02 Explorer - AWD low torque ?

[CDW6212R]

Exactly, the buyer needs to be smarter than the ads, and we need to help each other.

 

[TechGuru]

@CDW6212R "Paying $12 a quart or $25 a quart, is stupid, for a fluid you do not need, is stupid........"

As is also paying $9.00 for a gallon of 50-50 Prestone/Water mix, when a gallon of 100% Prestone is $11.00 or so, thus paying $4.50 for a half-gallon of WATER! Another shining example of hoodwinking the unknowing and unsuspecting public. imp

Ooo!!! I have a graphic for this!

Not the correct type for our explorer's though. But the point still applies.

 

[imp]

@TechGuru Gotta be careful with that distilled ****, though! I think most branded anti-freeze coolant now has ingredients to keep Ph from going acid. Acid "eats" metals, don'tcha know! imp

 

[imp]

Exactly, the buyer needs to be smarter than the ads, and we need to help each other.

@CDW6212R
Agreed and understood! 'Cept in my case, I'm likely beyond help.........imp

 

[TechGuru]

@TechGuru Gotta be careful with that distilled ****, though! I think most branded anti-freeze coolant now has ingredients to keep Ph from going acid. Acid "eats" metals, don'tcha know! imp

Myth: Distilled water is very acidic
Fact: Pure distilled water is actually at a neutral pH of 7.0, and has no solids dissolved in it to act as a buffer. Therefore, adding even a slight amount of an acid (carbon dioxide from the air) or base (alkalizing substances such as baking soda) will easily change the pH of distilled water. In comparison, the pH of non-distilled water, which contains dissolved solids, is much harder to budge.

Just be sure to use a fresh sealed bottle and make your mix right away, once mixed it should be stable...

I usually take a old antifreeze bottle and pour half my new bottle into it then put half a gallon of distilled water into each.

 

[imp]

Myth: Distilled water is very acidic
Fact: Pure distilled water is actually at a neutral pH of 7.0, and has no solids dissolved in it to act as a buffer. Therefore, adding even a slight amount of an acid (carbon dioxide from the air) or base (alkalizing substances such as baking soda) will easily change the pH of distilled water. In comparison, the pH of non-distilled water, which contains dissolved solids, is much harder to budge.

Just be sure to use a fresh sealed bottle and make your mix right away, once mixed it should be stable...

I usually take a old antifreeze bottle and pour half my new bottle into it then put half a gallon of distilled water into each.

@TechGuru
Actually, I had hoped to "flush you out" with this discussion! Glad you came back. Here's what actually happens: all my Chem textbooks state that distilled water is "pure" water, having Ph=7.0. That much is so. Unfortunately, that fact is ONLY TRUE if the distillation is carried out IN A VACUUM, excluding ALL AIR (which contains CO2, which loves to dissolve in water). The only distilled water thus obtainable is only made by a laboratory, and careful controls are exercised to keep the product totally isolated from air.

In the everyday world, if we use distilled water and add it by pouring openly, it will check acidic. Even more meaningful, if we buy a jug of distilled water at Kroger, let's say, open it, and stick a Ph indicator in it, Ph < 7.0 ALWAYS is present. Because the steam distillation commercial process is NOT carried out in a vacuum. AND, we permitted CO2 to enter. So what?

If you use that water in let's say, a boiler, it's Ph by the time of use will likely be 5.0. Not good for the boiler. So, Ph adjustment is a good idea. Buffering? Sure, another good idea. Let's not let the cost go skyrocketing trying to maintain water at 7.0, or higher..

"Just be sure to use a fresh sealed bottle and make your mix right away, once mixed it should be stable... "

By "stable", you mean Ph =7.0? Try it. Buy a jug of distilled water, open it, pour it into whatever vessel you wish to mix it with whatever, check Ph before adding the other constituent. Let me know the Ph.

This realization took me years to figure out, many questions of knowledgeable technical people, and inquiry into steam boiler theory. The bottom line is: Yes, Pure Water has Ph = 7.0. Pure Water must be protected completely from the air. I distilled lots of our well water preparing to run my model steam locomotive. Invariably, Ph tested at 5.0-5.5. Not good. I added Sodium Carbonate (not BiCarbonate), to obtain ~ Ph=7.8.

Few technical people, "book learners", that I've encountered understand how vulnerable water is to CO2 solution. The one guy who knew, but didn't have technical savvy, had built a beautiful 1/8-scale steam locomotive and maintained that distilled was "acid". I could not believe his flat-out statement that "distilled water has Ph = 5.2". I shouldn't drag this issue into the depths as I have, I know, but the question continues to vex me. WTH constitutes "pure" solution, anyway? imp

 

[TechGuru]

@TechGuru
Actually, I had hoped to "flush you out" with this discussion! Glad you came back. Here's what actually happens: all my Chem textbooks state that distilled water is "pure" water, having Ph=7.0. That much is so. Unfortunately, that fact is ONLY TRUE if the distillation is carried out IN A VACUUM, excluding ALL AIR (which contains CO2, which loves to dissolve in water). The only distilled water thus obtainable is only made by a laboratory, and careful controls are exercised to keep the product totally isolated from air.

