I am having problems with the 4x4 system in my '92 explorer. It is stuck in 4L(i beleive). I recently rebuilt the shift motor because when I bought it it wasn't shifting into 4x4, so I replaced the bump stop on the gear, but I didn't align the cover back up right, so it wouldn't work. I tried to manually shift into 4H (I just got this, so I had no clue if the t-case/front diff was good) and turned the shaft the wrong direction. Now, I can't manually shift it at all, and it's stuck in 4wd. I really need to try and get this as it's my dd, any help would be great. Thanks.

 

Not exactly following you. There is no way to manually shift to 4 low. Sure you can rotate the front drive shaft by hand and lock the hubs but that doesn't drive the front diff...just turns the running gear when the truck moves.

So if it did rotate into 4 low and the sensor is off it's mark, you can't do anything unless you jumper 12 v to the right leads on the connector and force the motor to move. It's been 6 or 7 years since I had to rebuild my shift motor assembly but it does sound familiar that the alignment of the sensor cover was pretty important.

There is one other thing you can try. Back where the jack and tire iron are, in the rear left side compartment, there is the relay set and controller for the shift motor assembly. There is a reset button on top of the black squarish box. Gonig by memory here but I think you put the key in the "on" position and then hit the button on the controller. If it works, the shift motor assembly should cycle and the sensor finds its position again and the dash buttons should work....but if the sensor is out of whack, it may just lock into 4 low again.

Also, if it was in 4 low, you would know it....30-40 MPH top speed is all you'd have plus a heck of a lot of low end torque.

 

Well, I took the shift motor off, and since I had no idea if the the 4x4 even worked, so I turned the shaft on the case with a pair of pliers. I turned it against the arrows, and now the "triangle" is pointing just above the 2H mark, and the truck will only drive in 4L. I have tried to turn it again, but I can't get it to move in the right direction.

 

By now you know the motor doesn't move a complete 360 degrees. As you face the shaft sticking out of the housing, 2H is on the left, motor rotates counter clockwise 90 degrees to face down in 4H, then rotates another 180 degrees to 4L. Going back to 2 H is the opposite.

This web site wont let me post anything so PM me your email addy and I'll send you a full right up on this shift motor assembly that I have compiled in Word.

 

Pm sent. So you're saying the motor(starting out in 2h) will go 90* counterclockwise to get into 4h, then 180* counterclockwise to get to 4L, then 270* clockwise to get back to 2h? Soooo, if I turned it "backwards" from 4L to 2h would that screw things up?

 

I don't' know if you can physically turn it past the initial 270 to 4L. Maybe smething locks up inside. I'd have to look at the exploded view again. I d recall it is chain driven so I think you can just torque back to the right to 2H. I'll email the other doc right now.

 

Actually, I was under the impression that it rotated a full 360*. You just saved my *** big time. I was so afraid to turn it against the arrows, that last post saved me a lot of headache. I now know that I have 2 good transfer cases (I have a parts truck) and I don't have to replace my current one. I am ecstatic right now, you ever find your way around these parts, I got a case of beer waiting for ya'

 

Did you get my email? There is a picture of the sensor all taken apart. Well the motor itself will turn 360 maybe 100 times. But the drive shaft into the t-case is geared so the shaft itself never spins the full 360. If you look at the traces on the sensor, you can see why.

The tracer plate can only spin so far then the contact pins fall off the traces. It is typically the problem that the rubber stopper sleeve disenegrates off the steel stopper rod and the sensor contacts fall off the tracers. The controller doesn't know where it is so it just stops all motor movement. That is when all the buttons stop doing anything. Sometimes the reset button on the controller will give you one last spin back to 2H...not always.

 

Yes I did get your email, Thanks for that. I was trying to manually(with a pair of pliers) move the shaft back into 2h from 4h. Where I was screwing up was thinking that the shaft rotated 90* counter-clockwise from 4L to 2h, meaning the shaft would turn a whole 360*, which I now know is not the case, it wasn't until this post that it fully clicked in my head that all I had to do was spin the shaft the other direction to get it back into 2h. Thanks for the post dude.

I am going manual, sort of, I hate electrical stuff, I'm not very good at it LOL

 

Well what the heck. You now have all the tribal knowledge in that document required for rebuilding the shift motor assembly. It will cost you absolutely zero. And it is not even electrical in nature...all mechanical.

When I was thinking about the shift button operation, you hit the 4x4 button first for 4H, then the low button for 4L. To go back to 2WD, it has to go to 4H first, then 2WD. So it says rotate one way and then the other. No way for you to know that since the buttons never worked for you.

I did go back and look at the exploded view of the T-case. The selector shaft rotates a cam that presses on 2 shift forks...very similar forks to the M5OD manual trans these Ex's came with. First fork locks the T-case to 4wd, second fork employs a new gear, just like a manual trans, and that is how you get 4L.

Once in 4L, the cam locks up on the shifter fork and will not allow the selector shaft to turn clockwise anymore. It just locks up as you found out. You coulcn't get enough torque on there with any kind of wrenh manually to hurt anything inside the T-Case. So you're good there.

I'll email a web page with a lot of good short cut info on maintaining these early explorers.

And sorry about the beer. Enjoy one on me. I'm in AZ so not getting your way, probably ever actually.

 

Just one??? LOL

I got your other email, thanks for that, definitly will help me out, looks like some good info. And now I may rebuild both shift motors in my parts truck and my primary vehicle, would be good to have a spare and it looks easy enough.

I was ready to swap transfer cases from my parts truck, what a hassle you saved me. Thanks again.