I have a 93 bronco with a 351 and a e4od 170000 miles on it as of yesterday that i picked up a few months ago for 1500, i knew when i got it the 4x4 didnt work but didnt worry about it, well i have since moved to northern missouri and my drive way is not going to be pleasant this winter when the snow sets in. Anywho the problem is when i push the button to engage the all it does is make a clicking sound under the passenger side of the dash. i traced the sound and its coming from the computer! does this mean i need a new computer? or am i missing something?

 

1st check the fuse for that circuit

2nd check and see if you are getting power to the electric motor

 

ive checked all the fuses under the dash that say anything to do with the 4x4 and there all good. however i havent checked to see if im getting power to the shift motor.

 

My boy was here yesterday in his GF "new to her" Explorer, same thing it wouldn't shift and has same system.

So we did the ole standard of giving it couple whacks with a hammer vibrated it some and it started shifting fine. Made it shift back and forth in and out of low range back to two wheel couple times. Could hear it shift clearly and "positively", it made no sound before that only flashed the 4W light now and then when attempt go to 4 high back to 2 high again. At times the 4 wheel light came on but no power to front wheels.

Told him likely never or rarely used and might be fine now, might not be. Gong into winter here so they will use it. If have more trouble with it it'd be time remove the shift motor for good cleaning and a fresh lube job.

 

update, just went out side and tried the hammer trick and it definatly did something! its clicks multiple times under the dash and i can hear the motor on the tcase moving, so either i need to keep beating it and get it completely freed up or i need to take it apart and clean it. but im hopeing thats all it is is just the motor was stuck.

 

*update*

me and my wife got the shift motor to work fairly right going into and out of 4h with the hammer trick, lights up the dash and everything, however 4l will no work and even when in 4h the front doesnt lock in, the front drive shaft doesnt even turn so once again im at a loss here. is my tcase shot? or is there something else im missing?

 

Your transfer case might not engage the front drive shaft until you roll forward a bit. When 4-HIGH is engaged, idling in park, (hell even put the parking brake on for safety) you should be able to reach under the truck and try and spin the front drive shaft (from the t-case to the front diff) and if it is truely engaged, it should barely spin and lock or not spin at all (assuming you have manual hubs of course). This will tell you if your transfer case is locking the 4 wheel drive in for sure. If it is in 2-HIGH, the shaft should spin freely or, if you have auto hubs, should only spin about a turn before the hubs engage and it stops the movement of the drive shaft.

If you have the shift motor free and working and you are sure the 4 wheel drive is working, then you need to make sure you are using the proper procedure to shift it into 4-LOW. As I understand it, and how I do it on my truck, the ESOF works anytime going from 2-HIGH to 4-HIGH. It will even do it while you are moving up till 70 mph (i've heard but am not going to try) then it locks the system out. Going from 4-HIGH to 4-LOW is a different story though. The shift computer (thing clicking under your dash) needs to see a few signals before it shifts to the 4-LOW range and vice versa to get back to 4-HIGH. These are built in safeties so you don't destroy your transfer case while shifting. You need to be idling, not moving at all, in neutral with the brake applied. With the 4-HIGH engaged (and the "4x4" light illuminated on the dashboard) depress the 4-LOW button and you should hear a positive click and the "low range" light should illuminate for you. To reverse it, reverse the procedure making sure you are not moving, in neutral with the brake applied. Sorry it's so late but I hope this helps you out!