96 X Sport 4x4 how does it work?

[SA-Xplorer]

Sorry in advance for not reading thru all the past 4x4 related threads, but the search throws up SO many. I would like to understand how my 96 X sport's 4x4 Control trac system is supposed to work so I can ascertain whether it is or not. I have read and noted Gijoecams thread on Gen2 tests and will attempt this when I can get the kit together to do the testing. In the meantime, can anyone direct me to a thread or detail on what it feels like to drive.

I have a mound outside my house and I tried riding up the side of that. When I reverse up in 2wd the one rear wheel has less weight on it and therefore less grip and it slips. When I put it in 4wdh it does the same thing. I then try 4wd lo and it still slips and does not move.

When I drive up forwards in 2wd, the one wheel starts spinning and I go no where. When the 4wdh is engaged, it also spins and goes no where. When I engage 4wdl it seems to go up the mound but with the one wheel still slipping.

I have also noticed that on odd occasions it will start flashing (both lights). After a while it goes away and the 4wd and 4wdlo show on the dash. I dont know if they are actually locking in and if the hubs are actually kicking in.

As I am still a newbie and also a newbie to forums, I plead leniency if I have placed this in the wrong thread heading or if I am re-hashing old subjects.

Thanks

Ralph!

 

[Axial32]

Sounds like you have the limited slip or open diff. a locker in the rear would help that.
I've been told the control trac 4X4 works by the computer feeling the slipping and engaging the 4x4, so basically you can't do a real burnout. But if you do the Brown Wire mod you can get the true 2wd out of it. That's what I did.

 

[SA-Xplorer]

I never quite understood what was trying to be achieved by the brown wire mod. The diff lock option, is it a small mod or replace the whole diff?

 

[SA-Xplorer]

I also notice when I turn sharply and accelerate, the inside back tyre spins quite a lot, so no limited slip here methinks

 

[Axial32]

Yep, yours is like mine. The brown wiremod lets you stay in 2wd... so you can do burnouts and other things, drifts in the winter.
The locker basically replaces the whole diff.
It actually replaces the spider gears in the diff.but you would have to remove the diff.

 

[team]

sounds like your 4wd is not working. I have a 96 4wd sport also. You need to get it up in the air on jack stands or on a lift and put it in 4wd and see if the front driveshaft is turning. If it is and your front wheel is not spinning then you will know your transfer case is working and your problem is in the cad (which is usually the problem, it is vacuum operated).

 

[SA-Xplorer]

Thanks for the help guys.

Team. So if the front shaft is turning with the suv running in 4wd and in drive, then the transfer case is fine. must it be in 4wdauto or 4wdlo.

What is the cad?

How would I go about testing the vacuum system? can I guess that the vacuum is to pull in the hub locks?

 

[Axial32]

You don't have locking huds.
It's the transfercase that does the locking. So even if you lay down and have someone else drive as you look under the front driveshaft spins no matter what. That's why he said to have it on jack stands. With putting it in 4WD Low, you need to put the Ex. in park or neutral, then let off the brakes, you'll hear it click, that's when it's locked in. The 4wd is electronically engaged by a solonoid.

 

[Glen4X4]

Lets straighten this out. With the 95 and 96 4X4 system you don't have a true 4high when you put it in 4auto its in 2wd until a rear wheel slips and then it engages the transfer case for a second continuously until you have traction and 4low you have full-time 4X4 but with the brown-wire-mod you can make it that when you switch to 4auto you can flip a toggle switch and then you have full-time 4X4 high. You do need to get your truck up on stands and test it if both 4X4 lights flash.

 

[SA-Xplorer]

So now my earlier query about the value of the brown wire conversion comes out. I can make the 4wd lock up in high. Does running in 4wd high cause excessive strain and wear if riding off road on sand and dirt and in mud?

When in 4x4 low, from what I understand the transfer case sends equal power to back and front wheels. Normally a diff lock would prevent the vehicle from stopping if one wheel was spinning. Does this mean that if I lose traction on one front wheel and one bac wheel I go nowhere?

Forgive the ignorance. I have tried in vain to find detailed info on how the 4x4 works as i wish to use it off road to travel into Africa where there is lots of soft sand and mud.

