2003 Ford Explorer 4WD Drive Train Incident

I'd say you have nailed it John.

Entering 4x4 while accelerating while also at full steering lock, yup thats some bad noises and difficulty meshing things.

I wouldn't make a habit of it, but also don't think it likely you did any damage.

Wait until you try ABS off-road.

So are you saying that this is normal and can happen anytime I make a U turn?

If so isn´t there anything I can do to avoid this? I dont want to drive with the fear I can´t make a U-turn anytime I want to. How should I proceed when making a U-turn in the future.

What do you mean by "ABS off-road"

Thanks for your reply,

John

Other replys have clarified things nicely.

ABS off road:

Personal pet peeve - trying to fine maneuver an ABS equipped light duty 4x4 on a slippery slope, I could climb but couldn't 'hold'. ( I was doing a three point turn with one point up in the trees) I assumed it was traction from old leaves I was sliding on.

Outside observer said "No, your tires are rolling" despite my large logging boot on the brake.

Got back down on the flat, found the fuse for the ABS and pulled it.

Did the same maneuvers with no repeat; I could drive into trees upslope and hold while I turned the wheel for where I needed the rear to go. Truck didn't move until my foot came off brake.

Area we were in is all old gravel and dirt logging roads. Spent a week driving my truck on dirt, mud, gravel, grass.

ABS performance on slippery surfaces was consistently ... odd. Details and confirmation can be found in discussions of ABS on gravel roads all over the web. Long made short, ABS is software, it isn't designed for all cases only 'most', and auto manufacturers didn't put it in vehicles until they had it down to under $1.99 per vehicle .

I found an appropriate fog lamp switch for my model truck from the dealer, wired it inline with the fuse and forever more got to choose when I used ABS.

I am a huge fan of ABS used on hard-pack surfaces, no skidding, great braking; just sucks off-road.

ABS is better and more reliable than the worst of drivers, but not as good or reliable as the best of drivers.

The Explorer has a transfer case but no center differential. So the "automatic" system can do no better that you can do manually to disengage part-time 4wd. The problem is that it engages 4wd at times when you never would (because you are not as dumb as the system is). The little bit of slip on gravel was enough to engage it. Then, with it engaged, the tight turn loads up the system, preventing disengagement. You've probably had this happen with manual 4wd at some point: it comes out with a bang.

Poorly-engineered system for a vehicle that is on the road for almost its whole life. All-wheel drive vehicles have a center differential or viscous coupling to prevent such problems.

Sounds like my Chevy in mud, snow, or loose gravel with traction control. When a wheel or wheels spin the computer puts the brake on that wheel or wheels!

Unless I'm mistaken, there is a switch to turn off the 4WD, altogether on the dash. If you disable the 4WD, then the front differential wont engage. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Ford did away with it in their effort to neuter what had once been a very capable vehicle. I know that it sounds and feels bad, but it's common, and unless you do it all the time, it wont hurt anything. The best option is to realize the potential, and adjust your driving. If you have to make such a sharp turn on loose pavement, then try to make a more gradual turn, or start straight, then turn sharply once both tires are on solid ground. One of the other posters suggested that this is a "bad design," and I certainly don't agree. While not perfect, this system has served millions of vehicles well for a very long time. However, it does require that the driver understand it's characteristics. Not to be crass, but we used to call this "driving," which requires more than just sitting in the seat, working the pedals and turning the wheel in the direction one would like to proceed.

There is no switch on this model. There are 3 square buttons. The top one says 4X4 AUTO, the middle one says 4X4 HIGH and the lower one says 4X4 LOW so I cannot disable the 4X4 AUTO

Well, thank you and all the others for your valuable input. At least I know that this is normal behaviour and that I do not have any particular problem.

Best Regards to All

John

That's normal. 4X4's don't like hard turns like that. Every 4x4 pickup that I have owned, has done that on real hard turns. Moral of the story, switch to two wheel drive before real hard turns. Also, driving on paved roads for hours in 4 wheel drive isn't such a good idea either. Wastefull on fuel and tires.

I´m sorry but I don´t think you understand my question or vehicle. This is a 2003 Ford Explorer with all time automatic 4WD. You cannot "switch it off". I would never run a 4WD on a hard surface knowingly. This vehicle runs in 4x4 AUTO all the time and runs fine on hard surfaces but, as noted in the earlier responses, it can be fooled into entering 4WD when you don´t want it to, which was my case.

Thanks for your response but this is not my case.

John

Does it exhibit the same symptoms on hard right as well?

How does it behave when all four wheels are on a loose or slippery surface?

Have you checked the CV joints? These make depressingly expensive noises on hard lock when they have reached their use by date.

I never compared because it hasn´t done this ever before.

On slippery surfaces it works fine.

The CV´s must be good because this vehicle was never used. We got it in a US Embassy auction and it was abandoned due to an engine problem. We bought it and the problem, timing belts, was fixed so now we have an almost brand new 2003 Ford.

