4x4 problem seeking advice
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4x4 problem seeking advice
I have a 94 Ranger XLT 4.0L and 4x4 (automatic). The weather is pretty rough around here and the other day I tried to engage in 4x4 and when I pushed the button to shift into 4hi, nothing happened. I just used it a week ago and it worked fine. The light doesn't even come on when you push the button and hold it in. Could it be the low temperature outside? I checked all fuses, the connection (harness) at the transfer case, and even tried unhooking the battery cable and re-hooking it. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks
sdh94ranger
sdh94ranger
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Eastern WA
Welcome to FTE. I assume you're confident that it's the transfer case not engaging rather than the hubs causing the problem. I'd check to see if there is voltage being applied to the shift motor when the switch is operated.
Just so you are aware, there have been a handful of posts in here about the shift motor failing. Some have cleaned it and made it operational, others have had to replace. They are not exactly cheap. Becasue of that, I'd check for voltage at the motor first.
Just so you are aware, there have been a handful of posts in here about the shift motor failing. Some have cleaned it and made it operational, others have had to replace. They are not exactly cheap. Becasue of that, I'd check for voltage at the motor first.
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I had read a few of those articles. I really don't think there is anything serious wrong because it worked fine the last time I used it (about a week ago) and nothing happened to make me think that something is not working right. It seems like something is frozen. I may have to try taking it apart. You wouldn't expect this to happen with 6 inches of snow and ice on the ground! But that's murphy's law I guess!
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Just tried lightly tapping the motor with a hammer 4-5 times. It worked! I got it into 4LOW and got myself un-stuck from the driveway. It might be worth looking into later, but at least for now she's in 4wd, and I'm not stuck inside the house!
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Question for you.......How cold is it there? I had a similar problem last year. I was taking a trip through an ice storm and occasionally would put my truck in 4 wheel drive. However at one point, it would not engage. It scared the crap out of me cause it had just been working. Well, it didnt work for about 2 days after I got to my destination and it was COLD. But then, it warmed up and presto, it worked! I guess the transfer case is susceptible to freezing up in some of our trucks. I have a '93 4.0 L by the way. Hope that's the case for you too. Let us know.
-Scott
-Scott
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I live in Virginia. We recently were hit by a pretty good size winter storm. At night it's been about 10-15 degrees. The day-time high has been about 20 degrees with no sunshine. Today it got to about 30 degrees. Like I said in the earlier posts, it worked fine about a week ago when the temp was in the 30's and 40's. This similar thing happened last year about this time (same conditions). Because of this I had a strange suspicion that nothing was really "wrong." The motor probably does need cleaning, but it got me out of a jam. Keep this in mind before you tear things down. It's something that might be useful on the side of the road but I'm not sure if it's "fixed" yet.
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