2003 Mercury Mountaineer I need help diagnosing some binding when turning

[edstober]

My Mountaineer keeps binding when I turn going forward or in reverse. When I am at a complete stop and I turn while backing up, it hesitates then lunges back with a loud clunk. The dealership said it is the tires and that the AWD systems always make that sound. I don't buy it, the tires are brand new and I have owned it since new without this problem. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Carguy3J]

Take it to a different shop. Any suggestions offered here, on something so vague, would really be just a guess. An educated guess perhaps, but a guess nonetheless.

Something just really require a "hands-on" look to figure out. If you're sure it's a "new" issue, than it's prob. not just a characteristic of the AWD. Beyond that, there are numerous possabillities.

 

[edstober]

Carguy3J, thanks for the recommendation, I will check out another shop.

 

[jrford]

The dealership said it is the tires and that the AWD systems always make that sound.

Mounties usually have Borg Warner 4410's, which is a viscous clutch in the transfer case. These are 4x4 drives without any switches on the dash.
Regretfully these are very sensitive to mismatched tires, lack of rotation un-equal pressure. Rule of thumb is anything over a 1/2inch difference in tread and cause premature failure of the viscous. After everything else checks out ok, wheel bearings (might also cause it), diffs, halfshafts CV joints etc. . .
THE test is to remove the front driveshaft and if the binding is gone, its most likely viscous clutch which requires a rebuild.