4 wheel drive locked in place

[03UltimateNavi]

My 03 navi has just locked itself into 4x4 low and the advantrac is shut off and wont come on. i rarely put it in awd or 4x4 high and i have never put it in 4x4 low. the other morning i went to go for a ride and noticed the 4x4 low light was on and the advantrac off light was lit up. the selector switch is on 2H and pushing the adtrac button does nothing. i disconnected the battery and let it sit but it did nothing. any ideas before i take it to the shop? the navi has 60k so it isnt under warranty.

 

[jdlmkviii]

I don't have any experience on Navigators, but it sounds to me like the electronic motor that moves the shifter on your transfer case is either stuck or broken. Try taking a peak under there and look around to see if there might be any wiring or harnesses that may be disconnected or broken... I'm also not very familier with electronic shifter, but see if you can maybe take a pry bar or something and jam the shifter back into the 4hi position on your transfer case so you can at least temporarily drive it... If it is already in the 4HI position, you may have a internal problem in your transfer case.

Just a few ideas...

 

[Frogman]

Little tip from a guy who uses his trucks' 4 wheel drive more often than your Silly Navigator sees paved roads?

Cycle the 4WD system at least once a month. By cycle, I mean drive 25-30 mph, kick it into 4WD high, and drive it for a few hundred feet. You dont need to go around corners in 4WD. Just go straight for a bit, then put it back into 2WD.

How many miles on your truck? Oh.. Excuse me. S.U.V.? Sorry. I see it has 60K miles.

When's the last time you've had the gear boxes (mainly the transfer case and the front differential) oils changed?

Try this too. Start the truck, select 2WD.. button, I guess you have, then Drive in reverse at about 5 miles per hour, and stomp (notice, i didn't say "slam", not did I say "gently apply") on your brakes. Sometimes that will kick it out of 4wd. It's one of those FORD 4WD quirks. It may or may not work.

 

[03UltimateNavi]

thanks for the tips. ill try driving in reverse and if that doesnt work ill go under the truck. i thought about that but with my garage full of project cars, ( 1970 mustang and a 1989 mustang) i really didnt feel like crawling under it with about 4" of snow and ice on the ground. but i might who knows. ill try this tonight or tommorow and if none work ill take it to the shop and let you know how it goes.

 

[03UltimateNavi]

so i got the navi back from the shop the other day.
4 wheel drive motor-$325
harness - 100
fluid - 50
labor -300

after all that and an oil change and rotation i dropped about $800, not really as bad as i thought it was going to be. i pretty much knew the motor had locked up, i just didnt know how much lincoln would want for a new one. i thought it wouldve been over a grand but i was glad when it wasnt.

 

[03NGator]

I know this response is a few months too late, but did you try putting your Nav. in neutral to take it out of 4x4 low? I had this same problem with mine. I was able to correct it by doing just that.