99' tcase grinds in high (only)

Grandaughter's vehicle... I'm a GM/Dodge guy, so limited experience
with Fords!

The shifter motor was replaced. Started as an intermittant problem,
but became worse as time went on. Now happens all the time. In Low, it
is 'drivable' (not a good idea, but it works), but in high and auto
all one gets is a grinding noise and no motion.

I removed the shifter motor, and manually selected high and got the
same symptom, so the shifter motor and controls seem to be not the
problem.

Looks like the transfer case itself may be bad, but my limited
experinece says best to ask to see if someone has a better idea.

(Yes, I do have a full shop and lift, no shop manual for the Explorer,
would love a link to a downloadable shop manual if one exists)

Side issue: the transmission shifter is 'off' by one notch too! First
thought was a motor mount, but it's cable activated, and the mounts
look OK. Grandaughter thinks the two problems are related, I'm
reluctant to accept that. Any ideas on this one too?)

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> Grandaughter's vehicle... I'm a GM/Dodge guy, so limited experience
> with Fords!
>
> The shifter motor was replaced. Started as an intermittant problem,
> but became worse as time went on. Now happens all the time. In Low, it
> is 'drivable' (not a good idea, but it works), but in high and auto
> all one gets is a grinding noise and no motion.

>
> I removed the shifter motor, and manually selected high and got the
> same symptom, so the shifter motor and controls seem to be not the
> problem.


>
> Looks like the transfer case itself may be bad, but my limited
> experinece says best to ask to see if someone has a better idea.
>
> (Yes, I do have a full shop and lift, no shop manual for the Explorer,
> would love a link to a downloadable shop manual if one exists)
>
> Side issue: the transmission shifter is 'off' by one notch too! First
> thought was a motor mount, but it's cable activated, and the mounts
> look OK. Grandaughter thinks the two problems are related, I'm
> reluctant to accept that. Any ideas on this one too?)

I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put it in
Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low. If
your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting the T
case? You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the cable
back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is off
too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.

The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is they
tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty sensors
in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low fluid
level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases that
sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the clutch
engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire modification."
You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm not
positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.

This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and no
motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer case
fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be Mercon
V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans but
I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.

On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
> wrote:

>

>I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put it in
>Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low. If
>your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting the T
>case?

Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
mark.

>You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
>disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the cable
>back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is off
>too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.

Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.

>
>The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is they
>tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty sensors
>in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low fluid
>level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
>sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases that
>sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the clutch
>engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire modification."

I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.

>You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm not
>positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.

Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
thing, too.

>
>This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and no
>motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer case
>fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be Mercon
>V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans but
>I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
>

In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
complaint was.

Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling that
thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
> > wrote:
>
> >
>
> >I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put it
in
> >Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low.
If
> >your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting the
T
> >case?
>
> Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
> by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
> The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
> gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
> marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
> mark.

I don't remember exactly what how it's marked on my daughter's '97's T case.
Instead of H, 4L, and 4H it was something like H and N with a very wide
range for H. I've heard of one person having a problem with the chain on
one of the older (91-94) explorers but other than the electromagnetic clutch
problems the Explorer T cases seem to be quite sturdy. Personally I prefer
the older ones (I have two of them) and it's entirely possible to remove the
shift motor and manually place it in whatever postition you want and be
pretty sure it's there.

>
> >You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
> >disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the cable
> >back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is
off
> >too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.
>
> Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
> may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
> and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.
>
> >
> >The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is they
> >tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty
sensors
> >in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low fluid
> >level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
> >sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases
that
> >sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the
clutch
> >engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire modification."
>
> I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.

I did it on my daughter's '97 when experiencing 4WD problems. Since then I
got the Control Trac working again (seal leak, low on fluid, dirty fluid,
dirty sensors) but she now prefers just to leave it switched off most of the
time. The hardest part was finding the correct brown wire(s). If I
remember correctly it's pretty far up there and you have to remove some
stuff from in front of the wiring harness and remove some tape and then
follow the wires to see where they go so you are sure to cut the correct
one. The article had very good photos and was well-written.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=149388

>
> >You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm
not
> >positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.
>
> Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
> thing, too.
>
> >
> >This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and no
> >motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer case
> >fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be
Mercon
> >V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans
but
> >I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
> >
>
> In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
> explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
> similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
> That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
> complaint was.

Please keep us posted as to what you find and what the final solution is.
After all, the same thing could happen to mine.

