Can someone explain 4x4 auto to me

[kylecolb]

How exactly does the 4x4 auto 4x4/high/low system work in the explorers? I'm new to ford explorers and haven't used the 4x4 yet.

thanks a million!

 

[corkey]

4 auto, when the back tires slip the front engage
4 high, all 4 wheels drive all the time,
4lo, all 4 drive in a lower range than normal,

 

[kylecolb]

4 auto, when the back tires slip the front engage
4 high, all 4 wheels drive all the time,
4lo, all 4 drive in a lower range than normal,

So with the auto, it goes on and off on the fly whenever there is slippage?

With 4x4 High I can push the button on the go and engage the 4x4?

And with 4x4 low, put it in neutral and then 4x4 low or just have the truck stopped?

 

[rhauf]

4x4 high means the front wheels are turned with the rear wheels, all the time (all 4 wheels powered, no diff or limited slip between them) this is best for "ohh its slippery" (and you hit the button) you don't have to stop to engage this.

4x4 low range is the same as 4x4 high except there is a gear reduction in the transfer case of about 2:1 (or 2.5:1 or so) this is what you want to use if you're doing any serious off-roading (at speeds below about 40mph). you have to come to a complete stop and put it in neutral to engage this.

4x4 "auto" i'm not entirely familiear with, but ill try anyway.. it probably means one of two things, the most likely being that 4x4 (high range) is engaged when slippage of the rear wheels is detected. the other possible meaning is that it's like an all wheel drive system where there is non-mechanical coupling between the front and rear and it's always engaged. i suspect it's the first option.

edit: damn i must write slow. i see this question has already been answered, and you've already responded to the answer while i wrote that :b

 

[corkey]

So with the auto, it goes on and off on the fly whenever there is slippage?

With 4x4 High I can push the button on the go and engage the 4x4?

And with 4x4 low, put it in neutral and then 4x4 low or just have the truck stopped?

yep,, but for 4lo, must be stopped and in nuetral,

 

[kylecolb]

4x4 high means the front wheels are turned with the rear wheels, all the time (all 4 wheels powered, no diff or limited slip between them) this is best for "ohh its slippery" (and you hit the button) you don't have to stop to engage this.

4x4 low range is the same as 4x4 high except there is a gear reduction in the transfer case of about 2:1 (or 2.5:1 or so) this is what you want to use if you're doing any serious off-roading (at speeds below about 40mph). you have to come to a complete stop and put it in neutral to engage this.

4x4 "auto" i'm not entirely familiear with, but ill try anyway.. it probably means one of two things, the most likely being that 4x4 (high range) is engaged when slippage of the rear wheels is detected. the other possible meaning is that it's like an all wheel drive system where there is non-mechanical coupling between the front and rear and it's always engaged. i suspect it's the first option.

edit: damn i must write slow. i see this question has already been answered, and you've already responded to the answer while i wrote that :b

thanks though! you helped clear it up better. this is my first 4x4 so i want to make sure i know everything about it so i don't mess anything up

 

[DavidS]

The quick and dirty answer is: not very well. If they offered a system like the Toyota 4Runners of a few years ago with a completely manual 4WD system with rear locker and yet no locking hubs to deal with, they would probably have the best American 4WD brand outside of Jeep. I hope that you never have to put the thing in 4WD Low and then have to figure out how to get it back into 4X4 Auto. As it is, Ford's 4WD on the 2002-2005 Explorers is one of the worst and Explorers rank very poorly in off road performance, especially compared to most Asian manufacturers. One of the most problematic things I've encountered with my '02 EB Explorer 4.6L that was bought new has been with this poorly designed system. If any of your tires have only a millimeter or two's difference in diameter between front and rear axle, the auto 4WD will try to engage at the most inappropriate moments such as climbing a grade on the interstate at 65 MPH. The resulting noise and vibration when this happens may cause you to think something is wrong with your vehicle and no code will be thrown. Only after this happens enough times will the transfer case clutches crap out and then you'll get serious vibration from a standing start in normal driving situations. If a situation requires you to engage the 4WD High setting due to snow or mud, the thing will sound and vibrate like it's getting ready to come apart from your vehicle. This has to be one of Ford's worst examples of engineering in it's execution, almost as bad as Chrysler's auto transmissions in their late 80s to mid 90s minivan transmissions. I'll never buy a Ford vehicle with 4WD or AWD again.

