1993 Ford Explorer Sport 4.0 L V6 Automatic Transmission (First car and I need help)

[Reid L.]

Hi my name is Reid, I have a 93' Explorer Sport, 4.0 Liter V6 Engine, Automatic transmission. It has a few problems I just can't seem to figure out on my own and I will take any advice I can get! By the way this is my first vehicle.

(Funny story is I bought it from a friend for $400 because he thought it didn't run but it was just the battery so I'm not complaining, I love this thing!)

First off, every time I start up the engine I make sure to let it warm up and all of that good stuff, but it stalls frequently in idle. It revs at just under 1000 rpm and the engine will cut off and stall with no hesitation and no warning. It also will have a rough idle while driving or when its about to stall.This also happens at stop lights and stop signs. I tried cleaning the IAC and there was no difference. Fluids are in check also. No check engine lights.

The second problem is sometimes when the AC is on and I am in idle at a light, stop sign, etc. the car will begin to smell like fuel/ fumes which is probably dangerous and I can't tell where its coming from. Also, the fuel gauge doesn't work.

The third problem is most likely bad connectors for the battery because if I hit a bump or anything hard enough to move the battery the car will cut off all power. This means I have to pop the hood and plug the battery back in because it has been disconnected.

The fourth problem is a whining noise which I think is a vacuum leak, it hisses louder when I accelerate and less when in idle but still noticeable.

The last problem is a loud squealing noise which goes away after a few miles of driving, I replaced the serpentine belt a few weeks ago and it went away for a day and the next morning it was back.

Please let me know if you or anyone has any advice or solutions. Thanks again and have a Merry Christmas!

 

[RangerX]

Damn that is a clean good looking vehicle for $400! You scored!

Your first prob may be a vacuum leak, which you mention further on. Check the vacuum tree and look for any missing caps, they can blow off. If nothing is missing, look and listen for a cracked or broken hose, follow all,that are connected to the tree.
Fuel gauge is a common failure, most likely it's the float in the tank. Search the site and you should find tons of info on that.
Your battery should not move at all, even if you're upside down! You must be missing the hold down, it screws into the battery tray at the bottom lip of the battery and looks like this.

 

[larrydd999]

Great purchase! X2 on inspecting for vacuum leaks. If it was mine and I just bought it from someone who didn't share any maintenance information, I'd change all of the fluids that I can (coolant, oil & filter, transmission, etc.) and the air and fuel filters. Do a 'tune-up' which mostly means plugs and maybe plug wires. Inspect the entire engine compartment for wires that might be touching metal - especially hot metal. Inspect under the engine also, your battery intermittent may be a loose cable. Regarding the squealing noise, you may already have done this, but if not check all of the pulleys with the serpentine belt removed, you may have one or more bad bearings. I recently replaced the belt tension pulley on our '92 - the bearing was bad. Read the various posts on maintenance, you'll find a huge amount of valuable information.

 

[gmbroy]

just follow the instructions of the 2 members above , they have it pretty much nailed down . You scored on your ex . sounds like a pulley is shot & sounds like you have a vacuum leak . Get that battery secured , thats dangerous . good luck keep us informed we will help all we can . spend alot of time searching on this forum . there is endless info & the best people in the world to help you .

 

[Reid L.]

Damn that is a clean good looking vehicle for $400! You scored!

Your first prob may be a vacuum leak, which you mention further on. Check the vacuum tree and look for any missing caps, they can blow off. If nothing is missing, look and listen for a cracked or broken hose, follow all,that are connected to the tree.
Fuel gauge is a common failure, most likely it's the float in the tank. Search the site and you should find tons of info on that.
Your battery should not move at all, even if you're upside down! You must be missing the hold down, it screws into the battery tray at the bottom lip of the battery and looks like this.

View attachment 153273

Thanks so much , I’ll keep you posted!

 

[Reid L.]

just follow the instructions of the 2 members above , they have it pretty much nailed down . You scored on your ex . sounds like a pulley is shot & sounds like you have a vacuum leak . Get that battery secured , thats dangerous . good luck keep us informed we will help all we can . spend alot of time searching on this forum . there is endless info & the best people in the world to help you .

