Hello, all Im new to the board. I am trying to purchase a 95' explorer, it is white has 110,000 miles on it. What is typical thing that i will incounter to go wrong with this truck. I hear all these horror stories about the 4x4 and the trans. ect. It runs great. But when i put it into 4x4 the light lights up, but when i put it into LOW there is no light. Also there is a vibration in the front end, is there anything in the front end that could go wrong, besides the stupid things like tire balancing, tie rods, berings, ect.? I am getting the truck for only $3000, so i think it is worth it. Just looking for any advice, or anything, I just don't want to buy this thing and then have to dump a bunch of money into it.

Thanks,

Brad

 

Well my 95 has 130,000 miles on it with the original transmission. the secret there is a tranny cooler and very frequent oil changes. Transfer cases are a bit touchy "Borg Warner 4405" but again fluid change is important.
About the biggest gripe I can think of is stupid little electrical problems that happen every once in a while. Sometimes they cure themselves and sometimes not. But generally speaking a good vehicle providing it has been looked after.





Mike: 1995 Explorer XLT,4.0 litre, 3.73 non-slip.

 

I agree with Mike, the biggest problem I have had with my '95 is a transmission failure I had at 80,000 miles. I could have avoided it if I put a tranny cooler in sooner AND had full transmission fluid flushes instead of having them just drop the pan and change only 3 quarts of the 16 quart total.

Other than that it was simple sensor failures only.

Just get all your fluids changed regulary.

when you were in low gear you should have had a 4wd-low light come on. this light should light up briefly as you star your car (along with the rest of the dashboard indicator lamps) if it doesn't then it might be a simple light burnt out. you have to be stopped and in nuetral for the vehicle to switch in and out of 4wd-low.

a lot of people get stuck switching into 4wd-low if they don't do it regulary. be careful the electric transfer case shift motor gets stuck easily if it is not exercised

about the vibration- were you on dry pavement. 4wd-low is only for very loose ground. otherwise you could damage your driveline


Carl

 

Yea i know about 4 low....ect. And the about the vibration it has nothing to do with the 4wd. not sure what it is. Thanks for the pointers. Im just worried about the 4wd. I dont want that to take a you know what. Another thing that happened is....The 4wd light flashed and kept going on and off then it stayed off, but it was still in 4wd. If it was a light problem i would think it would either stay off or stay on not flash....I dont know im confused.

 

Also, what do you guys mean...change the tranny fluid...
I know to change the oil. And what do you mean touchy
transfer case.

 

4wd lights flashing mean your GEM computer is sensing a problem with 4wd. could be a bad HALL sensor or something worse.

you transmission has 16 quarts of fluid in it. you need to have all 16 flushed every 24,000-30,000 miles and have the transmission filter changed.


read this.



I'm Glad I could help.
I had a problem with my transfer case. the Ford dealer gave me a qoute on $1750 to replace the transfer case. I felt like the symptons didn't match the diagnosis so I was forced to learn how the 4wd system works on a 1995. the result was that I changed a $30 speed sensor and now my system works fine. (and I learned quite a bit about the 4wd control-trac system.
Here's the $5.00 tour of your 4wd system.
1. PCM
The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) is the main computer for your car and also controls the engine and Transmission. the PCM is mounted on the engine side of the firewall in front of the passenger air bag.It is not serviceable but is very easy to change ($300.00). It is notorious for going bad at about 100,000 Miles
2. transmission.
This transmission is all electronically controlled. It is controlled by the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). It is also known as a weak transmission looking for a reason to fail. I had mine fail on me and it cost $3,000 to rebuild
-GET a Small external tranny cooler and have it connected in series with the existing cooler so that the engine pumps the fluid through the original cooler first, then the auxilary cooler and then back to the transmission (PEP BOYS sell the cooler for $40.00 and will install it for you for a small fee)
-GET the fluid PUMPED OUT every 12,000 miles
-GET the fluid PUMPED OUT and have the filter changed every 24,000 miles.

