Transmission or brakes? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Transmission or brakes?

Fyrebird0211

New Member
Joined
April 21, 2011
Messages
6
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City, State
Celina, OH
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 XL
Hi, Guys,
I'm new at this forum thing. Heck, I am a "new" Ford owner.
I have a '93 Explorer XLT, 4.0L, 5-speed. I have never owned a Ford before, and this one seems to be a good one. I do have an issue with it that is causing me some gray hairs.
At cruising speeds, in 4th, or now, 5th gear, the truck will feel like either the transmission loses power, or the brakes grab slightly. I watch the tach and the speedo, but I only lose speed. The shifter does move from side to side when the vehicle "surges", but remains in gear.
I checked with you guys about 9 months ago, about the same thing, and only got a reply about the speed sensor. I replaced it, and the tranny fluid, and still got the same thing. It happens mostly when the truck is very warm, or when I am driving for a long time (a couple of hours).
The front brakes are new, and the rear are in good shape. The truck has 115k miles on it, and I got $800 to go before I own it.
I want to keep this truck because she is a good work truck, but this and the front diff are my only problems. (The front diff clunks very badly when in 4wd, but it feels like it is on the driver's side) Being that the weather is nice here in Colorado, now. We won't worry about that at this time. If you can help me with the "surging", I will definately come back and look up the differential problem.
I appriciate any help you can give me.
Thanks
 



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is it a stick? if so make sure that your clutch isnt slipping in OD/5th gear. i had a '89 F-250 302 4x4 that when you would go into 5th the clutch would slip. Is your check engine light on? does it chug/lose power when its on or off?
 






Thanks for replying, TonkaRanger,
Yes it is a stick shift, a 5-speed.
I know it is not the clutch slipping, I just replaced that about 2 months ago.
The CEL does come on, after driving for a short time, sometimes as soon as I start the engine.
Sometimes it is on when the surging starts, sometimes not. I don't feel any differance when the CEL is on, as far as losing power.
The truck feels like the brakes engage, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why they would.
Does this help?
Again, thanks for replying.
 






do they engage hard and how does long it take for you to feel this?
oh as for your front end clunking check all of your front u-joints the 3 axle and 2 driveshaft and the slip-joint if it has one.
 






No, not hard. and I can tell it as soon as it happens. The truck just seems to slow down all of a sudden. Like you take your foot off the gas without engaging the clutch.
As far as the front diff goes, I have replaced bearings, seals, locking hubs, and brakes on both sides, but I wanted to find out what I was getting into before I tore into the diff itself. I have never seen a "split" differential like this. LOL
Again, I am new to owning Fords.
 






do your hubs or rims feel warmer than normal?
are your hubs manual or auto lock out?
 






I haven't noticed a differance, no.
The hubs are auto lock out. Push button 4WD. (Incedentelly, that's how I damaged the front differential. Hand slipped off the stick and hit the 4wd button, accellerating hard).
 






its kinda frustrating i cant figure it out. YET. ive never had this problem personally im just goin off of the work ive done on other ex's and f150's
 






I understand the frustration. This has been going on for almost a year, now. I just cannot narrow it down. I may remember something about a brake sensor recall around that year, I think.
Anyway, I am unemployed right now, and waiting for my new job to start in May, so I have a little bit of time, yet. It is annoying. LOL
 






i have to replace a torque converter seal and bushing in my '93 ranger ive never done it but theres a first for everything
 












Based on your symptoms it seems to me it is motor related, as in you are losing power for some reason under load in those gears. The higher the gear you are in, the more load is placed on the motor, so it does make sense.

How long has it been since it has had a tune up? Plugs and wires, maybe clean the MAF sensor. Simple stuff like that to make sure it is running well. Also you should try and pull the codes to see if any are set. That will help diagnosing what the issue is. There is a sticky at the top of this forum that will tell you how to pull codes with a paperclip.
 






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