Stuck in 4-Lo
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 142
Likes: 1
From: Happy Valley, OR
Stuck in 4-Lo
Hey all, after pulling up out of my driveway in the ice I was unable to switch from 4-Hi back to 2wd, and in a moment of frustration I switched down to 4-Lo and now it won't shift out of that. I've checked the #111 fuse (shift on the fly) under the dash and it looks good. What else should I be checking? I've heard there are some relays under the hood, but I do not know the location? I'll be searching for that next, but wanted to post this to get zero'd in on what's going on. Thanks.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 142
Likes: 1
From: Happy Valley, OR
Yeah, I was actually about 4-5 miles from my house and had to drive home in 4-lo, I tried in all sorts of different spots and angles and it's not shifting. It's on level ground now and sat overnight and still not shifting.
Tuned
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 428
Likes: 74
From: Aroostook County, Maine
You should be able to manually shift it out (and back into 2wd) by getting underneath the truck. There is an allowance for a large screwdriver (or 1/2" ratchet?) on the t-case (or shift motor?) to get something in there and rotate it out of 4-lo. I had to do this on my second day with my e99 ESOF 10+ years ago, so my recollection is fuzzy. In this instance it was the relay for the shift motor to move it from 4-lo to 4-hi to 2wd (the other relay does the opposite) that was the root problem.
It is very important that when you try to get out of 4-lo that you are on flat ground and transmission in neutral. Not to get the switching interlocks to work, but that there is no load on linkages and/or gears. Things get bound up and that is when stuff breaks. Even with the manual t-case now, I still have to be mindful of loading to get it out of 4-lo periodically.
It is very important that when you try to get out of 4-lo that you are on flat ground and transmission in neutral. Not to get the switching interlocks to work, but that there is no load on linkages and/or gears. Things get bound up and that is when stuff breaks. Even with the manual t-case now, I still have to be mindful of loading to get it out of 4-lo periodically.
Tuned
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 363
Likes: 121
From: Montana
Have you checked for codes? Could be relays or shift motor, or electrical. If you have any codes could be helpful to narrow down what your malfunction is.
Could try swapping relays around to see if anything changes, easy and free.
My preference would've been a manual transmission with a manual transfer case, though ended up with automatic both and have had lots of problems with them.
Could try swapping relays around to see if anything changes, easy and free.
My preference would've been a manual transmission with a manual transfer case, though ended up with automatic both and have had lots of problems with them.
It's a Van Gogh
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 7,812
Likes: 1,335
From: Elk Grove, CA
Same as pvdiag above, pull the motor off the case and stick a wrench/socket in there to get back to 2wd.
On flat ground with nothing but E brake engaged to prevent drivetrain loading.
After you get it unstuck you can figure out what went wrong on the elecrictal side.
On flat ground with nothing but E brake engaged to prevent drivetrain loading.
After you get it unstuck you can figure out what went wrong on the elecrictal side.
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Tuned
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 428
Likes: 74
From: Aroostook County, Maine
I am drawing a complete blank on how I did this. I know on my old '89 f250 manual t-case, you could use a 1/2" ratchet to get it out of gear. On my '99 ESOF, I thought I was able to pry on a tab with a big screwdriver, with the motor still on. Maybe I did have to remove the motor. Regardless of whatever you have to do manually, getting it out of gear, or into another, was pretty simple.
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