3. GEM
The generic Control Module (GEM)is the secon computer in your car. It is mounted in the dashboard behind the radio. It controls the Inside Lights, Windows, Wipers AND TRANSFER CASE (believe it or not) among other things. It is about $250 an is also very easy to change. And is aslo notorious for going bad
4. BORG-WARNER 44-05 transfer case
The transfer case is electronically controlled by the Generic Control Module (GEM). It has a INTERNAL clutch that is controlled by a solenoid (Electric Clutch). it also has 3 speed sensors mounted to it (one is the main vehicle speed sensor and is not used by the vehicle in controlling the 4wd system) two of the speed sensors are very important for 4wd operation. They are called HALL sensors and one measures front driveshaft speed the other measures rear driveshaft speed. The transfer case also has a ELECTRIC SHIFT MOTOR the is used to preform a mechanical shift of the transfer case from it's high gear range to it's low gear range.
In 2wd mode the GEM DISENGAGES the Clutch and the front axle (through the VACUUM SHIFT MOTOR).
In 4wd-AUTO the GEM engages the front axle and SLIGHTLY engages the electric clutch in the transfer case to send power to the front driveshaft (but still allow for slip so that your drivetrain isn't stressed if you are turning). It also starts reading the HALL sensors. If the rear driveshaft is spinning much faster than the front the GEM increases power to the electric clutch until the driveshafts are going close to the same speed. (NOTE THAT THERE IS NO MECHANICAL SHIFT IN THE TRANSFER CASE WHEN YOU GO FROM 2WD to 4WD-AUTO)
In 4wd-low the ELECTRIC SHIFT MOTOR shift the transfer case into low gear range (2.88:1) and fully engages the ELECTRIC CLUTCH.
This is what I learned about the transfer case:
-CHANGE THE FLUID EVERY 24,000 Miles (it only takes 1.5 quarts of mercon transmission fluid. Make sure you take the fill plugh off before you take the drain plug off in case you can't get the drain plug off you still have fluid in the transfer case)
-If you have a problem with the 4wd high mode it is probable one of the HALL sensors going bad (the rear one took me 5 minutes to change. The fron one requires removing the ELECTRIC SHIFT MOTOR to access)
-Keep the car in 2WD mode unless you need the 4wd don't waste your electric clutch on dry pavement.
-don't shift into 4wd-auto if you are going above 30mph. I have heard of people damaging the front axle if the axle doesn't engage properly
-once a month, on wet roads drive for about a mile in 4wd-auto to lubricate your front axle fully.
- TEST YOUR 4WD-LOW SOMEWHERE NEAR YOUR HOME THE FIRST TIME (You wouldn't want to find out that the shift motor got stuck in low gear in the middle of the desert would you?)
5. REAR AXLE
Most of the rear axles in '95 were the limited slip type. They take 80w90 hypoid gear oil and require 2oz of a special ford additive for the limited slip axles.
CHANGE YOUR AXLE OIL EVERY 50,000 miles
CHECK THE CONDITION OF THE OIL EVERY YEAR
MAKE SURE THE BREATHER TUBE ON THE AXLE DOESN'T GET BRITTLE AND BREAK
6. FRONT AXLE-DANA 35IFS
they are not limites slip (if you get stuck only one front wheel will spin)
the axle is supposed to tak a synthetic gear oil, But even the dealers use the same oil as the back.
CHANGE YOUR AXLE OIL EVERY 50,000 miles
CHECK THE CONDITION OF THE OIL EVERY YEAR
MAKE SURE THE BREATHER TUBE ON THE AXLE DOESN'T GET BRITTLE AND BREAK
the control module you found the tubes disconnected from is called the ELECTRONIC VACUUM CONTROL VALVE. The reason two line are going to your vacuum shift motor on the axle is to because the axle has to be DRIVEN ENGAGED and DRIVEN DISENGAGED. If the designers had only one line to DRIVE IT ENGAGED the they wouldn't have any way to disengage the axle once it was engaged.
As far as why the lines were off, I think it is stupid to pull both lines off. If you want the front axle to stay disengaged the you should leave the disengage line plugged in. your lucky the axle didn't get stuck haflway engaged and halfway disengaged. Just watch it carefully for the fisrt few days
Finally, If you are in 2wd the front shaft will still spin slowly because the transmission fluid in the transfer case still cause some small amount of energy to get to the front driveshaft.

I learned all of this because I thought my local Ford dealer was trying to rip me off. AND I WAS RIGHT.
I'm glad I could help you out. Get all your fluids changed

Carl Thor

 

 

My 1995 explorer VSS transfer case drive gear is bad and I have been unable to locate one through ford or any other source. Any suggestions?

 

Have you checked salvage yards or Fast Parts Network?

-Rod