yaanufs
Member
So I bought my first 4WD vehicle last year. Replaced my aging 2003 EB 2WD with a 2014 EL Limited 4WD - currently at about 69,000 miles. My previous Expediton was a great vehicle, not much went wrong until age started to take its toll. This new one has been a source of headaches when it comes to the 4WD system.
1. On the rare occasion I'd use 4H there was an obvious groaning when making a turn that just wasn't a good sounding noise. I took it to the Ford dealership for some minor work, asked them to take a look at the 4WD system, and they immediately said there was something amiss with the internals of front differential. I declined their expensive repair work and took it to a trusted local mechanic.
2. Local Mechanic had a look at the front differential and when he opened the drain plug he said the gear oil was full of metal shavings. The ring and pinion were destroyed. His solution was to replace the differential with one from a used Expedition that had less miles. Which he did.
3. New issue appeared. Now when switching from 2H to 4A mode there was the terrible grinding noise. He traced this to the IWE (4WD actuator) on the driver's side, and he replaced that. Grinding noise when engaging 4A mode has now gone.
4. This left the last remaining item, which was a shudder when the steering wheel was turned while pulling away from a stop. It reminded me of clutch plates going bad in a rear differential. Anyway, took it back to the mechanic, and he had a closer look at the Transfer Case. He opened the drain and the fluid that came out was nasty. It was a thick, yucky brown color. So he flushed and replaced the TC fluid. Shudder has now gone away. This is supposed to be a fluid that lasts 150,000 miles before it needs changed if you believe the owners manual.
So I'd say the the current state is that there are no obvious issues in the 4WD system that require a mechanic to look into, but the vehicle doesn't drive quite as smooth when in 4A mode as I'd expect. I might be being paranoid and overly sensitive to the slightest thing now of course.
So I'm wondering if there could be something that I'm missing. I'm not convinced we have found a definitive root cause, but may just be slowly finding out the truck was probably used to tow a lot by the previous owner, maybe he liked to drive around in 4H mode in dry pavement to cause all these issues, and this Expedition has had a harder life than I at first realized. This is a lot of stuff to be going wrong with the front of the drivetrain.
So if anyone has any other suggestions or thoughts, I'd welcome them. Even if it's to say I'm on the right track and there is nothing else really to do.
1. On the rare occasion I'd use 4H there was an obvious groaning when making a turn that just wasn't a good sounding noise. I took it to the Ford dealership for some minor work, asked them to take a look at the 4WD system, and they immediately said there was something amiss with the internals of front differential. I declined their expensive repair work and took it to a trusted local mechanic.
2. Local Mechanic had a look at the front differential and when he opened the drain plug he said the gear oil was full of metal shavings. The ring and pinion were destroyed. His solution was to replace the differential with one from a used Expedition that had less miles. Which he did.
3. New issue appeared. Now when switching from 2H to 4A mode there was the terrible grinding noise. He traced this to the IWE (4WD actuator) on the driver's side, and he replaced that. Grinding noise when engaging 4A mode has now gone.
4. This left the last remaining item, which was a shudder when the steering wheel was turned while pulling away from a stop. It reminded me of clutch plates going bad in a rear differential. Anyway, took it back to the mechanic, and he had a closer look at the Transfer Case. He opened the drain and the fluid that came out was nasty. It was a thick, yucky brown color. So he flushed and replaced the TC fluid. Shudder has now gone away. This is supposed to be a fluid that lasts 150,000 miles before it needs changed if you believe the owners manual.
So I'd say the the current state is that there are no obvious issues in the 4WD system that require a mechanic to look into, but the vehicle doesn't drive quite as smooth when in 4A mode as I'd expect. I might be being paranoid and overly sensitive to the slightest thing now of course.
So I'm wondering if there could be something that I'm missing. I'm not convinced we have found a definitive root cause, but may just be slowly finding out the truck was probably used to tow a lot by the previous owner, maybe he liked to drive around in 4H mode in dry pavement to cause all these issues, and this Expedition has had a harder life than I at first realized. This is a lot of stuff to be going wrong with the front of the drivetrain.
So if anyone has any other suggestions or thoughts, I'd welcome them. Even if it's to say I'm on the right track and there is nothing else really to do.