 

[mhamric]

The quick and dirty answer is: not very well. If they offered a system like the Toyota 4Runners of a few years ago with a completely manual 4WD system with rear locker and yet no locking hubs to deal with, they would probably have the best American 4WD brand outside of Jeep. I hope that you never have to put the thing in 4WD Low and then have to figure out how to get it back into 4X4 Auto. As it is, Ford's 4WD on the 2002-2005 Explorers is one of the worst and Explorers rank very poorly in off road performance, especially compared to most Asian manufacturers. One of the most problematic things I've encountered with my '02 EB Explorer 4.6L that was bought new has been with this poorly designed system. If any of your tires have only a millimeter or two's difference in diameter between front and rear axle, the auto 4WD will try to engage at the most inappropriate moments such as climbing a grade on the interstate at 65 MPH. The resulting noise and vibration when this happens may cause you to think something is wrong with your vehicle and no code will be thrown. Only after this happens enough times will the transfer case clutches crap out and then you'll get serious vibration from a standing start in normal driving situations. If a situation requires you to engage the 4WD High setting due to snow or mud, the thing will sound and vibrate like it's getting ready to come apart from your vehicle. This has to be one of Ford's worst examples of engineering in it's execution, almost as bad as Chrysler's auto transmissions in their late 80s to mid 90s minivan transmissions. I'll never buy a Ford vehicle with 4WD or AWD again.

Sounds like you might have something going on with your 4x4 than the norm. I've put my Limited '02 4.6L into 4x4 high and low quite a few times over the past couple years and never had any shaking or problems and I've never had any shaking or noise on the highway from the 4x4 system. I've had Jeep and Toyota 4x4's in the past and I'd say the one in my x is almost as good as theirs.

@kylecolb: The Ford manual also states that when "switching from 4x4 Auto to either 4x4 High or Low, the vehicle should be stopped, your foot on the break with the vehicle in neutral." Once you switch to 4x4 you should see the light in your instrument panel light up for the one you're in. And driving in 4x4 with this system shouldn't be done on dry roads, only in bad conditions, lots of snow/mud otherwise you can create quite a few problems for yourself. If you don't see the light in the instrument panel then you might have a bad light, or more likely a bad 4x4 control module that lives behind the glove box. They're known for dying...a new one is pretty easy to put in, just do a search for it on here, there are some great write ups on it.

Mark

 

[muzzymaniac]

@kylecolb: The Ford manual also states that when "switching from 4x4 Auto to either 4x4 High or Low, the vehicle should be stopped, your foot on the break with the vehicle in neutral."

Mark

Not so....

From the 04 Manual.....


Shifting between 4X4 AUTO (4WD Auto) and 4X4 HIGH (4WD High)
• Select 4X4 AUTO (4WD Auto) or 4X4 HIGH (4WD High) at any
forward speed.
Note: Do not perform this operation at speeds above 45 mph (72 km/h)
if the outside temperature is below 32°F (0°C).
Note: Do not perform this operation if the rear wheels are slipping.

Shifting to/from 4X4 LOW (4WD Low)
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop
2. Depress the brake
3. Place the transmission in N (Neutral).
4. Press the desired 4WD position.
• If shifting into 4X4 LOW (4WD Low), wait for the 4X4 LOW light in
the instrument cluster to turn on indicating the shift is complete.
• If shifting out of 4X4 LOW (4WD Low), wait for the 4X4 LOW light in
the instrument cluster to turn off indicating the shift is complete.

 

[imp]

The quick and dirty answer is: not very well. If they offered a system like the Toyota 4Runners of a few years ago with a completely manual 4WD system with rear locker and yet no locking hubs to deal with, they would probably have the best American 4WD brand outside of Jeep. I hope that you never have to put the thing in 4WD Low and then have to figure out how to get it back into 4X4 Auto. As it is, Ford's 4WD on the 2002-2005 Explorers is one of the worst and Explorers rank very poorly in off road performance, especially compared to most Asian manufacturers. One of the most problematic things I've encountered with my '02 EB Explorer 4.6L that was bought new has been with this poorly designed system. If any of your tires have only a millimeter or two's difference in diameter between front and rear axle, the auto 4WD will try to engage at the most inappropriate moments such as climbing a grade on the interstate at 65 MPH. The resulting noise and vibration when this happens may cause you to think something is wrong with your vehicle and no code will be thrown. Only after this happens enough times will the transfer case clutches crap out and then you'll get serious vibration from a standing start in normal driving situations. If a situation requires you to engage the 4WD High setting due to snow or mud, the thing will sound and vibrate like it's getting ready to come apart from your vehicle. This has to be one of Ford's worst examples of engineering in it's execution, almost as bad as Chrysler's auto transmissions in their late 80s to mid 90s minivan transmissions. I'll never buy a Ford vehicle with 4WD or AWD again.

