Pugly

The Good, The Bad, & the Pugly

1994 Purple Explorer XLT 4wd

I decided to have a registry for my "Other" rig so I can post things done and have a reference for it.

Pretty much stock drive train.

4.0 OHV-A4ld-1354e.
D35 front 4:56 Yukon gears, Aussie Locker.
2nd gen disc 8.8 rear 4:56 gears, Spartan Locker.

Front C-Clip eliminator Mod.

Slight lift with 2" Skyjacker coils & rear F-150 hybrid leaf packs.

3" PA body lift
Helpful thread with pics for the front body mounts
Pics of front body lift mounts

Swapped to manual hubs.
Double U-joint XJ steering shaft.

33" x 12.5" x 15" Cooper Discoverer ATX3, mounted on 15"x10" AR Outlaw1 alum wheels - full size matching spare.

Shocks:
Front Rancho 9000xl
Rear Rancho 9000xl
Duff Stabilizer shock.

Sway bar quick disconnects front & rear.
Custom tube sliders w/kickouts

22" LED light bar.
18w amber fog Led pods.
55w rock lights--2 front--1 rear over diff.
8 LED pods for rocker lights.

Full brush guard.
2.5" Fender Flares.

TTB Diff guard & Skid plate.

Custom roof rack with 48" Extreme Hi-Lift jack.

Flipped Tow hitch & front hooks for tow points.

Cobra19 CB & rear hatch mounted firestick antenna.
Rear view HD camera.
JVC DVD/CD/MP3 Head unit with 7" HD Monitor.
Sony 6.5" front speakers.
Rockford Fosgate 5.25" component rear speakers.
8" JL Audio sub in 2001 enclosure with 500w amp mounted on enclosure.

Custom made center console with CB/Rear view color monitor/2-12v outlets/ in-out temp display. D cell Maglite mounted on cargo panel. Truck bed liner on cargo floor.
Custom Cargo storage box with topside spare tire mount.

'99 Eddie Bauer Front Leather buckets.
'94 Limited Rear leather split bench.

 

[gmanpaint]

Boy, it didn't last long.....sigh.

Starter Hell still plagues this rig. Have got stuck everyday somewhere for the last 3 days. I ordered a new Motorcraft positive cable a few days ago, it came in today. I installed it. No crank still.

So in the last month, these parts have been installed for this problem:

Starter (used)
Fender Solenoid (new)
Battery (new)
Ground cable (new)
Positive cable (new)

Tomorrow, a 3rd starter is going in. I really am getting tired of this no start BS.

 

[yellowford]

Pugly is doing the same thing Jack was doing when I first got it, it was the ignition switch, around 15 bucks at Auto Zone, and easy to replace, comes with 2 keys. If the 3rd starter don't take care of it, this might deseve some looking into.

This is some of the same stuff I went through as well and why I ended up with a push button starter to elimate another variable from the equation.

 

[gmanpaint]

Pugly is doing the same thing Jack was doing when I first got it, it was the ignition switch, around 15 bucks at Auto Zone, and easy to replace, comes with 2 keys. If the 3rd starter don't take care of it, this might deseve some looking into.

This is some of the same stuff I went through as well and why I ended up with a push button starter to elimate another variable from the equation.

Did either of you have the fender solenoid engage when you turned the key?
This solenoid does engage when key is turned.

Pugly will still crank over. It is just hit or miss with it. It will start with no problems, and then it wont turn over later. It seems to be the starter has been compromised due to bad cables. I have got it to crank by tapping it with a hammer. There is good voltage going to the starter.

The cables were shot with corrosion going way deep under the insulation, and were stiff throughout.

The starter I have to install is used, and is a known good starter. If it doesn't work, I will look into the ignition. Thanks for the suggestion.

The temps are in the teens this morning, Brrrrr. I am going to wait a bit for it too warm up.

 

[yellowford]

Did either of you have the fender solenoid engage when you turned the key?
This solenoid does engage when key is turned.

Mine was for awhile but then it just quit and that when I gave up on messing with the ignition, one thing that I ended up doing was adding a ground wire the the starter off of one of the mounting bolts. This was done since multiple times when I took it to the parts store to be tested it was fine and after looking at the mounting plate it was covered in oil leading me to believe a bad connection was happening, after that was cleaned it worked for a few days till it finally gave up the ghost and wouldn't start by tapping on it anymore.

Don't know if that is a problem you are running in to, but figured it wouldn't hurt to mention.

 

[gmanpaint]

Well, the other spare starter I have is out of a 97 SOHC, and the housing mount plate is smaller in size than the OHV. This is because the 5R trans bell housing is a diff shape for the starter. So thats a no go.

