4wd Grinding and not moving

The problem turned out to be the transfer case.
After I pulled off the actuator, I found the rod was only moving a small amount. and it was not all the way in to the 2wd position to begin with. I believe that what little movement it had was enough for it to go in to some sort of neutral position between 4hi and 4lo, and that is why the truck would not move and made grinding noises when I put it in 4hi. The rod should have 3 distinct detent positions which are obvious, and you should be able to move it by hand.

I bought a used transfer case assembly at a nearby salvage yard for $400. I installed it, timed the actuator, and all was good.
FYI its a bit of work to replace a transfer case. There are 8 bolts that hold it on and 3 of them are quite difficult to reach. I definitely recommend having a quality impact driver and an assortment of extensions and universal joint adapters.

All good now. thanks to you all for your help

 

Appreciate you circling back with the diagnosis and fix. It sounds like it may not have been engaged or used very often.

 

The range sleeve between high and low is the only neutral that exists so this all makes sense. Figured it wasn't the 2wd to 4wd shift collar. Good find.

 

FWIW, I cannot recall ever seeing a post in here with a confirmed Transfer Case failure diagnosis.

Rare bird.

 

I dont know for certain what happened internally with the transfer case in my truck. Like I mentioned before, I just bought it a week ago, knowing the 4wd didnt work.
However, there was definite evidence of recent repairs. the actuator was definitely removed.
One theory I have is, the previous owner in an attempt to replace the transfer case actuator, may have removed the transfer case, split the case and replaced the entire actuator and rod. And perhaps made some mistakes assembling the shift forks.
I suppose I could open the old transfer case and take a look. Maybe this weekend.

 

I'm guessing it was all messed up and moving the range sleeve when it should've been shifting the 2/4 fork. Knowing it was messed with recently makes this more likely.

 

Definitely tear apart the old unit and let us know your observations. Always good info to get ‘lessons learned’, whether this was neglect (lack of use of 4wd), normal wear-and-tear, or abuse / rust / other.

 

@stevets Nice work on diagnosing and fixing the problem. And thanks for posting the resolution for us to read. It drives me crazy when I don't find out how the story ends.

 

I love it when someone dives in with no fear and solves an issue like this. Well done OP!

 

OP had it handled in less time than it would have taken to me to post questions about it on TW.

 

Thanks for the repair update OP... I guess i have to say it isnt ALWAYS the actuator, that is for sure.
(I am still sticking with my 'its never the 4wd ECU' theory)

 

Thanks for confirming what I had originally suspected and posted. Hopefully no other major issues you come across