In the everyday world, if we use distilled water and add it by pouring openly, it will check acidic. Even more meaningful, if we buy a jug of distilled water at Kroger, let's say, open it, and stick a Ph indicator in it, Ph < 7.0 ALWAYS is present. Because the steam distillation commercial process is NOT carried out in a vacuum. AND, we permitted CO2 to enter. So what?

If you use that water in let's say, a boiler, it's Ph by the time of use will likely be 5.0. Not good for the boiler. So, Ph adjustment is a good idea. Buffering? Sure, another good idea. Let's not let the cost go skyrocketing trying to maintain water at 7.0, or higher..

"Just be sure to use a fresh sealed bottle and make your mix right away, once mixed it should be stable... "

By "stable", you mean Ph =7.0? Try it. Buy a jug of distilled water, open it, pour it into whatever vessel you wish to mix it with whatever, check Ph before adding the other constituent. Let me know the Ph.

This realization took me years to figure out, many questions of knowledgeable technical people, and inquiry into steam boiler theory. The bottom line is: Yes, Pure Water has Ph = 7.0. Pure Water must be protected completely from the air. I distilled lots of our well water preparing to run my model steam locomotive. Invariably, Ph tested at 5.0-5.5. Not good. I added Sodium Carbonate (not BiCarbonate), to obtain ~ Ph=7.8.

Few technical people, "book learners", that I've encountered understand how vulnerable water is to CO2 solution. The one guy who knew, but didn't have technical savvy, had built a beautiful 1/8-scale steam locomotive and maintained that distilled was "acid". I could not believe his flat-out statement that "distilled water has Ph = 5.2". I shouldn't drag this issue into the depths as I have, I know, but the question continues to vex me. WTH constitutes "pure" solution, anyway? imp

I always figured you were some kind of engineer, so chemical engineer? (Retired from DOW maybe?) Why are you driving a Explorer when you should be able to afford a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon or Land Rover LR4 or even a Mercedes G550, lol.

This brings into question, use Distilled or use "Drinking" water.... I've always used distilled in my vehicles to avoid minerals that would cause scale buildup in the engine and radiator. Never ever tap water, most of TX has hard water.

 

[imp]

I always figured you were some kind of engineer, so chemical engineer? (Retired from DOW maybe?) Why are you driving a Explorer when you should be able to afford a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon or Land Rover LR4 or even a Mercedes G550, lol.

This brings into question, use Distilled or use "Drinking" water.... I've always used distilled in my vehicles to avoid minerals that would cause scale buildup in the engine and radiator. Never ever tap water, most of TX has hard water.

@TechGuru
Ha! I absolutely love Chemistry, especially the Pyrotechnic kind, but career-wise, no. Degrees in Electrical and Mechanical. Kicked-ass after I turned 30 to return to college, had been going part-time for about 8 years.

Also used distilled all my life, especially in batteries. Out of curiosity, do you know what the hardness level of your tap water is? A mile from our house sit 4 giant water tanks up on a bluff, fed by several huge deep wells. The water registers 38 Grains of hardness, that's around 800 ppm, but strangely, the "water wizards" only measure Calcium and Magnesium content, ignoring all the other stuff dissolved in the water. Our Total Dissolved Solids is 1700 ppm, so 900 is "other", more than the official hardness. Water softening is big business here in the Desert. imp

 

[96firephoenix]

This brings into question, use Distilled or use "Drinking" water.... I've always used distilled in my vehicles to avoid minerals that would cause scale buildup in the engine and radiator. Never ever tap water, most of TX has hard water.

Distilled, not drinking water.

Definitely not tap! The amount of mineral scale and rust that I had on my dead engine are proof that a previous owner used (very hard) tap water to fill the radiator. Obviously tap water is better than no water, but that needs to get flushed out ASAP if you have to put it in as an emergency measure.

 

[Hugh Janus]

No one told them to use Mercon V, you mentioned the Mercon V.

My only point is that Mercon V is absolutely the wrong fluid.

I don't care what you do, I told people to use Mercon, which is the recommended fluid. You told them to use the newest "special" TC fluid, which is way too expensive, and only for the newest models.

Nobody is going to walk into a parts store and find a bottle of "Mercon", and if they ask the parts guy they'll end up with Mercon V (and nobody reads the back label which says not use it in TCs). I did a quick search on this board and found cases of confused people being given bad advice about this and one guy complaining how his 4wd binds on cold mornings after he used Mercon V.

And that "newest models" statement is pure BS - this TC fluid issue goes back to the Control Trac.

So part of the reason for posting on this board is to give people good, solid advice. I'm not arguing against dex/merc fluids for the knowledgeable, but it is a whole lot easier to tell a noob to use the proper Ford recommended fluid.

 

[CDW6212R]

... to use the proper Ford recommended fluid.

