Possible front end or transfer case issue

[Currency]

Well I have posted on here a lot and seem to come and go as well. But I always come back and have helped out some fellow explorer owners, on here and in real life.


I've posted on here before about a sound coming from my front end, could be hub, axle, or shaft to the transfer case or even the transfer case.

It sounds like the driver side hub is locked in at speeds under 15 MPH and it has made the sound for over a year with me checking everything I would think it was and now it's even worse.

Now it makes more of a chunking sound at any speed under 15 MPH. Sometimes it makes a different and more painful sound, sounds like gears grinding.

So I crawled under it yesterday since I could not find the handle to my 3 ton jack in the mess I'll call my garage 16 foot by 24 foot.
I poked at things, turned this and that, and think I found the issue.

The sound always came from the driver side area around my feet when I'm driving. I think it's the transfer case as the shaft from the transfer case to the front end makes a clicking noise if I twist it even a little bit by hand.




Anyone have any suggestions as to what may have caused this problem?

It's been like that since I've had it and has not gotten to the point where I need to come up with a cheap fix as I do not have the money to shell out for a new/used transfer case but will if I have to.

Know this is not the modified 91-94 section. But would it be easier quicker to pull that front shaft thus making it rear wheel?

Would this cause fluid to leak out of the transfer case?

If that won't work, would it be best to change out the transmission bell housing or what not to a two wheel drive one and swap drive shafts?

I know where I can get another explorer right now for near junk prices, a local car lot has it and has been parting it out for years now. But I think that explorer is also four wheel.

My information is in the registry linked in my sig.

1994 four wheel drive, four door, XLT. 209k miles and finally trying to give out on me. :roll:

Thanks everyone.

 

[buckwill]

put it up on jackstands, turn your front hard left or right, rotate the wheel, make noise??? rotate the front driveshaft, make noise,,, physiccally shake the driveshaft, can u move it at the u joints,, xamine the joints,, is there any black or red dust around the cross shaft,, when u rotate the shaft does either end turn even a little bit without the opposing yoke turning, what i think may be happening is a u joit going oiut or a cv joint going out in the steering knuckle,, all else fails, jack both ends up, put it in gear,, low,, ad watch the drive shaftslisten at the noisy corners, u will hear where the noise is coming from,, dont even think of spinning it up, that car can hp off jackstands, now u really do have a bull in your china shop

 

[wantdeath]

my old push button 4x4 91 ranger would rumble under the drivers side, felt kind of like a bad front drive shaft. i could feel it in the floor. it was the transfer case not fully disengaging four wheel drive i believe. it went away when i changed the shift motor. noise never came back.

 

[jmdirk]

Does it make the sound when you're in 2WD? In 2WD the front drive shaft and the front axles shouldn't be turning at all.

It's possible I guess that your hubs are permanently engaged thus causing the axles and drive shaft to rotate as well, but I think that's unlikely. If you can actually spin the front drive shaft by hand, it would seems to me that everything is working fine there.

Could be as simple as needing new wheel bearings or brake pads.

Jack it up, take off the front wheel, inspect the brake pads and rotors for wear. Spin the wheel by hand and see if you can identify the source of the noise. Might as well check the ball joints for play as well while you're in there.

 

[Currency]

@JMdirk, it does make the sound in two wheel drive. I can purchase used auto hubs for $40 each at a local junk yard, they have a milk crate full.


I have a busted upper, passenger side ball joint that I know about, I have new ones in my father's garage and glad they were in the garage as his house burnt down a few weeks ago.

My drivers side caliper is not working, those pads appear as new as they were nearly a year ago when I put them on. The passenger side pads are nearly gone. I am purchasing some new loaded calipers and new rubber brake lines in a couple of weeks with my tax return. That is also when I will install the ball joints. Father's garage has no power, and power in mine is iffy depending on rain, wet ground, sometimes it has power, sometimes it won't. Glad I'm currently renting and now buying this place yet.

I always have had wheel bearing problems, some of the more senior members have assisted me with that ongoing problem. My bearings get repacked four times a year and replaced if need be because of the on going issue I keep a close eye on them.


Will place it on jack stands in a bit to check those things Buckwill mentioned.

 

[Currency]

Won't be able to check into it until tomorrow. Had made plans to spend time with my girlfriend but she ran off with a family member and is most likely at a local bar. So happy Valentines day everyone!

