96 xlt ? / 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 littlenning 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

 

[muhl5443]

i turn the radio off when i shift my 4x4 on. m u have to be in neutral when u select 4x4. u should be able to hear it locking in on making like a clunking sound as mine does. u havce to select 4x4 high then select 4x4 low u cant just go to 4x4 low. if u are stuck in 4x4 u would have a hard time doin over 30 or 40. most of the 4x4 explorers have a 21 gallon tank as mine does and i know several ppl on here have stated the same thing. so the being a little over half full on the gauge and stilll taking 11 gallons is about right. u would have very little spray on the back cause there is very little of the truck back there. i do believe that 2x4 only ur front wheels are spinning. both sets of wheels will be spinning on 4x4.

 

[slyfoxexplore]

hey

well the whole tank thing is there almost two gallons in just pipe that run to your tank filling it up. And another is the shape of the tank it holds more gallons at the top notice gas millage from full to a quarter then a quarter to empty. a 1500 mile move helped me find this out haha.

 

[beenwrong2002]

yup 21 gallon tank. tho i once pumped 24 gallons in it xD

 

[muhl5443]

as have i on many occcasions.

 

[gmanpaint]

2WD=rears only

4WD High= rears at 95%--fronts at 5%. When your rears begin to spin your abs sensors tell the fronts to start working. More power is transferred to the fronts as needed in 5-10% increments. This will continue to increase till the rears and fronts are spinning at the same rate. When your rears gain traction, the power will decrease to the front, gradually going back to 5%.

4WD Low=50% front--50% rear power. The transfer case will be locked in a lower gear ratio setting. Your Ex will feel tons faster from a stop. You will wind out the engine very quickly, go thru 1st to 3rd gear quickly, and will be red lined at around 40 mph. There is no mistaking being in 4x4 Low.

To test your 4x4 (in laymen terms for the 4x4 challenged)
Find an open field with no obstacles or a open parking lot with snow or ice.

With engine on-
4x4 High-
Hold brake pedal on, shift to drive, place switch into 4x4 high/auto. turn front wheels almost all the way, depress gas pedal to the floor!(object is to break traction of rear wheels) Can you feel a clunking or noise coming from under the front end? That would be the front wheel hubs. It is supposed to do that. Does it try to fishtail, or straighten out? Can you feel a difference in the steering wheel? Fishtail and doing donuts will happen easy with just 2 wheel drive, a lot harder in 4x4 high.

Engine on 4x4 low:
Brake pedal on, shift to neutral, select 4x4 high wait for light to say it is in 4x4 high. Once on, select to 4x4 Low. Listen/feel for a clunk underneath your seat, under the rig.
That noise/feel is your shift motor. It is a little motor that switches your Transfer case from high gears to low gears. Only when selecting to 4x4 Low will this be switched on.
Repeat the maneuver from 4x4 high. If working in 4x4 low you should feel a dramatic response from your rig. It is VERY important to never do this on dry/wet pavement! You can break very expensive components! This is where it can be tricky to figure. You will be in 4 low, but, you might be in 4x2 low. You need another person to help. Have a person watch your front wheels for actual spinning. If they are spinning faster than the truck is moving, you are in 4x4 low. If they are not, you are in 4x2 low. Now you have to really get on the gas to make this work, so try not to run over anybody, please! This test works the best in deep snow/mud/loose dirt/gravel.
To switch back to 2wd you have to stop, shift to neutral, select 4x4 high, wait for light to change to 4x4 high, listen/feel once again for shift motor to operate. Select 2wd. Shift to reverse, back up till light goes out. Stop, shift to drive. your done! You should be in 2wd, and on your way!

If you have any different results, you might have a couple of things wrong. There is information on how to check your 4x4 with engine off on the forum. this will require a few tools and a little common sense. The search button feature is your friend waiting to be used. There are also "Sticky" threads on this topic that are easily accessed.

I hope you where able to make sense of this, and it might help to read it a couple of times.
Gmanpaint~

 

[99ex22]

also when it's in 4x4 auto, when the rear wheels slip the front ones kick in so that probably explains your splatter on the front doors.