Hi folks. My first post here, so bear with me.:santa:
Woke up this morning to 6" of snow and when pulling out of the driveway tried to engage the 4WD in my '95 Eddie Bauer and no go!
The 4WD has worked flawlessly in the past but I havn't used it in a few years because of good weather. It has the 'Touch Drive' system so it's all electronic. Is this a fuse issue or something else?
I'm hesitant to visit the dealership for a fuse! Any help?
Thanks a million.
Max

 

Fuses would be good to check as part of preliminary diligence.

The next step would be to determine if the transfer case or hubs are engaging. Suggest to put it in 4WD, have a friend creep the vehicle back and forth, while you look from a SAFE position to see if the driveshaft is turning. If you have the vacuum actuators to engage the front axle, that may be a good place to begin investigating.

I'll lock my in 4WD about once a month to make sure everything stays exercised and free-moving. Plus it spins the lube in the diffy for the gears and seals.

 

It's a good ideal to use the 4wd every so often, even if you don't really need to, so the axle oil gets worked around and back out to the hubs.

To see if the hubs are working, get the truck rolling in D (5mph or so), turn the radio off, put the window down, and press the 4hi button, then gradually slow down. As soon as you press the button, you should hear a fairly rapid ratcheting noise, and eventually a clunk when the speed drops low enough. The clunk indicates the hubs are locked in. If you don't hear the ratcheting/clunk, there's a vacuum issue. If you get under there you'll find a blue vacuum hose going to each front wheel. These tend to crack/leak in older cars.

If the hubs are engaging, then get a helper to peer under the truck when 4wd is engaged and see if the front driveshaft is turning. If not, but the hubs are locking, it's 99% chance the shift motor died.

Vacuum hubs are not super reliable and don't take much to break.

If you have a field or someplace to drive off-road every so often, great, try to run the 4wd every couple months. If not, find a stoplight before a straight road. Engage 4hi as you pull up to the light, wait for the clunk. As soon as you start moving, turn off 4wd. This stops the T-case, but the hubs won't disengage until you slightly roll backward. Keep it straight for a mile or so, then pull over and back up a few feet to unlock the hubs.

 

Thanks guys. Yes I usually do run the 4WD system once a month, but I've been negligent these last few years(too darn busy!). I've been a very bad boy!

But, we found the problem. After checking fuses I decided to test the system in a slick parking lot several times with no luck. So I decided to take it to the dealership and have them run some diagnostics... Bad switch and bad motor.
I guess old age caught up with both me and the truck!

She runs great again... 4WD high and 4WD Low. Runs like a champ.
I'm sure I would have spent several more hours troubleshooting the thing, but without the right diagonostic gear I felt I was just 'spinnin' my wheels' so to speak. (no pun intended)

Chalk one up for the local dealership. They treated me very well. Kept me informed as to progress of the job and delivered the truck on time. I was very pleased.

Thanks again for your input guys. It's good to know I have a place to come to spout off about the old truck.
Regards,
Max

 

I'm still not a big fan of electric shift 4wd. The motors tend to fail at the worst possible times and it's not a big deal to just pull a shifter. Even on the brand new Explorer the electric shift 4wd usually takes 2 or 3 tries until it grabs the low range.

 

I tend to agree, RaWarrior. This Ford is my first electric 4WD(while I've had it all these years), and I do miss the locking hubs and the manual shifting I used to do with the old Jeep.
It was definitely bullet-proof! And very reliable.

But this system has held up for what, 12 years?
Heck, the older we get, the easier we want it, right!