transfer case problem??

[tigger432]

*hi all, i have a 2002 mercury mountaineer AWD 4x4 automatic...here is the problem-i got this truck super cheap. the front differential bushings were completely shot with the center one completely gone. i did drive it to see what the problem was before i bought it,the person selling thought the trans was making the loud banging noise. anyway-i had to swap the entire front diff as the center bushing bore was destroyed. now the new diff is in and the truck will barely move/ i cannot push it in neutral. the tires chirp going around corners. i cannot turn the front driveshaft with it in neutral. i took out the front driveshaft. it's good. now the truck moves as freely as it did before...now-is the transfer case to blame for the front diff problem? seems the old one has no resistance when i turn the yoke...i suspect the vc locked up and ruined the front diff to the point it no longer grabbed...does this seem like a correct thought or is there something i'm missing?? the new and old diffs are both 3:55

 

[tigger432]

no one?

 

[dla]

*hi all, i have a 2002 mercury mountaineer AWD 4x4 automatic...here is the problem-i got this truck super cheap. the front differential bushings were completely shot with the center one completely gone. i did drive it to see what the problem was before i bought it,the person selling thought the trans was making the loud banging noise. anyway-i had to swap the entire front diff as the center bushing bore was destroyed. now the new diff is in and the truck will barely move/ i cannot push it in neutral. the tires chirp going around corners. i cannot turn the front driveshaft with it in neutral. i took out the front driveshaft. it's good. now the truck moves as freely as it did before...now-is the transfer case to blame for the front diff problem? seems the old one has no resistance when i turn the yoke...i suspect the vc locked up and ruined the front diff to the point it no longer grabbed...does this seem like a correct thought or is there something i'm missing?? the new and old diffs are both 3:55

Pretty obvious that the first thing you should verify is that the new diff is really 3.55. Either pull the cover and count ring gear teeth, or turn the yoke and carefully count wheel rotations.

Secondly, I believe that year vehicle has the Control Trac system, which is essentially all-wheel drive. I.e. there's no rear-wheel drive "only" option. So if the transfer case has a problem, it can very well lock up the whole vehicle. I may be mistaken, but I believe the "lockup" is electrically controlled and that you can disconnect the all-wheel function by disconnecting a "brown" wire. Might look up "brown wire mod" for more info.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

the brown wire mod is only for the 4x4, AWD transfer cases uses a viscous coupler. in this case the transfer case locked up and either you have to replaced the whole thing or just replace the viscous fluid assembly. check first why the transfer case locked up before putting a new one in otherwise it will be toast again.

 

[tigger432]

thanx- i think that the vc locked up. i got the truk from a young girl that knew absolutely nothing about the vehicle. the diffs are both 3:55. my own thought is that the vc went bad and kept the front locked up,which in turn ruined the front diff to the point that it wore out. the center mounting bushing is completely gone and egg shape . the front MUST have been binding up to do this kind of damage i think. it feels like a manual transfer case in extra low- it fights itself all the way...

 

[Timoteo]

Have you tried running without the front drive shaft? I have an 02 Explorer that was giving signs of a transfer case lock-up about two years ago. I took my front drive shaft off and have gone without it sense then. I do want to get it resolved, which led me to reading your post. Good Luck.

 

[tigger432]

what were the signs you were experiencing??? i can use the truck without the front driveshaft. works fine it seems...

 

[Timoteo]

My issues were difficulty making tight turns. I 4WD lock-up the wheels travel varying distances in turns, so the tires/wheels bind up. With the front shaft out, those problems went away. I've been intending to drain the T-case fluid as a first step, but with no annoying issues I keep putting it off.