A glowing testimonial, if ever there was one! Have you owned Jeeps, then? My own opinion of them is that "It's a Jeep thing".....never saw one with an adequately-sized differential, front or rear, those puniest Dana gearsets, models 25, 28, maybe 35 if lucky, scream out for at LEAST model 44s. And the spring shackles.... what can you tell us about them? Maybe that every half-way serious 4-Wheeler replaces them with aftermarket (strong) shackles, which won't allow the OEM pieces to bend, twist, and allow springs to do contortions......a lot of engineering, IMO, of course, on Jeeps is just downright piss-poor for a vehicle expected to do "Jeeping".

Jeep afficionados....let's hear comment! imp

Edit: David, sorry you have had poor results with your Explorer, I have owned 3 and so far each has proven quite satisfactory.

 

[mhamric]

Not so....

From the 04 Manual.....


Shifting between 4X4 AUTO (4WD Auto) and 4X4 HIGH (4WD High)
• Select 4X4 AUTO (4WD Auto) or 4X4 HIGH (4WD High) at any
forward speed.
Note: Do not perform this operation at speeds above 45 mph (72 km/h)
if the outside temperature is below 32°F (0°C).
Note: Do not perform this operation if the rear wheels are slipping.

Shifting to/from 4X4 LOW (4WD Low)
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop
2. Depress the brake
3. Place the transmission in N (Neutral).
4. Press the desired 4WD position.
• If shifting into 4X4 LOW (4WD Low), wait for the 4X4 LOW light in
the instrument cluster to turn on indicating the shift is complete.
• If shifting out of 4X4 LOW (4WD Low), wait for the 4X4 LOW light in
the instrument cluster to turn off indicating the shift is complete.

You are correct, I must have missed that. I went back and reread my manual, it's one sentence and doesn't mention anything about the temp or speed. Just says "any speed". The switching to 4x4 Low is the same as you listed above. Thanks for clarifying!

Mark

 

[asasial]

my 96 limited only has 4wd auto and 4wd low
i can't say i much care for the engagement whenever it feels slippage seems like that would put a jerking force on the front end. if i tell it i want 4wd i want it to be in 4wd.

 

[detroitrw21]

In my limited knowledge of the explorer, I have gotten it to go into 4X4 high in drive, but I wasn't moving and didn't at the time want to try it, but I read the same thing as Muzzy, where you can do it under 45mph. I have gotten my truck to go into LOW only when stopped, brake depressed and in Neutral (and it worked like a charm I might add). As for the Auto.... I am curious to see what happens when the snow starts flying. I am the kind of guy that I would rather tell the vehicle what to do vs. it telling me what should be happening (no I am not a huge fan of ABS either). So depending on how it works, I might be looking more into the "Brown wire" mod which, as I understand it does not allow the truck to automatically shift into 4X4High when it thinks it should. It is a manual operation.

 

[bats]

IIRC the brown wire mod allows you to select when you want the transfer case engaged. This is great if you want more control over your 4WD.

 

[muzzymaniac]

In my limited knowledge of the explorer, I have gotten it to go into 4X4 high in drive, but I wasn't moving and didn't at the time want to try it, but I read the same thing as Muzzy, where you can do it under 45mph. I have gotten my truck to go into LOW only when stopped, brake depressed and in Neutral (and it worked like a charm I might add). As for the Auto.... I am curious to see what happens when the snow starts flying. I am the kind of guy that I would rather tell the vehicle what to do vs. it telling me what should be happening (no I am not a huge fan of ABS either). So depending on how it works, I might be looking more into the "Brown wire" mod which, as I understand it does not allow the truck to automatically shift into 4X4High when it thinks it should. It is a manual operation.

I use switch to 4x4hi on the fly all the time. That's what it was designed for. Under 45 is just for sub-freezing temps. I guess they're worried about the viscosity of the fluid or skidding on ice.

Go ahead - you'll like it!