Restore my Faith in Ford! Another 4 G, Job ahead of me :(

[MonaLeMoo]

Hey Guys,

I posted af ew days ago about that clunking when I was coming to a full stop. I thought maybe it was my Tranny again..(Which I just had replaced last June)...but low and behold..its my Transfer Case and the Rear Diferential.

My mechanic thinks that the tranny shop is dicking me around..cuz I'm a girl. what do you guys think? He took me under the truck..and showed me stuff..but I have no idea about anything., of course. All I know is he could take this big rod thing..and move it back and forth. Is that not my U- Joint? The U-Joint would also cause that clunking soung....Right? COrrect me if I am wrong.
The transfer case was leaking a bit of Oil...true enough. However..The Tranny shop was the last to look at it. They would have had to take it off to replace the Tranny.
Could it be they failed to tell me something was wrong back in June...Just so I had to pay the labour charges again to get it taken off? Or could they be responsible for the yransfer case going bad?

Labour charges are already up to 1000$..that is without parts. I was told a used transfer case, if I am lucky, is about 1000$?

I dunno guys..I'm lost..confused..and need ALLL your help. My Mechanic is going to take a closer look next friday when I get the brakes done..and he told me not to worry.....but I would appreciate your advice of course.

Thanks guys!! Kisses to all!
Maureen

 

[Limited Ex]

Originally posted by MonaLeMoo
All I know is he could take this big rod thing..and move it back and forth. Is that not my U- Joint?

Yes, that is BAD! That would cause a lot of noise, and should be able to be fixed by new joints at both ends. As far as your tranny leaking, take it back to the shop that serviced it and have them re-seal it. You say that they replaced your tranny, and now it is leaking, thats all on them, they have to fix that. Now for your transfer case, it is possible that it could have lost fluid also due to the transmission swap, which again would be all on the repair shop, but I am not sure how you could pin it on them. But there are alternatives to picking up a t-case, certainly other options than shelling out $1000 for one. You can buy a used one for waaay less than that, either from a junk yard or even look here on the forum in the For Sale section. People are all the time parting
out their Explorers.

EDIT: haha, just re-read your post, and in my previous statement, replace all the times I used "transmission" with "transfer case"

 

[MonaLeMoo]

Okay so 2 new joints att he ends should fix my problem right? Thats what my mechanic said..and he'll do em both for 160 bucks. But now the Tranny place is saying I need an ew transfer case. It had some oil coming out of it....is the transmission shop liable for that? As they were he ones who took it off..to get to the tranny.

Is that right?????

Theyre saying its not the joints..but ots the transfer case..and the rear diferntial..making it clunk like that.

They're wrong..right?

They're also saying..a badly used...transfer case is about 1000$.

 

[JDraper]

It's very rare for a transfer case to go out. To also have the rear go out at the same time?? FORGET IT!!!! Million to one odds. The Ford 8.8 rear that is used in the Explorers is very strong. I'd tend to agree the tranny shop is full of s**t.


When you say the rod (probably the driveshaft) moves back and forth, do you mean he can rotate it?, is it moving end to end?, or side to side? I'd lean towards U-Joints too. There is also an issue with the slip joint clunking (it's the joint in the middle of the driveshaft.). There are several posts here on it, and usually it just needs to be re-greased.

Are you sure the xfer case was leaking? or did they "make" it leak by putting a little fluid on it and showing it to you? Also, if they tranny is leaking, it can seep back onto the xfer case and make it look like it's leaking too. Best way to find that out is to first make sure that all the fill and drain plugs are tight, and then wipe the tranny and xfer case clean. Then drive it for a while and see where the fluid is actually coming from. Since your tranny was done recently, I'd make them fix any tranny leaks under warranty, and then stay waaaay away from them.

I'd replace the U-Joints and grease the slip joint and see if that fixes the problem.

 

[X~FACTOR]

Is that right, 4 grand to fix? For that much money you could buy another '95 without all these problems. Start selling parts off your other '95 and make a proffit. Just a thought.

 

[88vert]

160 for u-joints

 

[mhn3773]

yah id say hands down u are getting shafted because u are a woman...i hate to say this but next time u have anything serviced unless its at bestbuy =) u might want to have a guy take it in so u can kinda stay hidden

i know that sounds horrible but past expiriences with any of my female friends has lead me to think like htat i just take it in for them its not even that i know more its just i seem to get through the BS on the first trip they always have to go back and argue because the shop shafter them...kinda sad but i hope u have better expirences

 

[jsun]

Just a question, how much fluid is leaking?

