My AWD Isn't...

[nimblemotors]

WTF? Worn out? 97 has 250k miles, maybe worn out..the 98 has 130k worn out already?

 

[Mbrooks420]

The axles if they are actually AWDs (v8) will be 3.73s, not 4.10s. The truck in front seemed to be working almost as expected. It seems 3 of the tires spun, which is exactly what’s supposed to happen. If you had aggressive tires on the front truck you probably would have been fine.

If the AWD is burned out it’s usually due to lack of fluid, never having the fluid changed, or running mismatched models of tires. The good thing is that it’s an easy and cheap swap to fix them.

If you had videos of them trying to go it’d be much more telling as to what’s going on.

 

[ELeBlanc]

When I've had an opportunity to inspect AWDs before buying I've put them on a life and pressed the gas. Always saw 4 wheels turning. You mention 3 wheels?
Mbrooks420 - in my post today I mentioned running mismatched tires for 100 highway miles - can this short a drive damager the AWD?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Three wheels is normal operation with a front open differential. What happens on a lift isn’t very relevant since everything has zero resistance.

 

[410Fortune]

This is not Subaru AWD this is Ford Gen II explorer AWD.
No you will not kill the AWD t case in 100 miles, but it is not good for it

The AWD on these trucks is not "wheel that slips, wheel that grips" computer controlled symmetrical AWD like an Audi or Subaru, it is much more simple then that, basically just sending some power tot eh front diff when the rear tires slip a little or its sending 30% of the power to the front diff at all times (V8). The front differential is open, allowing the all the power to travel to the wheel with the least resistance = one tire fire up front.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

An "OPEN" differential always sends power to the wheel with the LEAST traction. Applying the parking brake part way will help send power to the other rear wheel "maybe".

 

[koda2000]

Do you actually have AWD?

Easy way to tell... remove a front hub cap. If you see a metal dust cap (like the ones on the white Expl in the provided video) and not a large nut on the end of a stub axle you DO NOT have an AWD vehicle.

If you see a large nut on a stub axle your vehicle was built as AWD, however you need to next check to see if you still have a front diff and a front driveshaft. It is possible that these parts have been removed and your vehicle is now effectively a 2WD.

If you are AWD and all the pieces are still there, because your front diff is an open design, it will turn only 3 wheels when under power. You can't test AWD function by jacking wheels off the ground.

 

[Mbrooks420]

All Subaru AWDs aren’t the same, there’s 5-6 varieties. Mine is just like the 4404, with a viscous coupling but has a 50/50 split.

 

[nimblemotors]

The 97 and the 98 both are v8 and have the tow pkg, and i've physically read the tag on the rear diff, it is a 4.10 limited slip diff,
as stated in the video, i removed the front diff from the 97 about 60k miles ago, There is a front diff in the 98.
All I can say is that both of them stuck and the AWD didn't work, and it took me 3 days to get them both unstuck.
Very disappointing, i know the front diff is open, but the limited slip was unlimited.

Take this as a warning, if you have a v8 awd, forget taking it offroad.

 

[koda2000]

The 97 and the 98 both are v8 and have the tow pkg, and i've physically read the tag on the rear diff, it is a 4.10 limited slip diff,
as stated in the video, i removed the front diff from the 97 about 60k miles ago, There is a front diff in the 98.
All I can say is that both of them stuck and the AWD didn't work, and it took me 3 days to get them both unstuck.
Very disappointing, i know the front diff is open, but the limited slip was unlimited.

Take this as a warning, if you have a v8 awd, forget taking it offroad.

If your LSD rear diff is now "unlimited" then your LSD clutches are worn out and need to be replaced. Many here use their AWD V8's off road w/out getting stuck. If your AWD isn't working you probably have a t-case problem. This is not a typical failure of the AWD t-case, but I'm sure it's possible.

 

[Turdle]

If you have crappy tires and bury a wheel half way to the axle, then keep going until it's buried to the axle, I would certainly blame the vehicle.

