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Comments
I recently bought an Eddie Bauer V8 with the upgraded "audiophile" (290 watt 6 disc) stereo and I am unhappy with the sound quality. (I had to put their term of "audiophile" in quotes because it would make any Krell or Mark Levinson fan cringe). There is nothing malfunctioning about the stereo; it's just not any good. Sounds like a "sizzle and boom" Radio Shack special.
Has anyone put in aftermarket speakers attached to this head unit and been happy with the results?
I really don't want to replace the head unit if possible.
"The reliability verdicts tell you at a glance which vehicles, by model and year, have an overall reliability record that's average or better than average. The verdicts are on a relative scale, compared with the average for that year, not on the problem-rate scale used for the trouble spots (see above). We give extra weight to critical components--engine, cooling, transmission, and driveline."
Hope this clears up some confusion. I think what gets people so scared are those black dots. When in reality, yes they don't mean good things but is only means that 14.8% of owners reported problems with that component. For instance the engine in my 1999 Expedition is by CR ratings, supposed to be trash by now. However, at 77,000 miles it runs just fine without skipping a beat. So the CR information, while very helpful, does not directly determine the life of your vehicle.
After having a transfer case, a transmission, an alternator,and 2 sets of sway bar bushings replaced on mine in 26,000 miles, I might not disagree.
Still love the truck, though.
I might go shopping for the extended warranty when the time comes, too.
Steve, Host
in short, just tell the man, "antifreeze for a Ford." it's basically been the same for over 30 years now, and not that much change from 1960, either. and if it's brown in color, you need to have your system pressure-flushed and refilled.. there's not much "anti-freeze" left in your antifreeze, and it's also full of corrosion from the engine and maybe the radiator... probably just the top atom on each surface, but it should really be checked annually and changed with a flush every two years.
I meant that the prior poster was looking at Mountaineer ratings in CR and the post referring to bad ratings was about an Explorer, and while they are mechanically very similar they might have different ratings that come from the differences.
Mine is an '02 Explorer, by the way.
Heintz1, one of those "Car Talk" guys did a rant about shopping for an AM/FM radio in the big box stores. He never did find one without 40 buttons and dials in a simple square or rectangular shape :-) I think you'd relate!
Steve, Host
Additional comments: 1) Especially on poorly recorded CDs, I can definitely hear what's been termed "digital 'ringing'" ("clock jitter" from the digital-to-analog convertor?) with the stock head unit, especially at higher volumes. However, such CDs can often sound better when copied (strictly for personal use) onto "black" CD-Rs, such as those made by Memorex; 2) If one uses a well designed power amp and quality aftermarket speakers, then consider being very cautious and conservative with the tone controls on the head unit. I find that my system often sounds best with the treble set to the middle position, and with the bass set to a more "rolled-off" position; the louder the volume, the more I roll-off the bass; the lower the volume, the more I will add bass, but no more than the middle position. Of course, tastes may vary, so "season to taste"; 3) In general, I think that car subwoofer installations are often vastly overpriced, and probably unnecessary for most mature, adult, and otherwise sane music lovers who simply want to enjoy fairly realistic sounding music while driving, without suffering brain damage, ear damage, rattles, loose bolts and screws, etc.; 4) When setting the "fader" (front vs. back speaker) controls, consider just how *realistic* you want your car audio sound to be. In general, when you're at a live performance you're sitting somewhere in FRONT of the performers, rather than in the middle of them, or behind them. So, try setting the fader all the way forward, which should more approximate a realistic, forward oriented "soundstage". Even when the fader is set fully forward, there is still some audio signal feeding the rear speakers, and this still contributes to the overall ambience, timber, spatial cues, and soundstaging that's heard from the FRONT seats. For similar reasons, when choosing aftermarket speakers, strongly consider placing "brighter" (i.e., more treble and upper midrange definition) and more luxurious and sonically accurate speakers in the front cabin, while placing speakers with more lower midrange and upper bass definition in the rear doors. But that said, AVOID front positioned speakers which suffer from excessive upper octave "sizzle" or "brightness". (A sure sign of having chosen such speakers is that you find yourself lunging for the volume control to turn down the volume out of a sense of listening fatigue, harshness and brittleness of sound, and excessive ringing and edginess).
