Help--4wd porblem

[countrymz]

While changing my shocks last night, I had the front drivers side wheel off the ground to free up the shock. While Suspended, I spun the tire. Every 1/2 turn it would come to a stop. If was pretty hard to get through this "binding" spot. The suspension would pull up also when I would spin it hard. Also the Front driveshaft yoke would only spin during the time when the tire felt like it was binding. I tried this with the right side front and nothing would happen. I have the front driveshaft out because of the bushing inside the "double cardan" setup or whatever has ripped. Could this binding have caused this?
Thanks for all your help

 

[countrymz]

Any body?

Any body have an idea?

 

[countrymz]

???????

There is not anybody can help me out on this? What is causing the "binding"? Could it be a planetary gear in the differential? The driveshaft shouldn't spin at all because i thought there was a clutch/mechanism that engaged the front drive wheels when the computer sensed rear wheel slippage. CV joint shouldn't cause a bind to spin the driveshaft. That pretty much leave the shaft that goes from the inner CV to the diff (which should be really short if there is one at all and is enclosed), a problem at the diff or a bearing that had gone bad and is causing the shaft to rotate at an odd angle which causes the gears to catch. Anybody have a clue? help me out here. I don't want to get screwd by the mechanics because they have cause me great amounts of trouble in the past year. I.E. 4 trannies and an engine.

 

[countrymz]

Why do I feel like I am talking to myself?

I went down to the dealership today to pick up a new turn signal assembly because my high beams didn't work. While down there, i talked to the head hechanic and he said that it was probably the limited slip clutch catching. I don't remember reading or seeing anything about ford explorers coming standard with a front ls. Any he says it should be normal.

 

[Robert]

The Ford Explorer never came from Ford with a limited slip in the front. I would first start with finding a new mechanic. The right person probably just hasn't read your message yet to reply, thus the lack of responses. Anyway, I know if I turn my front wheels by hand it binds up, but that is mostly due to the front driveshaft still being connected to my Control Trac transfer case. I can't remember, since it has been quite a while since I have done it, but I think I was able to spin my tire completely around. What it sounds like to me is something to do with your hubs and differential. I think the hubs were different from your '95 to my '97. I think you have to back up to unlock yours after coming out of 4 wheel drive but I'm not certain. Mine doesn't require it. Maybe your hub is looser than it is supposed to be? Allowing the wheel to freewheel until the hub catches where it then tries to turn the differential. It doesn't sound normal. Since I don't have a '95 I don't know for sure though.

 

[fordkrazy]

could be lots of things. my guess is you dont have the control trac 4x4? if you dont then you have the old style hubs if you do you will have the new ones. when you were spinning your tire was the jack on the suspension or the frame. in other words was the suspension at its max drop? i dont know for sure but i believe that the CV joints wernt made to oporate at that severe of an angle which is why they dont make lift kits for the earlier models of the SLA suspentions. you described something was broken in your hubs? well my take on this situation is the problem with your hubs caused them to not disengage and when you spun your wheel it spun the drive shaft but not all the way cause of the resistance of the CV joints. fix your hub and see if it still does it. it shouldnt spin the drive shaft when you spin the wheel unless the hubs are engaged to disengage them spin the wheels backward and you should hear a clicking sound. if you dont then they are already disengaged or broken. see if it binds when you jack it up on the A arm so the suspension isnt extended. if it dosent then it may just be the CV joints. if it does its your hubs or a warped brake roter. remember that the drivetrain is designed for the axels to spin the tires not the other way around. you could also try jacking up both sides and spinning the front driveshaft to see if it binds that way.

 

[countrymz]

The only 4wd system that came on the 95 explorers was control trac. Control tracs do not have hubs like other 4wds. The axle half shafts spin constantly whether it is 4wd or not. So I would think the problem lies between the inner cv jointand the differential. The driveshaft would not spin constantly when the wheel was spun, only when it felt like it was binding. Smooth spinning, then tough spinning with bind.

I know what a warped rotor feels like when it catches and the drive shaft should not spin because of this.

Could some one (in a spare minute) with a 95 or newer explorer with control trac, jack up the left front and spin the tire. Please watch the driveshaft coming from the transfer case and see if it moves. Also, have some hold the drive shaft and spin the tire again to see if indeed like what i thought there is a mechanism inseide the differential that looks the front wheels in 4wd.

 

[JDraper]

I did that to mine (2001 XLS) when I did my torsion twist to check for binding. If I disconnected the shock and let the wheel hang, it did bind up a little. With the shock connected and at the bottom of it's stroke it didn't bind at all. It may just be a matter of exceeding the slip angle of the cv joints. I don't remember what that angle was, but if you do a search here on tt, torsion twist, or warrior, you should be able to find it. I remember seeing it in one of the threads.