>
> Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling that
> thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
> girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>

Yes. My 20 year-old is almost always on hand and has turned a wrench a few
times on her Explorer. But my 18 year-old goes and hides in her room when
I'm working on her Ranger.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
> > wrote:
>
> >
>
> >I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put it
in
> >Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low.
If
> >your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting the
T
> >case?
>
> Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
> by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
> The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
> gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
> marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
> mark.
>
> >You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
> >disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the cable
> >back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is
off
> >too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.
>
> Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
> may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
> and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.
>
> >
> >The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is they
> >tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty
sensors
> >in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low fluid
> >level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
> >sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases
that
> >sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the
clutch
> >engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire modification."
>
> I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.
>
> >You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm
not
> >positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.
>
> Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
> thing, too.
>
> >
> >This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and no
> >motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer case
> >fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be
Mercon
> >V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans
but
> >I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
> >
>
> In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
> explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
> similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
> That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
> complaint was.
>
> Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling that
> thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
> girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>

I just came across this while searching for how to adjust the transmisison
bands on my daughter's Ranger. It sounds like your problem however it's the
AWD transfer case, not the Auto.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/.../t-140457.html

"Ulysses" > wrote in message
...
>
> "PeterD" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
> > > wrote:
> >
> > >
> >
> > >I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put
it
> in
> > >Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low.
> If
> > >your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting
the
> T
> > >case?
> >
> > Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
> > by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
> > The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
> > gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
> > marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
> > mark.
> >
> > >You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
> > >disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the
cable
> > >back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is
> off
> > >too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.
> >
> > Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
> > may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
> > and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.
> >
> > >
> > >The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is
they
> > >tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty
> sensors
> > >in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low
fluid
> > >level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
> > >sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases
> that
> > >sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the
> clutch
> > >engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire
modification."
> >
> > I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.
> >
> > >You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm
> not
> > >positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.
> >
> > Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
> > thing, too.
> >
> > >
> > >This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and
no
> > >motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer
case
> > >fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be
> Mercon
> > >V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans
> but
> > >I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
> > >
> >
> > In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
> > explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
> > similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
> > That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
> > complaint was.
> >
> > Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling that
> > thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
> > girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>
>
> I just came across this while searching for how to adjust the transmisison
> bands on my daughter's Ranger. It sounds like your problem however it's
the
> AWD transfer case, not the Auto.
>
> http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/.../t-140457.html
>
>

Actually it apparently is NOT the AWD. The OP called it the wrong thing on
the first post. Now it really sounds like your transfer case. Try looking
up "range slider."

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:55:05 -0700, "Ulysses"
> wrote:

>
>"Ulysses" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> "PeterD" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
>> > > wrote:
>> >
>> > >
>> >
>> > >I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to put
>it
>> in
>> > >Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from low.
>> If
>> > >your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting
>the
>> T
>> > >case?
>> >
>> > Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
>> > by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
>> > The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
>> > gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
>> > marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
>> > mark.
>> >
>> > >You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
>> > >disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the
>cable
>> > >back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column is
>> off
>> > >too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.
>> >
>> > Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
>> > may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
>> > and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.
>> >
>> > >
>> > >The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is
>they
>> > >tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty
>> sensors
>> > >in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low
>fluid
>> > >level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
>> > >sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T cases
>> that
>> > >sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override the
>> clutch
>> > >engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire
>modification."
>> >
>> > I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.
>> >
>> > >You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com. I'm
>> not
>> > >positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking into.
>> >
>> > Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
>> > thing, too.
>> >
>> > >
>> > >This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise and
>no
>> > >motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer
>case
>> > >fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be
>> Mercon
>> > >V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the trans
>> but
>> > >I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
>> > >
>> >
>> > In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
>> > explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
>> > similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
>> > That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
>> > complaint was.
>> >
>> > Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling that
>> > thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
>> > girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>
>>
>> I just came across this while searching for how to adjust the transmisison
>> bands on my daughter's Ranger. It sounds like your problem however it's
>the
>> AWD transfer case, not the Auto.
>>
>> http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/.../t-140457.html
>>
>>
>
>Actually it apparently is NOT the AWD. The OP called it the wrong thing on
>the first post. Now it really sounds like your transfer case. Try looking
>up "range slider."
>

Wow, does sound like the same problem. And as well, that is almost
exactly what I figured it would be!

Q: (If you know) the brown wire modification... Can a wire be cut at
the tcase to have the same effect so that we don't have to pull the
dash apart? (is the lock clutch locked with +12V or unlocked? <g>)

I appreciate your help, it's been great.

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:12:07 -0400, PeterD > wrote:
>
>Wow, does sound like the same problem. And as well, that is almost
>exactly what I figured it would be!
>
>Q: (If you know) the brown wire modification... Can a wire be cut at
>the tcase to have the same effect so that we don't have to pull the
>dash apart? (is the lock clutch locked with +12V or unlocked? <g>)
>
>I appreciate your help, it's been great.

Simple solution: removed the front drive shaft. I like that better,
some day it can be replaced when someone rebuilds the tcase...