After you leave or move you truck out of your usual parking spot at your residence. Do you have wet oily patches on your driveway? Little droplets?
Also, you can take it to a car wash bay with the under carriage sprayer and re-check for leaks. This is to find out if your being ripped off.

Did they show you or mention where exactly the leak is coming from? Meaning, did they mention if a "rear out-put shaft seal" requires replacing?

http://www3.autozone.com/servlet/Ui..._us/0900823d/80/0b/ae/42/0900823d800bae42.jsp

I often wonder how the slip yoke beats up the transfer case if the slip yoke maintenance if pro-longed? Thus being a cause for premature reliability of the transfer case?

You may only require the following replaced or serviced:

-U-joints
-Slip yoke lubed
-Differential fluid changed (this really applies to a LSD)
-Rear out-put shaft seal or gasket?

A friend, yourself, or back ally mechanic should be able to perform three of the four on the list. This is huge savings compared to bringing it to a Ford Dealer (not all).

http://www3.autozone.com/servlet/Ui..._us/0900823d/80/0b/ae/ac/0900823d800baeac.jsp

I just did the maintenance for the slip yoke myself, & changed the rear diff fluid (Red Line) and had noticed that the gasket wasn't complete when I re-installed the rear cover to the diff. I have to crawl back under to check the fluid level (not knowing how much leaked, wife takes the truck to work), cause for a few days my diff seemed all right after the fluid change over. But now, the symptoms are more apparent than they where to begin with. I even bought 4oz of friction mod from Ford. "Red line” includes the additives and I think there was not enough for the 8.8 diff. So enough said I guess, I'll be reporting on a separate thread with results or Q’s...

HTH!

J
Trust...your Ford Truck/or your Ford Dealer?

 

[Rhett]

I would just have them grease the slip yoke and replace the u-joints; and that's ALL at this point. The slip yoke is to be lubed every 10,000 miles anyway (it's regular maintenance). Have them do that first and then go from there...

 

[BradE.]

I agree with JDraper. The second I read the tranny shop says your rear end is bad I knew they are full of crap. The Ford 8.8 is damn near bulletproof, I can't see you needing a rear end at all. Oh, and their comment $1000 if your lucky" in regards to a used transfer case is CRAP.

 

[MonaLeMoo]

You're kiddin' right??????

Here 95 Sports go for no less than 10. I am in Canada

Originally posted by X~FACTOR
Is that right, 4 grand to fix? For that much money you could buy another '95 without all these problems. Start selling parts off your other '95 and make a proffit. Just a thought.

 

[MonaLeMoo]

You guys are totally awesome!!!!! I didn't think THIS mcuh couldgo wrong with my truck all at once! I've only had it for not even ay ear. Come on..like almost 8 grand in repairs in less than a year is ridiculous!
The previous owner was an old man...and it was a lease. So I am sure that he had all the work done on it. The dealer said he serviced it regularly..beczuse it was a lease.

I've never had it in 4X4..and neither did the guy. Maybe like 3 or 4 times..I've put it in 4X4 to get out of snow or something..but no serious offroading at all! SO the transfer case should be brand new!

Okay yeah...the big rod thing..could move..side to side..AND like up and down..totally rediculous. And the oil was coming from the transfer case..just a little bit leaking out where that big rod attaches. It doesn't leak much at all...just a bit coming out.

So its all crap??? THANK OD!! You guys are the best! I know general knowledge..but nothing about the driveshaft etc etc etc.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Originally posted by JDraper
It's very rare for a transfer case to go out. To also have the rear go out at the same time?? FORGET IT!!!! Million to one odds. The Ford 8.8 rear that is used in the Explorers is very strong. I'd tend to agree the tranny shop is full of s**t.
.

Well here I am then your Million to One shot. Man you should've bet on me we could have been rich.

I have replaced way too many t-cases recently. Mainly becuase I was sent bad replacements. Now for my story.

My t-case went out and a few weeks later my pinion was clanking and upon inspection I found 4 of my pinion gear teeth snapped off.

It happens!!