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Comments
Rule Number one is Keep it Clean, be sure to do the Flush and New Filter every 30K miles. Note on the flushing, it does not need any special flushing chemical or fluid. Just flushing it out with the recommended transmission fluid is all it needs. My 1997 uses Dextron III, and my 2000 uses Mercon V.
Rule Number 2, Never Overheat the transmission. The Explorers have an external transmssion cooler built in, but for heavy hauling, adding an additional transmission cooler coil is a good investment, and you can take it off and put it on your next vehicle.
These transmissions will easily run over 200,000 miles with good service and care. I expect both of mine to run past 200K miles with no problem.
I cannot say how long the AWD part might last, we would have to hear from the AWD owners on that part.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
If you're still around can you provide an update? I have a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT that I bought new last October. I have only 16,000 miles on the vehicle and this is the problems i've had so far:
1. A/C whistles through the line at random
2. Transmission is sluggish on cold start
3. Power Locks started going on and off, clicking like crazy while driving home (happened twice now)
4. Power Locks won't release to let me out the vehicle (happened three times) or back in the vehicle (happened twice but was able to use the key to get in)
5. Windows all lock up, wouldn't go up or down (happened 1 time to me and 1 time to husband)
6. Gas gauge dropped straight down from full to empty while driving, after stop it went back up. Later locked up on empty when it was full, follow by check engine light coming on and staying on.
7. Rear window on the rear hatch opens while driving down the road (3-4 times).
About the transmission, it needs to be scanned with a transmission capable scanner. Find out the transmissions DTC and diagnose it from there.
E.D. ISF
Here is the link to the review of the Innova 3100 by Bruce Bonebrake:
http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/equus/Equuis_OBD_II_code_reader.shtml
There was a recall on this issue in "98 where Ford affixed a sticker warning of this. Unfortunately, the english portion of the sticker was hidden and I didn't notice it ( I bought the car used last year). Now there is a strong smell of gas in the passenger cabin and engine compartment. How much does it cost to replace these lines, and should I use a Ford dealership or automechanic shop?
thanks
I always prefer and recommend when Jump Starting a vehicle, that you connect the jumper cables directly to the battery terminals, connect the BLACK cable to the Negative post terminal and the RED cable to the Positive post terminal. The reason why is to avoid the problem that this person now has. If you connect the ground terminal to the alternator or somewhere on the alternator bracket or engine, the heavy current has to find a path to flow back to the negative side of the battery. If there is not a good wire connection, it will take whatever path of least resistance that it can find, which is is this case, was the poor fellows steel braided fuel lines, which are obviously not meant to be electrical conductors, and were overheated and damaged. I know that at some places they recommend to connect the negative cable to the alternator housing or bracket, but I recommend to not do it. Remember, the electricity is always trying to travel to the LOAD, in this case it's the battery, so always connect the cables directly to the battery, let it charge up the battery some first, then try to start the car.
Sorry fella about your fuel lines. I'd call around to the dealer and some independent shops first and get some quotes on the telephone first, then head out to the repair shop.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
The vacuum regulator(this is the solenoid I think...please correct me if i am wrong)checks out resistence wise but when i blow through it i can feel a little air coming through with it off the explorer. After tapping it around and refitting back on truck the code went away but came back today. emporary improvement???...don't know)
Battery voltage to dpfe is adequate. The Haynes says to backprobe sig and ground terminals. Here is my problem. The wiring schematic shows BR/LG GOING DIRECTLY to the pcm, GY/R going to S166 and BR/W APPEARS TO GO TO tie in with the TPS AND Goes to the pcm. Which wires should be backprobed to check the operating voltage? The Haynes guy at tech support had me use the BR/W to checck incoming voltage so it must be the other two that are signaling the pcm. Shouldn't one of them be going to ground or are they both signals to the PCM. When I attach my meter to them both I get 5V with engine cold. The manual says I should get .75 to 1.25 when cold and 4-6 when hot. So either I got a bad dpfe or I am hooked up wrong. I want to think that the dfpe I replaced already ois still good and I either need to clean or replace the EGR valve and /or get a new solenoid that doesn't allow ANY air when I blow through(unless I should have used a pump to blow through it. Seems to me if manually blowing is sending air then a pump would just send more.) I also plan on getting a pump to test the EGR before replacing it. Any help would be appreciated.
