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Anyone know a good mechanic in Phoenix?

bsteele

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I just inherited my wifes Explorer (I got her an Accord).
It's a 93 4.0L V6 EFI 4x4. It's got about 95K miles on it.
I'm having a problem with it overheating. It sounds alot
like the same problem others in the group have had.
My current mechanic replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. No luck. I took it to a radiator shop. They took the
radiator out and cleaned it (they said it was very dirty).
She ran cooler for about a week (although I really didn't
go very far) and then overheated again. One weird thing is
that the temp gauge reads at about M in NORMAL when it boils
over. I don't trust the temp gauge anymore. It Aug 1999 my check engine light came on and I took it to the Ford dealer. He replaced the catalytic converter. So I don't think my exhaust is obstructed. I need a mechanic that knows Explorers. Does anyone know of a mechanic in Phoenix that specializes in Explorers?
Thanks,
Bob
 



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I know the flames are coming...

I like Berge Ford. They have always fixed what was wrong for me. Im still under warrentee so I am not sure of cost. They must be pretty expensive being a dealership.

Mine did the same thing when I first got it. It turned out to be the fan clutch. I dont know why explorers do this, but they do boil over at about3/4 on the guage. Ive seen several (including mine) do that. I think there is a volume problem in the overflow container. It needs to be bigger.

Steven
 






Replace the fan clutch... I did it two days ago in my 92.
 






Originally posted by ntrpriz
I know the flames are coming...

I like Berge Ford. They have always fixed what was wrong for me. Im still under warrentee so I am not sure of cost. They must be pretty expensive being a dealership.

Mine did the same thing when I first got it. It turned out to be the fan clutch. I dont know why explorers do this, but they do boil over at about3/4 on the guage. Ive seen several (including mine) do that. I think there is a volume problem in the overflow container. It needs to be bigger.

Steven

Sorry, I hope this doesn't come off as a flame, it's not meant to be. But, Berge Ford would be the second to last place I would ever use (second to Earnhardt Ford). I took my '97 4x4 Sport to try and resolve 1)a groaning noise when first moving away from a light, 2)a rough, jerky shift in my 5 speed transmission, 3)a problem with not being able to come out of 4x4 low on a few occasions, 4)grinding noise after switching back into 4x4 Auto from 4x4 high that sounded like it does when you try and put a manual transmission into reverse when driving forward, and 5)replace a bent seat bracket lever per a TSB that came out right after I had a broken lever replaced. I have a Warranty Gold Extended warranty so I expected everything to be covered. Here are the results of their service:

1) Was able to duplicate the noise for the Tech, they suggested replacing the fluid in my transfer case and cleaning my speed sensors at a cost of $150. I did it myself over the weekend without fixing the noise. I traced the noise down to my caliper slide pins sticking since they have never been serviced. Earnhardt's tried 6 unsucessfull attempts to solve it, I told Berge what they tried. If either of them would have pulled my wheels they would have found the problem easily. I kept emphasizing to them that the noise sounded as if my brakes were dragging.

2) Tech felt the rough shift and said I should have my transmission serviced. Since I had 38,000 miles on it, they said I was past due. I showed them my owner's manual which states that for the 5-speed Auto under severe conditions the recommended interval is 50,000 miles, so according to my manual I wasn't even due yet. I went ahead and had the service, without it helping.

3) They switched my Explorer into 4x4 low and back to Auto. It came out so no problem found. They charged me $36 for the evaluation. Warranty company wouldn't pay for it since there was no problem found. I told them it didn't happen every time, I expected that they would do more than flip the switch back and forth.

4) Same conclusion as item 3.

5) Warranty Gold refused to pay for the seat back lever since Ford has a TSB for them. They claimed that the TSB was Ford admitting fault. I told Ford not to replace it. The problem was they wanted to charge me an eavaluation fee of $36 for opening up my door and saying "Yup, it's bent". When I argued with the Service manager that I already performed the evaluation by telling them it was bent, I shouldn't have to pay for them to look at it. They dropped $36 from the charge.

I had Berge perform the items listed above since I had to go back to them a fifth time to replace my center console. It took them 5 visits due to missing screws, vent flaps missing, wrong colored parts ordered and bad vibrations that weren't there before they replaced my console. Finally they gave up on my console and said that it is installed correctly even though it sits 2" off the carpet and rattles badly on even the smoothest roads. It never had these problems before.

If you can believe Earnhardt was worse than that. Everytime I took it to Earnhardt, I had to bring it back to get two more things fixed or keep bringing it back 5 and 6 times to fix the same thing. Now that I am out of warranty, I go the mechanic of my choice that charges about 1/2 what Ford charges and fixes it the first time. All repairs performed by mechanic have been paid for by Warranty Gold with no hassles.

Robert
 






Originally posted by bsteele

... snip...
Does anyone know of a mechanic in Phoenix that specializes in Explorers?
Thanks,
Bob

I have had much sucess with Highland Auto. They are in Chandler and I live by Apache Junction. I have had them do a couple of repairs on my Explorer and replace the head gaskets on my Wife' Sable. Charges are about 1/2 what Ford charges and they stand behind their repairs. The guy we bought our Sable from used them exclusively for the 6 years he owned the Sable. They performed many repairs and stood behind them all. It also turns out that 3 different people at work use them as well and they all have good things to say about them. They are located at Knox and Arizona Ave. Ask for Gary or Vergil.

A second alternative would be the Salem Boys. Mark Salem is the automotive expert on that channel 3 uses. He is on a board that reviews consumer complaints against automotive service centers. His interest is in making sure that the customer is treated fairly. He has a web site (www.salemboysauto.com). His prices are higher and I've never used them but he seems to be reputable. He is located on Warner in Tempe.

Robert
 






Still overheating!

OK, changed the fan clutch and fan. No Luck. It could just be the Arizona heat in June, but I don't think so. I also have more experiment results. 15-20 minutes on the road (freeway speed) and it overheats, AC or no AC.
My new question. Should any radiator fluid go into the overflow container under normal operations?
After about 20 minutes of driving (no AC) at 6:45 PM I could see and hear a faint bubbling in the overflow container. After about the same amount of time at 4:30 PM with the AC on I had violent bubbling into the overflow container. Any ideas?
 






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