unknown 4WD problem

[01DeepBlue]

Maybe someone can shed some light on this problem that happened today.
It was snowing so I switched the 4WD High on to get up a hill. I was in 4WD for only about 3 minutes and switched both in and out of it while still driving forward slowly. Not even a minute after I came to a stop the truck started making a howling noise from what sounded like the front left wheel. After about a mile I stopped the truck and put in in reverse right before getting on the highway since I figured that it had not disengaged even though the light was actually off. Nothing changed. I went on and it got louder and the steering was very sensitive whenever either front tire ran over even a slight imperfection in the road. The grinding/howling sound got very loud and the truck was resisting moving forward. After a few miles an overheating smell became VERY pungent. I think I barely got it back home so I want to know what the issue probably is from any of you that have had experience.

 

[01DeepBlue]

Anyone out there?

 

[magpie1]

2002 sport trac same problem

i am experiencing the same thing. my steering also pulls to the right. it acts like it is out of alignment. when i was backing into a parking spot something in the drivetrain locked up and i could not move until i switched over to 2d. i have been trying to get info off the internet. you are the first person i came across that has the same issues as i. i guess i will have to take it to the shop.

 

[Vitamin_D]

i am experiencing the same thing. my steering also pulls to the right. it acts like it is out of alignment. when i was backing into a parking spot something in the drivetrain locked up and i could not move until i switched over to 2d. i have been trying to get info off the internet. you are the first person i came across that has the same issues as i. i guess i will have to take it to the shop.

I actually have a very similar problem with mine. I figured it was something in the transfer case. Truth be told, I just don't use the 4WD because I live in Florida and more importantly I'm too cheap to fix it.

 

[Galactica]

It realty sounds like bearings to me. I would rebuild the hub that was howling as it likely went out under the load of the engine turning the front axle.

 

[01DeepBlue]

My problem turned out to be that my truck was stuck in 4WD High. I got it out of 4WD later that night by going in reverse/forward real hard a bunch of times in the snow while also switching from 4WD to 2WD a couple of times. I haven't tried the 4WD again.
I still don't know exactly what I overheated when it was stuck in 4WD but I think it was the transfer case. It smelled like burnt gear oil so strong I had to open my window during the snow storm to air it out. My truck still has a faint smell of burnt gear oil from that day. I took it to the dealer and they told me the fluid in the case was like Mississippi mud.
I wonder if I did any damage to the transfer case though. Something was binding real bad when it was in 4WD and it seemed to be both front wheels since the truck wasn't dragging just one wheel through the snow. It just took double the amount of power to get the truck moving and when starting from a stop I could hear it popping when it would let go and move like something was too tight in the 4WD. It was howling real loud too. Keep in mind this was after driving for 20 miles on the highway at 40MPH.

 

[dvo310]

I found that sometimes my 4wd would get stuck and it would only disengage in neutral. I also had a miserable sound like grinding metal coming from the front wheel and it was the bearing. where does the smell come from? is it around the wheel or under the truck?

 

[01DeepBlue]

When it was stuck in 4WD on the highway after 20 miles going 40MPH I pulled off the highway because I noticed it was getting harder to move the truck forward. I stopped and the truck was resisting moving forward from something in the front 4WD. When I would give it enough gas it would creek forward and I could hear and feel popping when it was starting to move. It wasn't from a hub(I've put over 4000 miles on it since) and I heard no metal grinding.
It was like when something is way too tight and you make it move and it binds and slips. Something got very hot underneath the truck and the ENTIRE truck smelled like burnt gear oil. Standing 6 feet away you could smell it emanating from it. The smell wasn't coming from any one noticeable area and if it was it was so strong I wouldn't have been able to detect from where. After I started going again it was taking double the gas to get the truck to move forward from the resistance in the 4WD just like before I pulled off the highway and it was howling and groaning under the truck. I eventually got it out of 4WD and the problem is now gone.
The dealer said they saw nothing unusual except for a small leak around the pinion seal on the front axle but since they also said the front axle was full of oil it seems to me that it would be impossible for it to overheat. However, since they said the transfer case fluid/oil was like Mississippi mud I'm currently thinking the transfer case overheated really bad or I did some kind of damage to it. I really have no idea since I haven't engaged the 4WD since.

 

[Trackerforsport]

probably a hub bearing i just experienced the same issue monday did the wheel get wobbly to like your alignment was off ? i had both hubs go bad on monday

 

[Trackerforsport]

sorry didnt read all of the last post

 

[01DeepBlue]

No problem, I was just writing down what I think might be happening with my truck. Any comments are welcome.

 

[Trackerforsport]

Could be the front diff ?did you check that

 

[01DeepBlue]

I thought as it was happening and shortly thereafter that it might have been the diff but it's a stock open front diff and when I had the dealer check it out they said the front axle was full of oil so overheating seems unlikely to me but who knows. Maybe in 4WD it puts more strain on the diff? What I'm currently thinking is that since I was driving on asphalt that was only wet that the transfer case was what was howling and what was overheating, binding, and giving resistance. I think this scenario because there was no tire slippage like there would be on snow or mud and I think the front and rear axles were building up an unequal tension inside the transfer case. The only thing that upsets my theory is that the last 30 minutes of driving was on snow and it was still howling and giving me resistance until I finally stopped and got it out of 4WD but maybe it was already so hot that it was still doing it because of the heat expansion causing it to continue to bind. Anyway, I let it sit for a few hours before driving it again in normal 2WD and it was fine.