Shifting into 4x4? Clunk??

[McM]

I'm sure this has been talked about, but This problem happened 3 times so far.... Here it goes. The first time I shifted my truck I was in 2WD and shifted into 4A at about 20mph. I let off the gas , shifted then back on the gas and it sounded like I broke something. Such a loud bang it scared the crap out of me. The second time I was in 2WD, in sand. Stopped, put in N, shifted into 4WD, waited like 5 seconds, put in D and heard another bang like it didn't fully engage. This weekend the same thing doing the same procedure into 4wd, just a slight clunk this time. Now...Ford says this is a shift on the fly! I should be able to switch from any of these up to 45mph. What is going on. If I wait like 15-20 seconds SO FAR it has been good. Is this normal?

 

[JohnyPython]

The shift into 4H or 4L will clunk. Nothing super loud.

The shift from 2H to 4A or vice versa is seamless with no noise/clunk. I use this when going from plowed to unplowed streets.

Oh yeah, it’s in the owner’s manual too.

 

[smurfslayer]

I’m thinking IWE check valve maybe?

 

[NHDude4]

This happens to me to. It seems if I'm off throttle, or stopped, and sift from 2H to 4A it doesn't complete the shift sometimes until I apply enough throttle that it needs to engage the front wheels. If the first time I apply throttle after the shift I apply a medium to high input it will clunk or even bang as it engages. If I'm WOT the clunk sounds like it could be damaging and the first time I heard the bang I thought I'd just exploded something.

What I've learned to do is engage 4A off-throttle, then give it like 10-20% throttle to get it to engage gently. From there it works as normal and there's no engagement clunk. This seems to work consistently. Sometimes if I'm approaching a red light that I think I might try to launch out of I'll engage 4A as I'm slowing down then give it just a blip of throttle as I'm slowing to make sure 4A is actually going to be engaged and I'm not going to leave driveline parts in the intersection.

I'm convinced that the clunk isn't good and that having it engage during heavy throttle application could definitely break something after a while.

 

[JefferyGT]

The Raptor I used at the Assault did this as well. A loud pop thunk.

 

[Raptorial]

My Raptor does this and my Tacoma TRD PRO did this too

 

[CoronaRaptor]

This happens to me to. It seems if I'm off throttle, or stopped, and sift from 2H to 4A it doesn't complete the shift sometimes until I apply enough throttle that it needs to engage the front wheels. If the first time I apply throttle after the shift I apply a medium to high input it will clunk or even bang as it engages. If I'm WOT the clunk sounds like it could be damaging and the first time I heard the bang I thought I'd just exploded something.

What I've learned to do is engage 4A off-throttle, then give it like 10-20% throttle to get it to engage gently. From there it works as normal and there's no engagement clunk. This seems to work consistently. Sometimes if I'm approaching a red light that I think I might try to launch out of I'll engage 4A as I'm slowing down then give it just a blip of throttle as I'm slowing to make sure 4A is actually going to be engaged and I'm not going to leave driveline parts in the intersection.

I'm convinced that the clunk isn't good and that having it engage during heavy throttle application could definitely break something after a while.

THIS^^^^^^ I engage all my 4x4 vehicles like this, I don't care what the dealers say either, you need to gently put it into 4 wheel drive. Having to wait 20 secs seems like something is wrong though, maybe the shift motor or something, if it is under warranty, the dealer should be able to fix.

 

[M3sparky]

ive had it happen before that i ended up taking it in to the dealer lol to check it out and of course they didnt find anything wrong... if i do it like the post mentions above , i can be on the fly in any speed i let of the gas and just coast when i change it to 4wd auto or 4wd high and after the light says im in that position i then apply some gas gently until i can feel it being in that gear, applying to much throttle right after or during the shift will result with sounds you wish you didnt have to hear and im sure something will fail if it keeps happening.

 

[luv2xlr8]

Older post, I know, but for anyone seeking more current information, I can attest that this is a common thing and it happens to mine too.

 

[FordTechOne]

From the WSM:

Shifts from 2WD (2H) or 4WD (4H) to 4WD AUTO (4A) can be made at any speed. When performing this shift, release the accelerator pedal prior to the shift and wait until the Shift in Progress message disappears in the IPC before accelerating, this improves the shift performance as the IWEs engage.