Hope this helps some.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Check the GY/R wire with the meter to ground to see if you get any reading. If not, then the GY/R wire and the S166 is probably grounded. If that is the case, you could also measure the dpfe voltage from the BR/LG wire to ground. The BR/LG wire appears to be the signal wire to the PCM from the DPFE.
As for the Parts, I don't know which is best, I've only bought FORD or GM EGR's, not aftermarket.
No vacuum to the egr so I may have a evr solenoid that is not opening with voltage. This may be my code
When I apply vacuum to the egr at hot idle the idle drops and returns when the vacuum is released. I think the valve is good even though the test was not set up exactly per CHILTON.
Also the voltage reading at cold idle is still high yet dropped with vacuum to the egr valve and I believe it was dropping as the car warmed up which is backwards. I think I will replace the evr solenoid and see if the code returns. If it does I will redo the dpfe again. Make sense?
What voltage reading do you get now with the engine running at idle and warmed up, between the BR/LG wire and the GY/R wire? Under the same conditions, what do you get between the BR/LG wire and Ground? I'm thinking they should read the same , or very close. I'm also thinking the the PCM sees and reacts to the voltage that reads from BR/LG to Ground. You have the aluminum dpfe, so you should be reading close to .55 volts. If not, I think you said it was high, try disconnecting both of the hoses from the dfpe, this should remove all differential pressure from the dpfe and it should read the "base" voltage of about .55 volts, if it is working correctly. If you can't get the correct voltage out of the dpfe on the BR/LG wire, try another dpfe. If you get a black plastic dpfe, the base voltage on those is supposed to be about 1 volt. Try that first and then work from there.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Now this was done with the truck after it had only sat an hour after driving for One hour and not cold idle so maybe there was some vacuum. I should probably do this also when cold and see if I get the .55 volts for the aluminum housing. I want to think this dpfe is in good shape.
My other concern is that now the "check engine light is not illuminated while driving so the fact that this is intermittent may indicate its mechaanical. Would not the light be continual if it was a bad signal from the dpfe? I don't want to have to replace every component which is not good troubleshooting and costly...thanks for any advice!
If I understand what you said, that means that the GY/R wire is connected to ground, so that means the S166 connection must be a system common ground connected to the chasis ground.
So, you are getting a high reading of 4.84V between the BR/LG and Ground, which is way too high at idle with the engine warm. This now leaves two posibilties, either the dpfe is malfunctioning OR the hose inputs to the dpfe are malfunctioning. By removing the hoses and therefore the differential pressure from the dpfe, you will be able to tell if the problem is in the dpfe itself, or in the inputs to the dpfe. If the volts drop down to less than 1 volt on the BR/LG wire with the dpfe hoses removed, you can assume the dpfe is good, then look for a clogged hose, clogged orifice, or leaking hose. If the volts stay high on the BR/LG wire, you can assume that the dpfe is bad and try another one. That's the best I can come up with for now.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
I believe it...
I live 10 miles north of Boston and we have oak trees all around our house, driveway, etc. ... and I bought a 2007 Camry in May.
When I first noticed the "dimples" I thought that they were water droplets or water spots. Then I took a closer look and saw 20 - 30 "dimples" all over my trunk and roof.
I called the dealer where I bought it and they were sympathetic but couldn't help me because the problem was "environmental, like tree sap or hail."
My feeling was B.S.! My wife and I have lived here for 14+ years; owned 6 different cars (most of them bought new)and never were any of them dented by acorns. So, I called Toyota USA in California and told them what was happening and they told me that they, "concurr with the decission of the dealer."
Now I have a $20,000 car that I can't park in my driveway because of the falling acorns and I can't park in the street after Nov. 1 because of the winter parking ban. Maybe they'll let me park it in the dealer's lot and shuttle me back and forth every day so I can drive my car all the way to my job which is only .90 miles from my house!
My campaign has only just begun! I will call the Attorney General's office here in Mass. tomorrow a.m. for advice.
Have you had any luck with legal recourse against the dealer or with Ford Motor Co?
Thanks for hearing me out.
Jim W.
If the acorns are truly a problem, they sell portable "tents" that you can park your car under. Set it up for the months the acorns are falling and take it down afterwards. It will cost you about $180 for a quality one.
Does the spring blocking put the suspension in a different position (higher) and does this affect the shock damping rate, so that the small road bumps are accentuated?
Thanks for input!