Edit: She was upset because I left to work on my explorer. So I'm selling the car I purchased for her to drive. Oh what tangled webs we weave. Other than that nothing has changed yet with the explorer but I may be moving soon because I love my explorer more than I love my girlfriend. At least the explorer liked her 209k mile oil change, the girlfriend didn't even want her gift. Explorer has never done me wrong, so many women have.

Is it legal to marry a vehicle? Also, if someone were to crash into my explorer, could I sue them for the medical bills the explorer will have? Therapy would be expensive and everyone says once their wrecked they will never be the same again. :bdrunk:

 

[Tony H]

Did I read this right? Are you leaking Fluid from your transfer case?
Is there Play in the 'U' jint on the Front axle by the T Case?
Get your Brale system mess straightened out and then lets get back to the Clunking. It might simply be a Radius Arm Bushing on the drivers side and not driveline related at all.

 

[Currency]

Driver side RA bushing and bracket are good. Passenger side RA bracket will be replaced soon as it's badly worn.

If fluid is leaking out of the TC it's not much, but I believe the problem is the front shaft where it comes out of the TC and heads towards the front end. I believe I have pin pointed the noise to be coming from the front end of the TC.

There is no excessive play in any of the shafts. So now I need to know if there are bearings in that side of the TC? Where the front shaft exits the TC heading towards the front end.

 

[Currency]

Borg Warner 1354 Schematics

I think my problem very well may be number 72, Front Output Bearing. Anyone else agree or agree to disagree?

 

[Currency]

Could it be the hub?

To my knowledge the front end shouldn't be turning by way of the drive shaft if it's in 2wd. So perhaps the hubs locked in causing it to turn when it shouldn't be turning.

 

[Currency]

Eh, have to throw on some new rear brake hardware tomorrow. I'm hoping it will not rain but I will get a better look at everything then. Just always in a time crunch. Next week looks a little better but still towards the end of the week.

If I cannot figure out this issue soon, I'll be forced to park the :exp: for a while and fix my 91 Beretta GT. It's a freebie.

 

[wantdeath]

seriously check the shift motor... yours is push button isnt it? my ranger made a grinding, deep clicking feel with rumbling noise at low speeds. it kinda sounded and felt like putting cards on a bicycle tire, but alot deeper lol. the shift motor had a broken permenant magnet and was really weak. i had to hit the button over and over for it to work, but then it would go away. check to see if it makes the noise in 4x4. drive in stones at the speed it usually makes the sound. if it goes away, take the shift motor off and manually put it in 4x4 then back to 2x4. i did that and my noise went away forever. (i never put it back in 4x4 until i replaced the shift motor). i know it sounds stupid. but thats what happend.

 

[Currency]

That could be it, or part of it. It was a few weeks ago and I was forced to park my explorer in the yard, it was facing towards the road also facing up hill. Then it rained all night and oh well, had to put it in four wheel to get it out. Had to back up some after putting it in four wheel because I was trying not to tear my yard up, ended up having to pretty much hammer it, half throttle or perhaps a tad more. In the process of buying the place but it's still on the market.

I attempted a rebuild on my shift motor many months, if not a year or more ago. It still did not work and I've not had the funds to replace it but will at some point. So the shift motor was manually placed in four high then put back together. So if I get stuck I can shift the TC in four high and bolt the motor in place. So I've not had the shift motor bolted to the TC for more then several minutes at a time for the past year or so.

It's sitting on the transmission hump. I've checked the fluid levels in the TC and it doesn't appear to have lost any during the time since I first took it off and when I checked it the other day.

I am thankful for your help and everyone else. But I think it is a combination of things, driver side hub made one hell of a loud noise the other day when I started into my driveway which is perhaps 6 feet longer than my explorer when it's parked and it's slightly up hill as well.

I do not think I can afford a set of manual hubs out of my tax return along with everything else I need to have done to the explorer. But I know the hubs were cleanish around November when I last repacked my wheel bearings. But it could also be an issue from when I replaced my spindle on the driver side, in the dark and the whole process was rushed as it was starting to rain while I was working on it outside.

