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anybody else have any leads? if you were wired up for a full computer diagnostic and it didn't isolate issues on one or two cylinders, you'd chase common issues like sensors and fuel pressure. there isn't much that's really foolproof if you are just going to shade-tree a minor issue the way computers can compensate for weak parts and confuse your efforts. I don't usually recommend shotgunning parts until you either fix it, forget what the problem was, or run out of credit... unless you PREFER wasting time in the bugs skinning knuckles
you can diagnose wires rather quickly and cheaply. block the wheels and set the parking brake. start 'er up in park and pop the hood. DON'T GET NEAR ANY NASTY FAN BELT STUFF while using a pump spray bottle to shoot a mist of water around the high-voltage and wires areas of the car. when you see sparks, colored coronas hug the wires, or similar stuff, you have found a bad wire.
if you have to change wires, take advantage of the situation to also change the plugs as well... don't fiddle around with one wire at a time, that is something to shotgun and be done with, the others are getting beat up and will fail as soon as you turn away.
works best in a dim or dark garage. LOOK OUT FOR THE DRIVE BELTS, EVIL, BAD NEWS.
Thanks
Bioman
you will find that to get to the back two, it is way easier to crab the steering wheel left (pushing the backs of the tires to the right) and then pulling out the back three plastic-bolt fasteners from the fender liner. pull the fender liner up over the tire. voila, access to the plugs and wires, if not exactly access to the wire clips they use in 1999 and 2000 models back by the back of the engine. haven't figured that one out yet.
I'm 5-9, if you are over 6 feet you might be able to get to those back wire clips over the top. the rest is a total R P A unless you go in from the side.
100,000 between tune-ups my gluteus! we're still not there, folks.
I'll tell you, though, all the glop in the valve was a big contributor to poor performance.
marcjlc #1475 - I am having the same problem with my 97 Explorer V6 SOHC. At cold startup the engine idles between 650-800 RPM. After the engine warms up, the idle point stays between 1000-1400 RPM. What did the dealer say the problem was?
I have a 2002 Explorer XLT w/ 4.0 V6 - purchased at the end of May. Great truck, no problems so far, almost 7,000 miles... except for this weird chirping/squeaking noise that has just recently started. It seems to be coming from the passenger side dash area, behind the air bag. It is very intermittent, sometimes very quiet, sometimes louder, sometimes makes noise going over bumps, sometimes not. Sometimes chirps/squeaks just driving down the road, due to vibrations, I guess.
And no, there are no birds trapped in there that I know of!
Thanks for any feedback you can give.
marcjlc
if you scroll back far enough you'll see that Ford even issued a TSB on the thermometers. Of course, that doesn't mean Ford will pay for the repair, which runs about $200. yet another reason to get an extended warranty.
regarding the earlier discussion on radio/CD failure, your best course of action is to buy a new unit from circuit city or your local retailer of choice. you can get a great model for $150-200 installed. it is a real shame that ford is unwilling to sell a reasonably-priced unit - and somewhat puzzling, as i'm sure this must be a profitable item.
Component Description:
118.ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM:THERMOSTAT NHTSA Number: 617968
Bulletin Number: 14583
Bulletin Date: JAN 2001
Vehicle: 2000 Ford Explorer
Summary:
CONCERNS WITH BROKEN THERMOSTATS ON ENGINES. *JB
Component Description:
121.ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM:THERMOSTAT NHTSA Number: 617995
Bulletin Number: 14617
Bulletin Date: JAN 2001
Vehicle: 2000 Ford Explorer
Summary:
SUBJECT PERTAINING TO BROKEN THERMOSTAT. *JB
Steve
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let me 'splain. assuming you had the compressor hot enough to smoke, it was hot enough to melt plastics and goop the oil, and before compression failed all the way, pressed that yuck into the system. the a/c internals are full of fine little orifices, dinky needle valves, a filter/dryer that may or may not have been able to catch most of the crud, and lots of piping for the guck to plate out upon.
if you just get a junkyard compressor for $50-100 bucks, pour out the old oil, pour in the "right" amount of new oil, and bolt it on, you have replaced the biggest bad part. the system will need to be evacuated, which also draws out moisture but won't draw out particles and little plated gobs of plastic in the elbows of pipes, and then recharged. it's a good idea to use a refrigerant/oil mix with an indicator, by the way.
EXCEPT that your 1994 is almost certainly still an R11 "freon" system. so it would need to have ALL the old oil flushed out and the correct new stuff put in before R134a refrigerant went in there. it would be a good idea to replace the filter/dryer in any case on the conversion. "freon" lubricant will turn to Gummibears if used in an R134a system, meaning the new compressor dies quickly.
you may still have issues with old hoses, etc. that will become apparent when the system is charged... by that I mean immediately apparent with a loud noise.
$700 is not an outlandish quote from a good shop that will basically refit the system completely on the wear/tolerance parts and put a tested rebuilt compressor in for you. they might be quoting high in assumption that a hose or two might also need to be replaced. if the quote was itemized, you should be able to see that, if not ask again.
if your system is under pressure, an EPA-licensed shop must, by Federal law, evacuate and save all the old Freon. the quote would also include a share of the cost of the equipment they had to buy to do that.
those are the basic issues. if you're not under pressure, and you want to play around with it, and have a tank of dry nitrogen with a pressure regulator to flush the old oil out, that's cheaper. may take a long time to get it working, though, and a lot more parts.
one-shot with a probable 90-day warranty on parts and labor, $700 is reasonable.
