Whole lotta ?'s .. Newbie ! Help :]

[xeromossyoak]

Okay .. So I just got my first car today .. It's a 1991 Explorer XLT 4x4 V6 4.0 .. and I have a bunch of questions to ask you guys .. I don't know a lot about the car .. And neither did the guy I bought it from but i'd really apperciate the help if you guys are willing to give it .. i've looked threw like 6 or 7 pages of this one forum section and it seems to have a lot of questions I have .. But just not right on the money .. So I figured i'd give it a shot and just flat out ask the questions .. BTW it has near 165K on it ..

Frist :
I have a 4x4 .. and there is a button near the middle of the dash that allows you to put it in 4x4 and low .. There is one little light next to each one of those .. And it seems to go off and on with the one that says 4x4 ... And the buttons I belive are just messed up .. But truthfully I dont think I will ever use this thing in 4x4 .. And plan on transfering it into a 2x4 .. Do you guys know of an easy way to just totally cut the 4x4 off without having to change the suspention and everything?

Second:
I got a chance to finally get ti above 50 today .. And it seemed like when I got around 60 to 65 miles an hour the car began to shake .. like alot .. but really didnt seem like the motor but almost like the axle or somewhere in the fron in ... Im not sure what that is .. I again do not know if its in 4x4 or not because of the messed up buttons .. But, do you guys think that since it could be would it shake like that when you get into higher speeds? Or do you guys think it is something else? Have any ideas? Please throw them at me.

Thirdly:
When I accelirate the car ... i let go of the gas .. And the front end, or it sounds like it id coming from the front end .. makes a noise that almost sounds like I hit a metal piece in the road .. but it onl does it sometimes .. not everytime i let go of the gas .. I dont think its the tranny because it shifts fine .. so I think it might have something to do with the front axle .. maybe back, maybe 4x4 .. I'm not sure ..

lastly:
When I am driving and I have to step on the brakes .. they work fine .. But, it does shake a lot when I start to slow down pressing on them .. What could that be?

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read all the questions I have asked and vocing your opinion or trying to help me in advance .. I really dont know much about the car .. But it was the first car that i ever wanted and so now i have one and I want to do all I can to make it amazing .. I know I have a lot of questions .. but like I said I just need a little help getting started .. And this seems to be the best website I have found ..


If yall have any ?'s for me .. about whats going on with my car or any specs you might need to help answers my ?s please let me know .. cause i deffently dont know if i put everything you needed up there ..


my e mail is

xeromossyoak@yahoo.com

if you want to get a hold of me in a prolly faster way.
Thanks again!
Angie

 

[Halfnuts]

Frist :
I have a 4x4 .. and there is a button near the middle of the dash that allows you to put it in 4x4 and low .. There is one little light next to each one of those .. And it seems to go off and on with the one that says 4x4 ... And the buttons I belive are just messed up .. But truthfully I dont think I will ever use this thing in 4x4 .. And plan on transfering it into a 2x4 .. Do you guys know of an easy way to just totally cut the 4x4 off without having to change the suspention and everything?

~I don't know tons about the 4x4s, especially the older ones, but I would never modify a vehicle in order to reduce it's utility. Maybe you don't think you'll want the 4wd, but you just never know. Give it time!

Second:
I got a chance to finally get ti above 50 today .. And it seemed like when I got around 60 to 65 miles an hour the car began to shake .. like alot .. but really didnt seem like the motor but almost like the axle or somewhere in the fron in ... Im not sure what that is .. I again do not know if its in 4x4 or not because of the messed up buttons .. But, do you guys think that since it could be would it shake like that when you get into higher speeds? Or do you guys think it is something else? Have any ideas? Please throw them at me.

Not sure how much experience you have behind the wheel, but most cars shake a little at highway speeds. Some cars, especially 4 wheel drive vehicles, shake a lot. First thing is to take it to a reputable shop and have them check/balance the wheels (and at the same time check out #4 on your list, more on that later). Also, on an older car like that, alignment could be an issue. It isn't terribly costly, and adds to your trucks' safety and longevity.

Thirdly:
When I accelirate the car ... i let go of the gas .. And the front end, or it sounds like it id coming from the front end .. makes a noise that almost sounds like I hit a metal piece in the road .. but it onl does it sometimes .. not everytime i let go of the gas .. I dont think its the tranny because it shifts fine .. so I think it might have something to do with the front axle .. maybe back, maybe 4x4 .. I'm not sure ..

I think that has something to do with the differential in the front end... I test drove a few 4x4 trucks months ago and most seemed to do that. The rest of this forum will help with this I'm sure!

lastly:
When I am driving and I have to step on the brakes .. they work fine .. But, it does shake a lot when I start to slow down pressing on them .. What could that be?

