1997 Explorer - 4WD engages during turns on dry surfaces

Aug 31, 2004 2 Replies

I have a '97, 5-speed with the "auto/4HI/4LO switch. The 4WD engages itself during turns on dry surfaces (roads, parking lots, anywhere). At the minimum it causes the truck to jerk back and forth as you turn. In one instance, it snapped the drive shaft within the transmission right in the middle of oncoming traffic in an intersection, stopping the vehicle and necessitating replacement of the tranny, transfer case and clutch. Within months it was doing it again and I had Ford run a diagnostic. They want me to replace the whole drive system again because their computer says there is nothing wrong with the Explorer's computer therefore it must be in the mechanical parts. However a mechanic I trust tells me that he believes either the Explorer's computer or the 4WD wheel sensors are faulty and telling the 4WD drive motor to engage. Every other Ford service department (6 total) I have spoken with has a different answer. All of them swear they've never seen this problem before.



Does anyone have an idea or a possible solution short of replacing the drive chain?



Ford actually has provided instructions to dealer on how to add a 2WD mode back to the Explorer's Control Trac System (which it had in 1996). There are prople who have done this on their own (see

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an example).

You might also ask your dealer to review the following TSBs (as listed on Alldata):

97-21-15 OCT 97 Transfer Case - Shudder/Binding In Tight Turns 97314 FEB 97 Transfer Case - Shudder/Binding Diagnostics

You might also look at:

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This is a rehash of a simialr discussions from this forum.

Regards,

Ed White

Thank you very much for your information. Nice to know Ford may have recognized the problem before.

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