$1200 is a rip, but it might include a full "R134a re-engineering kit" from Ford for your truck, in which case it's less of a rip.
As per TSB 14011 (#104) mentioned in the Edmunds Maintenance Guide my rear diff began leaking ever so slightly (wet). To restate: faulty rear axle Pionion Oil Seal. The diff oil: 75W140 (synthetic). Sooo, will pick up a quart at Ford tonight and quiz the service guys there on the cost to replace the seal. I stongly recomend all readers to browse the Edmunds Maintenance Guide, as it has helped me keep an eye any potential ISSUES!!
Good Luck
Marcjlc
So, I hope you have better luck... guess I'll have to wait until it gets really bad for them to be able to do something about it.
I just bought a used '96 Explorer XLT, and took it to the dealers for a 90K mile service. On this car there is an occasional squeak/whirring on the lower passeneger side, when in low revs and accelerating, or when accelerating heavily at higher speeds. It usually stops once the revs are stable.
The dealer said that this is caused by a bearing in the "Idler Pulley" wearing down; the bearing will continue to wear over time but 'it will probably go for a long time before seizing up'. I was quoted $28 parts for replacement plus $70 labor (1 hour) to replace it.
FYI - to find it, the idler pulley is the lower leftmost wheel in the engine compartment around which the fan-belt turns (when looking at the engine from the front). It has no purpose other than to support the fan-belt.
I hope this helps
I must say that I've gotten really bad service from the dealers in my area. One issue I've had is a very loud rattle in the door, really annoying. All they did was scratch up the truck and make it worse. I later found that one fix they tried was to stuff a paper bag in the door. Another crappy service was when I went to have the famous rear windshield wiper motor fix. When I picked it up it didnt' wipe but 1/2 the glass; they tried to fix it and broke the new motor. I could go no. I hope I don't run out of dealers in my area before I find a decent one. Now that its out of the factory warranty they'll probably be able to find the front end problem and some other thing they'd like to "fix". Good thing I have an extended warranty. Did I make a mistake keeping this thing? That new 4-runner might be my ticket out.
the 99 and "oh-oh" are really the same car, but there were lots of grumbles posted by 99 owners. it's a matter of getting all the unfamiliar screws torqued up, all the parts with first-run jitters replaced, and... frankly... once you hear problems, you keep hearing them even after they're gone, or until they start squeaking in your own key so they don't interrupt your singing over the washboard roads and potholes ^H^H^H shell holes.
but if the dealers aren't looking, get to a local specialty shop and have them check it out.
Anyone out there changing their own oil in a 4.0 with OHV? After the local dealers have all raised their prices to $24.95 and over for oil changes, I've decided to try doing it myself.
I am yet to crawl under, but how easy is it to get the filter out/in? (I had a 1990 Taurus with a 3.0 6 cylinder, and you needed to be an acrobat to get the filter moved)
Also, what type of oil (synthetic vs. dino and what brands) are people using, also what type of filter?
Thanks!
bmr4-
Every engine consumes oil. Your engine having consumed only a little over a quart in about 4,500 miles is actually below average. It sounds to me like your engine is in fine condition. My Explorer 4.0L SOHC V6 used about 3/4 of a quart of oil every 3,000 miles. That was with 30,000 miles in the clock. I think that you have nothing to worry about IMO.
When the dealer called me this morning I was told the problem was the Inertia plug was kicked out. I did have a passenger w/me when the truck cut out on me last time, but I find it hard to believe she kicked the plug out. My Mother is handicapped and stretches her leg into the corner where this plug is located regularly (it's on the passenger side floor in the righthand corner by the firewall) and if anyone would have kicked that plug out it would have been her - my friend that was with me the other day did not stretch her leg and if you know where this plug is at it's not something you can easily kick. I don't buy it. Then of course the bad news (for them) was they tried to charge me $73 service fee (to plug it back in) - so I chucked a fit over that and called Ford's Customer Service line. They worked out that I was only charged $49 -- because the dealership is saying it's a different problem than before but I say it's all the same problem. In any event I got my truck back and went tonight to look at a Toyota 4runner, but was kinda disappointed with that. I really do like the styling of the Explorer, but it has to go.
Up until all this bad experience w/Ford I had hoped my next vehicle would be the Lincoln Navigator -- but I balk at getting another Ford product. Meeeooowww!! Pfft! Pfft!
Oh - forgot to mention, today's weather was drier and sunny. Funny the truck started working again. I'll definitely give the spray bottle thing a try. Thanks again.
For what its worth (maybe nothing) I do have a 1999 Ford Expedition EB (brother to the Navigator) with 62,000 miles on it with out a single problem, and I am very happy with it. However people seem to be extreamly happy with Toyotas as well. Again Good luck with it.
But I had a rear wiper that would not sweep.
Took it off it's resting position and while
placing the switch in one of the interval modes
I gently pushed the rear wiper arm clockwise
past the stop position. It immediately sensed
that it has gotten to the end point, and
proceeded to begin sweeping properly.
It has continued to work for a week with no
further problems.
Your mileage may vary,
Mike
2 for 2 on simple $0 cost "fixes"
Guess I'm due fo some "big" problem now :-)
One question though. Do the headlights work normally? Having both High and Low beam at night?
I removed the two screws at the top of the assembly and it seemed to loosen. It also still seemed to be retained at the bottom somehow. I didn't see any additional screws. I don't want to break the assembly until I get a new one. Can someone tell me how to remove it rest of the way? There seems to be plenty of play in it I am just afraid to pull too hard or in the wrong direction. I don't want to break it just yet. Thanks for any help.