Sounds like a warped brake rotor or something... again, a reputable mechanic will be able help a great deal.


Welcome to the Forums and I hope you find much help here!
~Ken

 

[gluvsave35]

if u want to change it to 2 wheel drive ud have to take out the transfer case but that a pain in the ass cus then ull have to replace the driveshaft
ur better off just fixing the 4x4 u never no when it might come in handy

ur shake could be tires/ ur front end (like balljoints tie rods ect)
and as for ur brakes u need new rotors just like halfnuts said they are warped

 

[JDraper]

Frist :
I have a 4x4 .. and there is a button near the middle of the dash that allows you to put it in 4x4 and low .. There is one little light next to each one of those .. And it seems to go off and on with the one that says 4x4 ... And the buttons I belive are just messed up .. But truthfully I dont think I will ever use this thing in 4x4 .. And plan on transfering it into a 2x4 .. Do you guys know of an easy way to just totally cut the 4x4 off without having to change the suspention and everything?

If the lights are flashing, it's most likely the transfer case shift motor. To fix it, check out http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/web/pages/tcase.html . If you only want to use it in 2WD you can pull the front driveshaft out and that will be sufficient. Don't need to do anything else.

Second:
I got a chance to finally get ti above 50 today .. And it seemed like when I got around 60 to 65 miles an hour the car began to shake .. like alot .. but really didnt seem like the motor but almost like the axle or somewhere in the fron in ... Im not sure what that is .. I again do not know if its in 4x4 or not because of the messed up buttons .. But, do you guys think that since it could be would it shake like that when you get into higher speeds? Or do you guys think it is something else? Have any ideas? Please throw them at me.

Alignment, tires being out of balance, bad ball joints, bad radius arm bushings. Any of these will cause shaking in the front end.

Thirdly:
When I accelirate the car ... i let go of the gas .. And the front end, or it sounds like it id coming from the front end .. makes a noise that almost sounds like I hit a metal piece in the road .. but it onl does it sometimes .. not everytime i let go of the gas .. I dont think its the tranny because it shifts fine .. so I think it might have something to do with the front axle .. maybe back, maybe 4x4 .. I'm not sure ..

That is a classic symptom of bad radius arm bushings. When changing from accelerating to coasting or braking, you get a "clunk" out of the front. Same thing going over bumps. Very common problem in Gen 1 Explorers.

lastly:
When I am driving and I have to step on the brakes .. they work fine .. But, it does shake a lot when I start to slow down pressing on them .. What could that be?

Sounds like warped brake rotors. Time to have them re-surfaced or replaced.

 

[xeromossyoak]

Thank you guys sooo much .. I actually planned on getting the car balenced .. thats the first thing I thought about, along with my boyfriend and his dad .. And i supposed i need new front rotors and brushings .. eww .. fun lol .. do you guys know how expencive any of these things run? i know the allignment isnt much .. but i also dont have much, i had 1K to find a car and now i actually work to get money .. which do i need to do frist... but that will be a little while cause i start college on tuesday .. like you guys care lol ... thanks for all the help.

ohh .. and does the roter have to be from a 4x4 .. or the brushings ? Oh also lol .. i know im full of questions .. umm .. the stearing . its whines .. its gotta be the fuild in it .. but i was woundering if you guys knew anything else that could be wrong with it .. or anything that explorers go crazy about ...

like common issues with first gens. thank you guys ! anf hopefully one day i will be able to help yall lol ..

 

[gluvsave35]

Thank you guys sooo much .. I actually planned on getting the car balenced .. thats the first thing I thought about, along with my boyfriend and his dad .. And i supposed i need new front rotors and brushings .. eww .. fun lol .. do you guys know how expencive any of these things run? i know the allignment isnt much .. but i also dont have much, i had 1K to find a car and now i actually work to get money .. which do i need to do frist... but that will be a little while cause i start college on tuesday .. like you guys care lol ... thanks for all the help.

ohh .. and does the roter have to be from a 4x4 .. or the brushings ? Oh also lol .. i know im full of questions .. umm .. the stearing . its whines .. its gotta be the fuild in it .. but i was woundering if you guys knew anything else that could be wrong with it .. or anything that explorers go crazy about ...

like common issues with first gens. thank you guys ! anf hopefully one day i will be able to help yall lol ..

rotors arent that much i would just go new if u have like a local napa there prolly around $80 a peice

as for the steering if u say it whines it might be low on fluid, check it ,if it has plenty of fluid in it ur steering rack might have taken a dump..

 

[xeromossyoak]

Update

Well there are a million things I have to fix on this car as far as body, and I just wanted to share a few pictures with yall of my car .. I dont know if you really care or not but yeah .. i gotta get a new grill .. drivers side panel .. rocker panels .. like HARD CORE .. and a hood .. oh the joyyy