Hi all,

So, after some looking around, my wife and I bought a 1995 explorer. It's a 4.0 V6, and the interior and engine compartment are clean as a whistle!! It has a lot of get-up-and-go still, at 95,000 miles, and we're very happy with it. It's alignment was off, and needed new ball joints in addition to that, but it seems to be all set now, except a couple things....

First, I'm not sure if the 4 wheel drive works, or if it has a problem, how serious that problem is. I took it to a gravel lot, and tried to engage the 4x4, and all that happened is that the 4x4 auto and 4x4 low lights both flashed 3-4 times and went off, and nothing happened (as far as no clunking, shifting noises, feelings, etc). I tried this several times with the same effect. On my F-150, there's a definite clunk, and then it is definitely in 4 wheel drive, and you can tell just by the way it drives.

Does anyone know what the flashing of both 4x4 indicator lights means? On the one hand, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the 4 wheel drive, but on the other hand, I'm comforted by the fact that it's not even trying...it's not clunking or grinding, and failing to go in. I wonder if the switch could be bad?? Any ideas??? (other than taking it to the dealer?)

The second problem is very bizarre. After we signed the papers and everything, the guy's 6 yr old came out and was telling us all about the explorer, and one of the things he said was "It has spiders, so if you see one just kill it".......and that made me nervous.

Turns out, we haven't found ONE spider on the inside of the explorer, thankfully. However, just this morning (first time I tried this), I left it in the garage all night, then came down in the early morning and flipped all the lights on, and I killed about 20-25 spiders that were busy making webs on the outside of the vehicle. Still none inside the cabin, VERY THANKFULLY.

Any tips on where I might try to find their main hide out? I looked all over, trying to find some dark nooks and crannies these pests would have their headquarters, and couldn't find any...also, has anyone else had this happen to a vehicle? If so, what did you do to get rid of the spiders once and for all?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott
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1997 F-150 XLT, 4.6L V8
Big 'ol brush guard, bugflector, and PIAA lights on front, nerf bars

1995 Explorer XLT, 4.0L V6
Running boards.....nothing special on this one.........yet

 

Did you see the movie "Aracnophbia"? Well they say that while making the movie they got the spider to go where they want them for the best movie shot, by using a hair blower at the place they wanted the spiders to crawl to. They sense the heated air and walk towards it.

My guess is they wold be somewhere in the engine compartment or along the exhust pipe. If you have a garage, parked your car in it, close the garage door and let an insect bug bomb go -take wife and children if any out for the weekend- and this may cure your problem.

For the Transmission, I can only suggest to take it to AutoZone and have them pull the codes.

Ed
95 Explorer Limited

 

A pressure washer can hide the real story. I bought a 97 with about that many miles and the 4WD was flashing. I drained the transfer case and only about a pint of real nasty black fluid came out. Should be 1 3/4 quarts. I should say that the last owner just put in a brand new shift motor assembly that didn't fix it. Transfer case was spotless. After new fluid it was discovered the rear seal was leaking. Rear seal you can do at home, not the front. After new fluid and resetting the computer (remove car battery for a few minutes) every thing has worked for almost 2 years.

Alignment. Are the insides of the tires wearing? Had this problem with bearing hubs. Jack up the vehicle at the lower wheel support. If the tire jumps in when it just looses contact then the bearings are going. You won't get the usual bearing symptoms and it won't wobble. Bottom just bows out with vehicle weight. Lower ball joints are sometimes a problem.

 

Well, we got the alignment problem sorted out...it was the lower ball joints, and we got a couple new tires also, because of uneven wear (the rear tires were still in new condition with even wear). I should get the tranny checked out...gonna have to wait until we have more $$...I don't know how to check it myself.

 

Maybe those ball joints fixed your alignment and maybe it didn't. Either way you are on borrowed time with the front wheel bearings. Even if you do it yourself, it will cost $150 each. That's more than it costs me to rebuild the transmision. My first gen is over 200K and never had to have any of those $12 bearings replaced in it.

 

Supposedly it is/was the lower ball joints. Got those replaced, and then re-aligned, and new tires. Runs great now. I'll try jacking it up to look for the tires turning in as soon as they lose contact. Hope I don't need new bearings too! Thanks for the tip!

Scott