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Drivetrain problem with '97 Ford Explorer


Sent to Car Experts June 23, 2005 8:55 a.m.

Hi, I have a '97 Ford Explorer 4x4 with a 4.0L V6 and a 5 Speed Manual Transmission. Earlier tonight (at 3:45 a.m. in the country, convenient huh?) I was driving and from a stop I revved the engine and let the clutch out fairly quickly - enough to put a decent amount of strain on the drivetrain. The explorer went forward about a car length (slightly uphill) and then made a horrible noise. I tried again slowly to go forward, then backward in 2WD and 4WD. It just made more noise like something that shouldn't be spinning was spinning and it WOULDN'T MOVE. Anyhow, I had it towed to my house and am going to try to work on it, but I can't figure out why it wouldn't move. The only thing I can think of is the rear-end gears being frozen, but shouldn't they make at least a little noise before completely binding up? The car had a full tune up and all fluids replaced 8,000 miles ago. Also, I'm scared to even ask this, but is there a possible computer-related problem here???

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Thanks, Brandon
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status: Closed   Value: $5   
Answer
June 23, 2005 10:22 a.m. (1 hour and 26 minutes later)
ACCEPTED Check Mark

Brandon; This isnt a computer problem, this is a plain old expensive mechanical problem of some sort.

Possibilities:

(1) A failed clutch. If the clutch disc fell apart, or the pressure plate broke somehow, the noise you hear should be coming from the bell housing area. I think this is the most likely failure from what you describe.

(2) A failed transmission: If you have a broken main shaft or some other internal component, the noise should be loudest in the transmission area.

(3) An internal transfer case failure. If something in the transfer case failed, the noise should be loudest in this area.

About all you can do with the vehicle assembled is to crawl under it while someone rund the truck and holds the brake on to see if you can isolate the area the noise is coming from (as long as you can do this safely). If you cant identify the failed component this way, then you may need to start removing the drivetrain components untill you find the source of the failure. For exapmple, if you can turn the front shaft of the transmission with it in gear, and the tail shaft does not turn, then you know the failure is inside the transmission.

I hope this is helpful; if so, clicking my accept button would be most appreciated! Thanks!

PictureSteve7654  -- Auto Service Technician -- 99% Positive Feedback on 1639 Car Accepts
27 yrs ASE L1 Master Technician, Service manager

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