omg

[toybox06]

I think I'm going to vomit. Been on the hunt for a good family vehicle and stumbled upon a 2002 mountaineer 170k miles. Had dreaded bump steer issues but otherwise a nice straight truck. He was asking 2750. But I knew the t case needed to be gone through. Talked him down to $2K and made a deal pulled the front drive shaft and drove it home. Smooth as silk. I started researching transfercase parts and decided for the money that a rebuit tcase was the way to go. Transfercase express offers one for 695.00 and thought that would work. Called a local reputable trans shop ( I do business with as I work in a parts store ) abd they agreed to pull the tcase and rebuild it with a local warranty for 850.00 done! After they finished the rebuild and reinstalled the driveshart we discovered that the front differential is ready to implode. It is growling like mad. Then driving home the trans started slipping and banging into gear. Then when I got it home I had to move it to get the beater out of the garage and imagine that it starts idle hunts a few seconds and dies. Please shoot me now. I cant in good faith sell her to some other poor unsuspecting soul. But im going to have a solid 5k in this truck God I hope its worth it. On the lighter side the drivetrain will be all new. Lol seeking anywords of encouragement right now, ideas, condolences, humor would be awesome.

 

[toybox06]

Kinda disappointed that I needed some kind of encouragement after have such a bad experience, 65 views and not 1 response. I for one happen to be a die hard Ford man, and nothing like this will keep me down. So square 1, located affordable front diff, procured said diff out of a low mile 04 mounty w/3.73's $200.00. Next my tranny guy test drove it today and stated that it is a flair shift issue we are going to install a new solenoid pack and shift improver kit. While I have the front diff out I will replace the oil filter adapter seal, ball joints, and tie rod ends. Updates to come for those who care.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Hopefully it will be rebuilt soon, and will be better than another vehicle since it will have a lot of new parts. The V8 is a solid engine, and should last a long time.

 

[arco777]

Sorry to hear all that. Hope it gets sorted out. Seems like some trucks, you want to love them but they need so much stuff... One of my 94s I have sunk lots of money into and it looks great inside and out, but the trans and motor are both worn out and I need to rebuild the front suspension. I know I can't get more than a fraction of my money back out of it, if any, and it has made me quite angry many times when it breaks down on my wife. That said, a V8 swap and suspension job are in the works. It is a real fight with this truck (like yours) but I feel that if I keep at it and the wallet holds out, there won't be anything left to go wrong because I will have replaced it all.

Have had other cars before where everything wanted to go wrong despite various repairs, and I eventually gave up and sold them for pennies on the dollar, but I always felt like I wussed out. This time I'm not giving up

Good luck!

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site

 

[toybox06]

Thank you so much for your responses, I am going to install the front diff tomorrow. watch with my luck it is the drive shaft. LOL wish me luck.

 

[toybox06]

Installed new front diff, upper control arms, and oil adapter seal. (And my wife says I cant multi task).......lol. Smooth as butter. Next, fix flair shift issue, and vioala, a brand new 2002 Mountaineer!