[AT] The terror strikes again. - 4WD

Fri Jun 6 06:49:30 PDT 2014

The thing is, modern SUV's (and '97 is still pretty modern) aren't trucks.
 They are family haulers, like the modern incarnation of the station wagon
from the earlier decades.  They have to be simple enough for soccer moms to
drive them without intimidation.  Pushbutton 4WD instead of a manually
shifted transfer case is a necessary part of the program.  I'll cite my
wife as an example.  She's a farm girl, raised on a diary farm, and a
lifelong equestrian.  She insists that her daily driver be equipped with a
manual transmission.  She drives our tractor with no qualms.  She can
handle machinery.  Yet, for some reason (a reason that Ford apparently
understands) my wife seems to have a problem with the stone-age 4WD system
on our '97 F-250 pickup.  Manual hubs and manual transfer case... she just
doesn't even want to try to understand it.  So there you go.  THIS is why
you have pushbutton 4WD on SUV's.

Once the Ford designers and marketing people decide it's going to be
pushbutton, a new world of features opens up.  For example, they can do
fancy things with electrically controlled center differentials to provide
full-time or part-time 4WD modes.  The '97 Expedition has just such a
system, called ControlTrac, by Borg-Warner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Trac

It's very unfortunate that your mechanic is guessing and throwing parts at
it, which clearly he is, since you're $1000 deep and it's not fixed.

SO

On Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 6:45 AM, Cecil R Bearden <crbearden at copper.net>
wrote:

> Charlie:
> I have a 97 Expedition 4WD.  I have used the 4wd  only once in the 75K
> miles I have owned it.  I have maintained it religiously, however, the
> 4WD has decided to quit and we cannot find out why. It appears to be  in
> the powertrain control module (PCM) that controls the stepper motor that
> engages the 4wd.  I have spent over $1000 in parts with the help of a
> Ford mechanic trying to find the problem.  The only thing left is the
> PCM...     $350.00 All the computer crap just to turn on a motor, or
> replace a short lever or a cable that could be pulled from inside.
>
> On a tractor note...   My 8345 Belarus 3 point quit working.  The 820 is
> the same tractor but 10 years older.  It has a lever for the 3 point.
> The 8345 has a control cable.  The cable has broken and it is going to
> be a 3 hour job to replace.   ( this is the first major repair I have
> made to my Russian tractor)  It looks like even the Russians can't leave
> well enough alone.
>
> The engineers creed.....  If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough
> features........
>
> Cecil in OKla
>
>
> On 6/5/2014 11:50 AM, charlie hill wrote:
> > Grant you need to drive a newer 4 wd vehicle.
> > Mine is an 06 GMC Sierra crew cab.  It weighs in at
> > about 5,000 lbs.  Except for getting into and out of
> > tight parking spaces it drives and rides as good as
> > a full size sedan.  It gets around 20 mpg on the highway.
> > My overall average fuel economy is about 17.5 over the life
> > of the truck and that includes a fair amount of towing.
> > The 4 WD is controlled by a switch on the dash.  You run
> > in 2 wd.  If things get touchy you can hit the switch to put it
> > in Auto 4 wd and it selects 4 wd if it needs it or you can hit
> > the button for full time 4 wd.  You do this on the fly without
> > slowing down, stopping or putting the transmission in neutral.
> > The only time you have to stop to shift is if you need to go into
> > 4wd low range.
> >
> > The front suspension is independent like the rear suspension on
> > a Corvette or a typical front wheel drive sedan with short stub axles
> from
> > the transfer case to the front wheels.  210,000 miles and I've had
> > only very minor problems with the entire truck.
> >
> > There is nothing wrong with 2WD but there is also no down side to modern
> > 4 WD except for the up front cost.
> >
> > Charlie
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Grant Brians
> > Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 12:08 PM
> > To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> > Subject: Re: [AT] The terror strikes again. - 4WD
> >
> > I fall into the category of the "2WD supporters", but for exactly the
> reason
> > Steve cites - I don't drive in snow or other conditions where it would be
> > useful! Once in a while we get snow in the Mountain valley ranch, and
> there
> > is frequently ice on the pass in the winter, but then we almost always
> have
> > enough weight to compensate. Also, while I did finally buy a 4WD Dodge
> last
> > year for wet conditions around the fields (1980 3/4 ton - boy it drives
> like
> > an OLD truck...), it was not intended for road use really. As a result, I
> > can say that as the old internet meme goes YMMV your mileage may vary!
> LOL.
> >          Grant Brians
> >          Hollister,California Farmer
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> > [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of Stephen
> > Offiler
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 5:13 AM
> > To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> > Subject: Re: [AT] The terror strikes again. - Studebaker speed response
> >
> >
> > (replying to Charlie's note with a lot of snipping...)
> >
> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 9:27 PM, charlie hill <charliehill at embarqmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> john I put some weight in the rear of my 4 WD truck if possible but
> >> usually not more than 200 or 300 lbs.
> >
> > I usually don't add weight, and the reason why not is because my truck is
> > not a daily driver; it comes out when I need to haul something meaning I
> > generally need the bed to be free of dead-weight obstructions; and
> > otherwise it comes out when the snow is really bad.
> >
> >
> >
> >>   I know those who don't have 4 WD or
> >> don't want 4 WD or just don't believe in it for one reason or another
> > don't
> >> want
> >> to hear this but there really is a dramatic difference when driving in
> > snow
> >> or
> >> anything else slick or deep.
> >
> >
> > This is really the part I wanted to focus us.  YES!  It's just a fact.
>  The
> > 2WD supporters have found that it works for them, but clearly they aren't
> > taking their trucks into some of the same situations as Charlie and I
> have
> > described.
> >
> > SO
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