I find that harsh CDs react well when copied to the older dark green 2X sony or 3m/imation CD-Rs, and the older blue verbatims are also good, if less "mellow." I laid in a real good stock of them at the time I found this out, and when I get a grating disk, smile because of my secret stash.
you could try green Sharpie around the edge of the CDs, that's the old saw. any CD-R with greenish dye should make some difference.
but basically, the theory is that the long IR waves that are scattered off the CD instead of cleanly reflected will eventually hit other tracks' pits and some will be bounced back to the pickup photodiode. just like the billiards-angled distorted FM waves around the entrance to the tunnel, between buildings downtown, etc. hitting your antenna at the same time as a prime wave does and causing multipath reception shattering.
if/when/if-ever the blue DVD becomes the prime music carrier medium, this problem will cease to exist, because the shorter wavelength and faster drop in power with distance of the blue lasers will basically take the reflected scatter-beams' power below the cutoff level for the detector photodiode. thus even if there was wild light spraying all over the disk, it would be a whisper at the end of the runway with jets taking off, and not noticeable at all.
I don't see it as an accessory on the Ford website and I had one in my last 97 XLT (but it had leather.) I'm a little sketchy because the vehicle didn't have the owners manual and we paid extra for the cross rails but the were missing too and are now on order.
I would think the cargo cover would be standard.
Thanks!
I've owned 3 Exploder variants. I really like the cars but I would never consider owning them without putting an OEM 100K extended warranty on them. My last one (a 1998 Mountaineer V8 AWD) had 60/100K/$50 Ford ExtraCare on it that I got over the internet from a Ford dealer in Iowa. I plan to do the same thing with the 2003 Mountaineer before it crosses 5,000 miles.
It pays to shop around. You can shave a couple hundred bucks off list price on the warranty. Your $1,230 warranty was probably this one?
http://www.fordwarrantycentral.com/
Product ID: EC60100D50 Plan Type: Extra Care
ESP ExtraCare 60 Month/100,000 Miles $50 Deductible for F150 4x4, Explorer or Mountaineer 4x4, Windstar AWD, Escape4x4
Description:
Retail: $1,045.00
Got the truck for over 3 months with 3,500 miles on it now. Two weeks ago, the airbag light flashed then stayed on. Dealer changed the electric component - fixed. There was an annoying rattle came from front passenger side. It happened whenever the truck passed a pothole, and stayed. I noticed that it did not happen if someone sat on passenger seat, so I guess it either came from the seat or the floor area of the passenger. I've tried a lot things: move the seat, hit it, pull up the mat then put it back (that's why I noticed the exposed wires) ... but no help. Yesterday, I pull up the mat again and saw a label on the back side with a staple pin on it. May it's the pin hit the floor when the mat vibrated, I thought. This morning, I put a piece of tissue under the pin, it seems works! - no rattle on the way to office! I'll double check it on the way home. If I've really fixed it, is that amazing?
All thing considered, I still love the truck.
when I test drove the 2002 a while back, I don't remember noticing where the OBD was.
if your geegaw is at the edge of the carpet, way back and tucked up by the firewall and looking like a button on a black connector, it's your intertial shut-off switch. in case of hitting a pothole from Hell or something else, hard enough to possibly cause a fuel system leak, this will open up and prevent the pump from flowing the accident site with gasoline. the chance of that being munged by anybody other than a basketball player stretching out is real small.
I also notice that the seats are showing creases (2002 EB) at an alarming rate.
The V8 sounds like a schoolbus at idle, very lumpy but when drivingis as smooth as butta. Quick too!
Overall, I find my 7 month old EB very well built and very nice to drive.
Quick question, several of you mentioned adding an aftermarket amp and speakers to the factory head unit. Does the factory unit come with 4 channel line level outputs, or are you knocking down an amplified signal?
I've been very happy with Nakamichi amps (and Boston Acoustic speakers) in the past, but these don't have high level inputs.
Haven't talked price yet, but the dealership has it stickered at $18,950. Their web site shows it at $20,950 so they must have marked it down recently.
I'm not too enthusiastic about the fact the tranny has been replaced (with a rebuilt one I assume). Plus the vehicle is a tad rough around the edges. However, if I can get it for a good price and buy an extended warranty, I might take a chance. Edmunds TMV retail is about $17,200 and TMV private party is about $15,800 (In "average" condition -- I don't think this vehicle qualifies for "clean.")
Any suggestions on what offer I should make?. I was thinking $16,500, take it or leave it, and see what happens. I dunno, I'm tempted to start a lower but don't want to make a ridiculous offer. Also, any suggestions on what extended warranty to purchase?
Thanks for any help
just realized the 2001 was the previous generation style. i had a '97 v8-awd explorer, traded it in with 50k, brakes were still smooth, firestone wilderness still had plenty of tread on them.
I found a V8 '01 Explorer across town that I'm going to look at this week. There are a heck of a lot of Explorers/Mountaineers for sale in my area, so it seems like a buyer's market, esp. with gas prices going up. I'm scouting around for 02s as well, although most that I have found are V6 and have the third-row seat, which I really don't need.
