Hi Everyone, Im new to this thread> I see many names I recognize from the jeep forum. I have gained so much knowledge from the jeep forum I am now ready to tackle my brother in laws ranger 4wd problem.

It is a 1997 ford ranger xlt 4wd, AT, not sure of motor size All of a sudden it just will not go in 4wd. All we hear is clicking. I started to download a free manual till I realized it was one of those damn scams you have to buy something from. If anyone could recommend a safe place to get the manual then maybe I could maybe begin to understand the problem.

If anyone could point me to an article on fixing or diagnosing the 4wd issue I would sure appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any help you could provide. I am going to search this site for a while tonight and see what I can find...

thanks
Rick

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What area is the clicking from? If it's a 4x4, then it's the 4.0l OHV engine.

If clicking is coming from the front wheels, then chances are your automatic hubs are shot. The cheap plastic tends to wear out. A 1/8" thick spacer washer can sometimes kludge 'em back to life. The gears inside the auto hubs are driven by the axle-shaft splines, so yours are not quite meshing properly. Bad wheel bearings also leads to hubs clicking, but that's usually noticed when you turn a corner, even while in 2wd mode.
Related photos here: http://imgur.com/a/d8skq

Ford Service Manual (in hardcopy, incl. EVTM) is best bought from ebay. Here's an online version: http://visualbits.net/Car%20Stuff/Fo...r%201993-1999/

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1997 4x4 Mazda B4000 SE, Ext.Cab

Rick, welcome to FRF.

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2000 Ranger Extd Cab XLT, 4X4 Off Road, 4.0L, Auto, 8.8 - 4.10's, 01 grille & lights swap.
69 Mustang, modified 5.0, & 5spd.(project)
99 Explorer Sport, 4.0 SOHC, Auto, 8.8 - 4.10's, PW, PL, PM, Cruise, Tilt. (Wife's DD)
05 F-150 2WD Regular Cab. ( My DD)

Welcome Richard, Glad you found us. Have fun and enjoy FRF.
From Don
Grove City, Ohio.

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Myrtle: & Danna
1999 Ranger 4x4 3.0 Stepside Ext Cab XLT
2000 Mustang 4.6 Roush Supercharged ( Show Car )
1984 Elcamino 350 330 HP ( Nick's Show Car )
1959 Wife ( Arm Candy )
Danna passed away 5/26/2016

Alldata diy is a great source for repair information they cover nearly all makes and models of cars. Just add the cost of the subscription to your brother in laws bill.

Auto Zone also has a lot of free information once you sign up to their website.

Yet AutoZones information is limited

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2002 Ford Ranger 2 Dr Standard cab 2.3 5 SPD 7.5 373 gears

Hey cvar....I am going to go out and check it out . I havent really heard it yet. My Brother in law described it to me. Ill check it out and post what I found. Thanks for the links. I will be reading tonight as I dont understand how it even goes in 4wd. So far best solution I've seen is replace them with locking hubs! Not sure yet.
Thanks Ill post what I find out.
rick

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Thanks Mike 69 !

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Thank you no power!

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Thanks eaoutlaw...I wish i could give him a bill lol

Welcome to FRF
Please post technical questions in appropriate section, not everyone reads the intro section.

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My 99 3.0 4x4 was doing the same thing. The clicking was coming from/near the transfer case. I found vacuum lines up front going to the hubs were shot. I'd check the lines first.



Am I missing something here? How do you know the truck has a 4.0?!?

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'99 Ranger XLT 3.0 4x4 gold stepside
'99 Ranger XLT 4.0 2WD, RIP at 326,000 miles

Thanks I will check the vacum lines first. If the weather stays nice like this I should be able to work on it. truck wont be back till friday.

A '97 does NOT have vacuum hubs, so there's no vacuum line to check.

Here's how the 4x4 mode works:

The 4x4 switch on the dashboard activates a little "shift motor" that's underneath the truck, kinda below your driver's feet. This is a 6" long electric shift motor that has a tiny 1/4" metal knob which switches gears (2wd, 4wd-high, 4wd-low) within your transfer case (TC).

The transfer case is just a 2-way splitter for your transmission's output shaft.
In 2wd mode, the TC disconnects the front driveshaft (ie, does NOT spin), keeping only the rear driveshaft activated.
In 4wd modes, the TC activates both front & read driveshafts, which sends power to both front & rear differentials, at once, which then turns the short axle shafts (ie, the 2' ones that reach your wheels).

The 2 front axle shafts are driven by the front differential in 4wd mode. The spinning axle-shaft (centrifugal force) causes the spring-loaded cam to expand within your auto-hubs. So now this expanded cam shifts slightly outwards (about 1/4"), to grab the splines within your auto-hubs.

If it grabs properly, then it's silent and drives the front wheels.
If NOT grab properly, then the misaligned (or partially meshed) splines will just click instead and won't drive your front wheels.

That cam is troublesome. It tends to fail. So some folks toss the auto-hubs and buy manual hubs instead.
Auto hubs work fine for light-duty use, if lubed properly.

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1997 4x4 Mazda B4000 SE, Ext.Cab

CVAR

Sorry for late response. I am working on several car projects and I keep going back and forth depending on when Brother in law has truck here.

SO...Thats why I couldnt find the vac lines
Thanks for the info. Where could I find the manual hubs at? Maybe he should do that as he is hauling a lot in the woods with the truck.

When he returns I am going to look some more...
Now I have to go out and tackle the week long problem of removing rusted lug nuts from my ZJ 97 jeep. what a PITA! At least I am learning something
Have a great day.

Rick

http://www.therangerstation.com/Maga...04/offroad.htm
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...ex-axles.shtml

http://www.amazon.com/WARN-29071-Sta.../dp/B0000UUU4Q

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1997 4x4 Mazda B4000 SE, Ext.Cab

thanks to all who replied to this. I am still working on the issue with 4 wd but now I have a radiator problem so I am onto that for now. When I solve the other issue i will revive this if possible thanks

Hey CVAR

I have a question that I cant seem to find the answer too about this ranger... Maybe you could shed some light on it....

The title of the truck says it is a 1998.
The vin # is 1FTZR15U3WTA10513
From what I have read the 10th position is the year of the vehicle
so this vin is a 1998 indicated by the "W"
The tag on the door placed by ford says the truck was made 10/97
So what year is it when ordering parts?
If the part changed by model year then how the heck can a 1998 radiator fit in a truck made in 97? well it dosent. I went and got the 1997 radiator and it looks like it will fit. I am going to try to complete it tomorrow and I will post results.

Has anyone ever run into this issue before when ordering parts with a previous year manufacture date?

thanks to all