I have a 2001 Ford F-150 4x4 offroad crew cab. I have never had problems with my 4 wheel drive but when I was out the other day I tried to put the truck in 4x4 hi and the light would come on in the dash but the truck would not engage into 4x4. When I turned the switch to 4x4 Lo nothing happened and the Low range light did not come on. When I turned the switch back to 2wd the 4x4 light went off like normal. I have not used the 4x4 for about 3 months and am wondering if something has got stuck. Any information on this would be great. Thanks

 

maybe you need transfer case fluid, open your owners manual to page 169 it tells you how to check, and page 200 has the transfer case fluid specs of how many quarts ( 2.0 ) and the fluid to use ( Motorcraft mercon )

 

There are a few things. First, we have to confirm that you're trying to shift propely. To shift to and from low range, you must be stopped, in neutral, with your foot on the brakes, then flip the switch. If it doesn't engage at that point, let us know and we can go from there.

As for the lack of engagement, we need to isolate the problem first. jack the front wheels up off the ground and support them on jack stands. Verify that with the engine idling and the t-case set to 2wd, the front driveshaft should turn freely. Now, flip the switch to 4high and again, idling in park, the front driveshaft should not turn. If it does, you've got transfer case issues. If you can't turn it, the t-case is fine (save for the low range issue which we can deal with later if necessary).

If the t-case is engaging, we need to look at the front axle, specifically the center-axle disconnect. Give one front wheel a spin. If the other wheel turns the other direction, the system is engaged fine. Odds are, it won't.

Let us know what you find and we'll go from there.

-Joe

 

I have an 03 F150 supercrew with the offroad package. I had not used my 4x4 for a while and tried to engage via the in dash selector. The selector does not light up nor does 4x4 engage. The only thing I had done was to have a trailer brake installed but I checked the wiring on the trailer brake and it does not touch anything other than the trailer brake to the factory installed plug.
Is there a fuse for the 4x4 selector?
It seems like it would be something simple but I need some help...

Thanks

 

I have a 99 f150 and I had the same problem. Luckily I had tried to engage the 4wd before I had gone into the woods. Anyway it happened to be a fuse, the guy from the Ford dealer said that sometimes if the 4wd isnt used over a certain amount of time the fuse can blow. I'm not sure what fuse it is but your manual should be able to tell you.

 

I jacked my front end off the ground and engaged the truck into 4X4 high. The drive shaft locked up and the front axle locked up and the tire turned different directions. The truck also went in and out of 4X4 Low. This kinda of worries me because it may be a intermittent problem. Does the center-axle disconnect usually start working on and off at the end of it's life? Does it make any different for engaging if there is not load on the system? Any information would be great Thanks

 

If the 4Lo light doesn't come on when it should I would suspect an electrical problem. It could be a GEM, dash switch, wire harness or shift motor problem. because everything worked fine with the wheels in the air I would suspect the shift motor. it could be binding and when the wheels are down there is enough resistance that it cannot shift.

JMC

 

You need to be stopped, foot on brake (with brake lights working), and must be in neutral. The shift can take a few moments to happen too.

Adrianspeeder

 

Does it make a difference which direction you want to go...that is forward gears or reverse? I can't believe I got myself hung up on mostly level ground today, and it appeared that the front end didn't engage or help out much at all. I had only on option, to back up...not room to move forward. Ground was a bit soggy and the front end sank a bit, I would have thought 4H would have been sufficient toget me out, but all that happened was the rear wheels spun on the mud & leaves.

While I'm asking, do the wheels have to make a cetain number of rotations before the "lock"?? ...and in a specific direction??

Steve
'00 Lariat 4x4 5.4L X.cab
'97 Mystique
'94 'Stang 5.0 Convert

 

If the rear wheels were spinning at least one of the front wheels should have been too. If not something is wrong.

JMC

 

Your comment then confirms what I thought also The loud clunk I heard at the driver-side front wheel seemed to be a bad thing too. Now the question is what do I do about it? I read the post a couple entries back about jacking up the front end and checking the front drive shaft etc. I'm going out to do that now.


Well I just got through going through the diagnostic steps elsewhere in this thread, and this is what happened:

2H - Truck running, in (P).
- Front Driveshaft rotates freely when moved manually.
- Driver front rotates freely; Pass front stationary. Front shaft stationary
- Pass front rotates freely; Driver front stationary; Front shaft stationary
- a bit more drag on the Pass side wheel, but this could be the brake
issue I'm getting addressed this week.

4H - Truck running, in (P).
- Front Driveshaft locked;
- Driver front rotates; Pass front rotates opposite; Front shaft stationary.
- it took a short perioad of time for the opposite side wheel to rotate.

4L (shifted correctly to (N) with brake on) - Truck running, in (P).
- Front Driveshaft locked
- under no circumstances could I get opposite wheel rotate.

Going back to 4H (correclty again)
- Front Driveshaft locked
- under no circumstances could I get opposite wheel rotate.

Shut off vehicle and repeat 4H sequence.
- Front Driveshaft locked
- under no circumstances could I get opposite wheel rotate.

That's where I am, the truck is still up on jack stands. Anything else I can do? Options?

Thanks...
Steve
'00 Lariat 4x4 5.4L X.cab
'97 Mystique
'94 'Stang 5.0 Convert

 

The t-case seems to be functioning correctly. There may not be enough vacuum to operate the shift fork in the front diff when the vehicle is on the ground. It could also be the shift vacuum motor or the shift fork itself. First before you put the vehicle back down on the ground run through the 2 Hi to 4Hi to 4Lo and back 5 -6 times and see if the truck engages correctly. Then put it back on the ground and try it again. Don't do it on pavement but off road some where. You may have freed up a sticky mechanism. I would check all the vacuum lines going from the solenoids to the shift motor including the reservoir behind the battery for leaks. There is a black cover on the shift motor that you should remove for easier access. It will also allow you to check the linkage for binding or dirt that may stop proper engagement.

JMC

 

From the bit I've started reading, I thought as much, but it's good to hear I'm on the right track.

Well I tried this and never had any luck getting it to engage

I'm more or less out of time for today, but I'll definately get after those items in order...

Thanks

Steve
'00 Lariat 5.4L 4x4 x-cab
'97 Mystique
'94 5.0 'Stang Convert.

 

Try this...
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=192971

 

Well I had the truck in forome much needed brake work and while in there I mentioned my 4x4 issue. They looked at it, and hadd suggested that due to the age of the truck and mileage to service the diff fluids.

When I picked the truck up, they said they could get it to engage just fine. I took it home and on my back ( gravel) driveway managed to spin all four wheels.

Odd.

Even more odd that I couldn't get the wheels to lock up when I needed it most...