify whether the transmission is in the proper shift range for transfer case shifting to occur
After the shift takes place and the motor is turned off, the electronic control module will again look at the inputs from the shift position sensor to determine if the transfer case is in the position that the operator selected. Finally, the electronic control module will illuminate the shift indication lights located on the electronic switch control and the instrument panel to indicate that the desired function has been completed.

When the operator selects the drive combination through the pushbutton control, an electric motor turns a helical cam, which is linked to the high-low and 2W-4W shift forks through fork-mounted roller bushing assemblies. As the electric motor turns the helical cam, the high-low fork bushing rides in a slotted lobe in the cam to make the low-high or high-low range change; and the 2W-4W fork bushing rides on lobes at the end of the cam to make the 2W-4W or 4W-2W shift.


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[nobodyspecial]

I still feel better with an actual lever to pull on

you would...

 

[LEB Paul]

You know, I thought twice about saying that, but I figured it wouldn't matter over here. chicken fornicator.


How's the knee?

 

[nobodyspecial]

not good. what are you doing for your 1k post?

 

[LEB Paul]

your mom!

woo wooooooo!

 

[KdPate]

I didn't mean to start a manual TC vs. electronic TC debate. I just prefer having a mechanical lever to engage the TC over the push-button and possibly having an electrical failure with the TC motor. From being a former M-B mechanic I have the mentality of less electronics = the better off you are after witnessing some cluster-bombs by the Benz engineers.

 

[Skandocious]

I didn't mean to start a manual TC vs. electronic TC debate. I just prefer having a mechanical lever to engage the TC over the push-button and possibly having an electrical failure with the TC motor. From being a former M-B mechanic I have the mentality of less electronics = the better off you are after witnessing some cluster-bombs by the Benz engineers.

So by that logic you'll probably want to get rid of your efan. Oh and if you've got any electronics in the cab such as power windows, door locks... Heck even the radio... You should probably remove that stuff and just put in crank windows and a bring a band with you to play live music, cuz the radio will probably fail.

I do understand the mindset that "electronics fail! so they're bad!"... but you can find a good balance between convenience and failure rate. In my experience and what I've read on multiple forums, the main failure point of the electronic 4wd system is the shift motor, and most everything else generally lasts the life of the truck. So is the added inconvenience of messing with a finicky shift lever and/or trying to overcome sticky rusty shift linkage really worth that little bit of extra failure rate? Not in my opinion.

I'll stick with my electronics

 

[nobodyspecial]

your mom!

woo wooooooo!

You are welcome...