alright, several things. Background on my vehicle: 2002 ford explorer xlt 4x4 bought used from individual about 6 weeks ago. 134k miles. currently getting about 18mpg on highway, 16mph in town. recently replaced thermostat, thermostat housing, and head gasket. had transmission serviced and transmission filter replaced. mechanic said transmission didn't seem to have been serviced before.

1) got a small kick when auto trans is shifting around 30mph and around 45mph. this got a little better after trans was serviced.

2) overdrive switch nor 4x4 switches work, lights on dashboard light up when cranking vehicle, but don't do anything when switches pressed. 4x4 switches worked when I first got the vehicle

3) when turning right or left from a dead stop, the vehicle shudders as if running over a rumble strip on the side of the road.

4) since having these issues, i've removed the Control Module to see if this would help any of the above issues. obviously the 4x4 buttons will no longer work with the CM removed. Sidenote related to CM, battery has not been removed or changed since I've owned vehicle.

5) service engine soon light just came on. took it to auto zone and they said it read as a bank 1 and bank 2 problem.


any suggestions would be appreciated. I am mechanically inclined enough to check things on my vehicle, I owned a Toyota Corolla before this vehicle and felt like I had near about replaced every bit of it before it was all said and done.

 

by the way, I know that some of the above questions have been covered in other posts, but I posted this because of the unique combination of the problems that I have not run across before.

 

Just briefly, it sounds like your front hubs are in locked mode. If you can check, see if that is so?

 

I understand what you are saying to check, but I'm not sure how to check. Can you explain that? thanks for the input

 

In order to save from a long explanation , did you get an owner's manual with your vehicle?

 

I really wish I did, but I did not. Is this something that I could see from jacking up the truck and looking from underneath?

 

Something you can try,
with the shift lever in neutral and the wheels blocked so the vehicle can't move,
go underneath and try to rotate the front driveshaft.
If everything is disengaged the driveshaft should be able to be rotated.
If not, there is the possibility the hubs are locked or the trasfer case is locked in 4 wheel drive.
To determine which it is ,you would need to get one or both front wheels off the ground and attempt to rotate them. If the wheel will rotate freely and the shaft behind the wheel doesn't rotate, then the hub is unlocked. Check both wheels.

 

Those instructions make perfect sense. I will try that the next time I can. It has rained here for the past few weeks and I haven't been able to get out there to work on it.
What do I do if I find that the hubs are locked or if the transfer case is locked? Stop driving it immediately? how do I get the hubs or transfer case unlocked?

I'm pretty certain the CM is blown and I have removed it, but I still have it, so I can hook it back up.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Ok, did what you said and here are the results. the front driveshaft does not spin freely. I can barely roll it back and forth. Like from 1 o'clock to 2 o'clock. I rotated front driver side tire and it spins freely and drive shaft also spins freely when I do so. When I rotate front passenger side, the front driveshaft does NOT spin freely. It rocks back and forth AND the drivers side tire the rotates with it, but in the opposite direction from how I spin the passenger side.

Any and all help would be much appreciated.

 

From what you describe it sounds like the passenger side hub is locked. Does your vehicle have hubs that you can lock manually ? If so ,turn the center section counterclockwise approx 1/2 turn to unlock it.