After messing with it for awhile & conversing with another member in a diff thread, I was able to get it started, but it is still not repaired. There is a power loss even with the new cables, to the starter. Both starters worked with power to them, but a load test wasnt done. I'm not convinced yet that either of them are in good working order, and also not convinced they are both bad. I need to get them load tested.

I will take a look for poor grounding from oil. That's a possibility.

 

[gmanpaint]

Well, went to move the rig and it won't start again.

I tested the battery and it is fine. I threw it on the charger and let it cycle, it reads full on the readout. Tapped the starter, still wont crank. The solenoid clicks when the key is turned. Tried the jumper starting method, didn't work.

As soon as I can push the rig out of the way of the 95, I am going to go find a new, rebuilt, (I dont care at this point) starter and a new solenoid for it. I have a major X-mas party to go to in 4 hours and this ain't much fun while the winds and temps are dropping 5* an hour here.

 

[gmanpaint]

Got a spanking brand new starter with a lifetime warranty installed, and it's working just fine ..................for now!

Lets see what happens in another weeks time with this pig. I guess the alternator is the next thing to go south.

 

[gmanpaint]

Starter is still holding out.

Having a fuel issue now. Engine runs great, don't skip a beat, no ticks, no hesitations, awesome throttle response, perfect idle, hot or cold.

I just burned up 1/2 tank of fuel with only 82 miles on the trip OD. I can't find a thing wrong with it visually. Oil is clean, oil & air filter is new. I haven't replaced the fuel filter though. How can it burn up 10 gal of fuel for only 82 miles?

I was thinking maybe someone was stealing the fuel out of it overnight, but these rigs are supposed to be almost impossible to siphon from. If it is leaking somewhere, wouldn't it lose pressure and run like crap?

I'm at a loss with this one. Got any ideas?

 

[jakebrake]

Is it a return style fuel system? And on the starter did you ever try to shim it? I have had that problem before and all i really needed after getting a new starter was a shim.

 

[gmanpaint]

Starter is shimmed. All good there.

It is a return style, yes. Something I should look for?

 

[corkey]

smell gas when it's running ?
maybe return line is leaking,,

 

[gmanpaint]

No smell of gas, but being around harsh chemicals for years has dulled my sense of smell a bunch

 

[corkey]

here's an odd question ,
the temp needle, how high does it get in the guage ?

 

[corkey]

FPR ? take off the vacuum line see if it leaks gas,

 

[gmanpaint]

Temps stay in the normal range, never gets past "R". I just installed a new radiator a few weeks ago. Coolant systems all good.

 

[gmanpaint]

Rodger that

Will check on the Fuel Pressure Regulator asap

 

[gmanpaint]

Temps stay in the normal range, never gets past "R". I just installed a new radiator a few weeks ago. Coolant systems all good.

I jinxed it.

The radiator has sprung a leak. Looks like it is leaking around the top trans cooler line. Bought a bottle of HD Bars Leak. Might work, might not work,

After work today, I will have a look at the FPR vac line to see if it is sending fuel into the manifold or not. There is a discontinued sale on RockAuto.com for the FPR. Normal price of $87 to $47 on sale. Will snag one of those if this is indeed the problem.

 

[gmanpaint]

After removing the vac line at the tree, there was no fuel coming out of it. Just for the heck of it, I traced it back to the FPR. What do ya know, the line wasn't even hooked up, it was just laying there, not broken, not torn, just off. Simply replaced it. We shall see if it makes a diff or not this week with performance and MPG.

 

[gmanpaint]

175 miles on 3/4 tank! Better than the 80 miles on a half tank last week Amazing how that simple vac line affected the mpg so much.

On a diff note, the coolant leak is looking to be much more than originally thought. There is still the leak on the dr side tank up high, but it is a very small leak. The front TTB is completely saturated with coolant, and constantly wet. Looking above it, there seems to be a leak from under the water pump The pump seal must be letting go, as the pump itself is still working, but I hear a slight rattle like from a paint can, but not as loud. The pump itself may in fact be going out on it.

Oh Joy

 

[gmanpaint]

Wow, coincidences never stop to amaze me.

Just got back in from messing with this rig. I found the leak source. There looked to be way to much coolant on the TTB, considering the amount of coolant that was lost (which was almost nothing), so I took a closer look.

I found the rubber trans cooler line to be bad. It is nasty from top to bottom and soaked with gunk, and fresh fluids. It was barely on the tube steel trans line and the clamp was barely holding it on. I need a new line for it ASAP! I trimmed it and put it back on for now.


Always something I tell ya.