My 96 explorer made three loud clunks when driving down the road last week. I stopped the vehicle, looked under, and saw no obvious problems, so I continued home, the truck felt like the brakes were on, but they weren't, but after a few feet, it drove normally, and has so for the past week. Occasionally, the truck will make the loud clunk noises and go away like nothing ever happened. Now, my truck won't go inti 4 wheel drive. You can hear the electric motor activating the transfer case, which works in 4x4 high and 4x4 low, but the front tires don't get any power. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jim
stopped the vehicle, looked under, and saw no obvious problems, so I continued home, the truck felt like the brakes were on, but they weren't, but after a few feet, it drove normally, and has so for the past week. Occasionally, the truck will make the loud clunk noises and go away like nothing ever happened. Now, my truck won't go inti 4 wheel drive. You can hear the electric motor activating the transfer case, which works in 4x4 high and 4x4 low, but the front tires don't get any power. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jim
Since the truck wont engage 4WH, we need to verify that the problem is indeed mechanical. Shift the car into 4WH and raise and support one front corner (preferably the left)..... remember to always use jackstands of sufficient capacity and to lower the car onto the jackstand.
IIRC, the '96 uses a vacuum disconnect in the right front axle tube..... attempt to spin the front wheel while watching the front driveline. If the wheel spins, look at the halfshaft to be sure it is spinning and look also at the inboard CV joint to be sure the housing bolted to the diff is turning. If that all looks OK, check the driveshaft - it should not turn under these conditions. If the halfshaft turns (as it should) and the driveshaft doesn't, check to see if the opposite halfshaft or is turning - remember to check the inboard housing as well.... they should not turn in this condition. If all looks well, I would surmise that the problem lies either in the front differential or the axle disconnect.
HTH Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net
week. I stopped the vehicle, looked under, and saw no obvious problems, so I continued home, the truck felt like the brakes were on, but they weren't, but after a few feet, it drove normally, and has so for the past week. Occasionally, the truck will make the loud clunk noises and go away like nothing ever happened. Now, my truck won't go inti 4 wheel drive. You can hear the electric motor activating the transfer case, which works in 4x4 high and 4x4 low, but the front tires don't get any power. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jim
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