I was plowng snow last night and for some reason it won't go/stay in 4 wheel drive when in forward gear. If I'm in reverse and hit the overide I have 4 wheel drive. In the course of trying and trying to figure this out I found that if I push and hold the shfter all the way forward it goes into 4 wheel drive but as soon as I release the tension I once again only have 2 wheel drive. Does anyone know what it going on with this??? We are getting hammered with snow in MN and I need it to have 4x4 to plow. Any help would be awesome. Thanks.

 

First thing I'd do is readjust the shift linkage rod(s) per service manual instructions.

These are the rod(s) that connect the shifter with the bellcrank(s) on the trans. If your Xplorer has a low range, you'll have 2 rods, if just high range, then only 1.
My 96 Sportsman had a situation like yours where the shift lever had to be held forward in low range to make the AWD light stay on. Readjustment solved it.
Removing the heat shield & exhaust pipe was an easy way to get good access to the rods.
Adjust the torque bolt on the bottom of the trans. and then adjust the rods.
First time took me about an hour. You'll need both a 10 mm and 3/8" open end wrenches for the rod ends.
Let us know how it works out...

 

dont suppose the switch could be messd up and not contacting right.

 

I had the exact same thing on my 97 explorer last year. Just don't get mad at it and slam it into gear because you have to replace some expensive parts. Anyway, I ended up taking out the shift handle and where the pin for the switch goes into the hole in the shifter, I filled the hole with weld and drilled it back out. Works great now. Must be it gets a little play after a while and won't move the pin all the way.

The problem that I have now is that the AWD light goes on and off but my hubs aren't engaging.

 

check out big buck atv. They have a 4wheel drive tr shtg guide for polaris