danger.ranger
New Member
- Joined
- March 7, 2015
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Boonville, Indiana
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1998 Ford Explorer XLT 4x
Hey everyone.... new to the forum, avid Ford owner (started with my 91 Ford Ranger, which I still own and will until she absolutely will not run anymore... lol) Also had an awesome 98 Expedition 2WD on 22s, which ended up being the death of it.... driver's side front rim exploded last November with my hubby driving and he totaled it, which broke my heart. So, keeping with our Ford love, we bought a 1998 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 just a few weeks ago. The first 4x4 we've ever personally owned. Now I'm having buyers remorse, hope someone can help us out.
I don't know if this information will pertain to the problem we're having, but I will include it anyway. The day after I bought the Explorer, I was driving it down a road that was a sheet of ice (unbeknownst To me at the time, by the way) going about 35mph. It started sliding sideways, I overcorrected and wound up dipping the passenger side off into a deeply angled ditch and it flipped over on to the passenger side. It was in 2wd during the accident and surprisingly, it didn't receive any mechanical damage.... just a few tiny dings to the body on the passenger side. The body shop pretty much just did an alignment and said it was running and driving perfect. It was a very slow impact wreck anyway, which I think is what prevented it from receiving any mechanical damage to the suspension, etc.
Please note: when the hubby and I test drove it the day prior, I tried out the 4Hi and 4Lo in a snowy parking lot.... when we switched it back to 2wd, the O/D Off light started flashing and it refused to shift.... it would get to about 30mph/3k rpms and just NOT shift. Yesss, I know.... I pointed this out to my husband, but he was determined to buy this truck. And after it had that episode, it all of a sudden jerked real hard and made a loud clunk and started driving and shifting normally. I just assumed it took it a little bit to kick back into 2wd. But I was calling my husband out the whole time.... I'm not a mechanic, but I do know when something is not working the way it should be. But, after all, I am just a girl.... pfooey. Anyway...
So we get it back from the body shop earlier this week and, imagine that, our area is hammered by another snow storm. So this past Thursday, we decide to take it out in the 8" snow we received to test out the 4wd.... it performed excellently, so I taxi my mom to the store in the snow, etc etc.... it is doing great, everybody is thrilled with the Explorer, especially since it was flipped just like two weeks prior.... yada yada yada.
I get home and switch it back to 2wd, then we go to drive it a few hours later..... it goes into 4hi and 4lo both, no problem... but the O/D Off light starts flashing. I can't tell a difference in its performance while it's in 4wd, but as soon as we try switching it back to 2wd, the problem becomes super apparent: it goes thru about the first two gears, then as we approach 30mph, it is wound out at 3k rpms.... won't shift again. So we drive it very slowly to our destination and on our way, both the 4hi and 4lo lights start flashing. So I stop to engage the 4wd again to see if it's still working... lo and behold, it still goes into both 4wd gears, albeit with the O/D Off light still flashing and both the 4wd lights flashing intermittently.
I read a post on here from someone having the same exact problem... only I don't believe my truck is stuck in 4wd, because when I turn the knob, both gears still engage.... we tried the solution in that post, in which he unplugged the shift motor and disconnected the battery for half a an hour and his truck seemed to be fine after that. No luck for us. The hubby was going to dismantle the shift motor this evening, but I insisted he wait. We have a diagnostics appointment next Friday with our local Ford dealership.... I know that's the only way to pinpoint the exact cause. Just reading tonight too.... it sounds like to me it is the transmission control solenoid, because this Explorer drinks more gas than my 5.4 Expedition did, and apparently if this solenoid is bad, it majorly affects fuel economy too?
Whats your opinion? Any ideas or has anyone else experienced this problem? Starting to believe this truck is cursed..... grrr....
I don't know if this information will pertain to the problem we're having, but I will include it anyway. The day after I bought the Explorer, I was driving it down a road that was a sheet of ice (unbeknownst To me at the time, by the way) going about 35mph. It started sliding sideways, I overcorrected and wound up dipping the passenger side off into a deeply angled ditch and it flipped over on to the passenger side. It was in 2wd during the accident and surprisingly, it didn't receive any mechanical damage.... just a few tiny dings to the body on the passenger side. The body shop pretty much just did an alignment and said it was running and driving perfect. It was a very slow impact wreck anyway, which I think is what prevented it from receiving any mechanical damage to the suspension, etc.
Please note: when the hubby and I test drove it the day prior, I tried out the 4Hi and 4Lo in a snowy parking lot.... when we switched it back to 2wd, the O/D Off light started flashing and it refused to shift.... it would get to about 30mph/3k rpms and just NOT shift. Yesss, I know.... I pointed this out to my husband, but he was determined to buy this truck. And after it had that episode, it all of a sudden jerked real hard and made a loud clunk and started driving and shifting normally. I just assumed it took it a little bit to kick back into 2wd. But I was calling my husband out the whole time.... I'm not a mechanic, but I do know when something is not working the way it should be. But, after all, I am just a girl.... pfooey. Anyway...
So we get it back from the body shop earlier this week and, imagine that, our area is hammered by another snow storm. So this past Thursday, we decide to take it out in the 8" snow we received to test out the 4wd.... it performed excellently, so I taxi my mom to the store in the snow, etc etc.... it is doing great, everybody is thrilled with the Explorer, especially since it was flipped just like two weeks prior.... yada yada yada.
I get home and switch it back to 2wd, then we go to drive it a few hours later..... it goes into 4hi and 4lo both, no problem... but the O/D Off light starts flashing. I can't tell a difference in its performance while it's in 4wd, but as soon as we try switching it back to 2wd, the problem becomes super apparent: it goes thru about the first two gears, then as we approach 30mph, it is wound out at 3k rpms.... won't shift again. So we drive it very slowly to our destination and on our way, both the 4hi and 4lo lights start flashing. So I stop to engage the 4wd again to see if it's still working... lo and behold, it still goes into both 4wd gears, albeit with the O/D Off light still flashing and both the 4wd lights flashing intermittently.
I read a post on here from someone having the same exact problem... only I don't believe my truck is stuck in 4wd, because when I turn the knob, both gears still engage.... we tried the solution in that post, in which he unplugged the shift motor and disconnected the battery for half a an hour and his truck seemed to be fine after that. No luck for us. The hubby was going to dismantle the shift motor this evening, but I insisted he wait. We have a diagnostics appointment next Friday with our local Ford dealership.... I know that's the only way to pinpoint the exact cause. Just reading tonight too.... it sounds like to me it is the transmission control solenoid, because this Explorer drinks more gas than my 5.4 Expedition did, and apparently if this solenoid is bad, it majorly affects fuel economy too?
Whats your opinion? Any ideas or has anyone else experienced this problem? Starting to believe this truck is cursed..... grrr....
