ST Shame

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
K

Kevin Lang

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
3,717
Reaction score
0
Location
Pasadena, MD
As ya'll know, MD was hit with 2+ feet of snow. Where my ST was parked, it was 3 thanks to drifts.



Soes it was shoveled out, then later more was blown out, and I was ready to move her out.



...then the ST got stuck. All the snow was moved from under the truck, traction shovel under tire, all was set, and then I still ended up having just the rear right tire spinning, churning up a flurry of mud and digging a hole to China.



Thing is, I'm supposed to have a 70/30 limited slip in there, and it must have slipped to 100/0, cause to the best of my knowledge, the other wheel was stationary.



A frustration fueled neutral drop and aggression freed the ST, but that shouldn't have happened.



Sadly, Gary S, I ended up having to drive the fam's 2002 RAV4, and it handled like there was no snow. The "cute" 4 cylinder with 100% computer controlled (driver can't do a thing about it) 4wd was owning the snow. I was watching 4wd Rangers fishtailing in the Rear-view, fishtailing over snow I drove through with impunity. Same with an Expedition crashing into a snow bank, though they easily drove out, and it was in the neighborhood so there was no danger, except to their reputation, as they were packin a plow on the front.



Maybe the LSD has crapped out b/c the fluid needs to be changed, though I don't see how changing the fluid will magically revive it. I see why everyone calls for a locking differential now.

Shoulda bough some tire chains to play with them, but really, they seem like a waste of $$ in MD.



Getting essentially beat by the RAV4, and taking male stupidity and 3 dudes to extricate the ST is only a small step away from the shame described on here of being stuck on a wet soccer field, and having to be towed by a Chevy.



:boohoo::cry::boohoo:
 
My wifes 2000 Explorer handles the snow like a tank. No nonsense handling. You give it gas and it goes.





Tom
 
You know what the problem is, it is 2wd. I agree, my ST in 2wd sucks and tires spin like crazy, but when I put it in 4wd, no problems. No sliding, slipping, or drifting. 4wd does a lot to the ST. It is because you have no weight in the back to push down on the wheels, and they just spin...and limited slip just wont help that much. I love 4wd, although I am sorry for you, and others who dont have it...I dont know how you folks live without it(if you have snow).
 
I'm with you George! It's sure better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. :driving: The snow has melted here now but the ground is saturated. We were working on my buddy's Ford van Saturday and when he backed out of the shop he backed off of the gravel drive. I had to pull him up the slight incline back onto the gravel.:banana: :banana:



The 4x4 was really nice on my older F150's with manual hubs. The gear reduction of the 4Lo came in handy a lot of times pulling a loaded trailer up a steep hill. Saved a lot of clutch friction material!:haveabeer:
 
It's not just 2wd. I got my 4wd ST stuck due to an unexpected off-road experience. The ST was on frozen lawn. That was it...no snow, no mud, just tires spinning on grass and frozen turf.



TJR
 
I can't seem to get mine stuck. In 2wd its very easy for my to get it to spin on pretty much any slick surface and not go anywhere, but in 4wd it is a tank. Maybe the BFG's make that much of a difference? I don't know. But it handles our snow here as good as anything on the road. I was able to comfortably go the speed limit while most people creeped along with a couple inches of snow on the roads.
 
100% ditto to what clay said (yet again).



And I happen to think the BFG's make a big difference. I can remember before I had them :throwup:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My '10 4x4 was outstanding in the DC snow. I just don't go down roads that look questionable. When I went home the other night after work I had to drive though a sizable snow bank to get into my driveway then all the way up to the house was atleast 15" witn NO problems. Just don't stop, haha.
 
The OEM limited slip takes only 40ftlbs of torque differential to slip......



ALSO a good trick is to apply the parking brake 1 click or 2, this equalizes the torque between tires and lets you get a fake posi for a sec or two to help get you un stuck..



Todd Z

 
Don D.



Not my video, but I posted it when I first joined because I was pretty impressed with it. Now that I see it, its not quite as impressive, but still looks fun.
 
In 2wd I sit and spin in alot of the snow past couple days but in 4H or 4L I have no troubles at all. I also have BFG TA/KO's on mine that are just about 1/4 tread left at most and I just bulldoze thru snow that is up to the hood, keep in mind that my ST is lifted and has 285/75/16's. I think the 1.5" wheel spacers help out alot too because instead of the snow circulating in the wheelwell it get spit out the sides. So many people stuck today were extemely happy to see me, I hoooked my to strap to them and pulled out 8 cars, 2 4x4 trucks and a tow truck. It was funny becuase when I was pulling out the tow truck people were filming it so look on YouTube for my ST. :driving::banana:
 
Sometimes if it's slushy or wet before a storm and it freezes real fast the front brake pads will freeze to the rotors. That was the case with my cousin's van back in the mis 70's. Any chance that could have been the cause??



Just a thought!



'07 ST:driving:
 
Sadly, I don't think the LSD was working, as only one wheel spun :(



I'm blaming the combination of wet thick snow, with some ice, and wet slick mud and grass, on which the ST was parked for the problems.



I didn't screw with the tires as I'm still obsessive-compulsive about the Yokohama Geolandars that aren't even 3 months old yet



Once I get out on the snow, the Trac is awesome. The first big snow, the day Avatar the movie came out, there were 3-4 inches already down at 1 am after we saw the movie, and the roads weren't plowed (plows got stuck, even), and the ST was just cruising through it, with limited, and really fun, sliding. Nice to know that on snow you can slide and spin the ST, even going slow, by forcing auto gear changes. :banana:



Sadly, people are driving like morons now, I see big 4wd Excursions and cap'd F150s afraid to drive on the uncleared parts of the roads, so they'll swerve and cut people off to stay on the pavement.



I also get to see a bunch of 4wd vehicles demonstrate why an open differential sucks, as their rear wheels will have one spinning clearly faster in the slush, the other one just along for the ride, and it takes their front wheels to carry 'em free, or eventually the rear catches.



Trucks should come with 4wd, seriously. :angry:



So now I'm concerned with the rear differential. I hear that changing the fluid will magically restore it to its glory of slippage, though I'm not sure how that'll work, I'll give it a shot when I get the space.



Oh, and I'll remember that parking brake trick.
 
I have driven a 2wd ST for 4 winters and never had a problem in any amount of snow. I have an open diff too, I must have a magic ST. Yeah, magic ST or I know how to drive, not sure which.
 
Yeah, but all you unstuck guys seem to be talking about driving the ST. Driving the ST is fine.



It's getting the ST off of what was grass when I parked her, that was then 3 feet of snow and mud, that was the issue.



Now the bigger issue seems to be the fact that only one wheel turned, when both should have had at least some rotation.
 
my past tracs have performed very good in the n.e. snow storms of the past.

i was always confident in its handling and traction ( maybe with the assistance of the revo's ).

if i didn't tell you, i cant wait to get out of here. after the first day, snow sux :angry:



kl,

are you sure you were driving a toy? they suck too :fire:
 

Latest posts

Top