For winter driving?

[Exproblems]

Mine says 45, so what does that mean?

You have an open diff with 3.55 gears, same as mine.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Good set of tires and some weight in the back and you will be fine.

 

[9COOP5]

How much weight do you use?

 

[Tech By Trade]

none, but I have 4x4. In my moms explorer, we threw about 100lbs worth of sand bags in the back and it was fine. hers was a 2wd without posi or limited slip. hers was a 91.

 

[p38fln]

They sell tubes of sand at hardware stores for this. I used three or four bags in a '94 Ranger 4x2, it really helped. You probably don't need as many in an Explorer, they're already considerably heavier in the rear.

 

[p38fln]

The tube things are 50 pounds each if I remember correctly, and they cost about $7. You can always take them out if you get too many or buy more if you didn't get enough. Might want to put them in a plastic tub or something, I used them in a pickup truck so didn't really care if they leaked.

 

[swshawaii]

Go to www.vindecoderz.com and put in the VIN # there. Be sure you put it in the actual VIN lookup, not the popup add in the center of the page.

Scroll DOWN - The Recall report is probably accurate, the history report section is just people with similar VIN #'s reporting problems. At the very bottom of the page, you'll see the original options for your VIN#

Scroll WAY down and you'll see the axle options

In my case it says "Rear Axle Limited Slip Differential"


I also notice a code "D4" on the tag on the driver's door in the "Axle" section, if yours is also D4 then you probably have a limited slip differential as well.

GREAT link! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sweersa]

I drove a '97 2x4 Ford Ranger through several Michigan winters. Dedicated snow tires on all 4, and several hundred pounds in the bed made it possible. It's still not easy, you need to drive slow, and smooth.

I bought a 4x4 '05 Explorer to not stress out as much in the winter last year. It was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Even in 4x4 AUTO mode with AT tires when it's in rear wheel and doesn't need to power the front wheels, it still drives significantly better than my Ranger did, and when it needs that extra boost, the 4x4 is a blessing. I think the weight of the Explorer is one of the many reasons for improved winter handling, and the independent rear suspension.

I drive a lot of different front wheel and 4x4 and 2x4 for our company fleet, and nothing has compared with my Explorer in the snow.

All of the maintenance issues and expenses with the Explorer is worth it when the snow falls, IMO. Ford got that right with the 3rd gen.