Thanks so much , I’ll keep you posted!

 

[TDG]

A common source of difficult to locate squealing noises that resemble belt squeals is the cam position sensor (located at the back of the engine behind the intake manifold where a traditional distributor would be located) if your vehicle is so equipped - I've read that not all 93's have them, I've also read that they will squeal for 80k or longer without fail. Replacing is not for the faint of heart or wallet.

If your Ex sat for any length of time I would check for rodent damage to the engine vacuum lines and wiring insulation; mine sat for almost 10 years and the rodents ate the plastic hard vacuum lines down to the point where unless you knew they were supposed to be there you would not know they were missing causing numerous vacuum leaks, they also chewed the insulation off of many electrical wires. Additionally, check for lose ground connections - I don't have access to diagram showing the correct ground connections for that vehicle but someone on here might have one to share.

Barring any evidence of fuel leaking from the injection manifold, injectors, fuel pressure regulator or associated lines you may have a leak in the evaporative emissions system if your vehicle is so equipped (might have been a CA only thing back in those days) the presence of a squarish looking canister with several caps on it located on the drivers side of the engine compartment will indicate that it is equipped and a leak in that could cause fuel smells at various times.

As a final note - on vehicle of this age never assume that nobody has been in there before you trying to 'fix' things and done something wrong or connected something backwards; I had several people try to 'help' me (i.e. work on it without my knowledge) when mine was in storage and the results of their work were interesting albeit entirely incorrect despite the vehicle starting / running.

 

[Reid L.]

A common source of difficult to locate squealing noises that resemble belt squeals is the cam position sensor (located at the back of the engine behind the intake manifold where a traditional distributor would be located) if your vehicle is so equipped - I've read that not all 93's have them, I've also read that they will squeal for 80k or longer without fail. Replacing is not for the faint of heart or wallet.

If your Ex sat for any length of time I would check for rodent damage to the engine vacuum lines and wiring insulation; mine sat for almost 10 years and the rodents ate the plastic hard vacuum lines down to the point where unless you knew they were supposed to be there you would not know they were missing causing numerous vacuum leaks, they also chewed the insulation off of many electrical wires. Additionally, check for lose ground connections - I don't have access to diagram showing the correct ground connections for that vehicle but someone on here might have one to share.

Barring any evidence of fuel leaking from the injection manifold, injectors, fuel pressure regulator or associated lines you may have a leak in the evaporative emissions system if your vehicle is so equipped (might have been a CA only thing back in those days) the presence of a squarish looking canister with several caps on it located on the drivers side of the engine compartment will indicate that it is equipped and a leak in that could cause fuel smells at various times.

As a final note - on vehicle of this age never assume that nobody has been in there before you trying to 'fix' things and done something wrong or connected something backwards; I had several people try to 'help' me (i.e. work on it without my knowledge) when mine was in storage and the results of their work were interesting albeit entirely incorrect despite the vehicle starting / running.

Awesome information and thanks for the helps! If i’m going to check for leaks what is the safest way to do so? Also, are leaks usually easy/cheap fixes? I’m pretty sure my fuel filter, fuel regulator and cabin filter all need replacing.

 

[TDG]

Your description of the hissing / vacuum leak sound seems opposite (to me) of what I would expect a vacuum leak to sound like. On a normally aspirated engine manifold pressure will be lowest (highest vacuum readings / hissing sounds) at idle and deceleration versus acceleration where manifold pressure will be closer to 0 and thus hissing sounds should be lower.

On Explorers of this era engine vacuum is used to operate some components of the HVAC system, a check valve and storage tank (small black tank on top of the a/c evaporator housing on the passenger side of the engine compartment) are used to maintain vacuum to the HVAC system under low vacuum (acceleration) conditions - if you have leak in the HVAC portion of the vacuum system you may be hearing bleed off under acceleration as pressure leaks down or returns to the engine.

I repaired the damaged hard lines on my engine with 7/64 vacuum hose (just cut out the damaged pieces of hard line and slid the hose over the line and secured with a few high temp rated zipties) from the auto parts store, it's important to use automotive rated vacuum hose as other types will not withstand the heat or may suck down and cut off flow if not rated for vacuum use.