I mean, those sod treads are just not gonna do it.

 

[boominXplorer]

Worn out limited slip and street tires will get you stuck in the mud real quick reguardless of what you drive. You need mud tires for your situation, that's not just "wet grass".

Someone had to put a 4.10 in there it, it's not factory on the v8s. With that said who knows how many miles are actually on it.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Agreed. It came with 3.73s. Your tires are junk. And you buried it. I’ve done tons of off-roading in my previous V8. I also plowed commercially with it. I never had any traction problems that wouldn’t have happened with a true 4wd. At 220k my limited slip was still very functional.

Take this as a warning: doing something you don’t have your vehicle properly outfitted for will ruin your day. Shooting a video and complaining about your said unpreparedness just makes you look foolish.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

This results on the driver, I've had an AWD and a 2WD V8, and it comes down to how you DRIVE them, you need tires that are made for dirt, which you don't have, and at 250K, you can't complain if the limited slip don't work. I can take my 2WD places a lot of 4WD trucks go, you just have to know what you're doing.

 

[imp]

When I've had an opportunity to inspect AWDs before buying I've put them on a life and pressed the gas. Always saw 4 wheels turning. You mention 3 wheels?
Mbrooks420 - in my post today I mentioned running mismatched tires for 100 highway miles - can this short a drive damager the AWD?

@EY LeBlanc
Yes, but depends on how mis-matched. If 1/8 inch tread difference one to another, no effect at all. More, overheat viscous clutch. imp

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I think I've said this once already but again I'll say it. To anybody who thinks that the tires are the same size as another just because they say so, take any two different brand tires and stand them side by side, or even different models, and they'll be different. Never seen any that weren't, and combine that with different tires being out of different rubber compounds, weighing different amounts and having different rolling resistances, don't mix and match.

 

[imp]

I think I've said this once already but again I'll say it. To anybody who thinks that the tires are the same size as another just because they say so, take any two different brand tires and stand them side by side, or even different models, and they'll be different. Never seen any that weren't, and combine that with different tires being out of different rubber compounds, weighing different amounts and having different rolling resistances, don't mix and match.

@RandomNerd2000
Which must prove Ford factored-in a tolerance band on difference in wheel speeds, ignoring maybe a 2 or 3% (or God knows how much!) difference in wheel speeds before sounding the alarm. They HAD to, as yer 4 tires ain't NEVER gonna all wear away exactly alike, and eventually speed differences creep in, some was there to begin with, and 4 tires placed new on the vehicle will run a long time before wear causes intolerable wheel speed differences.

PLUS, and it's a big one, how about the fact that whenever the vehicle is NOT running in s perfectly straight line, NO TWO TIRES on it are turning at the same speed! Ha! imp

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Yes that's true, which is why they used an open diff, otherwise you'd have binding from one side turning faster than the other afaik. That too provides valuable reason that you shouldn't mismatch the tires on an AWD, because whatever tolerances you have for out of a perfect match go out the window when you mismatch the tires with visibly different ones. That's also why the AWD requires proper pressures, rotations and care. I loved the AWD when I had it, it's a basic but really useful system despite the OP's invalid complaints, but I can also live without it in the same breath because of the upkeep involved.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Not really any upkeep. Buy decent tires, rotate them twice in their life, change the oil ever 75-100k and your in good shape.

 

[imp]

There are still zillions of AWD Ex's running out there, and AFAIK, they seem to have lodged less complaints than the more complicated 4X4 Autos or it's predecessor. Further, the AWD was used with the more powerful engines, so Ford must have felt comfortable with releasing it.

OTOH, here's a question bugging me all my life: early 1950s, Ford introduced power steering on which model? Lincoln. Power brakes? Lincoln. Automatic transmissions? Lincoln. Why introduce new technology only on the highest-expectation product, highest-priced offering, bought by the elite customer? OTOH, the "Mexican Lincolns" won the Mexican-American" cross country race something like 3 years straight! imp