As for locking the front, in awd, nothing is locked, but in 4wd it is. That's why you can corner without front end hop in awd, but not 4wd.

Did you try it with the jack under the suspension so that the cv angle was at it's operation position?? If it binds up there, you probably have a problem. If not, see paragraph above.

 

[fordkrazy]

well if you dont have auto hubs and the half shafts spin all the time then it should spin the drive shaft also. im not familiar with the control trac system but my 4x4 system wont spin when i try to do it my self. as far as a cluch thing to engage the wheels i would guess its the transfer case. like i said im not familiar with the control trac but i would guess that ford wouldnt put an engageing system into the diff. im sure the "binding" is the drive shaft trying to spin the transfer case. like i said before the gearing and everything is designed to spin with power coming from the opposite direction of the way you are trying to do. so im not sure what the problem is exactly. are you having driveability problems?

 

[countrymz]

The saga continues

I went to the junk yard today to pick up a new front driveshaft because the cv joint in the drive shaft was blown. I installed it with minimal problems. I went for a test drive and this is what i found:
In a dirt parking lot i put in 4WD auto. I gave it just enough gas to cause wheel spin so the 4wd would engage. I felt and heard a loud popping sound like something wasn't engaging properly.
Next, i put it in 4wd low and began driving slowly around. It was doing the same popping while turning and going in a staight line if i gassed it.
This popping is very loud and very disheartening.
Thanks for responding guys. Sorry if I seemed pushy before, Been under a lot of stress lately, girlfriend left college to go home (Maryland) for the summer and i am still down here trying to tie up some loose ends.

 

[fordkrazy]

i dont know what to tell you man. like i said earlier try jacking up both wheels on the suspenstion so its not extended and try spinning the drive shaft. it should spin freely unless the computer locks the transfer case when you turn it off or put it in park. if it doesnt spin freely then try un hooking the u-joints at the transfer case and then spin it. this is to rule out all diff problems and cv problems. and dont assume that just cause they spin that they are ok....if you hear a gritty sound comeing from any where then you should be suspicious of that part. get a friend to help you with this and also i would take off the wheels to make it easier to spin and you could also spin it faster. if everything comes up ok then i would say you need to look at your transfer case. would a bad electrical componet cause a CEL? i know that on our vintage of X we have problems with the auto shift motor....maybe its something like that.

 

[Robert]

It was time for a tire rotation anyway ...

So I tried it out again. This is what I found on my '97 when in the Auto mode. It should behave like your '95. I jacked it up from the frame, allowing the front, driver's wheel to fully drop. I lifted it just enough so the tire was about 1" off the ground. Regardless of the direction I turned the tire, the driveshaft would turn immediately with it. There was not play nor binding. Turn the wheel, the front driveshaft would turn, reverse direction, the driveshaft would reverse. I couldn't move the tire more than an inch or two before the driveshaft would turn. The tire turned very smoothly with no binding at all despite the fact that it was at the extreme bottom limits of its travel range.

It sounds like you have a bad hub, a problem with whatever engages your front wheels when in low or when the rear wheels are slipping, or a problem in your transfer case.

 

[countrymz]

Thanks for responding guys. So the general concensus is i probably have some major repair to do. When I put the new driveshaft in, it would spin freely in 2wd. I could lay under the truck and spin the driveshaft by hand all day without it trying to spin the tires. So by everyones idea of how control trac works, this should not happen, correct? So what is that thing mounted to the on the long tube of the axle near pumpkin? what does this control? Any thoughts about it?
I don't have the time to dig into this this week. I am driving home to New York Saturday. I wish the 4wd would work because lord knows what kind of trouble I'll get into since i haven't been home with the exploder since x-mas 1999.

 

[Lamah]

i really dont know anything about the newer explorers, however, my 4wd used to make a sort of poping or clicking sound when it was engaged. it turned out to be the 4wd hub. they make manual hubs for 95 and newer, right ? or does the all wheel drive change all that ? *shrug* maybe they dont. if they do, now might be a good time to get some. there beter quality, and they just might fix the problem

like i said, i dont know jack about the new explorers.

good luck,
jeff aka Lamah

 

[countrymz]

Jeff,
They don't make manual hubs for any 4wds with independent (SLA) front suspensions. I guess it has something to do with the spindle setup instead af a straight tube running to the hub. If they were available, I'd have'm in a heartbeat. Hopefully its not the transfer case becuase I don't need other repair that costs over $1000. Having a new t-case would mean i would have a new engine (only 12000 miles on it), a new tranny (ony 3000 on my fourth) and a new t-case.

 

[fordkrazy]

i think that a good long reading in a chiltons repair manual will give you the knowledge you need to diagnose this problem. all the people who have responded are not real familar with your system. good luck