Post some detail photos of your engine compartment - probably easier for us to look at those and see if anyone appears to have been horsing around in there vs showing photos of what most ours look like which have been modified to some degree.

 

[Reid L.]

Your description of the hissing / vacuum leak sound seems opposite (to me) of what I would expect a vacuum leak to sound like. On a normally aspirated engine manifold pressure will be lowest (highest vacuum readings / hissing sounds) at idle and deceleration versus acceleration where manifold pressure will be closer to 0 and thus hissing sounds should be lower.

On Explorers of this era engine vacuum is used to operate some components of the HVAC system, a check valve and storage tank (small black tank on top of the a/c evaporator housing on the passenger side of the engine compartment) are used to maintain vacuum to the HVAC system under low vacuum (acceleration) conditions - if you have leak in the HVAC portion of the vacuum system you may be hearing bleed off under acceleration as pressure leaks down or returns to the engine.

I repaired the damaged hard lines on my engine with 7/64 vacuum hose (just cut out the damaged pieces of hard line and slid the hose over the line and secured with a few high temp rated zipties) from the auto parts store, it's important to use automotive rated vacuum hose as other types will not withstand the heat or may suck down and cut off flow if not rated for vacuum use.

Post some detail photos of your engine compartment - probably easier for us to look at those and see if anyone appears to have been horsing around in there vs showing photos of what most ours look like which have been modified to some degree.

Okay be on the lookout for photos of my engine bay tomorrow! It’s pretty dirty.

 

[Reid L.]

I finally got some pictures of the areas I find problems in, just take a look at the areas and you can see busted up wires and hoses.

Update: I had a job estimate to do for some work which was in a pretty bad area, as we were leaving the area I was driving and my buddy noticed fluid gushing out of my car so I pulled over and it was all over my engine bay and tires. We cleaned it up and didn't want to drive it so we went to get some tools and by the time we got back my passenger side window was busted! We were on the job so I couldn't sit with my car all day so I was expecting the worst. We finally got the car started and some fluids in it and barely made it back home. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with some transmission slipping and its weird because my fluids are completely fine now no leaking at all. I tried to see how it drove yesterday and it was hardly accelerating with really high RPM's, no power, and barely shifted into reverse or drive. I checked my transmission fluid and its brown/burnt but filled. Let me know what you can pick a part from this.

 

[TDG]

Something interesting going on in that last photo

I've circled in green what should be the check valve for the HVAC controls - there appears to be nothing attached to the end of it... (red arrow inside of red circle)

Where is the line going indicated by the red arrow inside of the square box? - One end should down under the blower motor and inside of the vehicle and the other should go to the check valve on the end that appears to be missing something.

 

[Roadrunner777]

The coolant diverter valve is missing from the heater hoses... that might explain an extra vacuum line.

 

[roscoe 0202]

my 94 doesn't have a coolant diverter valve it never did since I know history since new that may be later version all of the 91-94 I've looked at don't have one.
roscoe

 

[Rhett]

Is that coolant everywhere? I assume you checked your hoses? Maybe a heater hose is leaking, too. Don't run it with low coolant or you'll risk bigger problems.

Those clamps on your heater hoses look newer...that and the vac line mess makes me think someone inexperienced or careless has monkeyed around in there.

In TDG's pic, I have found that an open vac line even of that small size can cause lots of stumbling and hard starts. As for your transmission, you say it is filled, but filled with what? Burnt fluid and sludge are not doing you or the transmission any good.

 

[TDG]

My 93 originally did not have a coolant diverter valve either.

 

[Roadrunner777]

My '94 does, and RockAuto sells them for the '93... I was assuming.

 

[TDG]

There was an "AC system poor performance" TSB that retrofitted the valve onto the earlier 1st gen models so 20ish years later the valve will be randomly found on all years of the 1st gen.

 

[roscoe 0202]

learn something everyday
roscoe

 

[Reid L.]

I replaced my transmission filter. The fluid that was drained was completely black and burned , resembling sludge. I got a new transmission filter and gasket to replace the old one and cleaned the transmission pan. I filled the transmission as needed and my car will shift into all gears but cannot move even as I press down the accelerator what could this mean?