96 xlt 4x4 problem

[booo66]

hi im new to the site and have a couple of ?s or a problem i just bought a 96xlt 128,000 how do i know if the 4wd is working.... the lights work the way they should i think .. but i have feeling im stuck in 4wd ..1st it feels a little sluggish but im not sure i had 91 before this with 235,000 and the 4x4 did not work and was piece of junk so i dont have anything to go by.....2nd.. my first fill up two days ago took almost 18 gal today i was a little curious cause the gauge said a little over half full so i topped it off and it took almost 11 gal and i had only put 89 miles on it witch would put me at about 8 mpg granted i had about a hour or so of idleing and chicago traffic but not bumper to bumper traffic 8 mpg seems really low........3rd.. yesterday i was at the junkyard looking for little things ,and this guy was swearing at me saying i was blocking his way out of the mud pit they call a parking lot so i pulled in front of him and turned and gunned it ,the thought being ill splatter the side of his bust out minivan with mud... he left as i was reparking so i did not see my art work, but when i got out i noticed that most of the mud spray on my truck was on the front doors and very little on the back end it should be the other way around right .. 2wd means the back wheels should have been spining right, im not sure the spray didnt come from barreling through 10in of muddy water or if the front wheels were spinning..... i only drove it about 2 miles this morning in 4wd auto in very little snow and ice and really have not tryed to use 4wd low, although i did try to get the rear end to fish tail a coulpe hours later and it really didnt but it was not very slippery and the tires are good shape so i know... is there away to test it cause i dont hear any thing engage and i really dont feel any dfferance between 2wd and 4wd auto..should i try 4wd low more than 70 feet......thanks nick

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Do you have a rotary switch on your dashboard that says: 4X Auto, High and Lo?

 

[booo66]

just 3 settings 2wd,4wd auto and 4wd low

 

[booo66]

there is also a very light shudder that you can hear and not really feel kinda like a bubble in the tire some one told me maybe a bad u-joint

 

[bisjoe]

The simple way to tell if you are in 4wd is to be on hard pavement and make a tight U-turn with the switch on 2WD. If you feel binding of the steering and some bouncing it's stuck in 4WD.

 

[Glen4X4]

You're explorer has a Front Center axle disconnect so in 2wd your axle shouldn't be direct link so even if the clutch in the t-case were to be sticking you shouldn't be able to feel it within the front end unless the axle is not disconnecting properly. Even in 4auto you should be able to turn sharp and not be able to feel it in the front end unless you're trying to do a donut or unless the clutch inside of the transfercase is sticking.

 

[IZwack]

Please lets not start new threads about the same problem (4wd) - i.e. dont double, triple, quadruple post.