I haven't ruled out buying a used Pathy or 4Runner. I bought the CR Annual Auto Issue and their reliabity ratings of Explorer/Mountaineers are pretty low compared to the Japanese makes, although it appears the low numbers are probably due to a host of minor issues typical of domestic makes.
Geez, so many of the problems with domestic cars are fit & finish and quality control issues. I wonder why they can't get their act together.
you do want to periodically check the transfer case on any 4WD... I came up with a fair amount of grey in mine last week in the fluid, and shotgunned the TC and the diffs as a result. fluids are cheap.
It is related to another problem. The engine "misses" when under slight acceleration. Examples are pressing the accelerator slightly to maintain speed (45 mph and 70 mph) going uphill. Yesterday, it was dramatic as I was trying to maintain 70 mph going up a mountain. The engine died for a moment and than surged with a strong jolt. This happen twice. I have been to the dealer three times. New plugs and "rubber boots" over the plugs did not help.
I tried 93 octane gas and still have the problem.
Any comments???
Just wondering if anybody else has this problem. Not sure what to do about it.
but the switches still have to be in the right place for the wiper to work.
I have had success in lifting the wiper blade out of its "lock" plastic piece, so it hangs loose. that is called the "service" position. do your errands, and put it back in the clip afterwards... you only have to lift it like the motor turns it away from the lock a little bit to clear the plastic lock for either movement. this appears to shake the wiper shaft to where it clicks the switch right.
I have not disassembled one... but it appears the motor floats in a rubber bushing through the tailgate, and is fixed by a bracket inside the tailgate. watch it as it sweeps, the motor seems to wobble. I strongly suspect you can grab the base of the wiper arm and "wobble" the motor up or left a tad bit on its bracket to reposition it and make a more permanent fix. this is NOT guaranteed, I don't have a body manual to see how this schtick is put together.
after a service by dealer, a lot of wipers skip all over and leave a unwashed gap on the window. to fix that, bend the wiper arm thin section by hand a little bit for more bend (towards the window) until there is enough pressure to work the blade correctly against the glass again. in my truck, the blade barely tucks under the edge of the glass at that point.
these wipers are a little tweaky and finicky, but once I got my factory motor replaced after two months, and hinked with my arm a little, I have had only a couple times when I'd flip the switch and nothing happened. one bump on the road, and it would work again. so it's really close to being right at this point.
the ideal situation is angels come down overnight and fix all these goofy things.
the reality is some guy named Herb gets 'em at the dealers.
I personallly think it's just another case of group "A" gets the memo to not bend the brackets on installation of the wiper motors because the wipers appear to wobble when they work, and group "B" gets the memo to not bend the wiper arms on installation because it works the motor too hard, and thus we have an issue because two separate engineering teams worked on this.
the Shade Tree Mechanics School says do what works, and don't do what breaks things. bend your wiper arm in a little bit at a time until it sweeps everything cleanly. there is a REAL FINE LINE between this point and the wiper catching on the bottom of the hatch glass and not moving... or potentially bending the motor bracket to where we see the wiper not start up.
the alternative is to break the goldarn glass out so it never gets dirty, but some folks want to keep the rain out. I tell ya, sometimes you find folks who don't want to be hung with a NEW rope... what a bunch of (&*%&%$&%($&*.........
but you gotta find the happy medium point that some designer's tech found when they sent the prototypes to the brass to play with.
I would like to replace my instrument cluster with the one I saw in the '03 Limited model because the one thing I didn't like on my 02 was the cheap look of the instrument cluster
by the way, why in Hades do you have to disassemble so much to replace dash cluster bulbs? it's outrageous! in my 1961 buick and my mid-60s mopars, all I had to do was contort myself to where a circus wouldn't take me, and I could just reach up and twist open the sockets and relamp in a half hour.
what a rip. but having to pull the dash apart to get the cluster, and then change it, would be evil. myself, I would banish those thoughts and take a soothing nap.....
For those of you who may be contemplating the purchase of a new Explorer/MTNR, I don't (yet) think you should be spooked by this story, because it seems my vehicle's transfer case is the exception rather than the rule. However, I would recommend that you have your dealer carefully inspect the entire drive train every time the vehicle is in for a *3000* mile oil change.
What I'm wondering about this evening is whether there might be something wrong with my truck's rear drive shaft, perhaps such as a hard-to-easily-detect imbalance that might be causing excessive vibration or stress on the transfer case seals?
Does anyone else have this problem and/or know of a fix?
unless you kissed a rock with the transfer case. that has been known to happen.
I suspect a takedown or a rebuilt will fix it.