Hi. I need to set my transfer box into high (or low) as it's between gears at the moment - not neutral either - and my RR is confused. I know I need to rotate the lead screw anti-clockwise to get to high, but what's the safest way to do it? I don't think I can do it with my bear hands, and any kind of grips will mash the splines.

Ideas?

It's a 2003 4.4 petrol.

You have a few of options:

Wrap the splines with tape to protect them and as you suggest turn with some grips, keeping pressure on as it will spin "out"

Remove the motor cover and refit the motor to the transfer box and spin the armature to move the selector back to high (magents might fall out and be a right sod to get back in, but may reveal your issue....)

Check out the powerful UK TB motor you tube video and make up some connectors to run the motor from a battery, having disconnected the cable.

Find a suitable female splined but to turn the spindle .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Hmm, I'd considered powering the motor. I've already made up a lead and tested on the bench, so could reuse that. Do you think I could just use the motor, unbolted, to rotate the splines?

I'll ask my wife if she has a splined butt

I would bolt the motor back on, ensures it winds to the right place, if this doesn't work, then will help with fault finding.

I have same problem, but even the fitting of a new motor won't solve it, so no low range work / off roading for me! .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Have you tried switching the box into neutral using the fuse removal process to see if it finds itself, it knows where it is due to the potentiometer I believe and it's this that fails requiring the motor to be replaced.
I removed and stripped my 04 TB last year and the actuator has a quick spiral thread that's is turned by the motor and pulls or pushes the selection fork to move the ring gear, it's only quite a small amount of travel and if you move the ring away too far manually the actuator won't be able to engage and it will be TB out time to strip it.

When I reattached the motor it went into high and low ok. Then it got confused and threw the trans fail safe. Now it's not quite in neutral - no drive but a little graunchy - so I think the worm gear is still in the middle of its travel.

I tried the fuse 37 procedure but it didn't find itself, possibly because the fail safe code is still there.

I think I'll wait for my code tool, clear the code and try the fuse/recalibrate procedure again. Does that sound like a sensible conclusion to you guys?

Worth a try Ian, can't understand why it was OK and then not....  Pete
__________________________________________________
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This is what is inside, not sure if it helps much, RRPhil had a sectioned view on youtube of the actuator moving but it's not there anymore.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Thanks all. I found the youtube vid by RRPhil with the cutaway box, very helpful. I guess it's possible that when I glued the pot together again some glue may have got on the tracks and is somehow blocking movement. My plan is (unless someone has a better idea!):

1. Pull the motor again
2. Test the pot resistance around its whole range again, open and fix if needed
3. Figure out which way the +ve and -ve need to be to drive it clockwise into high range, since that will reduce the risk of the forks falling off the end of the worm gear
4. Reinstall the motor
5. Drive the box into high range with the motor and a 12v supply
6. Clear codes
7. Try again, follow calibration procedure if it doesn't want to play
8. Open beer and cry if required.

Ian

i'd try #8 first...  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I would try and read / clear any codes first and then try the transfer box neutral procedure.
If it faults out, check what codes you are getting.
When you mention gluing the pot, what have you had apart / glued ?

I opened the transfer box motor potentiometer to tweak the contacts. I'll be checking the resistance again tomorrow just in case I mucked it up, but I don't think I did.

OK, it seems to be working now. Although I'll be more confident after some road time, especially when cold. So far:

• Opened the potentiometer - it only needed about an inch of the lip cutting away, then prised open. It wasn't sealed all the way round by any means.
  
• Cleaned the dust out, bent the pins to the side to lie between the wear points
  
• Found that the max resistance wasn't as high as it should be - I think that's why it didn't work when I reinstalled the first time
  
• Bent the pins down a little to get them even and increase the contact area, then the resistance was much nearer to RRPhil's photo's of his voltage readings
  
• Rigged up an 11V PSU from a Netgear switch which I had handy to some mains cable to the motor, run from a switched socket and rotated the motor to match the transfer box position
  
• Installed the motor with the cover off, still with the PSU attached, and used the motor to rotate the box fully into gear (high, I think)
  
• Tried it out, cleared codes, was in high but wouldn't change, transfer box neutral error
  
• Off and on, no errors...
  
• Took it off, cover back on, reinstalled but found the box had moved??? No idea how.
  
• Realigned the motor, back on, cleared codes and it all seemed to work. Drove a little, changed range, changed back - I can hear the motor so I hope it's good now.

I stopped getting notifications, how are you getting on ?

I took it out for a short drive yesterday and had no errors! I think (hope) that's done it.