I'm honestly at a complete loss. Planned the engine rebuild this year, and that would have included pulling the trans, TC, and cleaning the engine compartment along with more work being done to the front end, but it's not going to fit with in my budget for awhile. But It's something that has to be done before my student loan payments start in under 6 months. Nearly $300 a month

 

[Currency]

Checked into the price of manual hubs today at a local parts retailer, they will remain out of my budget for awhile. Mile Markers were around $144 plus $40 and change for the conversion kit.

Going to clean my hubs soon, got the stuff to do that today. ATF and brake cleaner.

But still have unanswered questions.

Turning the shaft from the TC to the front end turns easily by hand, about one complete turn. The sound is still coming from the TC when I do this, but it sounds more towards the rear on the drivers side of the TC. So it could be the drive chain in the TC.

1) Should the TC be making noise when turning this shaft?
2) Should I even be able to manually turn this shaft?

The front shaft, from TC to front end has minor play it it near the rubber boot towards the front Replacement front shaft from LMC doesn't appear to have this boot.

P.S. Picked up all the brake hardware I'll need to get the rear brakes functioning properly.

Edit: A friend of mine works at a local salvage yard, rather large operation, he said they have around 20 Transfer cases in stock, all electric shift but no manual shift ones. Would love to switch to a manual one. But he said he could get me one for around $50 with a shift motor.

 

[wantdeath]

check the junk yards for manual lockers. they are alot cheaper, and you might be able to get a set of fairly new ones.

 

[Currency]

Closest place that is currently in business said $40 each for any hub. They had one mile marker hub when I pulled a spindle off about four months ago.

Looking into purchasing a Mazda Tribute with my G/F, buy here pay here. So if it works out I may be able to get rid of the 99 cavalier in exchange for another 94 XLT and get some cash as well.

Just got back home after driving for six hours. Went to look at a 95 Mustang for $1,300 but he sold it on my two hour drive there but had a nice 94 Nissan Altima for $1,300 just not my cup of tea.
Stopped at many places on the way up and came a different way back to stop at other places. Found an 01 Tribute with 128k miles great body condition, unknown price. Then a 02 Tribute for $1,000 down and $85 a week, total about $7,000 with 146k miles.

Thought my explorer had high miles at 209k but being a 94 compared to my brothers 2008 Chevy with 180k miles it's nothing.

 

[Currency]

Just going to mark this down as a possible bad auto hub and go from here. Will be cleaning them tomorrow, most likely. If problems continue, I'll get another auto for the drivers side as that is all I can get my hands on in the local market.

If problems continue after that, I'll buy another TC and continue swapping parts. If I get to this point and nothing is solved, I'll be pulling the front end out and going from there. Never rebuilt one before so it could be interesting to say the least.

If I can get that other explorer, and gearing is correct I may just swap them. If not I'll have to rebuild it or swap both front and rear. Sigh.

 

[Currency]

I let the explorer sit all day yesterday. Today she didn't want to start but finally did on the third try. I checked the time on the radio, it was still set, so the PCM was not reset. But I ran to a local gas station for smokes and the front end never made one sound, and my CEL did not come on until I was taking my son home later tonight. Then the front end started making noise again.

It was just odd. Unexplainable. If something is wrong, bad hub or something else. It should be doing it all the time when driving under 15MPH. So I don't understand why it didn't make a sound when I ran out for smokes and the CEL is unexplainable as well.

 

[Currency]

Post edited by OP.

 

[Currency]

Just bumping this thread up as I cleaned my hubs the other night. The inside gear piece on the drivers side hub fell out, I removed it yesterday and still have some sound issues. Sound is coming from the front end of the T/C. Have a replacement T/C I picked up for $50 and tax.

May be getting a parts explorer soon. Have tried getting a hold of it's owner for months, it's sat on his car lot for several years, same color, just missing some interior pieces and one auto hub. Should be able to get it for fair junk prices, `$450-500.

Changing fluids in the T/C today, hopefully, and if it doesn't improve I will be swapping them out soon. Have other projects planned and will hopefully be posting pictures of that in my ER thread along with a video, maybe.... I say hopefully because I am in the middle of an engine swap on another vehicle I own which has been sold or at least several buyer's lined up. It will be sold on a first come first serve basis but I may end up picking up another project for one of the other buyer's so she will have a ride and I'll make a little extra.

Wish me luck, I've been dying to get back down to two vehicles since the Sunbird hit the salvage yard months ago. Not long afterwards I was given a 1991 Chevy Beretta with a blow head gasket. >.>