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Comments
For the past 2.5 to 3 years, the steering wheel would "stick" before it would begin moving. Nothing major but you definitely noticed it. Finally this winter it has been extremely cold here in PA. Noticed on a number of occasions the steering wheel was almost impossible to move. Got it checked out yesterday. You guessed it... the steering rack was bad. Luckily I took it to a independent garage and they are putting a re-built rack in for about $250 plus labor (4.5 hours). Also I am finally changing the serpentine belt (squeaks after rain or snow). Think the last time I did that was around 50k or 60k miles. Also need new tires. Have an appointment for Dayton Timberline AT at $68 per tire, out the door.
So $1000 later (includes power steering flush and oil change), my Explorer is ready to tackle the roads for the next couple of years. Can't really complain about this vehicle considering the amount of maintenance I haven't done on it. It has served me well.
I have the 4.0L OHV V6 with 103k miles on the clock. Has anyone else had problems with bad head gaskets/heads at this mileage? I always thought the 4.0L OHV was one of Fords better engines.
After 103k miles, I am assuming that I should have the heads redone while I have them off. It only makes sense because most of the labor is just getting to the heads. The wear metals on my last oil analysis were all acceptable so I don't think I'll need a complete rebuild of the lower half. Is there any good reason to just get a rebuilt engine now or should I repair the top half and hope for 200k miles?
if they don't have to hoist to fix this, it's a gut call. if there has not been unusual noise, do the heads and gaskets. if there is any evidence of "thunk", I'd start over with a rebuilt.
this is Joe Owner speaking, by the way, I don't do heavy engine work.
Tom
Tom
Take it to another place to get the tire balance checked. Tell them your problem, and ask them to take the tires off WITHOUT pulling the wheel weights off, and put it on their balancing machine to see how the existing balance is on each tire. They may be balanced ok, and the vibration may be coming from somewhere else. Have them rebalance the tires if they are not in balance. Also check the drive shaft for any signs of out of balance or bending. Has this been happening for long, or did this happen when these tires where put on or when the tires where rebalanced? How many miles on the tires? Also check tires for out of round condition or any irregularities. I've had Michelin and Wrangers before, and they ran very smooth.
I have been driving on the new tires only 4 days (Dayton Timberline L/T) but so far, much better then the Wrangler RT/S at 33% of the price. Not too bad. Paid $68 per tire, out the door. As I put more miles on the vehicle, I can give you more info on the tires.
I was not impressed with the Wrangler RT/S. It rode smooth and quiet but the grip was poor esp. in slick conditions like snow, mud and rain. Also they were subject to cupping. I had to replace two tires at 40k miles (cupping began around 35k) because the noise was too much.
Good luck with the tires.
I was more than a bit suprised: no excessive tire wear, no loose steering, no vibration. The steering feels exactly as it did 4 years ago when I bought it. Most of the miles are on interstates, on very good roads and no off-roading.
Is this typical for the that year of explorer?
thanks for any help.
BTW, due to suggestions on this board, I opted fo the extended waranty; I just wish I went 100K instead of 75K.
ford will not chip in on my $400 repair bill.
this explorer is driven all highway miles.
told them it is not driven like the "built ford tough" commercials.
looks like item #2 on my all-time pains-in-butt list with the truck (#1 is the low rear view mirror requires bobbing and weaving to see who's going to T-bone you on the right as you pull away from a stop sign.)
neither one is a show-stopper, not nearly enough to rail and devise plots about. cars break, stuff happens and then you die, but not always.
I recently took my 98 Explorer in to replace a leaking head gasket. I asked that they send the heads out to a shop and check them out. Both heads were cracked. My mechanic is getting aftermarket castings which are supposed to be thicker where the crack occurred. I'm just curious if anyone else has had the same problem with a similar year vehicle.
get a shop rag soaked up in washer fluid, and gently pull it along all the plug wires, washing all the road snot and dust (and salt if you live in snow country) off the wires. once more to rinse 'em. use a fresh clean shop rag to wipe off the wires at the ignition coil assemblies, including the yellowish-clear plastic on top of those coils. get a socket wrench and give a little tug to the mounting bolts to make sure they're down. that ought to do you some good.
how old are those wires? even Ford recommends replacement between 80,000 to 100,000 miles, and I changed my first set out at 25,000 due to a one-cylinder stumble at idle before I had a tow into nowhere land.
there is also the possibility that there is a sensor that is not with it... that is, a little nutty or slow, and in damp weather in which the fuel/air mixture is changed, it can't get the engine in range. specifically, an 02 sensor is what I'm thinking of... they get "lazy" more often than they fail out, and it's around the time they start going away with your mileage.
About the cracked heads, I had a 1991 Ford Explorer with the 4.0L OHV engine, which I bought in Sept 1998 with 120K. My wife and I drove it until Jan 2003 with 165K, we drove it 44,000 miles in 4 1/2 years, NO engine problems at all. It DID need a transmission.
