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Comments
-does it miss at idle, high-speed, cruise, and/or acceleration
-does the idle "lope" up and down in park
-is the problem worse when the vehicle is cool or fully warmed up
An ignition miss will be more noticeable under acceleration or at heavy/part throttle. An airflow problem (too much air from a vaccuum leak or too little from restricted throttle body passages) will be more noticeable at idle. Reason being, a small amount of air is required to idle an engine. Any excess or shortage of air mass will cause idle problems. But less voltage is required to ignite the small amount of fuel at idle, so ignition trouble is less noticeable. With the throttle open, more voltage is required to ignite the increased fuel charge, so a deficiency in available spark will feel like a sharp repetitive bucking or jerking. But an airflow irregularity will be less noticeable because so much more air is being introduced anyway. A fuel pressure problem can only be diagnosed with a pressure tester. Look for the obvious stuff first like leaking vacuum lines or cruddy throttle body plates.
As far as used Explorer advice, I've always been a proponent of not buying a first-year of a new model, so maybe be wary of the 2001s. I know at least a few problems with the new models have included differential failure (listen for excessive rear-end whine or drone on the highway) and 5-speed automatic failure (be sensitive to inconsistent shifts that clunk, hesitate or vibrate). Ford is also having some balancing problems with their truck wheels and rear-end gear right now, so be sensitive to vibrations at different speeds. And of course some electrical problems here and there. Just be sure to take your time and test every electrical accessory, plus give the truck a thorough city and highway road test and I thin kyou'll be happy. The new Explorers are much better vehicles over the old ones.
Forums and surveys can all offer some good stuff. Even those with questionable methodology, like Consumer Reports.
Steve, Host
It's demographics! The people who buy one class of vehicle simply refuse to admit they made a mistake and those who buy another class are whiners ;-)!
tidester, host
I read something once in a book on the US auto industry that revealed a lot of Honda and Toyota owners who, when experiencing car problems, assumed the root of the problems to be their own fault and developed a sense of guilt. Whereas American car owners were more prone to blame the manufacturer. The difference was simply the initial perception of the owner that the Japanese car was better than the American, so the owner just couldn't accept that his Japanes model was at fault. And to a degree I think Japanese cars are a bit overvalued in the secondary market. The best value in the world is a clean 3-5 year old American sedan.
You know the old saw - foreign car owners go to the dealer for maintenance, domestic owners go in for repairs.
Steve, Host
As far as the codes, is your EGR valve electronially operated or monitored? If you have a Haynes manual, you should have a list of all possible error codes for the EGR and their corresponding interpretation.
vacuum idle issues might one day be diagnosed by a vacuum sensor, there are a few that are priced under $100 now quantity one, and that appear to have enough range to be installed and checked against the computer's estimate of what vacuum SHOULD be. but having left the brake booster hose off a few months ago accidentally, I can tell you that a big vacuum leak is something you should instantly be able to guess from the gawd-awful idle at 1600 rpms.
I drive on the highway 75% of the time, so I'm sure its a change for the truck. Any ideas? The Ford dealer wants $83 to *look* at it.
The sulfur smell seems to be a problem with lots of different cars these days, esp. the 4Runner and MPV that I know of off-hand.
Steve, Host
demographics, while older poeple may be less inclined to use the internet than younger folks, they are VERY vocal in other ways if they are dissastisfied with a product. I sold home theatre components while in college and when an older couple came in, you sold them the better products not simply because they would buy it, but because you WANTED them to be satisfied. Otherwise, you heard about it from then on.
Its fuel economy is excellent, on the highway I average 19 to 21 mpg and around town I get 16 to 17 mpg. Can't complain about that from a V8 AWD.
There are things about this Explorer that are VERY frustrating, the egg smell, the leaking front doors (ever get wetter inside the truck than outside during a rainstorm??), and it has a nasty exhaust leak in the engine compartment, of course I don't think that has anything to do with the smell since its only noticeable during acceleration up until about 40 mph and I never smell anything then.
Oh well, its almost paid for, so I'll stick it out for a while.
If anyone has any other ideas throw them at me, if I haven't tried them I'll certainly toss them at the Explorer......*grumbling* Cantankerous little beast.
I had the exact symptoms you described. It would start and die immediately. I could keep it running by giving it some gas to stay out of the idle circuit, and after it warmed a little it was fine.
After the IAC was replaced it's been fine.
Good luck!
body and found carbon build up (acording to my haynes manual the throttle body is coated with something to prevent this and not use any chemical to remove this build up) also the manuel something
mention about the fuel filter being for the life of the car and maybe
water in the fuel line...........washijl@auburn.edu
30,000 between changes on the present generation of in-line high-pressure fuel filters. unless you are running slop sucked off the pavement at gas spills, that is plenty of mileage... there should be some dust and lacquer in the filter by then, but pressure restriction should be minimal.
If I remember right, there are 2 star screws to remove on the sensor. After pulling the sensor out, clean the elements with throttle body cleaner and re-install. It's an almost free fix thats worth trying before dumping money into it.
Would that trigger a check engine light? I still don't have one on in the truck nor is it giving any indication of trouble other than the smell and the noise of the exhaust leak. Well, that and occationally it falls on its face around 50 mph when trying to excellerate, but not bad.
Right now it needs new weather seals on the front doors (they leak bad), it has an exhaust leak/sulfur smell, and the blend door for the heater is broken (a very common, very expensive problem, dealer quoted $1100 to fix it).
Am I disappointed with it? No way, I love it, its a nice driving little SUV. I still average 19 to 21 mpg on the highway (cruise set on 68 mph) and about 18 mpg around town. I've taken it off road (nothing big, just some minor mud) it does fine.
I am still a Jeep fan, but I think the Explorer will prove to be more reliable.
All in all, I think the 5.0 is a great engine and really makes the Explorer pleasant to drive, plenty of power.
As far as the blend door goes, you might consider taking it to a reputable independent mechanic to save some money, The blend door job does't require speciealized skills, it just takes a long time to disassemble all those dashboard parts. In my opinion, dealerships should have two labor rates: the "High" rate ($65-$70/hr) for all the specialized work that only they can do and then a lower rate ($45-$50/hr) for all the standard repair work that anybody can do. Paying $70/hr for basic repair work is just out of line in my opinion.
The Ford dealer here in Alaska charges $83/hr. That's pretty much going rate, I did have a good mechanic that was cheaper, but he recently raised his rates to $82/hr.
There is a quick fix for the blend door, but I'm not sure how good of a fix it is, its something that can be done in the driveway basically.
I have an extended warranty on the truck and am pretty sure it will cover the blend door repair, but I know it doesn't cover exhaust and emissions.
I'll get around to fixing the blend door as soon as things settle down. Can't have it in the shop right now, the Explorer is our only vehicle right now since our Chevy needs a new flywheel.
Thanks again for your insight.