New to Explorer and Forums

[Steven G Webb]

Thanks for admitting me. I posted in the new members area but since this looks like it'll be my home here thought I'd jump in here too. I recently bought a 2007 Explorer Limited with 111K miles. First time in a decade I've been in debt so I'm naturally afraid of this new to me potential money pit.

So far with only about 500 miles of my own here are my present concerns:

• Rain water and carwash runoff getting into the #8 and #7 spark plug wells
• Hard shift from 1st to 2nd gear
• Aroma of raw fuel in passenger compartment when stopped after driving.
• Potential for brake master cylinder failure

I'll be poking around looking for solutions and advise. Anyone with anything to offer please chime in.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Did you check the fluid level in the transmission? Was the filter replaced?

 

[Steven G Webb]

Welcome to this forum! Did you check the fluid level in the transmission? Was the filter replaced?

I've only owned this thing a couple of weeks, acquired it from a used lot. I've not checked the transmission fluid level and know very little about the vehicle's previous maintenance. Using the unclean interior as a barometer I took the truck in for an oil change and to have the under-hood fluids changed. To my surprise the oil was clean as was the air filter. I've no idea nor indication that the transmission filter has ever been changed. I am just becoming familiar with this thing and it's transmission without a dipstick. It isn't slow to engage either reverse or forward. The change from 1st to 2nd is most noticeable if I'm just creeping up the speed. When leaving work, for example, if I allow the truck to pick up speed pretty much on its own driving down the long level driveway without much more than a touch of the accelerator pedal the shift is hard enough that I don't think it's normal. If I'm accelerating more assertively like pulling onto the highway it doesn't seem quite so hard. I'll check the fluid level.

 

[ThunderbirdSport]

Mine shifts rather hard at light or no throttle. Has 172K. As with yours, when I get on the pedal a bit, it shifts fine, about what I'd expect.

 

[Steven G Webb]

Mine shifts rather hard at light or no throttle. Has 172K. As with yours, when I get on the pedal a bit, it shifts fine, about what I'd expect.

I just watched a You Tube video explaining the adaptive shifting. I wonder if my transmission has learned the habits of the previous owner. I might look into having the tables erased as part of having the fluid and filter changed, since I don't know much about the service history.

 

[digifoss]

Thanks for admitting me. I posted in the new members area but since this looks like it'll be my home here thought I'd jump in here too. I recently bought a 2007 Explorer Limited with 111K miles. First time in a decade I've been in debt so I'm naturally afraid of this new to me potential money pit.

So far with only about 500 miles of my own here are my present concerns:

• Rain water and carwash runoff getting into the #8 and #7 spark plug wells
• Hard shift from 1st to 2nd gear
• Aroma of raw fuel in passenger compartment when stopped after driving.
• Potential for brake master cylinder failure

I'll be poking around looking for solutions and advise. Anyone with anything to offer please chime in.

Welcome aboard Steven. We bought our first Explorer, 07' XLT, just before Christmas and are loving it. Its still a little new to me and I have a lot to learn but this is the place to find out just about anything you need to know about your Explorer:

Water Collecting in plug wells ? Maybe the rubber seals on the hood, not sure.
Hard Shifting ? Checking your fluid level is a good idea, it could be low. With 111k miles it's time to do a fluid and filter change. Unless you knew the P O, assume it has never been done.
Raw Fuel smell - sounds like part of the fuel evap recovery system. The collector might be full, or a hose leaking, and replacing the gas cap has worked on another vehicle I had
Brake master cylinder - why do you think the master cylinder is failing ? Brakes in my Explorer have an unnatural feel to them but it's normal.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Since it is v8, the 6R60 tranny has a hard down shift from 2 to 1, if it is 1 to 2 them maybe one of the solenoids on the valve body is sticking. You'd need to have a good tranny shop perform some diagnostic tests with a scan tool to see if that's the case. If it is, then the whole valve body would need to be replaced. Mine has been kicking slightly for the past 300k miles. At 200 k I replaced the mechatronic unit but that did not help much.

Water in # 4, 7 and 8 is very common. The plastic under the windshield leaks water into the engine. Search this forum and you'll find people using some drain systems or just caulking the clips under the cowl.

I am used to the brakes on the Explorer, but everybody who needs to borrow it says they are soft and need more force to engage. I am on my original master cylinder still.
No idea about fuel smell, sorry.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Steven G Webb]

Welcome aboard Steven. We bought our first Explorer, 07' XLT, just before Christmas and are loving it. Its still a little new to me and I have a lot to learn but this is the place to find out just about anything you need to know about your Explorer:

Water Collecting in plug wells ? Maybe the rubber seals on the hood, not sure.
Hard Shifting ? Checking your fluid level is a good idea, it could be low. With 111k miles it's time to do a fluid and filter change. Unless you knew the P O, assume it has never been done.
Raw Fuel smell - sounds like part of the fuel evap recovery system. The collector might be full, or a hose leaking, and replacing the gas cap has worked on another vehicle I had
Brake master cylinder - why do you think the master cylinder is failing ? Brakes in my Explorer have an unnatural feel to them but it's normal.

Thanks for the response. Will do on the fluid and filter change. Thanks for the suggestions on the evap recovery, I'll check the components. The brakes feel different on this vehicle, different doesn't mean bad. The concern with the master cylinder failing comes from Internet postings about unexplained sudden catastrophic failure.

 

[ThunderbirdSport]

It's funny...when I first got mine, I too felt the brakes were ****ty compared to my '98. Now, I'm used to "double tapping" them...kinda build up a little more pedal...not sure if they need bled, the pads are bad, or something's amiss. Fluid's good, though, in terms of being "enough".

I'll probably bleed 'em Wednesday.

 

[dacaur2]

Just a quick thought on the 1-2 shift, make sure you are not "burping" it, that is, letting of the pedal for a moment to get it to shift. This was a common thing years and years ago, but doing this in, at least my explorer, is a great way to get a crazy hard shift.... I get it now and then when I go to accelerate, then have to let off the gas for some reason (light changes, car pulls out, etc)