hey everyone,
just wondering if anyone else has had difficulty getting from 2w high to the 4wd high position..
I have a 97 F150 37,000 miles
4.2 v6 auto trans and the 4wd shift on the floor that I just bought from a dealership. when I try and put the truck in 4wd sometimes it slips right in, other times it grids and I wind up in nuetral with some awful "banging" sounds that come from the rear of the truck..

I also noticed the diagram of the way the gear is supposed to slip in is wrong.. it says 4wd high is directly down and it should work, unfortuantly, I have to push the shift to the left first, then down back to the right..

did anyone else have these problems? any fix for it?
just curious if I bought a truck with prior probs

 

The 4x4 shifter only move a very small distance to 4 Hi straight back, it sounds as if you my be trying to go to 4 Lo sometimes w/ going left and back right. All this is based on my '00 w/ the shifter on floor. Hope this helps, Doc

------------------
2000 F-150 4x4
4.2L, 5-speed,
3.55 Limited Slip,
reg. cab, short bed,
Pioneer DEH-P4000 CD,
Tinted windows,
17" ORP wheels,
265/70-17 GY RT/S
Delta toolbox
Super-flip-chipped (soon to be re-programmed)
Tow Hooks
...much more to come....

Wife: 2000 Ranger Trailhead Package
Black & Tinted
5-spd, CD, A/C,
16" 4x4 wheels/tires, 4x4 susp.,
Westin nerf bars

 

straigh down about 1" is 4wd high. If you move the lever to the left, you hit neutral then 4wd low.

It sounds like you are hitting lowrange there.

I would suggest to go to your local ford dealer and look at the F150s they have on the lot with the manual transfer case. Then compare to yours.

 

patrickjp, are you sure you're putting the truck into 4Hi? Like the others have said, it sounds more like you're going into 4Lo. What does the indicator light in the instrument panel say?

 

says it's in 4wd high and just the "4x4" light lights up..
when it hits 4wd low, the "low range" and th3e "4x4" indicator lights up..

so I'm bringin this issue back to the dealership and see what they have to say about it..
but that's what confused me about the whole thing.. says my 4wd high is straight back about an inch or so.. with my shifter, it does'nt even budge unless you push to the left, go down a pinch and slip in to the right.. then it works fine (sometimes) that's my prob
..

thanks for the help fellas