The kid has decided she wants a new car, can't blaim her. Probably
will do "As-is, needs work on tcase" type of ad.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:55:05 -0700, "Ulysses"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Ulysses" > wrote in message
> ...
> >>
> >> "PeterD" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> > On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:09:14 -0700, "Ulysses"
> >> > > wrote:
> >> >
> >> > >
> >> >
> >> > >I'm wondering if you actually are getting it into H. In order to
put
> >it
> >> in
> >> > >Low you need to switch to N first and also to N to remove it from
low.
> >> If
> >> > >your shifter is off then are you sure you have it in N when shifting
> >the
> >> T
> >> > >case?
> >> >
> >> > Remember this is an electrically shifted tcase... I did the shifting
> >> > by manually turning the shift shaft where the shift motor attaches.
> >> > The tcase cover is marked with an H, N and L to indicate where each
> >> > gear range (and neutral) is. Low, and neutral both match up to the
> >> > marks. H just grinds, and the shfting shaft wont' turn any past the H
> >> > mark.
> >> >
> >> > >You should be able to realign it by putting the shifter in D,
> >> > >disconnect the transmission cable, put the trans in D, and put the
> >cable
> >> > >back on accordingly. Sometimes the indicator on the steering column
is
> >> off
> >> > >too. The early ones have a sheathed cable and the sheath breaks.
> >> >
> >> > Agreed, I do wonder why it suddenly 'broke'. then your last sentence
> >> > may well explain that. I'll have to take a close look at the cable,
> >> > and the parts on the steering shaft under the dash.
> >> >
> >> > >
> >> > >The most common problem that I've heard of with the Control Trac is
> >they
> >> > >tend to engage 4WD when they shouldn't. This can be caused by dirty
> >> sensors
> >> > >in the T case, possibly dirty ABS sensors on the front wheels, low
> >fluid
> >> > >level in the T case, or uneven tires which appear as slippage to the
> >> > >sensors. There is an electromagnet clutch in the Control Trac T
cases
> >> that
> >> > >sounds like it may be the problem. Many people chose to override
the
> >> clutch
> >> > >engagement control by doing what is called the "brown wire
> >modification."
> >> >
> >> > I'll have to look that one up. May be an interesting modification.
> >> >
> >> > >You should be able to find out about it at www.explorerforum.com.
I'm
> >> not
> >> > >positive that it applies to the '99 but it might be worth looking
into.
> >> >
> >> > Will do, and I've already joined teh forum, and it's a worthwhile
> >> > thing, too.
> >> >
> >> > >
> >> > >This may be the first one I've read about with a "grinding" noise
and
> >no
> >> > >motion so hopefully some of this stuff will apply. BTW the transfer
> >case
> >> > >fluid is about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF. On the '99 it may or may not be
> >> Mercon
> >> > >V and I can only guess that the T case uses the same fluid as the
trans
> >> but
> >> > >I suspect the owner's manual will tell you.
> >> > >
> >> >
> >> > In the Hummer H1s, the complaint is that it pops out of High. But the
> >> > explorerforum site is leading me to believe that the problem is
> >> > similar: the shift fork pads (nylon) are broken or otherwise failed.
> >> > That makes perfect sense considering what I'm seeing and what her
> >> > complaint was.
> >> >
> >> > Now, I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to pulling
that
> >> > thing out and tearing it down. Arrrgggg. I'm going to turn that 18 YO
> >> > girl into a mechanic yet! <bg>
> >>
> >> I just came across this while searching for how to adjust the
transmisison
> >> bands on my daughter's Ranger. It sounds like your problem however
it's
> >the
> >> AWD transfer case, not the Auto.
> >>
> >> http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/.../t-140457.html
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Actually it apparently is NOT the AWD. The OP called it the wrong thing
on
> >the first post. Now it really sounds like your transfer case. Try
looking
> >up "range slider."
> >
>
> Wow, does sound like the same problem. And as well, that is almost
> exactly what I figured it would be!
>
> Q: (If you know) the brown wire modification... Can a wire be cut at
> the tcase to have the same effect so that we don't have to pull the
> dash apart? (is the lock clutch locked with +12V or unlocked? <g>)

I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. From what I've read if you
disconnect the wire in the wrong place it will result in a CEL light or
flashing 4WD light. I didn't think taking apart the dash was all that
difficult, just a couple of screws and some gentle prying to pop it off.
Then you have to remove the GCM (?) or some-such module to get to the wires.
The biggest problem I had was finding the brown wire. I found lots of other
wires but it turned out to be just like the brown wire that goes to the TC.

>
> I appreciate your help, it's been great.

This NG used to be a lot more active with a lot more input from more people.
I guess everyone is going to forums now. In any case I've always managed to
get enough info to keep my old Fords in good running order.

"PeterD" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:12:07 -0400, PeterD > wrote:
> >
> >Wow, does sound like the same problem. And as well, that is almost
> >exactly what I figured it would be!
> >
> >Q: (If you know) the brown wire modification... Can a wire be cut at
> >the tcase to have the same effect so that we don't have to pull the
> >dash apart? (is the lock clutch locked with +12V or unlocked? <g>)
> >
> >I appreciate your help, it's been great.
>
> Simple solution: removed the front drive shaft. I like that better,
> some day it can be replaced when someone rebuilds the tcase...

I've read of others doing that too but to me it didn't sound like that would
work in your case because you said you had "no motion."

> The kid has decided she wants a new car, can't blaim her. Probably
> will do "As-is, needs work on tcase" type of ad.

Someone who knows how to fix it will get a good deal then. What I like
about my Explorers is, so far, nothing has gone wrong (outside of needing a
rebuilt transmission) that I couldn't fix myself. And I'm no master
mechanic by any means.