WHOOPS!!

Hi everybody, been a while since I've posted, but wanted to give an update on my Ford Explorer journey. After the 2nd full rebuild on my 98, it decided the pistons and valves needed a rendezvous. I thought I had done everything right.... I really did fool myself into thinking I could make this thing run for another 50,000 miles if I was meticulous enough with the details. NOPE! 9000 miles and exactly one year to the date, I am again left with a pile of crap... This is last straw. I'm either sourcing a V8 OHV engine and hope most of the parts I wasted money on in my SOHC fit (Valves, non-cam orientated specific parts in the main block), or I get a cheap car to get me by until I can afford something better. I've worked my ass off on...

April 2016 Ethyl and I were headed home from Philly and everything was right with the world. All of the sudden there was styrofoam all over the place. The lift truck company van in front of me was not paying attention and slammed on his brakes dead. I headed into the median and it looked as if my Aerostar Cargo passed right through the rear corner of the vehicle. I barely had control and missed two trees but a small clump of brush sent us slightly air born and rolled us over. The Ford was still running so I reached up to turn her off and (in true Delaware Valley Daredevil fashion) walked out through the rear door to a gasp from bystanders. I ended up with some nerve damage and a concussion. My sweet Ethyl saved my life and did not fair...

So today i was driving home from work and a branch fell from a tree and hit my car. This is what i found when i got out of my car after pulling into my driveway. Only damage luckily is just a cracked grill. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10210063245674313&id=1132040386

I just love tackling simple jobs only to find that they are undone by the previous owner's incompetent repairs. Example: Thermostat housing gasket. Normal work of 3 hoses, 3 bolts, old gasket off, new gasket on, 3 hoses, 3 bolts. Find only 2 bolts. 3rd bolt hole has a broken bolt in it. Previous owner attempted to drill it out. Wildly unsuccessful, as he managed to destroy the aluminum of the lower intake manifold, and not remove the bolt. Engine is vomiting coolant and I have no way to stop it, so I'm kinda stuck. Junkyard, here I come! TL:DR Previous owner damaged the LIM beyond reasonable repair, and I can't secure the T-stat housing. What did your previous owner destroy through carelessness? Edit: apparently the 4.0 doesn't...

Thought i would share seen this on facebook.

I have a habit of coming across these news posts. For some reason, even though this happened in Grandview, MO, it was on the news here in Florida. Today on the news there was a roughly 2003 Ford Explorer Sport that was being subdued by the police, and at some point during the chase, the suspect lost control, and it rolled several times, resulting in the driver being ejected. The officer immediately began giving the man CPR, and was able to save his life. See the video on Fox 13 News here: http://www.fox13news.com/news/118227846-video

I just found this on Facebook, I got a pretty big laugh until he did this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Ch32JbWas

Last week, during Snowpocalypse, I encountered some black ice, and The Green Monster decided it wanted to be friends with a tree. The hood, front bumper, front fender, most of the front left suspension assembly, steering rack, radiator, and one of my shiny new LED spot lights either got crushed or totally torn off. She would start, but had no hope of moving off under her own power anytime soon. She is, sadly, no more. She served me well, during her all too brief time with me. :salute: Edit: I walked away with a fat lip, and a few bruises, but otherwise unharmed.

This happened this morning in Baltimore, Maryland. To those that can't figure out what it is, it's a 2nd Generation Ford Explorer Sport. "I was driving next to this woman this morning on the inner loop of 695..she was texting while driving 60 mph..I honked at her..gave her a thumbs down...got behind her..she kept doing it. If you spent time as the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center..and could see first-hand what can heppen if you text and drive...to you or to the other drivers...you might wake up...Beats the hell out of not waking up!!! If it were up to me, texting and driving would be an automatic $ 1,000 fine..and 3 months suspended license to drive." That's just a shame. That's why you don't text, and drive. I don't...

People always say that 2nd Gens. are particularly dangerous when it comes to rollovers. And while that might be the case, I've seen several discussions where they have saved lives. And today, just down the road from where I live, a red 2nd Gen. saved this woman's life after colliding with a cement wall, and rolling over. http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/69270630-story

This isn't an Explorer, but it is the reason why I'm in the market for one. My 2012 Escape got totaled in an accident on I-78 Westbound in NJ. I-78 is 5 lanes in both directions here. 2 Express Lanes, 3 Local lanes. I was in the Express lanes, going home after arriving on a flight from visiting my parents in FL. Over on the Local side, a car hit a patch of unplowed snow & spun out. A Tractor Trailer following the car slammed on his brakes & jackknifed. The first I knew of the incident on the local side was the tractor-trailer sliding across the median right in front of me. As he was jackknifed, I hit right on the left rear tire of the tractor. Walked away from it, but with a fractured radius bone in my left arm, near the wrist.

A little ways south of me in WV. http://www.wowktv.com/story/26344732/interstate-79-closed-chickens-and-ammo-to-blame

So i'm doing my front brakes on Saturday. All is going well. It is, after all, disc brakes. Not like the old days when all four corners were drums. This should be easy, right? Wrong!! All went well. Or so I thought. I did the front brakes without a hitch. Ex was off the jack stands and ready for the road test. I decided to clean up before the road test. While I was cleaning up I found one of the new pads by the driver side wheel. My first thought was that the idiots at the factory put an extra pad in the box, right? There is no way that I reassembled the driver side without installing one of the pads. I mean come on, no way. Well, I'm an idiot. Not only did I forget to install one of the pads, I didn't tighten the...

Okay, so earlier today I'm out enjoying a nice lunch with my girlwhoisafriend, when all of the sudden a Blue 3rd Gen flies by the place I'm at with 3 Crown Vics and a pursuit Charger behind him. I said to myself, "Hmm, that'll be on the news, I'll have to tell the guys on EF later." Apparently this guy Shoplifted at the big mall here in Short Pump, and in his escape almost backed over an off duty police officer, and ran his Explorer into a tree at well over 50mph. Somehow he got out and ran on foot before the police caught up to him. To the driver, I was blessed to see the torn up truck on my drive home today, your lucky to be alive. Your from out of state, but if your on the forums; I want to formerly call you out on your...

The bad: My 'sploder got stuck in the snow today; had to get pulled out by a passerby in a Cherokee. The good: The driver of the Jeep didn't gloat about it and in fact, promised not to tell.