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thanks.
Actually my explorer has almost 180,000. Sounds like I should have the whole front-end reworked.
I've tried to shoot some oil on the busings and such, but to no avail. I have done everything but listen with a stethescope, but I can't seem to hear exactly where the noise comes from.
Again, thanks for the info.
Kwccorb
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Thanks,
Ron
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
I got the spark plug to sit deep in its hole -- but not all the way. Although it is a big improvement. The problem is the part of chaser that you screw-the-thing-down-with is too big and is getting caught on the engine and isn't allowing the thread part to go in deeper.
Everyone is looking to gauge my eyes out on this repair job, and I can only find one person willing to helicoil it anyway.
Is it a good idea to bring it in? or just crank it? What about driving it like that? I only started it for a couple of minutes and the idle seems smooth.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
I think I am hanging up the tools.
Hope it holds up ok,
E.D. ISF
If you were going to buy a BMW or Porshe SUV -- you would have probably bought one instead of Ford. If you are going to buy American again, you will probably face the same reliabilitiy issue at GM or Jeep or Mercedes now that they're in the US. You could have bought a Pilot or Xterra and probably avoided a reliability issue. You will not get to return this car.
I actually tried that once at a Ford dealer when they sold me a Taurus with bent rotors, that wouldn't drive straight. They refused to fix it after they said they would after the test drive.
good luck
I will look further into the Goodyear Raggatta 2's, for $80 sounds good. I paid that much for the Dunlop Radial Rovers I put on my wifes car and they turned out to be junk. The Dunlops one at a time separated and failed, between 20,000 and 30,000 miles. I put some used Goodyear Wranglers on her car for the time being, I plan to buy her a new full set soon, so I will certainly consider the Goodyear Raggatta 2's and the Goodyear Cross Terains.
-Matt
AEHALL
First, we need to know if the battery has power, so try a few things and tell us how they do. Turn on your headlights. Do they shine normally? If they do, then the battery has power and the power is getting through some of the wiring. If lights are dim or weak, it indicates a weak battery. Next, Turn on the dome light, and you will use it as a battery voltage guage. Watch the dome light, it should stay about the same brightness when you turn on your headlights, AC, step on the brake, etc. Only a tiny flicker would be acceptable. It should NOT go dim. Now with the dome light on, try to start the car, Does the dome lite dim? How much? If the dome light does NOT dim at all, then there is a resistance or open circuit in the starter circuit, could be in the connections, wires or starter, has to be traced out. If the dome light goes VERY DIM or OUT, AND the battery checked good before, that may mean that the starter has a problem of binding or shorting, causing it to draw to much current from the battery OR there is not enough power in the battery to power the starter, therefore the voltage drops too low. It is normal for the dome light to dim SLIGHTLY when starting the car.
If you have access to a voltmeter, connect it across the battery posts, and do the above tests. I said connect to the POSTS, NOT the TERMINALS, because there could be some resistance between the battery post and the battery terminal. If the battery is fully charged, it should hold 12.5 to 12.7 volts with no load. As load is applied, the voltage normally drops a small amount. The voltage should not drop below 9.5 volts when cranking the engine. If it does, the battery is weak. If the volts only drops a little, like to maybe about 11 to 12 volts when cranking, and the starter is very slow, then there is resistance in the starter circuit, in the connections, wiring or in the starter itself. A check for voltage drop would have to be made along the circuit.
If the engine starts, the alternator should charge the battery with about 13.5 to 14.3 volts. With a weak battery, the charging voltage may start with less voltage and then slowly build up to 13.5 to 14.3 volts.
Let us know what you find. Good Luck.
E.D. ISF
Before, one of the plugs wouldn't go in all the way, and it was running rich. I don't remember that noise, but I do remember that gas from the exhaust/running rich smell.
Just now, I stamped down on one of the spark wires that goes to the coil, and it looked like one of them was not on all the way. The gas doesn't come out as much is it did, but it appears it is running rich every 2-3 minutes or so, and then good again.
The wires are Bosch and they have these dumb little prongs and I can't tell if they are fully seated in the oil or not.
Here's the story if you missed it:
Ford Recalls 1.2 Million Trucks, DCX 800K Jeeps (Inside Line)
The noise sounds like when a car's engine is turned off after a long drive in Hot weather -- you know the crinkling noise of an engine that's just been run awhile and hot --except it'll do it with the truck running after 5 minutes and at idle.
There's no running rich smell any more at least, or gas coming out of the exhaust. I guess pushing down hard on the newly installed wires took care of that.