AWD & Tires

[Sandman007]

Okay here's the situation, I had 2 blow outs over a period of 1.5 weeks. My tires were (3) P235/75/R15 A/T and (1) P235/75/R15 M/S all had about the same tread wear (rotated regularly) I bought the vehicle with this tire mixture...

I bought a tire out of desperation in the ghetto where I had the blow out.. LT235/75/R15 6 ply? from some rinky dink shop 20 bucks. The tire is brand new with the knobbies still on it. I had the second blow out... Now I fork out 70 bones for a P235/75R15 M/S Hancook tire at a place down the street from my work cause Discount wants me to replace all the tires for 400+ dollars that I don't have.

So I have 1 LT235/75/R15 A/T (new), 2 P235/75/R15 M/S (70% tread on one and the other is brand new) & 1 P235/75/R15 A/T (50%)

Now the questions.

Is the 99 ford explorer a true AWD?
If so/not am I damaging my drive train?
Is my drive train going to die if I don't correct this?
Can I just get rid of the LT235/75/R15 (since it's really an oddball in the mix) and replace with another Hancook M/S same as the one I paid 70 bucks for?
How much time do I have?
I estimate about 4 weeks before all tires will be Hancook M/S tires if I have to.
I can't just drop 400 bones.

 

[James909]

Do you have a V6 or a V8? The V8 model has true AWD and the V6 model has Auto 4wd.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

According to Ford, and I'd believe it, different sized tires can hurt the transfer case- it's designed for four matching tires. Different sized tires can cause extra "slippage" in the transfer case, accelerating the wear on it.

That being said, I was unaware of this when I bought my AWD mounty, it came with an oddball tire. I bought a new tire to match the somewhat worn other 3. I drove with it like that for a while with no ill effects.

If all tires are within .5" of each other, it ought to be OK, but I'd suggest getting them all the same brand/size ASAP.

EDIT: James had a good question, what I posted only applies to the V8's

 

[Sandman007]

It's a 5.0 V8

I was reading on a subaru site that if a vehicle is not true AWD the tire differences are more severe and could damage drive train components.

But if it was true AWD the vehicle was able to handle 1/4 or 1/2 differences with no damage.

Ultimately I'm going to get them all Hancook P235/75/R15 cause that's all I can afford. It looks like a car tire. Booo! Hisssss!

What about the fact that one is a LT235/75/R15 A/T tire that says 6 ply on the side wall. It's new but is that one I should change out immediately. I can probably sell on Craigslist for 40 bucks, it retails 85 at Big O.

thanks for the replies.