Good samaritan loses.again

New guy here. while trying to remove a ford expedition from a 10 ft ditch my 4wd quit working. i just put a new 4wd actuator in 3 weeks ago. the indicator light comes on and registers as engaged but nothing. there was faint grind for a second when i left the scene but nothing else except no 4wd and horrible alignment now. so i guess what i am inquiring is what should i check? the truck is new to me so not much time under hood. 94ext.cab z71 4wd auto 5.7L. I have read through numerous posts and cant find or missed valuable info any help would be greatly appreciated "The best lesson learned is the expensive one" Thanks Mike

Take a look at the vacuum actuator diaphragm, the vacuum lines from that to the transmission, and back up to the intake manifold. If there's a hole or leak then the 4wd won't engage fully, giving you that grinding sound.

Also, pull the vacuum hoses and check for transmission fluid in them. If so, the transfer case vacuum switch on the driver side of the tranny has failed...fairly common. You'll have to clear out all the vacuum lines, the black vacuum bulb (you may have to drill a second hole in it and then close it back up with epoxy), actuator, and replace the switch. Hope this helps!

Is front drive shaft locking in?
Is front axel locking is?

241 transfer case with a floor 4W shifter?

Also check shifter linkage to transfer case.

yes 241 w/ floor shift the x/fer case IS locking and the front axle feels and appears to be locked in.(when engaged w/ engine running in park i can grab front driveshaft and move it very slightly and the axles seem to react) but when i give the gas only rear wheels spin with front and rear shafts turning. I think the front drivers side is the puller.
thank you! mike

I think i have the electric type actuator. the actuator itself has 2 wire lead coming from it. but i will check for vaccum lines. thank you

That transfer case has a 4W and then 4W lock.
Are you trying it in 4W lock.

In just 4W one end will spin out.
Just like a non locking rear end one wheel will spin.
Put it in 4W lock and jack it up and see if front and rear drive shafts ar locked in.

jacked it up both shafts spin with 4w locked front wheels nothing. I also tried low range same thing.actuator is working and registers as on. could the locking mechanism itself be shot or the gears. i guess i will buy the manual for the truck and tear into it. any precautions?hints?

jacked it up both shafts spin with 4w locked front wheels nothing. I also tried low range same thing.actuator is working and registers as on. could the locking mechanism itself be shot or the gears. i guess i will buy the manual for the truck and tear into it. any precautions?hints?

The shifter has two shift rods.
One for 4W and one for the transfer case lock.

Make sure both are engageing transfer case.

They get out of adustment and dirty and nuts on levers can come lose.

Un do the shift rods and feel shift levers for ingauging transfer case inside.
Good Luck

ok i caught a chance to go through the procedure and the 4wd shift levers were spot on they move to the correct positions. so i put the levers/linkage back together. also i picked up a haynes repair manual and it was very dissapointing. is their a manual availible for a 94 k1500 z71 4x4 5.7L auto.trans. that has a breakdown of front differential, tranfer case,and rearend?or maybe an online place? thanks mike

Haynes is just a general hit and miss.


Factory repair manual best.

http://www.alldata.com/products/diy/index.html

Many public library's have car repair info on line to.

Parts places may have a parts breakdown they can copy for you.

AZ online web site may have some info on it.

Good luck

Thanks for the quick info i will report my progress in a day or so.I am slammed with work.

You are welcome.
Good luck

Hey MT2500 a 94 Chevy with 4WD and 4WD lock postions I've never seen it on any this new. Was this a rare option?

That was standard with the floor shift on them.
Old school 4W drive stuff.
The floor shift lever has 2W and 4W high and 4W high lock and neutral position and 4W low and 4W low lock

One lever is the transfer case 4W lock in lever and the other is is 4W high and 4W low and neutral and 2W shift lever.

It takes 2 shift levers from floor shift lever to transfer case to get it all done.
Take a look at one under side some time and you will see.

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1300/pict0342h.jpg


I thought they only had 2 h, 4h, Neutral and 4 low. One lever.

That looks like a Blazer
The 94 K 1500 with a 241 transfer case has one shift lever on top but two shift levers from shifter to transfer case.

That's a k1500 93 p/u.


Never seen a 88 up with the lock on the shifter.


I did find this.

