Tom's '97 XLT registry

[2TimingTom]

11/12/2010

Took it to a local 4x4 repair shop to get the rear transfer case seal replaced. I tried to do it myself but I couldn't get the nut on the output flange to break free. My air tools are weak.

Shop calls around 1 with bad news- appears there is a bunch of play in that shaft and there was metal in the fluid when they drained it. Now that I've done some forum searches, it appears this is somewhat of a common problem on the 4405 transfer case.

Crap.

I told them to tear into it. Won't hear back on it until Monday. He said worst case scenario would be like $1,100 and best case would be $500. Sounds like it will be done one way or another on Monday though.

And they said my lower ball joints have some excessive play. I'll do those myself.

 

[97xlt4.0]

thats some hard luck....fingers crossed it is the best case scenario for ya!!! I need to do a similar repair on mine....scares me what they might find in my 197k mile t-case....

 

[2TimingTom]

11/16/2010

Got the truck back today. Finally.

Unfortunately, it was worst case scenario and then some. $1,485.

Ouch.

Basically they said that the rear output shaft bearing was free to move in and out along the output shaft. I'm not sure if this is how the factory design is or not. But as the bearing slid back and forth along the raceway, it scored and pitted the raceway pretty bad in the rear transfer case half.

Their solution- get a re-designed rear transfer case half. The new design prevents the bearing from moving in and out. They claim the transfer case will be problem free from now on. They filled it with some kind of fully synthetic Castrol 5w30 transfer case fluid. I have a 24 month/24,000 mile warranty.

They said the rest of the truck is pretty solid though.

 

[2TimingTom]

double post

 

[2TimingTom]

11/28/2010

Airbox Mod

I was outside waiting to see what/if the Bronco game flyover would be. I live on the south side of the metro area and that's usually where the pre-game flyovers stage. Today it was 4 F-16s. Last time it was a B-2 bomber.

Pulled out the airbox. It was seriously stubborn to get the front lower plug out. And it was SUPER filthy. I washed it inside and out.

Then I broke out the 3/4" drill bit.

I decided to leave the "horn" in place and only drill 2 of the 4 sides. I think I may come back in for a second attempt and add some reflective insulation to the engine sides. I've also been known to wrap the intake tube.

No driving impressions yet- Bronco game is on.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

keep up good work

 

[larivera1989]

sweet lookin ride! same exact color as mines lol ..it do look better with the bfg tires

 

[2TimingTom]

12/7/2010

Front Differential Fluid Change

I was only able to get about 24 oz of fluid out (of about 56 oz). I bought some stupid siphon bulb thing at O'Reilly (recommended by the guy at the store) and I wasn't impressed. Harbour Freight has a suction gun that I'm going to give a try. I refilled it with new Red Line 75w90 gear lube. The color of the fluid that came out was nothing like what I put in- it was black. The Red Line fluid is a see-through amber color.

I'm going to do the rear on Friday (day off!!). I'll try to get pictures.

Sorry, no pics. I've added gear lube to my list of hated automotive fluids. That stuff is nasty!

 

[2TimingTom]

12/10/2010

Rear diff fluid change.

Yuck.

Again, in my quest to freshen up what I can on this truck, I decided to tackle the rear diff. The fluid was pretty dark but I thought I saw 2 different colors of RTV on the cover so it's possible that the fluid has been changed. But there was some fluid weeping out of the bottom of the cover so it was time.

Here's the cover after I took it off:

Open Diff "goodness????......":

I decided to paint the diff cover something subtle. Unfortunately I didn't really plan ahead and had to rely on what I already had. Gloss black is subtle, right?:

Eh, it'll work.

I filled it with some Red Line 75w140. What a PITA filling the diff is. I spilled some. OK, I spilled alot. I need to get a better funnel before I do this again.

*Also, I photobombed the first post with some interior shots. Nothing special, but probably enough to make Joe Dirt break down crying.

 

[2TimingTom]

12/24/2010

Transfer case is leaking again. Gonna call the shop on Monday. Should be covered under warranty. It only seems to leak when stopped on an upward incline.

 

[2TimingTom]

12/28/2010

Got the truck back the other day- the VSS was leaking. And not leaking around the o-ring, but the sensor itself was cracked...... probably from when they were servicing the TC last. They didn't charge me labor, just for the part. $66.21 and it was mine again.

The shop also said my ball joints were "really bad- dangerously bad" this time. So I bought the Moog's from Advance Auto and rented the ball joint press. I followed the sticky (LINK) and it went pretty well. I wasn't able to seat the new ball joint using the floor jack, but I could configure the ball joint press to press them in.

 

[2TimingTom]

12/31/2010

Well, we got our first significant snowfall of this winter season- 4-5" or so accompanied with some bitter cold. The Explorer did fine. I took it out for some donuts at the local high school parking lot. Good times!

The BFG tires- honestly, not terribly impressed. They have the "mountain snowflake symbol" but they still aren't as good as actual dedicated winter tires. My Saturn VUE with Michelin X-Ice tires or my former Mazda Protege with Hankook iPikes are both more confidence inspiring in the snow than my Explorer with the BFGs.

Oh well, just slow it down when it gets slippery.

 

[wicsmith1997]

The cargo mat with the built in bins. Was that a factory option or an aftermarket? Do you know?

 

[2TimingTom]

I don't know. It says FORD on it- that's all I know. I bet it was part of the accessories catalog.

 

[2TimingTom]

1/7/2011

Took the dog for a drive in the mountains. She's not a very good road companion. I swear she throws up every time we go for a drive in the mountains. This time was no different. Luckily, that cargo mat saved the day. As soon as I smelled the throw up, I pulled over, pulled the mat out, shook the chunky dog puke off, washed it off with some of the water I brought and it was good as new! I love that mat.

You can see that I've been slowly pulling the pin striping off. And I haven't washed it since.

After this, I drove on some really wash boarded, and muddy road. Almost got hit by a Chevy dually. No pics as of yet. Nothing major anyway.

 

[2TimingTom]

1/11/11 (all ones!)

Upgraded to Elite Explorer status.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Congrats on Elite!

I really dig most of your registry Tom- It's very well laid out. Everything is great except for your interior pics- they made me cry...

I really like that mat- is the cargo divider thingy part of it, and are there part numbers on it/them?

 

[2TimingTom]

I'll take a look. Up until the dog barfed on it, I was pretty neutral on the cargo mat. Now though, I really like it.

This spring, I hope to make that interior something even you would be proud of Joe.

 

[Glen4X4]

Nice truck and nice registry Tom, I just went over it all. I too like that cargo mat in the back.

 

[2TimingTom]

1/16/2011

Cleaned the MAF and IAT sensors. Neither were noticably dirty. The guy that I bought this thing from said that after he bought it, the air filter was black- like severely overdue for a changing (another thing that's quite possible was original from the way he described it). So I figured the sensors might have picked up a little dirt and crud over time.

I bought some CRC MAF cleaner and sprayed them down. I didn't take the MAF out of the MAF housing- I don't have the security torx bits. The back side of the IAT was cloudy.

The CRC can claims that they gaurantee a 3-10 whp gain, with an asterisk. I never bothered to hunt down what the asterisk said. I'm not holding my breath.

Also noticed that the passenger side valve cover breather hose was disconnected at the valve cover. Hmmmmm.......

The truck drives........ the same. Hoping to maybe pick up an mpg or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or........ I seem to be averaging 16 or so right now. We'll see.