I have an 03 Espedition that seems to be kind of stuck in 4wd. I have the switch on 2wd but when I drive it sounds and feels like the hubs are locked still. When I put it in A4wd it seems to go it to 4wd. Any suggestions as to what could be wrong or how to fix it. Thanks for your time.

 

You could have a bad shift motor.

 

Is either the A4WD or 4X4 light on up on the dash?

 

When I have the switch on A4wd there is no light on the dash. I have never seen a light on the dash. The only time the 4X4 light is on is when I have the switch on 4X4. I have done some reading and people talk about pressure being created on the drive shaft when the truck is driven in 4X4 on dry land. Would jacking up the front end and maybe putting the trans. in neutral release this pressure? Just a thought.

 

try reverse or it could be that your actuator isn't disconnecting the front axle or does yours have hubs?

 

I tried the reverse thing tonight a couple of time with no luck. I don't have visible hubs like my f250sd has. How do I test to see if it is the actuator that is causing the problem?

 

How do I test to see if I have a bad shift motor?

 

With the key on but the motor off and your window open, put your foot on the brake, then put it in neutral. Then turn the switch to 4 low and listen, you should hear the shift motor run underneath the vehicle. Then switch it back to 2 WD, and you should hear the shift motor run again. There could be other things wrong if you don't hear it running, but from what I've seen in this forum, it's fairly common for these motors to go bad. This is what they look like if you were wondering, they're mounted to the transfer case.

 

I would suspect a bad IWE solenoid (located on the firewall behind the battery) sometimes they let moisture in and when it gets cold outside they freeze up. Not a big deal to fix, less than $30 at the dealer for the part.

 

there is a plunger looking thing on your front axle that is what disenges the front axle from the front driveshaft make sure when your switch is turned that this moves, if it doesn't pull a vac on it see if it moves if it does move then check your vac lines otherwise it's your iwe

 

I had the same problem and i took it to the dealer IWE solenoid $250 CDN parts and labor

 

but since that's canadian that's like ten bucks in US