03 lincoln aviator | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

03 lincoln aviator

jd4242

Explorer Addict
Joined
October 15, 2008
Messages
10,790
Reaction score
312
City, State
va beach
Year, Model & Trim Level
92explorer&94 ranger
So looking at a 03 lincoln aviator with the 4.6 ,its sometimes is reporting a miss on #7..ive read this could be a bad coil,plug or even the alternator causing interference. ..

Anyone have any input or any other known problems that i should know about??

Figured its basically a explorer and this is my home forum so would ask here before i join any other forums. . ;)
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I bought a 2003 Aviator about a year and a half ago. All in all, a pretty good car with 107K. I went through it with routine maintenance: new tires, brakes, water pump & thermostat, tune up etc., tranny fluid & filter. Probably put on 20K, the only repairs I've had were the front wheels bearing, which weren't cheap, $860. The shift cable broke, but from reading the forum, it was not a surprise and a power steering switch assembly which leaked.

I look at it this way, I paid 5K for it (not 40K), with relatively low mileage. So, you have to be prepared to spend a little money for repair and maintenance. I bought the car in FL, it's sole purpose is to get us down south for the winter with all our junk in it. So far so good.

Tom
 






Look up the info on "C" style 4.6 dohc heads. Up until mid 03 they had cooling issues in the drivers rear head causing valve guide wear and issues. You can tell what you have by the part number or if you see blue paint on the head it's usually a good sign. Probably an ignition coil though.
 






My mom was recently getting a miss on cylinder 7. Replaced COP and Plug, but she hasnt really put any miles on it since the repair (She's been out of town) so we're not 100% sure if that will fix her issues with rough idle. Had to replace cylinder 6 COP and Plug a few years back, otherwise the only issue was the crappy transmission that she had rebuilt at 120K miles.

I bought a 2003 Aviator about a year and a half ago. All in all, a pretty good car with 107K. I went through it with routine maintenance: new tires, brakes, water pump & thermostat, tune up etc., tranny fluid & filter. Probably put on 20K, the only repairs I've had were the front wheels bearing, which weren't cheap, $860. The shift cable broke, but from reading the forum, it was not a surprise and a power steering switch assembly which leaked.

I look at it this way, I paid 5K for it (not 40K), with relatively low mileage. So, you have to be prepared to spend a little money for repair and maintenance. I bought the car in FL, it's sole purpose is to get us down south for the winter with all our junk in it. So far so good.

Tom

My mom just did front wheel bearings on her 04 Aviator 2 months ago and it was <$500 using Timken bearings. You got robbed.
 






Thanks for the info guys.keep it coming
 






Whats the deal with these transmission issues? ? I see alot of complaints about it.also see people saying to replace the valve body and filters and that normally prevents failure? ? What typically fails?
 






The solonoid packs go bad and they are not cheap for a good one. Most people let them go and it will brake reverse bands and cause other issues. Also servo bore wear comes into play in all high milage 5r55s/w transmissions.
 






The solonoid packs go bad and they are not cheap for a good one. Most people let them go and it will brake reverse bands and cause other issues. Also servo bore wear comes into play in all high milage 5r55s/w transmissions.
So it would be good idea to replace the valve body before it happens or will that only fix/prevent half the problem
 






My mom just did front wheel bearings on her 04 Aviator 2 months ago and it was <$500 using Timken bearings. You got robbed.

Timken bearings have a limited warranty for 1 year. The bearings that I had installed have a warranty for 3 years, cost more, but I won't be paying for the job again. I'm guessing you're about 16 years old and don't understand that the lowest price is not always the best value.
 






The solonoid pack usually fixes shifting issues. The servo bore wears because it is aluminum. The problem is pressure gets past the valve through the bore/guide. The fix is to drill it out and add a brass sleeve. The torque converter will have a hard time locking in lower RPM situations on high milage units.
 






Look up the info on "C" style 4.6 dohc heads. Up until mid 03 they had cooling issues in the drivers rear head causing valve guide wear and issues. You can tell what you have by the part number or if you see blue paint on the head it's usually a good sign. Probably an ignition coil though.

I was thinking this too, but everything I've read said cylinder 8 misfire. No coolant return on the drivers head causing a hot spot or something. Just haven't heard of this being an issue for cylinder 7.

Heres a video from Makuloco2000 on the servo bore. There's a kit that runs $200 but can be done with trans in car.

 






Does it have a solid axle in rear??

Reason i ask is for lowering it?? Does a TT and blocks work?? Also is it the same bolt pattern as the older explorers?? I have a spare set of cobra rims that would probably look nice on it and match the paint..lol

Yep already thinking of mods...haha ;)
 






Nope, IRS. Its basically an 03 Explorer with 13" brakes front and rear and a 4.6 dohc. Of course it has all the nice gadgets and options that don't come on the explorer in the interior.
 






Nope, IRS. Its basically an 03 Explorer with 13" brakes front and rear and a 4.6 dohc. Of course it has all the nice gadgets and options that don't come on the explorer in the interior.
Eww so how do you go about dropping it? Springs front and rear?
 






Couple spring kits out there for 2-3" of drop. Other than that your going custom. The 02-05 IRS is a pretty crappy design to try and use at any ride hight other than near stock. The 06+ went to a trailing arm setup that would be much easier to modify. Not saying it can't be done its just made to be the way it is.
 






Whats the deal with these transmission issues? ? I see alot of complaints about it.also see people saying to replace the valve body and filters and that normally prevents failure? ? What typically fails?

I believe this is the 55R5S transmission. the OD and IM servos are know to wear and send the pressure off which causes shift flares on 2 & 5 gears. The solenoids are also known to go too. I wish i had the common valve body issue and from what I have read fixes a whole bunch of issues with the transmissions on these things.

860$ - for all 4 wheels? i am hoping so or thats bs and the mechanic should be told so.
 






Bought it..paid $2700..definitely has a bad miss,it has the DB head casting on both heads..he gave me plugs and coil packs for it also..it needs some tlc especially inside.needs oil change and brakes also..

Going down to work on it now,hopefully the plugs and coils fix the miss issue. .overall its nice and think i got a good deal..

20160724_110920_zpskzesc8fd.jpg


20160724_110928_zps97cptqqh.jpg
 






Coils got ride of the miss..

Couple of things need help on..

i got realy rough idle,especially in gear..??

Need to reset CEL,abs and oil change lights??probably use a scanner at advance auto to reset CEL and abs but how do i reset oil change??

Thing needs a upper passenger balljoint??

Is there a cabin air filter?? The front vents dont blow all that hard,rear blows twice as hard??

Last...this thing is 2wd not AWD like i thought. .i didnt even know they made 2wd...not complaining though, figure less stuff to break,better mpg and faster..lol
 









Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Oil light will be a function of the message center I'd assume. Lincolns version of. Should find that info in the owners manual.

Shouldn't be a cabin air filter. The fresh air door may have fallen onto the blower. Research blend doors etc. If you drop the glove box, directly behind it you'll see a box with a grate at the top. There's a vacuum actuator there to the left. When you switch to max air, see if it moves a flap, or if the actuator moves with nothing attached.
 






Back
Top