Diginick
Member
- Joined
- December 10, 2018
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 5
- City, State
- Denver, CO
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1996 Ford Explorer Sport
Hi,
Looking for some advice, issues have piled up a bit and I'm thinking of selling my 1996 Ford Explorer Sport; but not sure it's necessary.
For awhile I heard a 'chirping' sound which I assume was from the serpentine belt, so I bought a new one to replace it. Before I could even replace it, on my drive to work the battery light came on (new battery), the power steering tightened up, and by the time I parked it started smoking, and I heard a loud POP.
I later found that the serpentine belt had come off, and something caused the engine coolant cap to come off, which I bet was the POP sound. I don't really know but I suppose those are related somehow.
I was weary to drive it after that, so towed it straight to a repair shop, who said that the belt tensioner went bad, and they'd have to replace that. They also said the serpentine belt actually melted onto it on the bottom, not just come off the pulleys- which is all I could see from the top. Hopefully that's all...
At around a $500 quote, I figured that's too much, it might be time to move on. Now I'm second guessing, maybe I should get another quote?
I put an ad on Craigslist to see who may bite, but I'm hoping a mechanically inclined person would want it, as I'm not so inclined (I repair small issues but not under the engine much).
I'm not even comfortable driving it at this point, but I did watch the tow truck driver safely drive it into the parking lot when I had it returned to me from the repair shop. I just don't want to try now.
Quotes from junkyards have been ranging from $180-$300.. so I'm on the fence. It's in general good condition besides this, and the ball joints are lose and in need of repair.
Sorry to be so wordy, but basically I'm wondering how difficult it is to fix a belt tensioner, if it's really needed, and if I sold it to someone, should I advise them to first fix this before driving it? Most likely yes, but it does technically drive still.. just learned it will drain the battery, lights could go, and maybe Heat/AC are affected, among other things.
Looking for some advice, issues have piled up a bit and I'm thinking of selling my 1996 Ford Explorer Sport; but not sure it's necessary.
For awhile I heard a 'chirping' sound which I assume was from the serpentine belt, so I bought a new one to replace it. Before I could even replace it, on my drive to work the battery light came on (new battery), the power steering tightened up, and by the time I parked it started smoking, and I heard a loud POP.
I later found that the serpentine belt had come off, and something caused the engine coolant cap to come off, which I bet was the POP sound. I don't really know but I suppose those are related somehow.
I was weary to drive it after that, so towed it straight to a repair shop, who said that the belt tensioner went bad, and they'd have to replace that. They also said the serpentine belt actually melted onto it on the bottom, not just come off the pulleys- which is all I could see from the top. Hopefully that's all...
At around a $500 quote, I figured that's too much, it might be time to move on. Now I'm second guessing, maybe I should get another quote?
I put an ad on Craigslist to see who may bite, but I'm hoping a mechanically inclined person would want it, as I'm not so inclined (I repair small issues but not under the engine much).
I'm not even comfortable driving it at this point, but I did watch the tow truck driver safely drive it into the parking lot when I had it returned to me from the repair shop. I just don't want to try now.
Quotes from junkyards have been ranging from $180-$300.. so I'm on the fence. It's in general good condition besides this, and the ball joints are lose and in need of repair.
Sorry to be so wordy, but basically I'm wondering how difficult it is to fix a belt tensioner, if it's really needed, and if I sold it to someone, should I advise them to first fix this before driving it? Most likely yes, but it does technically drive still.. just learned it will drain the battery, lights could go, and maybe Heat/AC are affected, among other things.