'04 Drive Train Problems

[Lumbee]

I have an '04 XLT with 7000 miles on it. I had the rear end replaced at 4500 miles because of high pitched whine and an occasional clunk sound when it was put into gear. The whine is gone but the clunk sound is still there both when it goes into gear and when the accelerator is pressed after being let off when going uphill. The Ford dealer has ordered a second rear end for the vehicle. The vehicle has a 3.73 tow package rear end. The dealer that replaced the first rear end said that Ford is having a host of problems with these. Are there other things to look for that might be causing the clunking sound? Have y'all heard about these rear end problems? We love the vehicle but this is annoying. Thanks in advance to any of you who give me a reply to this inquiry.

 

[Lumbee]

Did I insult y'all?

nm

 

[twodogs]

You didn't insult me. I think we're the only two with '04's that are having drive train problems.

Mine's got about 16k on it and has had the tranny worked on twice both in and out of the rig for a leak problem. Of course, since Ford couldn't say what was wrong and what was fixed we wait for the next shoe to drop.

Good luck with your differential.

 

[Free_Lunch]

I have exactly the same rear end whine.
Ford just replaced the rear end 2 weeks ago.

Whine is back - clunk just started yesterday.

 

[unclemeat]

I have heard that the Ford engineers still do not know what the problem is and how to fix it, other than replacing it. I have spoken to other people with similar problems in 02 and 03 IRS Explorers. Maybe you can dump the IRS and swap in a 8.8 solid rear.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

I have heard that the Ford engineers still do not know what the problem is and how to fix it, other than replacing it. I have spoken to other people with similar problems in 02 and 03 IRS Explorers. Maybe you can dump the IRS and swap in a 8.8 solid rear.

If you want to completely redo the rear suspension and forget about a warranty, as well as finding a new place for the gas tank, fabbing up a new floor for the body in the rear, and not being able to fold your 3rd seat into the floor, that might work.

 

[Glacier991]

If someone described your "clunk" on an older model Ex, without more, I'd have said check the U joints on the driveshaft. It seems doubtful that's YOUR problem with so few miles though.

 

[Lumbee]

My explorer is now back in the shop with the "clunk" This is the 4th or 5th time that it has been in and it now has around 12K miles on the third rear end. After the last unsuccessful attempt at stopping the "clunk", Ford said that it was "within spec" and that this was just the way it is- I put the dealer on notice yesterday that if they could not fix it, I was going to turn the situation over to legal council. I hate to be ugly but I paid approx 28 K for this thing and I expect it to be in good working order.

 

[dman726749]

that sucks man, sounds like you def quallify for the lemon law. Good Luck

maybe trade it in for a new stang

 

[Ismael]

Hello... I don't know anything about mechanics or technical things... but here is my 2003 XLT 4x4 with almost 33,000 miles - lots of clanky noise when shifting (automatic) from D to P or R to D, etc... I just drive my vehicle, I don't catch air with it or tow anything, so I don't get it... here goes (P.S. I don't know what any of the bolded words refer to, I'm just reprinting)

Driving, O/D light starts to flash last Saturday. The manual says take for service right away - results from service printout:

WORN CONVERTER, ALSO FOUND CUT LIP SEAL IN FORWARD CLUTCH EXCESSIVE MATERIAL IN VALVE BODY AND SOLENOID BODY OVERHUAL TRANS FLUSH COOLER OVERHAUL VALVEBODY.

All covered under warranty, but yikes! Sounds like major surgery. Invoice says $2,000 in parts. My 3rd ex in 11 years, never had a problem on the previous two - what's up with that? Anyways, hope this helps. (I'll check back tmrw night)

 

[souther712]

Same problems with '02

I have an '02 XLT with the same whining problem from the rear end. It was replaced at 30,000 miles (one week after I bought it), but the whine returned after about 1,000 miles. I was also told by the dealership that this was basically a design problem, and that continuing to replace the rear end will not solve the problem. Now, at 50k miles it still whines, but only at certain speeds, and even then is not all that noticeable. I rode in a friends '03 the other day, and his whine was much louder than mine. I also experienced the "cluncking" noise during shifting. It eventually developed into severe slipping of the transmission in every gear, and is now in the shop getting a new transmission :fire:
It's a shame because I really enjoy everything else about the vehicle.

 

[TPLYNCH]

There was a recall notice recently on the transmissions..... They were shipped with the wrong fluid in them! The news article was posted on this site a week or two ago.......

 

[Lumbee]

I still have the clunk and it is clunking particularly bad when put into reverse. I found another site that was mentioned by a poster on here called mycarstats.com and posters on there cite many clunking problems as well. I have had my '04 into the dealer probably 5-6 times now and they have now ordered a transmission selenoid (sp?) for the trans. If they do not do something to fix my vehicle soon, I will turn it over to a lawyer and go gangbusters on the Lemon Law- I am very disappointed in this vehicle and on Ford's slow response to fix it. I should have paid up and bought a Toyota Land Cruiser, I guess.

 

[cuspid]

My 04 has 1800 miles on it and has a clunk in revese and the drivers seat seems to rock also.