It looks like my '94 Ford Explorer has developed a transfer case leak (130K miles), apparently coming from where the speedometer/odometer cable goes into it. I also have a jumpy speedometer at around 70 mph that gives me my speed to +/- 15 mph, which usually isn't a problem if you're moving with traffic, but it might be nice to fix someday.

Any recommendations on how to get rid of the leak and exactly what happens when you remove all the wires under the speedo cable and then pull the speedo cable out to check/replace/tighten/replace gasket/or whatever else needs to happen to fix the leak? I'm getting ready to put this vehicle up for the summer (it's my winter beater), and I'd like to know it's fixed for the next winter season. I think I can get 1-2 more winters out of it before I start seeing road beneath the floorboards or the liftgate rusts off.

I'm also game for any summerization/long-term storage pointers that anyone has out there. It came out of storage last year fairly well, but I had to replace the fuel pump and the auto-locking hubs with manual lockers first thing. I also did a flush and fill on the radiator and had to replace the Sears battery at 3 years and 1 month - bummer.

Thanks in advance.

 

I recollect the speedo cable being attached 3/4 back on the transmission, not the T/C.

The gear housing should be attached with a single bolt, replacing the "O" ring should fix the leak.

 

That's what I remember too. The single bolt comes out and you pull on the whole cable assembly, which reveals the o'ring. The "bulge" on the end of the cable that has the wires going into it is (I think) the speed sensor that the cruise control uses. I'm not sure if the EEC uses that info...I don't think so.

As for the needle bouncing, you may have a speedo cable binding and it just needs a little grease. Unfortunatly, it's the cluster end of the cable that you have to disconnect in order to grease it. I wasn't so lucky with mine. I had to send the cluster into a "speedometer shop" to have the jewelled bearing (that the needle pivots around) replaced.

 

It appears that the cruise works fine, so I don't think that's affected by the bouncing needle or cable. The cable does look a bit rusty where it goes into the tranny, however.

 

If you didn't toss the auto hubs, you can get good money for them on ebay. If they just froze up from sitting, they most likely didn't rust up, the grease just bound them up. They can be cleaned out with ATF and will work perfectly.

 

I still have the auto hubs, I just got sick of dismantling and cleaning them every year. I think the plastic part inside of them might be worn beyond the point where it can allow them to engage, also. I'd be happy to unload them if I can.

I think I'm going to replace the ball joints before I put it up for the summer in a few weeks, but I'm a little intimidated by the magnitude of the job and the rusty bolts I'll probably have to break loose. Any pointers on getting the ball joints out?

 

Plastic part inside the hub? Don't you mean the plastic cam that seats on the spindle? When I had my auto hubs apart for cleaning, everything was metal...

I'm sure you could sell the hubs on ebay without the cams.

 

How long does it take to remove and replace a transfer case on a 2004 Ford Explorer? What kind of problems could I run into?

 

I just had a Ford dealer fix a leak in the transfer case of 2004 Explorer XLT 4X4. the leak was from the gasket and they drained the case, ground the edge and epoxied the seam. they say they have done this before and they have not had anybody return. This was done free of charge.