I am currently driving a 1993 Ford Explorer with the 4.0L OHV engine, which I bought in April 1999 with 112K. It now has 167K on it in, drove it 55k in 4 years with NO engine problems. Of course, I take exceptional care of them, and never let them run hot. I converted each vehicle to the new 134A refrigerant and added a new electric pusher fan in front of the radiator with a thermostatic control switch. Temp gauge never goes over 1/4. An engine that overheats never lasts very long. Keep it cool.
Cheech2:
About the Spark Plug wire and missing, Remove and check plugs. If worn replace with new, gap plug at .040", this will make your wires last MUCH longer. I do this with all my cars and I never have to replace the spark plug wires. The 2 explorers I mentioned above, have the same wires in them as when I bought them, and run perfectly. And the wires where not new in either of those vehicles. If your wires are already bad, replace them now. You can test them by lightly spraying them with water with engine idling, while in a darkened garage of at night. Careful not to get shocked. Look and listen for any changes in the engine rpm, engine smoothness or roughness or any visible sparks. Any of this would require the wires be replaced.
Get it back to the dealer; yours is not the first to have the problem. I am surprised that a more recent build date would still have the problem. Mine was built in late May '01. Mine eventualy got a new transmission.
Good luck!
About three weeks ago, I noticed what I call a lateral vibration at 60-65 mph that only gets worse the faster I go (the freeway speed is 75 mph here). I think it might be an engine problem in that the engine sounds a little "rough". The wheel weights are all there and there is no unusual wear on the tire treads.
I have it into the dealer now, so we will see what they say today.
These message board if very informative/interesting.
But our Explorer still runs a little rough, especially when idling. The dealer said Ford was aware this is a problem on a lot of 2003 Explorers, but has not, and probably will not, do anything about it. I was reading the NM lemon laws yesterday before I went to pick up our Explorer, and when talking to the dealer, I noticed they were very cafeful in their wording to me how this rough idling issue did not affect operation and performance.
To the person who wrote about roughness when accelerating, maybe a higher grade of gasoline would help. I am not an expert, but you might give it a try for a tank or two. I used to have a Subaru that ran rough when I tried to accelerate aggressively (e.g., it almost knocked), but that went away when I used a higher octane (especially more demanding situations like mountain driving).
The part is about $120...
The radio won't turn off. The volume works from the steering wheel controls. Is this a known problem?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Explorer. $120 seems really high. I know there's a GM discount source
mentioned onthe Bonneville group.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I could have gotten wallet-eating maintenance hogs each time if I picked the wrong drivetrains, options, or models on my lists. I think more than whether Detroilet is an evil empire bent on torturing people, letting others test the newest changes and finding out what doesn't work is the way to pin the blame on the lame dogs out there.
I detested the company Ford and GM products both that our TV stations bought in the 1970s. evil wobbling showboats with no a/c and the knobs in the wrong place, it didn't matter what their mechanical condition was, I got sick driving those roadhogs. I drove things that I liked in that period, too.
mookie, no way I would have taken the engine and tranny you got in your bad-news exploder, I had already found out about their reputation. I just really think that good information and avoiding creepy crud, more than evil plots across the line at a car company, made the difference for me.
pepper52 "Ford Expedition" Sep 13, 2000 4:09pm
Steve, Host
I know others have had this "problem". In my 7 years I have owned the vehicle, it has not let me run out of gas. If I were you, I would drive it below 1/4 tank and get a sense of when you need gas
based on your driving habits (city vs. highway) and total mileage for that tank of gas (trip odometer). This way you are not relying on the fuel gauge (really should call it a guide).
Bioman3
There seems to something a litte strange about hondafreaks postings. The link doesn't show any of the cars he claims to have (Trailblazer, Explorer, Escape etc.) and all of his messages for each of those cars is the same.
Steve, Host
Ever since new if I started my exp. and drove about a Quarter of a mile to store shut off for only a few minutes came back out to start engine. would load up when re starting. Also when the temp. gauge is just at the warm up area between cold and warm the engine idles very rough but when past that area it idles better. Once the engine died. I took to a dealer and they could not find any problems.I have 20k now.THe timing chain tenshiner has been changed 2 times. The second time was by mistake Ford did not check to see it had been done already and replaced without asking me.The power steering has a RRRR when cold like something is grinding. Can anybody tell me if they have experienced any of these problems. also idles rough all the time!! took in 4 times to dealer they said no codes present but i know what i know and it idles rough 24/7/52.
talk to the service manager. they can open the manuals (yes, really, they can! I saw it done once!) and see how to shoot the sensors with a voltmeter. there is a fix if they want to fix it. if not, go elsewhere and stay elsewhere.
the power steering is likely a bum pump... flush the fluid as well when that gets replaced.
Does anyone else have this problem and/or know of a fix?
Scottjy, for that dealer to tell you that's a computer controlled problem and there's nothing they can do about it, that's all BS. Take it to another dealer or something. Better yet, take it to the Lincoln dealers... for some strange reason, it seems like you get better service from them. Good luck.
I have power locks but no keyless entry. When I unlock the vehicle, occasionally the locks will relock immediately after I turn the key. I have to have both hands free in order to turn the key and open the door handle. After I open the door, the locks stop going haywire.
I don't have any info to help fix the problem. It has been one of those small problems I have learned to live with.