A couple of Misc. questions...

tenmile · November 11, 2003

So I went for a drive today in my new (to me) '99 XLT, with 115k miles on it, and I have a few questions:

1.) As i was sitting there, i tightened the lumbar crank, and it held, then it went "pop" and disengaged- i assume one of the rods in there broke/became disengaged- how do i get in there to fix that?

2.) Random dinging- as from my other post, this Explorer likes to ding- 5 sets of 5 when i first start it up, then 5 sets of 5 every 30 minutes or so. The seatbelt plug is unplugged, and no seat belt light comes on the dash. Any ideas?

3.) Ratcheting noise- coming from the Explorer (V6 SOHC) when i start it- if i rev it up after i've started it, it sounds like a ratchet is spinning. Any thoughts?

4.) A clicking/pulsing that increases with speed- most noticible from 35mph to 45mph, then kind of goes away- bad wheel bearings, or bad hub assembly? I also get a noticeable vibe atanything above 85ish mph. Any thoughts?

5.) My rear passenger door is stuck shut- is there any way of getting it to open with/out tearing the door apart? The latch won't come all the way up when i try to unlock it (the lock top was chewed up by p/o's dog i believe, so it won't allow it to come up all the way, and i've tried with pliers, etc, to get it open). Any ideas?

Thanks for helping the new expy owner!
Mack

RiverRat · November 11, 2003

For the door lock I would try again with pliers. Unscrew the plastic piece and get the pliers on the threaded metal rod and give it a good pull.

tenmile · November 11, 2003

well the top of the plastic piece was chewed off, so i can't unscrew it, as it's flush with the top of the threaded rod, and i can't unscrew the plastic piece off because i can't get a hold of it, and i can't get a firm grip on the rod to pull it up!

Premier · November 11, 2003

sounds like you will have to remove the door panel. That probably means you will haev to remove part of the rear seats

Good luck.

Also, welcome to the site. Sorry I dont know more... I have an OHV

DTek · November 11, 2003

The five sets of five dings sounds like it could be the airbag system. Does the airbag light come on when you first turn the ignition on? If not, the bulb is out. If the bulb is out and there is another problem with the airbag system, you get dinging.

tenmile · November 11, 2003

come to think of it, I haven't noticed an "air bag" light come on- if it doesn't, then the dinging is about the AirBag system?

BensBud · November 11, 2003

The ratcheting sound is most likely the beloved timing chain tensioner. 00M12 I believe is the TSB number.

For the door lock, can you drill what's left of the button and thread a small screw in there to pul it up?

tenmile · November 11, 2003

Timing chain tensioner sounds like it could be the likely culprit! Anyone have any repair costs on that beast?

The plastic on the button is actually lower then the threaded rod, but i just can't get enough of a grip on the rod with pliers (not enough sticking out) to pull the rod up. Doubtful I could drill into the rod and thread a screw in there, as the rod is small already, and if i put any pressure on it, it'll drop down into the door anyway.

I'm taking it in on Thursday to have them do some recall work on it, and fix the lumbar, because of that loose seatback bolt, the lumbar i guess streched and popped the rod on it, happened yesterday when i was driving around. I'll have them look at the door, and give me a price quote for the wheel bearing, and the chain tensioner, as a local shop quoted me $500 for the bearing, so i want to see how far i have to bend over before i actually get to the dealer....

BensBud · November 11, 2003

I think the bill for the tensioner will depend a lot on where you take it. I'm in Mass and my rip-off artists want (estimated) $780 for the job. Mind you, they've done a million of these under warranty and can't tell me exactly how much it will cost. The Ford TSB says it takes 1.5 hours and the kit costs on the order of $50. Something didn't add up, so I said no thanks and I'll do it myself. There's a couple of gaskets that are suposed to be replaced at the same time. They are not related to the problem, but Ford want them swapped at the same time and they're in the kit.

About the lock... it sounds a little beat anyway... how about taking a pair of long-nose needle-nose pliers and setting them on either side of the threadded rod and try to tap downward (gently-ish - like that word?) to force the remainder of the plastic out of the way (or even to break off). It might leave you with enough to get a bite on with the pliers...

on edit: or... you could heat up the pliers (even with a lighter) and try to melt your way into the plastic for a better bite...

tenmile · November 11, 2003

I'll see what Ford out here says, knowing book says 1.5 hours, it shouldn't be too out of control. Lock is pretty done, but i'm afraid of pounding down, as that could mess somethign else up in the door, and i'd like to keep as many parts as functioning as possible. I could try the heading up thing, but do you think that plastic will melt that easy?

OZexplore · November 11, 2003

isn't the cam chain tensioner covered under extended warranty
the 5 bells is definatly airbag related

as for the seat i just got a recall notice in the mail but that is in australia & we are the only country that i know of that didn't get the extended warranty on the cam chain tensioner so it might be worth checking for a recall on the seat

Brandons · November 11, 2003

Powerlocks? Is there powerlocks, im probably missing something here... if you got them and its actually stuck under the thing, your not gonna get it out with pliers... good luck!

BensBud · November 11, 2003

I don't think the tensioner will be under warranty at 115k.

Just curious, why won't pliers work with power locks? They're just acuators on a "regular lock". You can pull and push them the same, they're just heavier... no?

tenmile · November 11, 2003

Yeap, there's power locks, does that have anything to do with it?
Doubtful anything will be under warranty, but was there a warranty extension on it?
And intresting the 5 dings is about the airbag- hopefully it's not anything serious!!
Mack

Mbrooks420 · November 12, 2003

You may want to try a dab of super glue on the end of something for the stuck lock. I've had to do tha before

I seem to recall the extention on the cam tensioner was 90K, but it is very possible that I am mistaken.

A couple of Misc. questions...

tenmile

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RiverRat

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tenmile

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