newb with a question

[yellow coupe]

Hi all, I just registered and I have a question. I have owned 2 Explorers but never a awd. I am looking at a 98 Mountaineer that is privately owned. It had a new 5.0 installed last year and they have the bill for $2800. The Mountaineer looks real good but the front driveshaft is out of it. The owners told me that it was not in it when they bought it 2 years ago. How can I tell if the transfer case is trash or the front differential? I have turned wrenches for years but I have never dealt with one of these. How much do you think I would be looking at in parts? I can get the Mountaineer for $2000 and it has a great body and leather interior. Any help on the front driveshaft problem will be appreciated.

 

[97 EB Mike]

Just saw another post with AWD issues. Quick check? Put the truck in park and see if you can roll it by pushing on the bumper. If it doesn't move, viscous coupling is shot. As for how you go about fixing it, there are as many options as you can imagine. Mine is still ok, but I'm planning a swap in the future anyway...your wallet and creativity are the limit.

 

[yellow coupe]

Just saw another post with AWD issues. Quick check? Put the truck in park and see if you can roll it by pushing on the bumper. If it doesn't move, viscous coupling is shot. As for how you go about fixing it, there are as many options as you can imagine. Mine is still ok, but I'm planning a swap in the future anyway...your wallet and creativity are the limit.

Is the viscous coupling inside the transfer case? Is that a known problem? Any idea on the cost just to fix the problem? It will just be a driver, nothing fancy.

 

[97 EB Mike]

The viscous coupling basically transfers power to the wheels with best traction. There is a ton of info on the forum about the setup, advantages disadvantages, ect. I'm a noob too, but the search function works pretty well here, although it can be tricky because of the bulk of information. HINT: When you open a thread, the words you searched for will be in red. No one told me that, and it took me a couple days to realize.

I've seen T Cases sell for as low as $100, as much as $1000. Just depends on what you're looking for. A quick search of car-part.com shows prices of them in your area, pretty user friendly site.

 

[my pos mounty]

The viscous coupling is inside the transfercase. It is part of the input/output shaft. Basically the input shaft is that coupling, the rear output shaft is the other end of the coupling. A chain is wrapped around the outside of that coupling, and that chain drives the front output shaft. The coupling will "slip" a little to allow the front and rear differentials to turn at different speeds when cornering.
One thing to keep in mind, the front driveshafts aren't exactly cheap. They run in the area of $200, but if everything else is ok in front of it and behind it (transfercase and differential) it should last quite a long time.
You could also swap out the AWD transfercase for a manually shifted unit (BW4406). That mod is not very difficult to perform and the parts are not all that expensive. If you search for "V8 to BW4406" there should be somewhere around 5 or 6 threads.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726
That link is to one that has a parts list. All parts for that mod can be found at www.car-part.com
Good luck

 

[yellow coupe]

I will check it out tomorrow and try to see if it is the transfer case problem or not. If it is, I will probably put the correct one back in since it will be for the wife. She likes simple. LOL. If that is the problem and I could end up with a nice V-8 Mountaineer for $2500 including the front shaft and transfer case replacement I think I would go for it.

 

[my pos mounty]

You and the wife will love this truck. The V8 and the transmission (4R70W) are a combination that is tough to beat!

 

[Electrohacker]

check out the for sale forum, people are sometimes scraping out trucks there

I will be doing the 4406 swap on mine as soon and weather and time permit, then I'll have a 4406 to get rid of, but it has like 90,000 miles on it (the previous owner said it was replaced 1000 miles before I got the truck, otherwise it has 214,000 miles)

*edit* sorry, I forgot you had a 98, my part might work, it'll just have the speed meter on it that your truck wont use

 

[97 EB Mike]

check out the for sale forum, people are sometimes scraping out trucks there

I will be doing the 4406 swap on mine as soon and weather and time permit, then I'll have a 4406 to get rid of, but it has like 90,000 miles on it (the previous owner said it was replaced 1000 miles before I got the truck, otherwise it has 214,000 miles)

*edit* sorry, I forgot you had a 98, my part might work, it'll just have the speed meter on it that your truck wont use

Was that a typo or are you going back to a 4404? If you're pulling a manual4406, I'd be interested in the t case and shafts...

 

[yellow coupe]

I will check it out tomorrow and try to see if it is the transfer case problem or not. If it is, I will probably put the correct one back in since it will be for the wife. She likes simple. LOL. If that is the problem and I could end up with a nice V-8 Mountaineer for $2500 including the front shaft and transfer case replacement I think I would go for it.

Well, I did not end up with this one. It had a ton of problems when I went to test drive it. I am looking at a 97 Mountaineer now. It is in great condition inside and out. It has a few dings and a little wear on the interior but not that bad.
Now, I have a question on it. It has kind of a roar like a dipped tire at very low speed. When you speed up say over 15 mph it quits. It is smooth on the road at highway speed. The tires don't have any cup or dip on them and they are fairly new. The noise is on the driver side. Any ideas what it could be?
All help appreciated.
By the way, it just had new wheel bearing assemblys installed last week. The owner said it was making the noise before that also.