Have a 2002 explorer. This scenario happened to me also, hard right and axceleration produced a wicked snap in the front drive line.....simular to 4 wheel low on hard surface. Had it checked out by a mechanic and no discernable damage. That was over 10000 mi. ago and have used the 4WD several times with no problem.

Hey it's a Ford......can't hurt em.

when in doubt.......punt

Here are a couple things to check. Most likely it is the shift motor on the back of the transmision on the drivers side...it has some wires going to it. It could be leaving the transmision locked in 4WD. Another possibility is your automatic front hubs, it is possible they are not disengaging properly when the tires turn at different rates around a sharp corner. This is normally caused by wear in the front axel bearings.

We used to get this with the pre 1970s landrovers,but they seemed to overcome the problem,another thought occured to me, check that the diff lock wasn't engaged.

Bazzer

there is no "differential lock" control on this vehicle.

On a vehicle with the ability to use both front and rear axles to drive the vehicle, it probably also has a differential lock in the rear axle. If the vehicle is driven in relative straight lines for most of its life, the lube between the clutch plates in the locking differential tends to get squeezed out. When you drive on a hard surface, with the rear wheels traveling a different distance, as when doing a tight turn, the clutch plates must slide against one another. By applying power, the system tries to lock the clutches. With old lube, the clutches will suddenly brake loose, then grab. then brake loose and grab again. The bigger the clutches in the axle, and the bigger the tires, the worse it becomes. But, it is quite normal. In fact the recommended procedure for working lube back into the clutches is to do figure 8s alternating between on and off throttle. We had a F350 with a hefty Dana 80HD rear axle with a locking differential. The first time it happened we had it towed back to Ford under warranty. Lessons like that are remembered for a long time.

In a big paved parking lot try the figure 8s and see if the differential action does not smooth out well for you, and your friend. If nothing else, it is an inexpensive test. Good luck.

Thanks Bob,

Sounds like very good advice and since we haardly ever use 4WD you may have hit the nail on the head. I´ll try what you suggested immediately.

It will never be velvet. But, with the lube worked into the plates, you should not have the feeling that a spider gear snapped. IT should feel more like a resistance to rolling that comes and goes about twice per tire revolution.

i had a problem need help guy i am fixing this 2003 sport trac explorer and i was at the light when this ticking noise came from the driver side timing sprocket and i slowly accelerated and it turned of so come to to take it apart my guides broke ok i can fix that but my problem is i dont know if it jumped time or it is good how to i find out before i do anything else need help

Thanks for joining us Uptown.

If you have your own technical problem then Start a new discussion.

When you do, try to use sentences and give as much information as possible. Information like:

All your observations,

conditions when different symptoms are observed

what you have tried,

what you think the problem might be and why you think so....

You know, useful stuff. In sentences, with some punctuation, no text abbreviations. English.

Welcome to the site. As above, it would be better to start a new thread with a new problem. Especially when this thread has been dormant for so long.

As for your car problem, the answer to timing is available to you two ways. 1) inspect the timing marks for accuracy against a published diagram for your exact engine. or, 2) check compression. If the timing chain has rumped, you will not be able to reach the compression called for in the service manual. If the chain jumped even one tooth, the reduced compression will be noticeable when driving as a loss of power. Power will be lost at all RPM ranges. The throttle will need to be opened an additional amount to maintain the previous engine idle speed. This may not be apparent if there is an automatic idle speed control device fitted to your car.

Did drivability suffer when you heard the noise? Good luck.

Ok but what if the left chain jumped a tooth how would i know before starting it it doesent have marking i already put the new guides. because all the other chain where good

Do you have a timing diagram for your engine? If you do, you can compare that to the way your engine is with engine rotated to match the drawing.

If you do not have a diagram, it becomes harder. Did the chain come off of the sprockets at any time? Did the engine run correctly after the noise started, but before tearing it apart?

The chain was still on when i took it off but y would it turn off..the cassete guide was torn in to pieces and it hard because i dont have a diagram and the sprocet dont have marking

Ford used a unique timing system on the 4.0L Over Head Cam engine. The design uses three separate timing chains. one is from the crank to an idler shaft that runs down the middle of the engine, Like a camshaft would, except that it is exposed at both the front of the engine, and the back. Then there are timing chains that go from this shaft to the overhead camshafts. The left hand side one is driven from the front of the engine, while the right hand camshaft is driven from the back of the engine. This engine does not use timing marks on either of the camshaft gears, nor the crankshaft or idler gears. These components just grip wherever they hit the next rotating part.

Timing is done by bolting a stationary device to the crankshaft, and to each of the camshafts. At that time the mechanic is supposed to just tighten the cam gears and the engine will be timed correctly.

The special tools required for the job cost in the $400 range. If this is your engine, you still need to look at the rear timing chain and guides.

But, the good news is that if you do a search on the internet for the timing procedures for the Ford 4.0 OHC engine, you should be able to bring your camshaft to the correct position required before the cam holding tool is to be bolted to the engine. At that time, your cam and cam gear will be correct. You just need to get the chain back on and tensioned. Only IF, and this is a big IF, you did not remove the camshaft gear from the camshaft.

Let me know. Good luck.