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old guy, wife said get a hobby, 94 explorer

jmczzz

Active Member
Joined
November 10, 2018
Messages
98
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26
City, State
Western Grove, Arkansas
Year, Model & Trim Level
94 explorer sport
Retired old guy (76) bored, wife said get a hobby, so i got one. A 94 explorer (1st gen)
94 explorer.jpg
seems pretty standard except it has been lifted and has some big tires 33 12.50 r15s on it and the body main color has been sanded off and sprayed some with grey primer. It has a V6, auto trans, 4WD. it is pretty stock and in good shape on the interior. we live in very rural area of the south central Ozark mountians. We get snow and ice that stops traffic in winters. But now I am looking forward to ripping up and down the ice packed roads in my new toy. I drove it home yesterday 77 miles after purchasing it for 1 K. It ran good, and cruised 60 mph pretty easy up and down the Sourthern MO mountains on Hwy 65. I had to get it to down shift on some of the uphills to keep it on 60mph. And over 65 it has a front end feeling vibration that feels like an out of balanced tire/wheel?
I floored it a couple of times and held on, got up to 75 - 80 before the vibs scared me and I slowed down. So that vib needs attention. Second the oil pressure gauge didn't work. I checked oil etc before hitting the hwy and it was full of new looking oil. I watched the temp and she didn't get hot or make any distressful screams from bearings so I drove it on home. It has spots of rusted out areas on rear sections of the rocker panels on both sides poking thru the black plastic lower trim. Otherwise the body is nice except grey primer crappy paint job.
I will tackel things in this order; oil pressure gauge, rust spots and front end vibration.
Any suggestions on where to start looking for pressure guage failure or any thing else would be welcomed. Thanks and see you spinning up and down the hills! jmczzz
 



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Welcome to the forum!

You did what "The Boss Lady" said you got a hobby!

A new toy.

My first thing to check for the lack of oil pressure gauge would be the wiring at the sensor in the engine compartment. It may have broken or just come loose from the connector.
 






Welcome to the forum!

You did what "The Boss Lady" said you got a hobby!

A new toy.

My first thing to check for the lack of oil pressure gauge would be the wiring at the sensor in the engine compartment. It may have broken or just come loose from the connector.

tnk U, about where is that sender located.? Oh and at my age it goes fast enough, ha
 






A very nice 94 Explorer sport!! Welcome

The oil pressure sensor is mounted on the drivers side of the engine below the power steering pump, usually has a white plastic cap and a single wire going into it

The rocker rust is repaired ALOT on this forum, plenty of how to's on that if you search.
The vibration up front could be many things but one thing to look at and check is the radius arm bushings, when the trucks get this old those bushings need to be replaced.

Have fun! Nice choice, 2 door sports are awesome 4x4 machines! Thats a nice truck for a nice price!
 






Welcome to the forum. I like your Sport. It looks great on 33s:chug:
 






A very nice 94 Explorer sport!! Welcome

The oil pressure sensor is mounted on the drivers side of the engine below the power steering pump, usually has a white plastic cap and a single wire going into it

The rocker rust is repaired ALOT on this forum, plenty of how to's on that if you search.
The vibration up front could be many things but one thing to look at and check is the radius arm bushings, when the trucks get this old those bushings need to be replaced.

Have fun! Nice choice, 2 door sports are awesome 4x4 machines! Thats a nice truck for a nice price!

thksfor this info. I found the oil pressure sensor and first try at removing wiping contacts had no effect on the guage. i will get some cleaner and a wire brushh and do a better job.

I have to admit I do not know what what or where the radius arm and bushings are. Could you give me a few clues what to look for? thanks jmczzz
 






If you have to downshift to maintain speed on hills, odds are that the previous owner did not regear the axles to compensate for those 33s. My advice to you is, get those 33s off until you regear, before you kill your auto trans! Seriously.
Otherwise, cool ride, looks pretty much like my old Sport.
 






