I have a '93 ranger 4 x 4 . it is very low mileage and the 4 wheel drive has not been used much at all. the electric motor that turns the transfer case on is giving me fits. this has been going on since i owned the truck for the last year. when you push the dash button, you can hear the computer box clicking behind the jump seat but the motor won't engage 4 wheel drive. if i take the electric motor off, clean it and reinstall it....it will then engage for about 3 times. then if i wait a few days, it won't work again. the motor is always spotless inside and the brushes look fine. the armature looks clean too and i always polish it a little also. so what can be causing this? anyone else had a similar experience? do i need a new motor?? but how can that be, it's hardly been used?? thanks, Kent

 

Try going to a salvage yard yard and get a different motor and see if that helps, so that you are not buying a "new" motor that you might not really need

 

It seems to me that my dad had a problem with a solenoid on his Bronco II. It's worth double checking that the voltage is getting to the motor when you experience this failure.

Having said that, motors do go bad just as you describe. I have known people who have fought with window motors with the same symptoms you have, only to finally replace them to fix the problem.

 

Yeah see if it's getting enough voltage.
And gearheadz has a good idea, pick one up from the boneyard before giving (and I mean giving) Ford an ungodly amount of money for a new one.

 

Sounds like good advice. i know what you mean, i've fought power window problems before too...only to replace the motor and then it works fine. But what blow my mind is the fact that this truck was purchased new in my family. The person that owned it always went to florida every winter and i know for a fact that the 4 wheel drive hadn't been used a dozen times before i got the truck last year. then i used it about 20 times last winter. but the electric motor is spotless inside and the brushes look like new. that is what i just can't understand. if it were an old used motor, i wouldn't even hesitate about getting a different one. but i'll take the advice and get one from a salvage yard. i'll be the one from the salvage yard will have had a lot more usage than the one on my truck. strange problem huh??

 

My old 93' had one go out when it was about 4 years old with under 60k miles on it...but I used it regularly, I stress the term used, not abused. Point is, sometimes they do just go out, as I recall back when mine did it was very expensive....the salvage yard route is not a bad idea to save a little $$$$$

 

Thank you! I am going to check to make sure it is gettting full voltage when the button is pushed and if it is, i'll get one from a salvage yard. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks, Kent

 

I fixed it! this is important because i know this must happen often. There was a post on the internet somewhere that told how to rebuild the motor. I can't remember the link but here is the solution:

It is almost always a small plastic bushing in side the gear part of the motor!!! many many good motors are thrown away or replaced at a high cost because of this.

attached to the electric motor is the worm gear box and a position sensor. take the motor off the transfer case, mark the position of the cover plate which covers the sensor. this is VERY important to mark this. take the sensor out, then take out the nylon gear. on the other side of the gear there is a round screw head with a plastic bushing around it. my plastic bushing was actually gone ! some are still there but have a flat spot on them. if they are gone or have a flat spot, the gear will travel out of position which then confuses the computer and the motor won't work!! presto.

so you can cut a fuel line hose or in my case i stacked a couple of vacuum caps on the screw....then trimmed them to length. put it all back together and it works perfectly every time.

I'll bet many rangers suffer from this problem. it is not due to usage, it is caused as much by age as anything. Thanks, Kent

 

Thanks for letting us know how it worked. I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever have problems with mine...

 

Had same problem on 93 Explorer, had motor replaced by a person where I live. Said same thing as you did will fix it usually but sometimes not he tried, sure would have liked it better if that fix would have worked, but $250 for motor and labor not so bad.
This place that I take it to is big time into 4X4 and says the system is pretty reliable and all has to be correct for it to work

 

Might PM Ken00 and see if he'll add a link to the tech thread, since this definetly could solve some problems in the future.

 

I'll add it the next time I revise it.

 

Thank you very much Ken. I love that tech thread. People say something is wrong and the first thing that comes to mind is, is it in that tech thread?

 

I finally had the experience yesterday of my transfer case not working. I pulled into a messy parking lot, turned the dial to 4WD high and..... nothing.
I went to a nearby shop and they got it working but he said the motor that engages the transfer case is going bad.
Is there a pictorial on the forum to change that out? I'm very tempted to do it this weekend but it's been many years since I did the shade tree mechanic thing.

Regards,

 

It's hard to say since I don't know anything about your transfer case, but I'm sure that in the 20 years Ford has been making Ranger that there is some difference between some of the Rangers, but it's only a transfer case motor so how different could it be, right?