stuck in 4h or 4low ??

[ford4me]

I have a 1999 eddie B. with the 5.4 and 173,000 miles
I know the owner well and the truck has had a very easy life (doubt it was ever in 4h or 4L) and I have became the new owner .
I have driven it about five hundred miles and have noticed a couple of issues that I really hope someone will have advice and set me straight .
First after driving 50 miles or so I noticed on a little uphill grade and a little more throttle that the truck sounded like it might be trying to shift into the forward axle and alittle choppy . sometimes it would and sometimes not but always when climbing a grade. Like it was kickin in and out . drove about 300 miles and then a couple days later I was out at my shop and it was muddy and truck wouldnt get a good grip so I put the tranny in neutral and switched the awd to 4L and tranny back into drive and eased out of the mud with no issues and then tried to go back to awd and no matter what,, It stayed in 4L or maybe 4h I ended up driving 30 miles at probably 35-40 mph back to the house .(spedo was reading 80mph ) it was flashing 4x4 when switch was in awd and flashed nothing in 4h or 4L. now sitting at the house and I dont know what to do. SO ANYBODY PLEASE HELP !!

 

[JUST4FUN]

are the tires all the same. you dont have two new ones on it?
sounds like the shift moter is bad on the t-case

 

[MikeNTerra]

Had the same problem with my '06 once, could not get it to come out of 4L. Only came out after going to Neutral, putting the brake on, switching to 2H instead of AUTO and driving it backwards about 30 feet after putting it into 2H. Hope that helps.

 

[ford4me]

hey thanks for the replies
yes the tires are all the same and i dont know about the shift motor I really dont thnk it should be that because I dont think it was ever used other than maybe to put a boat overboard if you would even use it then!
I will try the reverse Idea and see if that helps release it.
anyone else want to chime in . I know that there is a lot of threads on the 4 wheel thing just cant figure out where my problems are coming from. Please continue in any thoughts you guys have that you are willing to share. This truck was owned by a very wealthy man and I know he took excellent care of it. he got tired of it and instead of trading it in he parked it and its been sitting a little while and he went out and purchased a land rover. anyway Im stuck in 4h or 4l and Im wondering how to fix my problem or take it to a dealer (ouch) or get it repaired and get out of the exped. and sell it. Im not wealthy and cant afford a truck that may be broke down . Kinda seems like they are problems after problems (reading this forum) Help wanted !!

 

[Stoned06]

Sorry about your issue. I won't be much help, but the 4WD system should be activated every once and a while to prevent future issues. Sounds as if the previous owner rarely used the vehicle, and probably never activated the 4WD. Could just be the transfer case is hung up, or the switch motor went bad like previously said. The dash switch is a possibility also. I believe someone posted a thread about a fuse that when removed acts like the brown wire mod which disengages the Auto-4WD. If you have the A-4WD switch that does not have a 2WD option, try to locate that fuse and remove it and see if the T-case disengages. Good luck.

EDIT: Just read that thread and the fuse/mod only works for the A-4WD which is a magnetic clutch, and the 4-Hi/Lo is a mechanical clutch.

 

[tonydiv]

9 times out of 10, transfer case issues revolve around the shift motor. It's become so common that there are now aftermarket motors available.

 

[ford4me]

Thanks guys for the advice
I will check at the switch and motor tomorro I hope
probably be back tomorro with new questions
Thanks again

 

[bigmax88]

did you ever figure this out? mine is stuck in 4 high, i was reading were one guy manually selected 2wd with the motor off, but you have to put it in neutral when you do it.

 

[lakmflx]

hey thanks for the replies
yes the tires are all the same and i dont know about the shift motor I really dont thnk it should be that because I dont think it was ever used other than maybe to put a boat overboard if you would even use it then!
I will try the reverse Idea and see if that helps release it.
anyone else want to chime in . I know that there is a lot of threads on the 4 wheel thing just cant figure out where my problems are coming from. Please continue in any thoughts you guys have that you are willing to share. This truck was owned by a very wealthy man and I know he took excellent care of it. he got tired of it and instead of trading it in he parked it and its been sitting a little while and he went out and purchased a land rover. anyway Im stuck in 4h or 4l and Im wondering how to fix my problem or take it to a dealer (ouch) or get it repaired and get out of the exped. and sell it. Im not wealthy and cant afford a truck that may be broke down . Kinda seems like they are problems after problems (reading this forum) Help wanted !!

There are quite a few of us who have had the truck since new and now over 150k miles and have had 0 issues. Most expensive thing i had to repair was the air suspension compressor ($120) other then that everything else was cheap. Its always best to maintain any vehicle so that you get the most out of it.