i can feel the gears in the transfer case spinning and grinding through the shifter. It's a mechanical shifter to switch from 2 to 4 wheel drive or 4 low or neutral. The shifter itself is mechanical, there is no doubt in my mind about that, but I will come back and let you know that I stand corrected if wrong. There is too much feel on that shifter for it to not be mechanical. There are other models with the shift on the fly **** that are all vacuum and solenoids, but not this one. Why would ford do that? Make one model a shifter on the floor that is still vacuum controlled, and one shifter a **** on the dash that is controlled by electronics and vacuum. Just makes no sense at all The locking hubs and drive axles are controlled by vacuum and electronics on this model. Not the shifting. I think that I have screwed my transfer case off, and because it is stuck between gears or something, now the truck won't move at all. Either that or I fried my transmission. But the grinding and popping can all be felt directly through the shifter. Making me think it is something up with the transfer case shifter not going back into 2wd.

 

Took me a while to be in good enough condition to get the truck on some stands and crawl under it. It is a 100% mechanical shifter. It does seem the shifter does operate the same aperture as the vacuum solenoid would, so the transfer case is the same no matter which application in that model year. Unfortunately, I may need a transmission though