Hello to the British Contingent

[Biggles62]

Oh yeah! I didn't realize there was a Brit section on here until janolsson greeted me elsewhere and pointed me here.

Briefly, just bought a 1998 Explorer to tow a boat I'm building. She's in beautiful nick but the donk idles pretty lumpy and I think she's got some tensioner issues - rattles a bit on startup. Was thinking of installing a rebuilt motor until I found this site. Looks like I can rely on some sound advice from what I've been reading here, so may try to sort the problems out myself rather than spending £1000 + on an exchange donk. I'm reasonably handy with tools but getting abit old to squat on the ground for hours on end like I used to. Easier for me to put an expert on the job.

Like the idea of a meet - but not before I have the Ex sorted out for the journey.

I'm based near Bristol. Any other members nearby please get in touch.

Regards

Biggles62, aka Mike

 

[BIGHVM]

Ha- Welcome mate- I am sure we will all give you a helping hand in your ownership of the great Ex!

You can have your engine chains and guides replaced- its best to give it to a specialist and we have a few here in the UK. To do it yourself does require special tools to lock the engine whilst the gear is stripped and prevent timing issue of a very tragic nature. I would not try it and I too can chuck a spanner around with relative ease. The price is really not that bad and well lets face it- given the age of sum of us and mobility issues..COugh! Best leave it to the nippers with good backs and hands like shovels.

Look forward to meeting you mate- hope you can make the Ford Fair,(search for posts and pics)!
Take care

 

[Howard]

Welcome,

Your best bet is to get Justin (07921 823310 ) to look at it. He is in Newport so not too far away.

Then we will look forward to seeing you at Ford Fair (Silverstone) on Sunday 8th August.

 

[Speedydannyboy]

Good to hear there's another on here from down my way! Second the post on justin, thunk it's about £650 for front and rear chains etc

 

[Biggles62]

Ha- Welcome mate- I am sure we will all give you a helping hand in your ownership of the great Ex! ... .

Look forward to meeting you mate- hope you can make the Ford Fair,(search for posts and pics)!

Oh boy, thank you so much, BIGHVM, for the welcome. Restores my somewhat waning faith in the human race, does this kind of response. I look forward to meeting you too.

Welcome,

Your best bet is to get Justin (07921 823310 ) to look at it. He is in Newport so not too far away.

Then we will look forward to seeing you at Ford Fair (Silverstone) on Sunday 8th August.

Thanks to you too, Howard. You are the second member to recommend Justin. I have made a note of his contact details and will definitely give him a call next week. Provided I can get the old girl into tip top working order, you can count me in at the Ford Fair in August. Any good sailing water nearby? If so, I will bring along my little hand built 8' sailing dinghy and have some fun on the water at the same time. The bigger project is about to be under way, which is why I bought the Ex as a good towing vehicle. She'll be a breeze to tow - and well under the 2500kgs max.

Good to hear there's another on here from down my way! Second the post on justin, thunk it's about £650 for front and rear chains etc

Hiya Speedy. I live in Nailsea and, bought the Ex off a guy who lives in ... wait for it ... Weston. If there's a PM system on this site, I'll send you my phone number so that we can meet up to compare notes and chew the fat.

Sincere thanks to all for this most amazing welcome to the site. All power to your elbows - especially the ones you use for quaffing an ale or three.

Kind regards

Biggles62 a.k.a. 'Mike'

 

[Ilikemice]

I too can vouch for Justin. I've just this second got back from the 120 mile trip and I'm extremely pleased! Amazing service and the turnaround was incredible.

Oh, and welcome!

 

[janolsson]

Hey mike
you found us then, good oh.
Yeah justin is the guy i mentioned in your US thread as i spotted you were down that way. I've not had any work done by him myself but he's been helpful with odd parts and advice.
As for water; Rutland water is not that far from silverstone so you could make a weekend of it.
Regards

 

[Biggles62]

I too can vouch for Justin. ... I'm extremely pleased! Amazing service and the turnaround was incredible. Oh, and welcome!

Thanks for that welcome, Ilikemice. Sure sounds like Justin comes highly recommended by members here. Good enough for me. I plan to call him next week. And he is not too far from home, either, even if it does mean a trip over that toll bridge! Nothing in England comes cheaply nowadays. Ohoh, gotta be careful I don't start showing my age by way of GOM rant.

Hey mike
you found us then, good oh.
Yeah justin is the guy i mentioned in your US thread as i spotted you were down that way. I've not had any work done by him myself but he's been helpful with odd parts and advice.
As for water; Rutland water is not that far from silverstone so you could make a weekend of it.
Regards

Hiya janolsson! Thanks for pointing me here to the UK members. I am feeling very much at home already. Your advice re Justin is, as you can see, supported by several others here, which is great. I'll have a chat and see if he has time to look the new purchase over and assess the mechanical side of things for me. I'm happy to part with funds to bring her up to a state of reliability.

I am a great believer in V6 and V8 motors. Owned many such in the past while I was flying in Australia. Some seem to go on forever and the Ford 351 V8 was a particular favourite of mine. Had a GT Falcon powered by that motor. Reliable as they come. Never owned a 4 litre V6 until now.

Thanks for the heads up on Rutland Water. I'll see what I can find out about public access and may well take the family along to make a weekend of it.

Look forward to meeting you all one day soon.

Best wishes

Biggles62

P.S. Anyone suggested activation of multi-quote to save me having to copy and paste?

 

[Biggles62]

Just a quick add-on to say thanks to all of you who recommended Justin at Explorer Parts. He has resolved the issue for me by fitting the timing chains mod. He also found a small air leak on the inlet manifold and fixed that. She runs sweetly now and I am over the moon.

On the Ford Fair, I am unable to make it this year as now up to the eyeballs in a legal matter. It will have to be 2011 for me now. Still looking forward to meeting you all.

I would also add that I am very grateful to have joined this forum. I had an ex-Ford mechanic ask me if I'd had the cruise control cut off as it could kill me, he said. Ha ha. I checked with Ford on the recall history and my Explorer is right up to date and has had the cruise control recall done already.

Love this site. It is invaluable for good advice and info on Explorer issues. And I am falling in love with the Explorer. What a vehicle!

Regards

Mike