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Comments
I'd save fooling with the fuel injectors until the last resort, because you sprayed fuel in the intake and it did not start, so that seems to me to eliminate the "no fuel" problem. On the other hand, if the injectors flooded the engine, I would think it would have started or tried to start after you put the dried spark plugs back in. You might go back to the fuel pressure and see if it holds pressure, to be sure the injectors are not leaking down. With ignition ON and motor not running, the fuel pressure should build up to specs, then turn off ignition, the pressure should remain constant for several minutes before a drop in pressure.
Doing the Spark/Length test like I described is the easiest and quickest way to check the voltage on the ignition system. A spark tester would not be able to do it any better, a scope just gives you a visual display on the screen, but looking at the length of the spark gives you a direct indication of the relative available voltage. The higher the voltage, the longer the arc can be. You start with the gap almost closed and slowly increase the gap, Longer Gap means Higher Voltage. I would suggest you check the spark Intensity and Length to be sure it is strong enough.
Fuel injector timing should be set by the distributor timing. As long as the distributor is in time, the engine computer should know which cylinder is ready to fire and fire the injector at the right time. I was just checking to see if this might be an issue and if anything in your manual addressed it. I think this is more of an issue on cars that use the Coil Packs and Coil On Plugs, as they don't have distributors and have to have camshaft sensors to signal the computer and injectors when to fire. I would assume for now that your injectors are in time.
In summary, I would suggest you check the spark intensity/length and be sure it is strong enough.
About the Explorer, I don't know what resistance you were measuring, but if a given circuit is supposed to read 10,000 ohms and you read infinity, then it is an open circuit and it is bad or out of spec. I don't know what they did to the injectors, I never had any trouble with them on any of my 4 Explorers over the last 10 years. I pour a can of fuel system cleaner into the gas tank at each oil change. My idle is smooth at about 600-650 rpm when warm. It runs about 1100 rpm when first started, and slows down to 650 rpm in a couple of minutes.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Thanks
My Questions:
1) When replacing the ball joint is loosing the wheel bearing nut or adjusting the wheel bearing in any way standard practice?
2) Does the Astro shop manual list any steps that would affect the wheel bearing?
Thanks for your help.
It also will drop completly to the left and then switch back to above full in the course of a few seconds.
It also seems to vibrate at times.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Don
1- flip the key over and then insert to start.
2- wiggle the steering wheel as you turn the ignition key.
I've had that occurrance in the past.
-gary :shades:
A little time consuming, but to fix this problem:
Get some rags, flashlight, toothpicks, anything small enough to fit inside the key slot(i use small hex keys)and some lubricant(wd-40, oil)
What your trying to do is release the stuck key pin inside the cylinder.
The pins are toward the bottom of the cylinder
Just keep lubricating the small piece(hex key,toothpick) and apply pressure towards the bottom of the cylinder as you pull back.
push the piece in and pull out putting downward pressure as you remove it.
Continue this for however long it takes. It make take a while.
Also spray the ignition key and slip that in and out several times.
Wipe any debris from the piece or key as you see it being removed from the cylinder.
usually takes somewhere between 15-30 min of this to release the sticking pin in the cylinder.
One the cylinder is working continue the process for another 5 min or so to remove any debris left inside the cylinder.
Ive done this several times on differnt vehicles.
Well worth the time!!!!
keep flipping the key over each time you lubricate it.
Dont break off the toothpicks if you use those to get inside the cylinder.
Hope this helps
If it doesn't, you may have an out of place spring inside there and it's not pushing the pins up, thus making the cylinder think the wrong key is being inserted.
With the flashlight you should be able to see which pin is not all the way up, usually(my luck) its toward the back of the cylinder.
Thanks
Jorge
1- paint peeled off in sheets from the roof and hood.
2- a/c system had to be replaced twice (leaky compressor).
3- a/c still leaks but a lower rate.