I read the manual and that did not help. I have tried to find related threads and googled the topic, but I ran out of hours of the day to sift thru the pile of non related info.

Thanks

 

[Glen4X4]

Yes with brown-wire-mod you will have power to front and rear wheels at the same time equally. As for a diff lock, what it does is continuously supplies power to both wheels on that same axle so that if one loses traction the other side is still grabbing for traction. You probably have open differentials from factory so this means that when one side of the axle loses traction power is only going to that wheel and does make more probable to get stuck. But also airing down your tires and watching your path you're driving on with 4X4 helps a lot but for true traction a differential locker or limited slip will do the most.

 

[SA-Xplorer]

THanks for that.

In the meantime in my quest for Megabytes of input as "Jonny 5" said in Short Circuit, I have found an excerpt from the "official" Ford workshop repair manual that explains it as well. Just as you have in fact. Is it possible to fit a locker in the front or is this just a rear diff option.


As you say choose the path carefully, and drop tyre pressure.

Thanks again!

 

[SA-Xplorer]

BTW. If I wanted to pick up a used locker or slip diff at a junkyard, what could I expect to pay?

Or wold it be cheaper to buy the guts and fit it in the existing diff housing?

 

[Glen4X4]

You can buy a locker for the rear and front, I think its powertrax that make a locker for the front Aussie use to make front lockers for these explorers but no longer do but you might find one used. As far as prices its hard to say because some jy's are more money hungry than others or some don't know what they're selling and sell it cheap. And I would buy the whole assembly out of the carrier if I were to buy a ls from a junkyard.

 

[Axial32]

Who needs a locker....... just weld your spider gears for a permanently locked diff.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Link:

http://www.explorer4x4.com/controltrac_mod.htm

 

[SA-Xplorer]

Thanks to all for assistance. Great mod Joe. Now all I have to do is confirm that the transfer case is locking up In low and that the vacuum solenoid is engaging the Cad and I am good to go.

The big question is...... I am going to do off road tracks on bad sand road and quite heavy beach type sand. Will my 4x4 system work? Ie. Will I get stuck or will it pull thru. I will have family and a trailer, but will be within the loading capabilities of the x.

 

[treydestepheno]

hi, what would cause the front driveshaft to spin while the 4wd dashboard selector is set to 2wd? Could the transfer case clutch be stuck somehow? or maybe the wire to the electromagnet is loose or fried? the other two 4x4 settings work just fine, only the transfer case seems to be perpetually engaged somehow.

its a 96 explorer xlt with the F57A-7A195-CA transfer case

 

[SA-Xplorer]

hi, what would cause the front driveshaft to spin while the 4wd dashboard selector is set to 2wd? Could the transfer case clutch be stuck somehow? or maybe the wire to the electromagnet is loose or fried? the other two 4x4 settings work just fine, only the transfer case seems to be perpetually engaged somehow.

its a 96 explorer xlt with the F57A-7A195-CA transfer case

So guys...time for the rubber to hit the road and see if i have indeed learned anything. From joedirt's Brown wire mod thread which you can findthe link for a couple of posts above mine, I quote

"The system used in the early second generation Explorers was very similar to the later second gens. The '95 and '96 model years used the same transfer case as the '97-01 in conjunction with a Center-Axle Disconnect on the front axle. In 2wd mode, the transfer case is unlocked, and the CAD essentially breaks the passenger side axle shaft between the front differential and the passenger side halfshaft. That allows the front differential to stop turning, leaving the driver's side wheel to drive only the spider gears inside the diff. "

This would lead me to believe that the drivers side half shaft is still engaged in the CAD and therefore driving the front drive shaft. It is disengaged in 2wd from the transfer case drive.

Joedirt? Do I pass?

 

[treydestepheno]

Thanks for the reply SA. Unfortunately, I neglected to mention that we discovered that our front shaft was spinning after we put the rear end on stands and we revved the explorer until the rear tires were at about 45-50 kph (and the dashboard selector in 2wd). The front tires were firmly on the ground. So the CAD is disengaged (otherwise the front tires would have pulled the explorer off the stands)

Sorry for not mentioning this from the start.