Recommending the proper fluids is a good idea, yes. We appreciate that, but it's not always as simple as saying one fluid covers everything. The TC fluid is an excellent example, which is why I went long in explaining it.

Search for overheating issues with Ford transfer cases. On forums you should find a lot of examples of 5th gen Explorer, and likely all similar TC models of F series trucks, with serious problems. I didn't count them or document them, as they do not apply to me. The point is that there are virtually no examples of any older model Ford TC's with serious failures associated with overheating, judged to be from the ATF used. Ford discovered all of that after the fact, like everything they do. Ford came out with the new "special" TC fluid, for those late model TC's. Whether they now say use it in everything or not, that fluid is not necessary for your 2002 model truck, or my 98's, 99, my old 93 or 91, or any other model earlier than the 5th gen's. Hey, spend some extra money because a book/manual/memo now tells you to put that special fluid into your 2002 model.

This is a case of being reasonable. It's not reasonable to spend 2-5 times as much for TC fluid, when there are no significant examples of problems with it in our trucks. Use the $5 a quart fluid, there are millions of miles of trouble free examples on here alone among our members. Learn to trust the experience of others, over any book etc. Regards,

 

[Hugh Janus]

. Learn to trust the experience of others, over any book etc. Regards,

Nope. Your long justification is a classic example of uneducated opinion backed by your singular experience.

Even when somebody tries to.post helpful info there's gonna be some long-winded "expert" to shlt on it - thats the Internet for ya. I'm done.

 

[CDW6212R]

Nope. Your long justification is a classic example of uneducated opinion backed by your singular experience.
...

There's the problem, and I knew it. You have learned to trust books more than people, which is stupid. All books are written by people, the knowledge comes from us, not the books. Mistakes are made by everyone, the trick is to learn from them, and not to perpetuate mistakes.

 

[TechGuru]

Scotty: Shunt the deuterium from the main cryo-pump to the auxiliary tank.

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Er, the tank can't withstand that kind of pressure.

Scotty: [laughs] Where'd you... where'd you get that idea?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: What do you mean, where did I get that idea? It's in the impulse engine specifications.

Scotty: Regulation 42/15 - Pressure Variances on the IRC Tank Storage?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Yeah.

Scotty: Forget it. I wrote it. A good engineer is always a wee bit conservative, at least on paper. Just bypass the secondary cut-off valve and boost the flow. It'll work.

 

[4x4_eagle]

It looks my differential is code 45 - a 3.55 ratio, 'non' limited slip rear set, one rear speed sensor.
About the transfer case is there some synthetic alternative of Mercon or some additives which can help, or the TC is dead?
What else can cause my problem?

Having 4x4 problems with my 2002 Explorer XLS 4.0 GAS.
During the winter got stuck in the snow and notice that when the wheels spin the light on the dash 4WD-HI lights up, but the wheels don't turn, only driver side rear wheel was spinning ?

 

[4x4_eagle]

Help please

AWD still doesn't work.



When the wheels slip on ice the 4WD light comes on, you can hear the 4x4 motor but nothing happened ? Switching manually to 4WD Hi or Low does nothing?



Somebody mention noise , the car had some strange grinding nose from the time I purchase it.

The few mechanics and the Ford dealership couldn't hear anything? Go figure?



Changed (drain/fill) transmission fluid and transfer case.



Any ideas what could be the problem and how to fix it?



Thank You.

 

[Barryr]

I read that 4x4 can get stuck up if not engaged regularly, once a month for a few miles to splash the oil on all the moving parts.

 

[Mbrooks420]

My only point is that Mercon V is absolutely the wrong fluid.


Nobody is going to walk into a parts store and find a bottle of "Mercon", and if they ask the parts guy they'll end up with Mercon V (and nobody reads the back label which says not use it in TCs). I did a quick search on this board and found cases of confused people being given bad advice about this and one guy complaining how his 4wd binds on cold mornings after he used Mercon V.

And that "newest models" statement is pure BS - this TC fluid issue goes back to the Control Trac.

So part of the reason for posting on this board is to give people good, solid advice. I'm not arguing against dex/merc fluids for the knowledgeable, but it is a whole lot easier to tell a noob to use the proper Ford recommended fluid.

You can still ABSOLUTLEY get mercon rated fluid in every single auto store in America. If you blindly take what the auto store guy hands you, and use it, you shouldn’t be doing work on your own cars.

Does your 4wd light blink? When you use low does the truck actually go into low gear (clunk and rev up MUCH higher when driving slow?

 

[4x4_eagle]

Sounds promising, how do you fix that? Just turn it on and keep driving?

 

[4x4_eagle]

Does your 4wd light blink? When you use low does the truck actually go into low gear (clunk and rev up MUCH higher when driving slow?

It blinked before, lately 4WD Hi just come on when the weels spin.
Other than that when you turn on 4WD Low you can hear the 4WD motor, tried this only when i got stuck haven't tried on dray pavement.