4wd down and out

[92explorerjake]

alright so i went to save my brother when he got stuck yesturday and while in the process shattered my mirror and passenger side window but thats not the least of my problems. My 4wd is all f*** up, when i turn it on (automatic hubs) it made a loud clicking noise and the 4wd does not even work what do you think my problem is? i haven't taken my tires off to see if i shattered the spindle but i want to hear some ideas of the problem... thank you

 

[Californiafeind]

Does the little 4x4 light come on? Where does the clicking noise come from(front, back, left front). A single click when first engaged? Multiple Clicks while driving or stoped or both.

 

[92explorerjake]

it does light up, the clicking noise is in the right front area, and every time the wheel rotates after going from 4wd to 2wd it makes a clicking noise that takes a little while to stop. Also when i put the vehicle in 4wd and cut the wheel hard left and right there is no shimmy in the front end. After all this my car runs perfectly normal in 2wd.

 

[410Fortune]

well it is most likely your auto hubs, as long as the T case is shifting into 4wd and 4low

a 92 explorer will ahve some issues up front due to age andn neglect.
Likely needs all new u joints (d shaft and axleshafts), manual hubs, wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rods ends, etc.
I would expect it to make a clicking noise myself, being that old, unless this work has been performend.

best way to try and find your problem, get both front tires in the air and do a shake down test.

 

[92explorerjake]

thanks for the reply, sounds like alot of work, is it possible that hubs are screwed up thus not kicking in my 4wd?

 

[DeRocha]

Your autohubs are the week link in the 4x4 system and as fortune already stated are the most likely suspect. This is very common and swapping to manual hubs will get you going again... manual hubs run about $200 with install kit for both front wheels.. A single autohub will be more than that...

BTW manual hubs (you get out and manual turn them from free wheel to locked) are many times stronger that autos...

 

[410Fortune]

Getting both tires up in the air and getting under the truck should help you find out whats wrong.

 

[92explorerjake]

sounds good will do... i search the forum for what are the best hubs because i think i saw some thing about them earlier. thanks again

 

[410Fortune]

only hubs are milemarker, Warn, or factory. Warn are most popular

 

[spdy0001]

Guys same thing happened to me tonight Stuck in mud, hit button, see light come on, hear click in rear which means its on, but when I move all I hear is clank, clank, clank.....

It is shifting into 4wd because I get lowrange, and when I turn them off and back up and can hear them disengage. My question is can I get away with just switching to manual hubs or do I need to replace any of that other stuff 410 mentioned? This is not a daily driver or hardcore off roader, just something I use for winter

 

[DeRocha]

... My question is can I get away with just switching to manual hubs or do I need to replace any of that other stuff 410 mentioned? This is not a daily driver or hardcore off roader, just something I use for winter

Switching to manual hubs is a fairly easy and straight forward job... But as fortune mentioned you should check the other components and replace them at the same time. This is for the simple reason that you'd need to remove the hubs, Bearings, & rotors to replace your U-joints and Ball-joints.

Check out the links in my sig for good info and pics on replacing U-joints etc..

 

[big_hoovie]

only hubs are milemarker, Warn, or factory. Warn are most popular

Don't forget about superwinch

And I'd like to mention that summitracing.com has both Superwinch and Mile Marker manual lockers.

Superwinch
hubs 154.69
kit 48.39

Mile Marker
hubs 119.69
kit 38.39

I personally would choose the mile marker hubs, but both are extremely well made.

As a bit of an aside, I would only choose Warn(for the X) if I were not doing any heavy off roading, or lots of it, due to materials used in the construction. At least the Warn hubs I was looking at were aluminum and plastic, whereas the Mile Marker hubs are stainless steel and aluminum...</.02 cents>

 

[spdy0001]

Don't forget about superwinch

As a bit of an aside, I would only choose Warn(for the X) if I were not doing any heavy off roading, or lots of it, due to materials used in the construction. At least the Warn hubs I was looking at were aluminum and plastic, whereas the Mile Marker hubs are stainless steel and aluminum...</.02 cents>

The warn hubs I was quoted at advanced auto are steel. I will be picking them up today so I will tell you for sure. 140 for hubs / 43 for kit , and I love getting them local incase something isn't right

 

[410Fortune]

Sweet. The touch drive 4x4 only goes out when you need it the most. 90% of the time it is the autohubs if still equipped.

I was not aware Milemarker still made hubs for us, excellent.
I have never had a problem with the warns, even under heavy abuse, but I do carry a spare or two when wheeling and have seen a couple grenade on the trail.



Manual hubs = piece of mind.

 

[spdy0001]

OK guys I feel like an idiot

When I went to pick up the warn's the guy asked me what happened to the autohubs so I told him that I stopped and when I started to backup I spun so I put it in 4wd, and tried again to back up. He said "don't you know with those autohubs you have to go forward first or you will shatter them because they only half engage". Well the look on my face was like

So I just blew about 200 bucks becuase I didn't know how to properly use the 4wd (this is my first 4wd vehicle). Oh well at least now I won't have to worry about it because when I turn the knob I know if its locked or not

 

[Thelgord]

Personally, the first time my auto hubs showed any signes of trouble (sounded like a ratchet when the wheels were moving) I switched them to WARN manuals. Lifetime garuntee, and all steel parts

 

[spdy0001]

Well the warn's are on

I shattered the right hub the left still looks to be in good shape. I almost but ruined the spindle too, so in the near future I am going to look for one in the bone yard and put it on.

Also I discovered something else........
I have been hearing a sqeak coming form the brakes for a while now so I decided to check out the breakes while I had it apart. What did I find......a rock stuck between the pad and rotor. That stupid rock ate two 1/8" groves in my new rotors

 

[big_hoovie]

you ought to see my rotors...granted they aren't new, but they are scary looking...I can't believe I was driving with the inner part only about 1/8" thick, and rust falling out of the vents...*shudder*