Late last year I inherited the 1997 Explorer (4.0 SOHC; 5R55E) my dad had, and it has been a wonderful vehicle. Recently I have been having intermittent issues with the transfer case (I am guessing that it's the transfer case since before the audible problem, buzzing sound when decelerating, my brother and I noticed that the front wasn't engaged when using it to move non-running vehicles in my mom's backyard.) Everything I've read about this issue points to the t case. I looked into replacements, but it has almost 200k miles, so it may be financially more responsible for me to just get a whole other vehicle with the same drive train then pull it out, rebuild it at my leisure, then spend a couple weekends doing a swap. This truck is not my primary transportation, but I would like to keep it for sentimental reasons. Any input you might have, suggestions or otherwise, would be appreciated.

 

welcome, yes I would try and find a low mileage donor vehicle if possible to save it since it has sentimental value to you.

Good luck with the repairs and I hope you find a great donor vehicle worthy of your project

 

Douglass, welcome to the forum! If you have a salvage yard (Pull-A-Part) close by, I would just look for the lowest mileage Explorer out there... pull it and swap it out, skipping the rebuild. Model years up to 2001 should work. Mountaineers had the AWD, and I don't think the transfer case is the same. OUTLAW: correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Welcome to the Forum