However, today, after it hit the middle I turned on the heat and it plummeted down to barely 1/4 of the way (I watched it). I freaked. Turned off heat, and gauge went up a bit (not fully to middle). Is this serious? Diagnosis? HELP!!
Temp needs to stay around 190 to 200. If it gets over 210, it's too hot.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
If so, why? :confuse:
What is the benefit versus the penalty or negative effect if they are removed? Has anybody even noticed these??
Does the spring blocking put the suspension in a different position (higher) and does this affect the shock damping rate, so that the small road bumps are accentuated? :mad:
Really appreciate any input re: this. Had a '93 Explorer and did not have these on that car. The newer Explorer seems much stiffer/harder ride than the previous one, which is surprising. Wondering if these are aftermarket, or, factory installed?
Gauge goes to the middle and stays there. I'm out another $250, but I consider that not too bad of a price.
I recently acquired a 94 explorer with 137k miles on it. I have owned it for 3 weeks so far and I had no troubles till presently as in the past few days.
1. Dieseling sound.
I have noticed the sound when I first got it but it seems to be getting worse slowly. I am reading that is has something to do with the Timing belt tensioners but that seems to be with the newer v6 motor, but not with the older one that mine has. Also it was stated that it is the valves knocking that is causing the problem. Everyon9e says its not a problem as in it wont cause any damage and its just a annoyance.
Response: None still researching problem.
2. Rough idle/refuses to idle while cold.
This is something that has popped up recently and is my main worry. When starting cold it starts fine after turning over once or twice as any normal car would. It would run fine for maby 2 sec then it will want to die if I don't press on the gas petal. Now when it warm up as in I drive it around a little the problem downgrades to it being a rough idle. When I stop at a red light it would slowly idle down under 1k rpm. At this time it is running normally until it seems to drop under .6k rpm. Then it starts to act up. It would act like its going to stall but it catches itself n does it over and over. it would do this once every second.
Response:
Replaced both O2 senc
Replaced spark plugs
Replaced spark plug wires
After doing this the problem when the motor is warm is less but still is present. Currently I am looking for a Ford mechanic that can pull codes off of the motors electronics to get more information on the problem.
3. High speed motor/trans grabbing.
When driving over 45 mph and not pressing the gas petal, coasting it seems the clutch is grabbing a little. The rpms go down to .4k and I can feel the motor is being used to slow down the suv. Once the car drops below 45 mph the problem disappears.
Response: None still researching problem.
If anyone can point me to posts that have any information or anything it would me much appreciated. There is alot of things I could have done to try to fix these problems but I would like some feedback and general direction on what it could be before I start tossing money around.
Question #1 - Dieseling could be a problem depending on how loud and how often and under what conditions. Does it occur during hard accelleration? Does it occur at any other times and how loud?
A dirty MAF SENSOR is a common cause of pinging. If you Google this, you will find a site that describes how to clean and repair it. The MAF is in the AIR TUBE near the air cleaner, and has a multiwire electrical connector. There is a small cover with 4 screws. Remove the 4 screws, carefully remove the cover, the tiny sensor wire inside is fragile so be careful with it, do not touch it, spray it with some throttle body cleaner or electrical contact cleaner, let it dry and put it back together.
You have not given much history, do you know anything about the service history of this vehicle? Be sure that every 30K that you change the fuel filter. I suggest you use a bottle fuel system cleaner in your gas tank, every once in a while, at least at every service, or every other tank of gas at the most.
Question #2 - For the rough idle, remove the Air Intake tube, carefully inspect it for any cracks or air leaks, repair any you find. While the Air Tube is off, clean the intake Throttle Body with some Throttle Body cleaner. Remove the IAC (Idle Air Control) and clean it with the Throttle Body cleaner. It is mounted to the top of the Throttle Body with 2 small bolts and has a 2 wire electrical plug. Be sure the air cleaner is clean and clean the MAF as noted in #1 above.
Question #3 - It sounds like you have a manual transmission, and it sounds like the clutch needs to be adjusted.
Good Luck,
E.D. ISF
The dieseling happens under hard acceleration and also when cruising. When it is idle it doe snot do it at all. It is not very loud but it is very noticeable.
I honestly do not no much about it because I do not know the preivis owner. So I am guessing alot when it come son what was done with it. I threw in some fuel system cleaner 2 days ago and it seemed to have little affect on the problems.
I will do what you posted above and I will post if it changes anything or not. Thank you for the info ^^