1998 Ford Explorer
Asked by Cameron Jan 22, 2016 at 02:24 PM about the 1998 Ford Explorer 2 Dr Sport 4WD SUV
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I put my 1998 ford explorer in 4wd low yesterday
and it switched over fine but I believe it's still stuck
in 4wd low even after trying to get it unstuck.
Driving home today my RPMs were 5000 going 55
mph and there is a loud noise coming from the
transmission (which normally happened when i put
it in 4wd low) any ideas as to how to fix this or on
what it might be are greatly appreciated.
8 Answers
First of all you are not supposed to drive that fast in 4 low. Did you drive on dry pavement in 4 low? In any case try driving slowly back and forth a few feet in a straight line and then stop and try to shift. It may take a lot of tries so don't give up.
I know I'm not but my house is off the interstate so that's really slow for the speed limit on my road. No i wasn't on dry pavement there was snow and ice on the road which is why ihadti switch over to 4wd low. Tried to make the hill in 4wd high but that didn't work. I have tried that and it hasn't worked. I've also tried putting it in N and changing to 4wd high then back to 4wd auto (there isn't a 2wd option) but it still stays in 4wd low even on a dry road.
4 low does not give you more traction than 4 high. Driving that fast on snow and ice is dangerous. 4WD does not turn the car into super-car, you cant' stop any faster or take curves any faster either. 4-Low for heavy duty conditions - SLOWLY which is what it is for. Be Safe!
Do you stop and put the trans in neutral to shift out of 4 low?
Yes I put it in N every time I've tried and to note the road I was going down was a country back road andwhen i was going 55 itwas on acleared off road.
I read on another website to try switching it over to four wheel drive high while going in reverse thrn going back to 4wd auto do you think that could help
You could try that if you do it very slowly. Maybe just let it roll a little while trying. Driving on curves or making turns on dry pavement while in 4WD will really mess up a transfer case and make it really hard to shift.
