MotoDan
Member
- Joined
- December 7, 2008
- Messages
- 28
- Reaction score
- 5
- City, State
- Chesterfield, Missouri
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '02 XLT
Happy New Year All!
My 2002 Explorer XLT has a problem with what seems like the front wheels not being unlocked from 4WD. Have had the truck since new. It has 370K miles and has had this problem for a couple of years now. The front tires feel like they are fighting to turn when you make sharp, slow turns (parking lot, driveway, etc). The front tread wear is also "wavy" which I attributed to this behavior.
The 4WD seems to shift into and out of Manual 4WD just fine - at least that's what the annunciations on the dash indicate. I recall that there is feedback on the transfer case for the auto, manual, and low ranges which I think is how the lights on the dash work.
Today we had some light snow and I could really feel the front tires fighting to make the turn into my garage - just as you would expect if in manual 4WD only I was in auto 4WD. I also noticed the periodic slipping in the tread pattern left in the snow during the turn. Suspecting a problem some time back, I decided to remove the front driveshaft. This seemed to help. The driveshaft was replaced in anticipation of needing 4WD this winter and the problem is back.
I've read a few threads about the clutch in the transfer case not disengaging. Since the truck is normally in Auto 4WD, I assume the front wheels will lock up when needed. Does anyone have any experience with determining whether Auto 4WD is working as it should?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
My 2002 Explorer XLT has a problem with what seems like the front wheels not being unlocked from 4WD. Have had the truck since new. It has 370K miles and has had this problem for a couple of years now. The front tires feel like they are fighting to turn when you make sharp, slow turns (parking lot, driveway, etc). The front tread wear is also "wavy" which I attributed to this behavior.
The 4WD seems to shift into and out of Manual 4WD just fine - at least that's what the annunciations on the dash indicate. I recall that there is feedback on the transfer case for the auto, manual, and low ranges which I think is how the lights on the dash work.
Today we had some light snow and I could really feel the front tires fighting to make the turn into my garage - just as you would expect if in manual 4WD only I was in auto 4WD. I also noticed the periodic slipping in the tread pattern left in the snow during the turn. Suspecting a problem some time back, I decided to remove the front driveshaft. This seemed to help. The driveshaft was replaced in anticipation of needing 4WD this winter and the problem is back.
I've read a few threads about the clutch in the transfer case not disengaging. Since the truck is normally in Auto 4WD, I assume the front wheels will lock up when needed. Does anyone have any experience with determining whether Auto 4WD is working as it should?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
