I am having difficulty swithching out of 4L back into AWD. The vehicle will not return to AWD from 4L. The 4x4 indicator light goes out, but the Low Range indicator is still on. Has anyone ever experienced this problem, and would know what the problem is a result of?

 

Are you remembering to stop and put the tranny in neutral before attempting to switch? If not, the default is no action to save your transfer case and drive train components.

 

Yes I did, thanks for the reply though. I tried it several times. Even shut the vehicle off a couple times and tried it again. I had to drive @ 15 mph all the way home in 4L. I know it's not good, but had to get home. Even though the drivetrain itself seems to be working OK mechanically, I am expecting alot of problems with this one. Give me the old stick shift anytime.

Thanks again

 

I had an 00 that did that to me once. I just got it and I was testing it out on dry pavement. (I know I'm not supposed to do that)

I ended up putting it on some sloppy surface like mud or wet grass then driving a few feet in reverse, then drive, then reverse. Full stop before switching. Tried to get it out of low each time. About the third time it worked.

I only used 4low in slippery surfaces after that and never had another problem in 110K kms.

 

Thanks, i'll give it a try.

 

It might just be the selector switch - they tend to go bad and cause all sorts of trouble.

XXL

 

Thanks, i'll give it a try.

 

Thanks to all the members who replied t my post, and specifically Nickalbu. I went home, wet down the lawn (fortunately it rained in my area earlier today as well) and the vehicle shifted back to AWD after a couple tries. I don't know if that did it, but the coincidence is to strong to ignore. Hopefully no damage was done to the drivetrain, as I had to drive about 15 miles on hard dry road surface in 4L. I kept in to about 15 mph, but I could feel the strain the vehicle was under. I am new to Ford's, I just bought the truck from my father in law for a steal ($10K and in mint condition), but the people who drive them are certainly tops on my list. Thanks again everyone!!

 

Mine has done that.. I took it to the dealer and they said it was "within allowable tolerances". Mine is a 1998 model - perhaps the motors are just getting weak... who knows

 

I'll tell you one thing. It's never going in 4L again unless flood tide is lapping at my wheels. That's where I got into trouble. I was on the beach yesterday, and started to dig in. I had to put it in 4L to get out. I guess next time, I won't be lazy, and will air down. Go figure, the one time I don't air down, is the one time I need 4L. With 15psi in the tires, there should never be a reason to go into 4L on the beach, I don't care how deep the sand. All well, I guess it was worth it, bagged a nice 30lb. Striper for dinner!

 

I wouldn't be afraid of 4L, just make it a rule to always shift to 4H or 4L BEFORE you need it. And, use those gears, motors, seals and switches on a loose surface at least once per month to keep them them in good working order.

The above rule was invented the only time I was ever stuck. I was in a friends Chevy Suburban in a "dry" desert 30 miles from Shiprock, AZ on a Navajo back road. Dust everywhere. Six inches of a melting snowbank crossed the road. I stopped, looked it over, saw no boulders or logs in it so started up again and both front wheels sank in to the hubs. Turns out only the top one inch of surface of the road was dry, below it was gooey gumbo clay, and all wet under the snow. 4L wouldn't pull me out, just buried the rears to the hubs so both front and rear bumpers were on the ground. Two hours later, just as it was getting dark and below freezing, I had used a foldiing army entrenching tool to make ruts, lined it with floormats and some firewood I was carrying. I put the truck in reverse, got out, pushed and lifted on the front, and when it cliimbed out I chased my truck down the ruts to the harder road surface and jumped on the running board and cut the ignition. Whew!

Needless to say, from then on I always hit the 4x4 switch when going off pavement!

 

Oh yea, I know that all too well. No one gets anywhere in beach sand without 4x4, it's deep here on Long Island. It goes on in the entrance road to the beaches. That kind of makes me suspicious of what happened to me. The entrance roads are hard and dry, albeit sand, but makes me wonder if trying to switch back to AWD on the way out did me in. Never had the problem before, but who knows. Sounds like you have been in deeper than me, nice story.

 

When I was about 8 and just learning to drive cars in south Florida sand and mud, I saw a sign in a auto parts store that wetted my appetite for adventure..... it said something like: The purpose of four wheel drive is to take you deeper into the swamp before you get stuck!

 

Glad I could help. My neighbour has an 02 explorer and it did the same thing.

Seems that when you use 4low on a dry surface there is so much pressure on the drive line it can't disengage.

The morral is, switch out of low before you leave the loose surface completely.

I use my low all the time, on the boar ramp, or other wet loose surfaces and never have a problem.

Never, Never on dry surfaces.

 

You can also fool it out of 4low by bending the steering wheel a quarter turn to the left and then right as you drive along at a low speed. You may also turn the wheel about a half turn, then drive the truck forward until you feel it binding, then keep the wheel turned and back up. Somewhere between the truck binding in both a forward and backward direction there will be a point where the transfercase is free of pressure.

Got my dad’s CJ-7 stuck in 4 low many years ago. Man you should have seen me jerking on that shifter. After I got it out, the mechanic in me had to figure out how and why that happened.
(I has been told before hand "Boy don't be messing with that four wheel drive")