Awd

[00Mounty5.0]

How good is the all wheel drive system on the mountaineers. I've got a 5.0 Mountaineer and war wondering how well itd do offroad? Dirt trails, some mud, little mud holes. No rock crawling or anything extreme like that. Its stock height right now but thinking about the 2inch torsion bar twist and 2inch shackles in the rear with some 31s. Any ideas on how good itd be? Pics or videos. Thanks new to the forum.

 

[SoNic67]

I think is good for light use, like snow, shallow mud. Nothing that would require a 4WD Low.
What might give up eventually is the CV on the front propeller shaft.

 

[BrianDye]

It's not the greatest for off roading. I personally loved my 2000 5.0 that I had which was AWD. Best AWD system I've ever driven with. I hate the advance track auto 4x4 or whatever the 4th gens have.

It's sufficient for light off roading, but if you want something more capable, a lot of members have done the manual transfer case swap which will give you 4x2, 4 high and 4 low. Don't know much about it but it seems pretty straightforward when you gather the parts.

 

[00Mounty5.0]

See ive heard good and bad. But I previously had a 4wd tracker and im sure this would do a lot better with awd than a 4wd 80hp geo haha.

 

[00Mounty5.0]

And most places I go wheeling at, my friend with his jeep only needs 2wd so im sure that the awd system will be fine for it.

 

[SoNic67]

Careful about the weight difference. Where a lighter vehicle might go fine, a heavier Explorer might sink too deep.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

It will do ok for light off road. Biggest thing are tires, then lockers. All the V8 trucks had a LSD I think, so that will help too (not as good as a locker but better than open). It's not the best in stock form but it should be ok for some fun with a nice set of tires.

BTW Go with 32x11.50's you won't regret it. I was going to run some 31x10.50's and I'm so glad I went 32x11.50. They're tight and I had to trim my plastics with a 1.5 TT but they fit and look awesome. Just make sure you have the right offset wheel and you'll be good.