How to Install Transfer Case Shift Motor 2006-10 Ford Explorer

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In this video we're going to show you how to replace a 4-wheel drive shift actuator. We'll be working on our 2006 Ford Explorer. We hope you enjoy this video. If you do, please click subscribe, and you'll have access to a whole bunch of other Explorer and Sport Track and Mountaineer videos as well as lots of other makes and models. If you need this part for your vehicle, click the link down in the description. Go to 1AAuto.com. We want to be your parts source. Here are the items you need for this repair.

For the 4-wheel drive transfer case shift motor, you're going to want to raise and support the vehicle. Come in from the driver's side. You can see the muffler here, the back of your transfer case, and your motor's right up in here. First, we're going to want to remove this heat shield which is two 10 millimeter bolts: one here and then one is up, a little bit hard to see, but right up here. Use a 10 millimeter socket and ratchet. There is one more 10 millimeter bolt back here you have to remove.

Four 10 millimeter bolts hold it. One’s very easy here, there's one here, and note that your black ground wire is wired in and connected there. There's another one right here and one on top. It's pretty difficult to see. You can see I've got my new one here, the one in here and then the three that are on the motor there.

To disconnect our harness, little tab, push with your one thumb, pull down, and then we'll remove the four 10 millimeter bolts. With a Flat blade screwdriver or a pry bar, just break it loose, comes right off.

Once it's down, with needle nose pliers, grab this red locking strip and pull it out. Okay and then there's just this little tabs that you have to work in here. With a small screwdriver, pry the tab, and then pull on the ground wire. See I pulled it out a little bit. Now your motor's out.

Here’s the original transfer shift case motor of a Ford Explorer and the new part from 1AAuto. You can see they're exactly the same. The connections are the same.

If you're replacing it, you'll take this bracket off of the old one and put it onto your new one. It'll bolt down like that. This negative wire, you actually want to make sure that you put between the bracket and the motor when you put it together. It's got the right bracket. You'll tighten this up once it's in the vehicle, but everything's going to go in. It's going to plug in exactly the same, it's going to install the same, and function correctly. If you're having trouble getting different versions of 4-wheel drive, 4-high or 4-low, this motor will fix your problem.

Most of the time these fail in a 2-high position, so you won't have to change the position of the shaft at all. If yours failed in 4-high or neutral, you may have to grab the shaft with pliers and turn it in order to make it match up to the transfer case shift motor before you put it together.

Put your new shift motor up in. It should go right on. We'll start this bolt in here on the side and then the top bolt, nothing special has to go on, so we'll start the top bolt as well. I'm not going to tighten it up yet, but just going to get in further so it's secure. The brown wire from the vehicle goes in right next to the black wire on the corner. Push it in, make sure you hear it click. Then reinstall this locking tab.

For these two bottom bolts, remember this one goes through that wiring bracket first and then through this bracket into the motor and transfer case. Start in a little bit. Again, remember to make sure you bring this ground wire down in between the bracket and the motor. Put your bolt through. Go ahead and tighten everything up. I'm going to tighten the top up first. When I tighten this bottom one, I want to pull this wire down so it's not contacting anything and it's nice and free. Then for this one, just make sure this bracket is positioned well. Now, before I tighten up this, I'll tighten up these two nuts that hold the bracket on the end. They are also 10 millimeter. Go around and give a final tighten to these bolts. There's no torque spec. You just want to make sure they're tight, but not too tight. Then we reconnect our harness.

Put your heat shield back in place. Make sure you get all the wires inside and then re-secure it with your three 10 millimeter bolts.

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