Come on Guys! Help me out here.

[Wingnut]

I posted the one about the jerking 4wd bit. My '97 Explorer XLT feels like I have the parking Break on when I try to make a turn in 4wd High and even worse in Low. I sounds like something is slipping in the front end with a jerking poping sound. I take it out of 4wd and no problem. I need someone who has cracked into the front end of one of these things to tell me what it could be. or better yet, how to fix it. It's only when I turn.

 

[rpenner54]

You probably should not be using your 4wd unless your are in snow or off-road. I think most of those sounds you are hearing are the tires fighting each other. If this is happening off-road then I would recomend looking at your U-Joints. Usually you get some front end sounds when turning in 4wd though.



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Ryan Penner
1992 Explorer Sport

 

[Dr.Doug]

The fact is, there is no problem with you Explorer.

When the 4X4 is engaged, the hubs become locked to the axle and turn at the same exact speed. When the wheels are turned, one of the wheels will naturally spin faster and attempt to spin, through the axle, the other wheel at the same speed. For this reason, in 4X4 mode, the vehicle bucks and jumps when this is done on a non-slip surface. In low range, gearing amplifies this.

The bottom line is, DONT EVER HAVE THE VEHICLE IN 4X4 ON A DRY SURFACE !!! You will cause SEVERE damage to the 4X4 components, if you continue to do this. I personally, only engage 4X4 in snow or mud. When I reach the dry or CLEARED non-slip surface, I disengage the 4X4 and reverse 10 feet to UNLOCK the hubs from the axle.

Good luck, Doug

 

[S.Matsushige]

Ryan and Doug are right. You should only engage your 4wd in loose stuff. If I remember right I think the owner's manual says it too. As doug mentioned both wheels will lock and spin at the same speed which probably means on turns you have no working differential on the front end thus your outer wheel which has to turn more to slip slightly. This is the reason for doing it on soft surfaces. Hope this helps.

 

[Wingnut]

Thanks guys.

 

[Orange Whip]

Not to beat a dead horse here, but I was wondering if you had the Control Trac feature on your XLT?

With ControlTrac you should be able to drive on any surface and it should be approximately 95% RWD to 5% FWD, until slippage is detected. Then the computer begins to transfer power to the front wheels in approx. 10% increments until traction is regained.

I have this ControlTrac feature on my 96 XLT and the owners manual does say you can drive on any terrain in 4WD Auto Mode. It also does state to only use 4WD Low on slippery terrain- and never on dry pavement.

Hope this helps.


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96 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0 V6 4x4

 

[ExplorGM]

Wingnut,
Let's beat this dead horse some more...
You should be able to drive your Explorer in 4wdauto on dry pavement. Mine worked fine for 30k miles. There was a posting some months ago where someone had a solution for problems with the 4WDauto "jerking" on turns. It was some sort of sensor possibly in the differential? Anybody remember?
Rick

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Rick
95 Explorer Sport Expedition
Dead Link Removed

 

[HIX]

Ummm.... I don't mean to be nit picky, but....It's not the wheels on the same(front) axle that are that are fighting each other, that's what the diff is for. It allows the wheels on the same axle to travel at different speeds. It is the difference in revolutions between the front and the rear axle that is causing the drivetrain to wind-up. The transfercase locks the front and rear axles together(unless you have control trac) and if you are on a hard surface it builds up tension till something gives. Most likely the tires chirp but sometimes something more expensive will give$$$.

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HIX
91 Sport w/ 33s
"Put the hammer down, she likes it rough!"