My 05 superduty is in the shop because it won't shift in or out of 4Hi. Ford garage says I need a new transfer case shift motor, and 4wheel drive module. They said the shift motor was full of oil. I am not really up to speed on how the shift motor works, other than it bolts externally to the transfer case, that's why it confuses me about the shift motor being saturated with oil. ps. my truck has never leaked even a drop of any type oil, ever.

 

Did they say what type of oil?

 

no they didn't, and I didn't think to ask. What he did tell me was it was the 6 prong connector that was saturated with oil, and that's what he thinks shorted it out or whatever. Seems strange to me, that truck has never left a single drop of oil on my garage floor, ever. They are changing the shift motor tomorrow, so maybe he will know more then.

 

I betcha a quarter it isn't oil at all in the connector, but water.

I had a similar problem..... albeit on my 2010 Raptor (similar setup though)... occasionally wouldn't shift into or out of 4wd. The 6 prong connector was filled with water, temporarily shorting the shift electrics. Ford replaced the shift motor once but, the problem continued. The last time, an hour after driving through a massive thunder storm, I REALLY NEEDED 4wd.......no shift. I crawled underneath and hit it a with a rock a few times to no avail, so I unplugged the connector and about a teaspoon of water poured out, I blew it as dry as I could and hit it with WD40 and..... bingo, shifted normal.

For the final fix, I packed the connector with dielectric grease until it oozed out and water proofed as best I could. Haven't had a problem since (with a nice wet summer and plenty of puddle jumping).

There was absolutely ZERO waterproofing in or around the connector for being in such an exposed location.

Not saying it may not need a new motor or 4wd module......but, my guess is that you don't need either. Has it been wet where you live?

 

Thanks for your input Phydough. Here is what I found out today. There is a seal between shift motor, and transfer case. It went bad and allowed oil from transfer case to leak through into motor and connector. I couldn't afford the new Ford shift motor at over $500.00, so I bought one at a local parts store for $130.00 - re-man. They also had to replace the 4x4 module.
That part was not real cheap either, at almost $300.00. So it works now.. about $850.00 total. I just hope it stays working. That was a good idea about water proofing those connectors.

 

It's always a good idea any time you under the truck to take a tube of
dielectric grease with you. Not quite the same but I has a seal on the
transmission between the transfer case go and over fill the transfer case
on an Explorer. What a mess. Good thing for extended warrantees.

Take a can of electrical contact cleaner and a can of dielectric grease
under the truck and clean then grease the connections.

Sean

 

Glad you got it figured out, too bad at the cost.