If you have to downshift to maintain speed on hills, odds are that the previous owner did not regear the axles to compensate for those 33s. My advice to you is, get those 33s off until you regear, before you kill your auto trans! Seriously.
Otherwise, cool ride, looks pretty much like my old Sport.
@RangerX
The 33s are a good idea, yes, but what he may be experiencing is simply the TCC unlocking, which happens quite often on my '04, if I push it up hills. imp
 






I have to admit I do not know what what or where the radius arm and bushings are. Could you give me a few clues what to look for? thanks

Radius arm bushings are the connections at the frame from a long stamped steel channel that connects to the front axle.

It's usually got bolts at the axle housing and the other end has 2 big rubber bushings.
 






If you have to downshift to maintain speed on hills, odds are that the previous owner did not regear the axles to compensate for those 33s. My advice to you is, get those 33s off until you regear, before you kill your auto trans! Seriously.
Otherwise, cool ride, looks pretty much like my old Sport.
I can contact p.o. and ask if they did "regear". meanwhile should I go back to stock wheels and tires even with the lift?
tnks. jmczzz

Radius arm bushings are the connections at the frame from a long stamped steel channel that connects to the front axle.

It's usually got bolts at the axle housing and the other end has 2 big rubber bushings.
I will look again with your info in mind. thnks. jmczzz

@RangerX
The 33s are a good idea, yes, but what he may be experiencing is simply the TCC unlocking, which happens quite often on my '04, if I push it up hills. imp

Now i gotta admit I don't know what "TCC unlocking" means? thnks, jmczzz
 






Now i gotta admit I don't know what "TCC unlocking" means? thnks, jmczzz

TCC=Torque Converter Clutch

Most transmissions these days have a clutch built into the face of the torque converter. Hydraulically controlled by the computer (You'll hear people call that the PCM). At higher speeds it locks up solid like and old style clutch would, at lower speeds it unlocks.

We have more acronyms that the US Army!
 






Welcome to the club! You're going to have a lotta fun.

Since you're in a hilly area, I'd suggest an aftermarket transcooler to keep things cool when ripping around mountain passes. Fun little weekend project that you can do for under $100.
 






For the wobble/shaking, start by checking the normal wear and tear items like steering linkage and ball joints, then report back for assistance in finding the 'HowTo' information.

Enjoy your new hobby!
 






right radius arm bushing is right where the exhaust wyes on passenger side big nut and you can pull the passenger side forward with a tie down strap and replace the bushings I would suggest plastic ones rubber gets way hot because of the exhaust
roscoe
 






right radius arm bushing is right where the exhaust wyes on passenger side big nut and you can pull the passenger side forward with a tie down strap and replace the bushings I would suggest plastic ones rubber gets way hot because of the exhaust
roscoe
I found them on the truck. I tried to shake and make move. nothing. how doI tell if they are bad? or just assume they are due to truck age and change them out. tnks, jmc
 






For the wobble/shaking, start by checking the normal wear and tear items like steering linkage and ball joints, then report back for assistance in finding the 'HowTo' information.

Enjoy your new hobby!
thnks, I did a look over and all the rubber boots are in tact. there is grease visableso i would surmize the truck has been serviced fairly regularly. i didn't jack the wheels up and try use a pry bar under the tires however. Is that the best way to to find play in the front end? ball joints tie rod ends etc? thnks jmc
 






right radius arm bushing is right where the exhaust wyes on passenger side big nut and you can pull the passenger side forward with a tie down strap and replace the bushings I would suggest plastic ones rubber gets way hot because of the exhaust
roscoe
do i need to jack it up first? lossen bolts or what? jmc
 






Gotta get the weight off of the front end first.

Or visual inspection. If they are cracked, rotten or just not there, that's your first project.
 






Forgive me for being forward.

What was your profession before you retired?

We will have a better idea as to where to start helping.

That's what we are her for!
 



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Put new wiper blades on front and one on back glass. Shot some light oil on hinges and WD40 in door locks, handles and replaced burned out light bulbs. everything seemed dry from sitting for a while. also had to add a qt and a half of trans fluid. drove it around some, trans did not have hesitation and shifts out like it should.

i changed out the oil pressure sensor and that fixed that. the guage stays up on the high side of normal now, much more reasuring than not working.
But, then the amp guage went out. It was getting dark and cold so i will try to track that problem down tom. Any ideas on where to start trouble shooting that? I did see a fuse panel under the dash and one in the engine bay guess those may be a logical place to start?
 






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