4x4 problems- I am sick of it!!!!

reginald fairfield · Apr 6, 2008

Hey ya'll, I need some help and I need it, well semi-quickly.

I have a 1999 ford ranger 3.0 L 4x4. I have been having problems with the four-low, and it is not only getting annoying but expensive.

All of it started one day when my idiot friend got stuck in his heavy ass chevy pickup (fullsize.) I tried to pull him out, and it was too much strain to my system, and it started doing the clunking crap.

Here is what it is doing: 4-high is fine, no problems.
4-low is fine until I get into the higher rpm's or start climbing hills. Either way, the system has to be under a fair strain before it starts clunking and slipping out of four wheel drive intermittenly. The more this happens, the worse it gets.

I took the transfer case off (1354 Electric shift) myself and took it to ammco to get it rebuilt. They did so, and I put it back on the pickup. It was much better, but it was still clunking/slipping a bit.

I took the whole pickup back to ammco to get it fixed right, and they tried to fix it for one week, they said they disassembled it 2 or 3 times and they could not figure out the problem.

So they said to drive it and see if the problem gets better. I know it won't.

Ammco seems to know what they are doing, and I have a warranty on the work, so this is starting to tick me off.

Anyone have any ideas? Could it in fact be the hubs or front diff, and it's slipping messed up the trasfer case? Or the vacuum hubs? But the fact that the transfer case rebuild improved the symtom points to the transfer case still. I don't know. Help, please? Suggestions?

Earl43P · Apr 6, 2008

The vaccum hubs are notoriously failure prone.

Capt Jay · Apr 6, 2008

The hubs are a bad design and very prone to failure. It very well could be that. The fact that it got better after the work may be coincidental. You stated that it got worse as you used it. You may not have fully put it through it's paces after the work. Sorry I can't be more help. Keep us informed and stop wheeling with Chevy's. They'll wreck your stuff every time.

reginald fairfield · Apr 6, 2008

Yeah, I tested it pretty thouroghly afterwards, and I know that it got better for certain. I think the first thing that I will try will be the AVM hubs.... After that, maybe the entire hub assembly... Thanks guys...

jck_p · Apr 8, 2008

The clunking noise, I don't know. I'd definitely get rid of the vacuum hubs! I did and been a happy camper ever since. If you were in heavy mud when you tried to help that guy, you could easily have gummed stuff up in the vacuum system. It is very susceptible to dirt contamination. If you want to try something for FREE, check out this link http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Apr04/offroad.htm. Took about 30 minutes to an hour to do both sides. I did it while I was waiting for my AVMs to come in. It's FREE and I've never looked back! I drive a '99 Ranger Supercab 4L.

reginald fairfield · Apr 8, 2008

Yeah, I am going to try that this weekend. I was not in mud though, I was in loose (very) sand...

reginald fairfield · May 11, 2008

Well, I finally got around to doing that trick in the tech library to permanently lock the hubs, it was ridiculously easy once I understood the instructions. I tested my truck again, it seemed to be a bit better, but it still does it a little... Maybe one of my hubs is stripped? The passenger side hub seems to have some slack in it, I can grab the axle and the the brake rotor and turn them in opposite directions about 1/4 to a 1/2 inch, it has nothing to do with the bearings, is this normal?

Otherwise, damn It is so nice to have reliable hubs!! Can I still shift on the fly in 4-high?

okcranger · May 15, 2008

well im having the same problem u are the clunking noise in the hubs and i can also turn mine i was told my bearing in the hubs itself are bad so i got a warn locker to get around the vaccum locking but i still cant put them on til i fix my hub bearings??

reginald fairfield · May 16, 2008

The bearings can cause the noise/slipping? I figured the splines were worn down or something....

wvcat · May 16, 2008

I just changed a transfer case because the chain was jumping in 4 low on a 99. If you pull the fill plug you can stick a screwdriver in there and see how much play is in it. Put your truck in 4 low and jack up the rear axle and try to turn the back wheel. I was able to make mine jump a tooth just buy turning the back wheel by hand real hard with this method.
John

reginald fairfield · May 16, 2008

reginald fairfield said:
I took the transfer case off (1354 Electric shift) myself and took it to ammco to get it rebuilt. They did so, and I put it back on the pickup. It was much better, but it was still clunking/slipping a bit.

I took the whole pickup back to ammco to get it fixed right, and they tried to fix it for one week, they said they disassembled it 2 or 3 times and they could not figure out the problem.

So they said to drive it and see if the problem gets better. I know it won't.

Ammco seems to know what they are doing, and I have a warranty on the work, so this is starting to tick me off.

Anyone have any ideas? Could it in fact be the hubs or front diff, and it's slipping messed up the trasfer case? Or the vacuum hubs? But the fact that the transfer case rebuild improved the symtom points to the transfer case still. I don't know. Help, please? Suggestions?

Yeah, that was one problem, but not the real problem apparently...

TeamExploder · May 16, 2008

reginald fairfield said:
Well, I finally got around to doing that trick in the tech library to permanently lock the hubs, it was ridiculously easy once I understood the instructions. I tested my truck again, it seemed to be a bit better, but it still does it a little... Maybe one of my hubs is stripped? The passenger side hub seems to have some slack in it, I can grab the axle and the the brake rotor and turn them in opposite directions about 1/4 to a 1/2 inch, it has nothing to do with the bearings, is this normal?

Otherwise, damn It is so nice to have reliable hubs!! Can I still shift on the fly in 4-high?

Yes you can still shift on the Fly :icon_cheers:

and usually when the bearings go bad you can only hear them while driving but you shouldn't have slack in the hub neither.

reginald fairfield · May 17, 2008

TeamExploder said:
Yes you can still shift on the Fly and usually when the bearings go bad you can only hear them while driving but you shouldn't have slack in the hub neither.

hmmm... I am still stumped a bit... It ticks me off... you would think that ammco of all places would know what the problem is. I know I already asked this, but does anyone think that it is possible that a messed up hub caused the transfer case to self destruct? If the hub(s) slip in and out of engagement at a high rpm, it could have damaged the case from slipping in and out so fast. In other words, what do ya'll think I should do?

c_note · May 18, 2008

throw in a manual t-case and a complete diff from a 2001 and up(live axles rather than vacuum hubs).

just my 2 cents

bobbywalter · May 18, 2008

whats the front diff fluid look like?

any slop in the cv shafts? if you have a bad bracket or bushing they can come apart enough to pop on the splines.

if the t case was apart and rechained and properly spec'ed its not that.

seems they would have noticed an output issue on the tranny, so a close look at the front shafts and bearings is needed, especially if it has a lift.

the ball ramp setup may be bad.

or simply the logic module for the shift motor is not lining up just right and its kicking neutral. theres a guy running round that has a good way to manually control that too, he has a writeup somewhere and its very interesting. since it was somewhat better after the case was r&r i am thinking it is possible to be a motor shift alignment issue.

he also did a d30 swap, which i also suggest along with a manual case.

incidently i looked at a 99 for my daughter yesterday that needed everything in the front and didnt skip at all, and that was 4 low on dry pavement full turns in circle left to right and a hard run through some local shit on 275 south of detroit. tranny was definatly weak on it. and they just get too shitty of economy for my kid, i already have the jeep she drives that needs to go cause its sucking me dry...

4x4 problems- I am sick of it!!!!

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