I've been reading threads for the last couple of days about the transfer cases in the Explorer. I'm not sure anymore which information applies to which transfer case anymore, if I ever was.

Anyway, here's the story. I have a friend who bought a 2000 Eddie Bauer Explorer about a year ago. The tires were shot and she was always short on money so she just drove it with bald tires for I'm not sure how long. Lost a brake pad and I had to go fix it for her. Found a spot on one tire where she had worn through both steel belts and the tire had a substantial bulge. She says she did notice that something was weird... Anyway, I put the spare on and after a couple of weeks she finally asked me to help her look for some used tires. We went and found 2 tires, but couldn't find a set, so I said that she could do that, but I wouldn't do it for very long. She needs to find a full set soon. Well, of course, she didn't. But it wasn't getting the gas mileage she had hoped for. I'm not sure what she really hoped for, but whatever. She bought a small car and drove it. But her ex-boyfriend needed transportation, so being nice, she let him drive the Explorer. He kept saying that it needed wheel bearings on the front, but I never could figure out why. The bearings were (and still are) fine.

So, a few months goes by, and she tells me that it's gotten really bad. She hadn't driven it in forever, but had to take it to run an errand and the noise it was making was horrendous. She asked me to come take a look at it. Her ex-boyfriend has taken it to Firestone again and they are still saying new wheel bearings. I get there and the key is not at the house, so I can't drive it, but I jack it up and check the wheel bearings again. Still fine, but I figure if the truck is making a really bad noise when driving, I should be able to find something. I look around and find that the CV joint on the prop-shaft is bone dry and has a lot of rotational play in it. It needs to be replaced anyway, and thinking "maybe" this is the noise, I replace it. I decide to take it around the block to test drive it and I don't even make it out of the driveway. Bang! Every few feet. Bang! So I pulled back in and said I would come back in the daylight and look at it again. Don't drive it 'til then.

Tonight I went back over and pulled the prop-shaft off and of course the noise went away, confirming that the drivetrain was binding. Got to thinking about the fact that she still only had 2 decent tires on it, noticing that the rears are going to start showing belts really soon, and decided to measure the tires. The fronts ground to axle center were 14-1/8. The rears were 13-1/2. No wonder the TC is shot and the rears are far more bald than before.

Anyway, if you stuck around this long, here's the question. She is moving to Florida from Kansas and needs to drive the truck. But still doesn't have much money. If she can make it there, the truck can fall into the ocean, as she has transportation available there. But she has to get there first. I've read the explanation of how this transfer case works, including looking at the assembly drawing of it. I have also read that this transfer case may or may not allow the vehicle to creep when in park. If it was a "normal" transfer case, I'd just stick the prop-shaft in the cargo area and send her on her way, but I'm not getting the impression that this is a good idea with this model. Is doing that going to get her to Florida? Or does she really need to find a way to fix this thing?

Dave