4x4 problem
 

i have an 05 4x4. the other day i was pulling a trailer in some slick mud. put her in 4x4 she pulled for a little bit the i heard a loud pop. the 4x4 light was still on but no 4x4. got pulled out, now the light comes on when you turn the knob and it makes a click like its engaging but still no 4x4. any ideas. maybe the actuator? oh and ever since i put the 2" leveling kit on it popped when in 4x4 too. any ideas on that as well? any help would be appreciated. trying to get her fixed so i can sell. thanks in advance.

nobody knows? motor on the transfer case works fine. its inside the transfer case

put the truck on jack stands and engage 4x4 and make sure its really not working.

The front end is a open diff. so theres only gonna be power to one tire. So its easy to think it wasnt working

miss post

thank you for the reply 4.2trimble. i'm talking about the electronic motor on the outside of the t-case that spins to engauge 4x4. i took it off and it rotates as its supposed to but nothing happens in the transfer case. so its beyond the electronics and all mechanical inside the t-case don't know if the popping was coming from the cv's due to the leveling kit putting them in a bind or if something blew in the transfer case. i was not hammerin on it and if somethin blew inside thet-case would be crazy because i was just spinnin slowly.

I im gonna say to check the whole setup, start with the t-case and work your way forward. Check all the lines.

Our trucks front d-shaft rotates freely even when 4x4 is not engaged. well mine does. But Any hoo, the CV's also spin. they are then locked in after the 4x4 was turned on. I think this is were your problem is, i bet its the mechanism that locks the hubs so you get power to the tires.

Did you try in both 4hi and 4lo

Im not trying to make you seem like a idiot, but how did you shift. I know you said the trailer was in mud but was the truck? on our t-cases you have to have a "slippage" to engage the t-case, cant be done on a dry pavement. If you do this you WILL get a LOUD pop from the t-case a 4x4 wont engage. The light might come on but you wont get 4x4. So are you sure that the traction was low enough for the tires to slip?

4hi shift in drive
4lo needs to be shifted into at neutral

miss post

miss post

hey you know our 98 expedition xlt 4x4 has a similar problem. You shift to 4hi and it reads it's in 4wd, but its not. I tried driving up a mulch hill so I could test it, and the back tires are spinning fine, but not the front. 4lo is similar, you shift to neutral, hear and feel it shift, shift to drive, drive up the mulch hill, but the front wheels don't spin, and the drive train makes an aweful noise like its slipping metal on metal, like grinding... and the back tires just spin out. -sorry, not trying to jack your thread, just thought with Trimble on here I might could get some help too-

yea i shifted as you said. still no four wheel drive. the truck was the one stuck, the trailer was just heavy and wasn't in that much mud. the front tires started pulling then after the pop, nothing. it used to make a little more noise engaging now its just a little click. i wasn't worried about the popping beacuase anytime i pull a trailer and in four wheel it pops like that. oh and i have a 2" leveling kit. just always thought the popping was coming from the cvs being at a steeper angle. i also checked the hoses on the hubs but it all looks normal to me. could it be possible that i blew something in the t case?

sorry i forgot to mention that i was stuck one more time after that with all the variables required for it to work with no luck whatsoever. so i know its not engaging and i know that it has to be somthing between inside the t case and the diff. unless the air line is messed up on top somewhere before it goes back down to the hubs. sorry for all the questions and thank you for all the help.

4x4 on the pre-04 and 04 up are totally different. Pre-04 (97-03) have no hubs to lock/unlock. All is done at the diff. 04 up have IWE's (hubs) that the default position is locked. They are unlocked when in 2wd by vacuum. If your front driveshaft is not turning when in 4x4, then either the motor than engages the TC is not working properly, the TC is bad, 4x4 switch is bad, or possibly the GEM module is bad. If you are getting the 4x4hi light, then more than likely it is the motor or TC.
If it was a problem with the front hubs or solenoid, it would more likely be a problem when in 2wd with the front hubs making a grinding noise.

well used to when i would take it out of 4x4 it would make that grinding noise at the hubs for a while then stop. i checked the motor and it is working properly. so at this point what do i need to do?

If it was making the grinding before and now is not, a good possibility is that the IWE's are shot and will have to be replaced, and you will have to find out why the did not disengage. Probably a bad solenoid or vacuum lines.

Wait wait wait. I'm confuddled. We have an open differential up front. So only the left rear tire and front right work when 4x4 is engaged?