Dead Explorer, Please Help!

[Phantom]

96 4.0L with Auto Trans-I need some help with this one. While driving down the interstate last night, I started to hear this clicking noise around the area of the transmission. It continued to get louder very fast and was made worse if I stepped on the gas and it appearded to lose all power to the wheels. Not being a moron, I got off the gas and pulled off the interstate. I stoppped the truck and took a look at it. Nothing visible so I tried to restart it. The starter turned over with a bit of a grinding sound but the motor itself did nothing, no turn of the crank. So I tow it home with a pickup and chain, no tow hooks are to be found on a stock Explorer as I now know. A buddy seems to think it is the flywheel that has lost teeth or broken. I plan on pulling the starter to look for clues but help from anyone is appreciated.

 

[sink]

How does the engine oil look? Are you able to turn the motor over with a wrench on the main pulley? Flywheel teeth thing sounded good unitl the part about no power to wheels. Power transmission would be unaffected by fly teeth.

 

[Phantom]

I am not exactly positive if I lost power to the wheels. I treid to get off of it so quick that it could have just been my imagination. I have not tried to turn the crank over with a wrench or looked at the oil. What would I be looking for here? The transmission had been acting a bit funny though, not going into gear immediatley and sometimes jumping hard into gear when accelerating from idle. The fluid(synthetic) and filter are realtively new. Does any of this sound related?

 

[Phantom]

Anybody else have an idea here?

 

[toms 91 4dr xlt std 4x4]

hmmm...

Sounds like the flywheel. I doubt it is the teeth though. Sounds like it may have come loose off your crank, or maybe the torque converter went bad, or loose. Mine is a standard. Does those automatics have a flywheel cover? I know all the older vehicles do. There are usually 4 bolts holding it on. I would check the engine oil, and tranny fluid. I would also remove the starter. Uh.... yeah.... check your starter. There have been circumstances where the solenoid will engage and burn out your starter while you are driving. In turn, it will grind the teeth on the flywheel, and ruin the bendix, along with a horrific sound. After confirming your starter is good, look inside at your flywheel. It is also possable you blew your transmission. Maybe you threw #5 or #6 rod? doubtful though. Hard to say without looking at it. But maybe you have a few ideas.

Check the starter first. Only three 9/16" bolts and ten min. of your time.

 

[Orkrist]

I'm no expert, but I had this happen in my MG. The clanking sound was the rod I blew, and after turning the motor off it wouldn't crank at all. Blew right out the side of the motor. A sad day indeed. I hope this isn't the case, but if the motor doesn't turn, there is something very wrong, and it probably isn't your starter.

 

[Phantom]

I will check all of the areas suggested. Thanks guys.

 

[Jag]

Sounds like a similar problem I had with an old '86 Ranger I used to own.

It made a clunking noise at idle, but went away as the engine speed increased. Turned out to be a cracked flex plate (flywheel). It was cracked in a circular fashion around the mounting bolts. I guess I was lucky that it never broke completely. It cost me about $600 to fix, but that included a rebuilt torque converter which was damaged in the process.

Good luck.

 

[Phantom]

How might I be able to tell if the torque converter is deaed as well?

 

[Jag]

Chances are the actual fuctionality of you torque convertor is O.K. Mine was damaged from "walloring" around on the input shaft to the transmission due to the broken flex plate. The only way to find out is to have someone tear it down and inspect it.

BTW, most of $600 cost was labor. The cost of the rebuilt torque convertor was under $100 for that transmission, which was a 4 speed overdrive transmission. That also included a fluid and filter change, and of course the cost of yanking the tranny out and replacing it.

 

[Phantom]

I finnaly got a chance to pull the starter out and look at the flexpalte. As suspected, the center section was torn apart where it bolts to the crank. There doesn't seem to be any play in the torque converter but I should know more when I pull the transmission. Thanks for the help and any more information is greatly appreciated. By the way, waht aftermarket manufacturer makes a decent flexplate. I found one from ATP and Pioneer but I reallyt don't know much about either.