Starting in about 1987, the New Process 231/241 series transfer case became standard in Jeep, Dodge, and Chevrolet applications. These transfer cases are part time 4WD (Shift positions 4HI - 2HI - N - 4L). They have a relatively thin aluminum housing. They are 1:1 direct drive in high range, and use planetary reduction gears for low range with a ratio of 2.72:1 They use chain drive for the front output. The NP241 was typically used in V8 applications.

That looks like a Blazer
The 94 K 1500 with a 241 transfer case has one shift lever on top but two shift levers from shifter to transfer case.


So is the selector mark differently in the cab? No 4l, N, 2h, 4h?

I do believe laxman is right i miss understood you there are 2 connecting linkages i assumed thats what you meant my shifter looks similar to the one in the photo above. Update! its in the front diff. it will not lock in!!! i mean that i took the actuator out and used a drive extension to push in to lock position i can still turn the yoke(removed the frnt dvrshft) although the axles react they do not lock almost as if a shearpin was broke or something. thats where im at. on saturday night after work:(

This is just a thought. if i could find a good used front diff. for a reasonable price. would that be less of a headache?all thoughts and suggestions are welcome. when my stuff is broke it really drives me crazy so i am on a mission!

This is just a thought. if i could find a good used front diff. for a reasonable price. would that be less of a headache?all thoughts and suggestions are welcome. when my stuff is broke it really drives me crazy so i am on a mission!

Hard to say.
I would pull the right axel shaft and have a look in there and go from there.

Hey MT2500 a 94 Chevy with 4WD and 4WD lock postions I've never seen it on any this new. Was this a rare option?

Sorry about that.
You fellows are right.
I was thinking of the older models with the 4W and 4W lock an 4W low and 4W lock shifter setup on floor shift.

the truck has a 3:42 diff. if i can find one under 300 i believe i will go that route. but when i do this i will investigate the one thats in now. i will report my progress as i go. thanks for continuing on help and ideas keepem comin!!

I have found a working salvage diff. for $250 unfortunately i will have to wait till after christmas before i have the time to install the salvage one and investigate the non-working unit. stay tuned!!

I had this same issue, and went through the same fears and diff hunting. When I found one, and started the change out process, I discovered a blown out CV joint. Since it is an open front differential, the broken CV joint was slipping and the other wheel did not pull at all.

thanks for the help i will double check it.havent had the funds to really do anything was laid off for a month.i will post what i find when the weather breaks. thanks again!!!

Ok so its almost been a year. i got the new differential ready to go in this weekend. amazingly its not too bad getting the differential out, didnt even have to take the wheels off!!!! I will report what i find in my old case when i open it.

Wow. Just in time for winter. Thanks for following up.

The end of my saga is coming to an end. While installing my new(used) differential i found that the bottom mounting casting had been broken off. My guess is that when the salvage yard pulled this they broke it off and i missed it. so i am making my own bracket. Its in place and is holding oil (no leaks yet) and i will finish my bracket tomorrow. the old differential had pieces of metal falling out when i drained the rest of the oil. i had to remove the axle tube to get it out and as far as i can tell i broke so mething to do with the way the differential locks in. if i can get the cases apart i will try to find what the weak link was.

All in all this whole experience has left me very bitter. i fabricated the bracket, got it in and nothing no 4x4. the used one doesnt work either. I am quite disgusted. I will now learn to rebuild a differential. So, thats the end of this little saga i quit for now. Thank you guys for giving me little hints and clues.Remeber, if you break your stuff helping others its YOU that lose. The bottom line is MONEY and TIME. (how many of us have this?)

here is what i do. guy gets in a deep ditch. call a wrecker. I know now to use a winch. I know how to get my self unstuck. i have shown guys how to use there winch's when there bogged down to the frame. a simple block and tackle works wonders to get every one unstuck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_and_tackle

save your truck, learn how to use winchs.

Success!!! I was going through my old front end and i came to the conclusion that the used differential was good but something wasnt letting it engage. I took the axle tube off (where the actuator is located) and BAM there it was. a washer that was supposed to be on the engaging gear was actually blocking the gears from connecting. So apparently someone (had to be a moron)had taken the tube off and failed to pay attention to how the tube went back together. I took the mangled washer out and put my old one in and all is well so far. its only taken me a year to get it fixed. but, the fun isnt over yet! I smacked a deer a few weekends ago and im now going to deal with body work and painting. So with any luck by next year i will have it fixed.