There have other smaller problems like having to replace tires at an alarming rate but this is due to the tires themselves and replacement has been under warranty. The leather on the dirver's seat and the front passenger have cracked and ripped. Looks like cheap quality leather not up to its intended use. I will probably have the two front seats re-upholstered soon. Last year the van was in a small fender bender and I had the body shop repaint the hood and the roof while they were repairing the accident damage.
Overall the van has provided good service and has been reliable but at a price. Had I gone with a Honda or a Toyota my upfront cost would have been at least 50% more.
I am now considering replacing the Safari but I am not sure what is available that would offer as much room, the amenities and better reliability.
Jorge
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
We did nothing usual today - we did get gas yesterday. I have opened and retightened the gas cap. The van seems to run fine. It is overdue for an oil change.....
Any suggestions.....
An Inquiring mind
Good news to report though. I believe it was the gas I got - after putting in a fuel injection cleaner and some high octane gas, the engine light went off on it's own!!!
Thank goodness!!!! My next step was to drive to Autozone to have them hook for the scanner - thankfully, the van behaved itself....
I have a 1998 AWD AstroVan just turned 107,000 miles. Major tune up done motor runs great. I get in the van the other day with my wife and I hear a tractor like whining from the front end at 10-40 mph. goes away at highway speeds. I rotated the tires fron to back but the noise is still there.
I topped off the front diff which seemed to have a pinion leak it took 3/4 quart of hypoid. Noise is still there. It sounds like a wheel bearing, but there is no change in sound when turning the wheel side to side. Most wheel bearings get louder / lower when turning the wheel while driving. This is driving me nuts, you can hear and feel the vibration on the wheel, but don't know how to find it.
Thanks,
Joe from NY
I tried to get answers from the dealer snd got the run around. Well since I am a Car audio installer BY trade for 18 years I took out the A/C Controls and found the HIGH output on the back of the switch does nothing more than send 12volts direct to the FAN MOTOR under the hood, I BELIVE this wire here is PURPLE as well... FYI the other speeds do the same, but send different voltages through resistors to the same PURPLE wire at the MOTOR under the hood passenger side...
SO I took the HIGH output from the switch, ran a wire to under the hood where I put it into pole 85 of a standard SPDT relay ( you can get at auto zone ) I then grounded the pole 86, and put FUSED 12volts direct from the BATTERY into Pole 30 and connected POLE 87 to the purple wire - BE SURE TO USE AT LEAST 12G WIRE ON THE 12V, AND PURPLE WIRE OUTPUTS FROM THE RELAY. DO NOT USE POLE 87A and be sure to tap off.
Not only will this fix your problem, but your FAN will actually BLOW harder than ever before as you are sending a stronger source of 12volts to it rather than sending 12volts that has gone though the entire electrical system first. This set up does not affect any of the rest of the AC system in anyway.
I assume there is a HIGH SPEED FAN RELAY somewhere...But it did not seem to be getting the signal to send voltage to the motor, SO I assumed there had to be a fusable link or other break in the signal wire from the A/C Switch...
HOPE it helps...
Ken
I replaced tires, wheels, front drive shaft, and dealer looked at everything.
But the vibration persists. I am interested in your comments about the front wheel bearings correcting a high speed vibration problem.
Thanks,
Richard R.
I'm sure the dealer has tried rotating the tires in addition to "spin" balancing each one. Spin balancing is the only way to rule out the tires as a cause of the problem.
Good luck,
Ed
Dan
Coil plugs wires changed in April. Two weeks ago it developed and miss ( really noticeable at low idle.
Mechanic scanned codes and it showed intermitant missfire on cylinder #5. He replaced wire and plug and it ran ok for him.
Our first long trip of 1 1/2 or so it started to miss again.
It cleared up but the engine light came on.
Mechanic checked codes and it showed nothing. Reset light.
It short hauled all week with no problems.
The problem came again this weekend on an hour trip one. It kind of cleared up on the way home and was fine this morning.
A search of the archives suggested stuck poppet valve in injections system.
Any other ideas to look for. Hard to start looking if the problem this elusive.
Thanks
The actuator is on the hatch door and seems to work fine when I hook it to the 96 van. Where is the botton on the 2000 van?