Common problems by year...

[aldive]

In my 99 4 SOHC...

I also had to replace the engine temperature sender.

 

[KEbert]

Really the biggest problem I had was the timing chain tensioner. It was frozen and wasn't allowing the chain to tighten up. The armrest broke and the hatch lock stuck. WD-40 was the fix. I did the lift as a fix for the loud noises and jolts it would make when it hit a bump. But other than that, it has really just been regular maintenance.

 

[Isotrip®]

Originally posted by toad
isotrip unless you have some fancy mods I think you will find you have a OHV not SOHC, .
anyway my 92 , broken arm rest, RUST RUST RUST, door hinge pins ,tranny (previous owner), exhaust leak at header drivers side , hubs on the way out, Not bad for 220,000km.s I guess.

D'OH!... Ok What (insert expletive here) was I thinking? Can anyone tell me please?

Seriously that was a typ-o/brain fade on my part. It IS a OHV engine.

Chalk it up to wishful thinking I guess.

 

[diablo5969]

Originally posted by Steve94LTD


if you compile a list, all this guys stuff is right on.
-------------------
1994 Explorer Limited, Currently at 86,000 miles.
Got the car just over a year ago...

Front brakes completely redone, rotors and pads
Right driver side hub is going; other one soon im sure.
Second complete brake job less than 6mo. from original
Powersteering hose clamp was loose or something
Transmission
complete suspension (upper/lower Ball joints, etc)

runs good for now.. but felt a bit sluggish tonite on the highway????

Glad I'm not the only one.

Also, two more things to add: boht my fuel guage and my tach are shot.

 

[C5 Pewter Coupe]

01 XLT 4x4..

lets see.. hose blew off the motor for the rear washer..
minor leak on transfer case(sealed itself)level is fine


that's it.. and 11,000 miles since July(had 15 on it when purchased)

 

[Van I.]

91 XLT 4X4 5 speed
70,000 miles(live on a small island and 10 minutes from work)

New starter
New A/C (pin hole in a hose)
New Fuel Pump(hole in float,guage was not working)
New window motors (drivers door,rear passenger door)
All brakes done
New radius arm bushings
Power steering leaks
Cracks in fan
Broken armrest

No rust
Other than that, just normal wear and tear.

Van

 

[irtySanchez]

Ok...this should be fun.

94 XLT with 140,000 on it. Had the Ex since 1998.

New A4LD tranny
Rear diff pinion seal leak
Rear brakes twice
Rear brake adjusting cables
U-joints and driveshaft balanced
Pass radius arm replaced
Radius arm bushings
Shocks all the way around
Ball joints replaced (what a tough job!)
Front brakes three times
Tie rods replaced
Power steering gear box
Metal tube from EGR to exhaust manifold replaced
power steering pressure line replaced
drivers seat re-cushioned

There may be more but that is what I can remember

 

[davesd]

I have a '91 xlt with 202,000 miles on it.
I have replaced the:
water pump
alternator
transmission (twice, last month most recently)
both front door hinges
engine at 150k (bad oil leaks, worse dealer advice)
radiator at 150k
side panels on front seats (at recline adj handle)

now the 4 wheel drive button isn't working but found a fix. We've bought this car with 28k on the odometer and still love it. I has been in a couple of fender benders (not our fault) and we've still come out on top.

 

[ryster]

2000 Explorer XLS...13 months old/17K miles

Have had to have the B-pillar realigned and refinished, and the body seams re-welded. Took Ford 5 tries to properly diagnose and repair. All repaired under warranty; cost Ford ~$2,000.

Rear wiper does not fully sweep glass. As long as I tighten the rear wiper arm lock nut every once in a while, it is okay.

Rattle in the dash at base of the windshield, particularly in cold weather. As long as I crank the defroster at full heat in the morning, it quiets down a little.

Transmission slips/jerks every once in a while when driving between 35-40mph. It has only done it maybe 4 or 5 times since I bought the truck.

Other than that, it's a good truck. Nothing out there that I really want to replace it with (I have looked, but just can't rationally replace the truck).

 

[Jenkins1581]

I have a 1996 XLT 4x4 now have 101,500 on it

Drivers side hub at 86,000
Front yoke had a bur on it making the seal leak( under warrenty)72,000
Rocker arm to push rods make noices still 86,000
radiator leaks 101,000 due to cold weather
stock radio amp gone!

 

[Okrazie1]

1999 Sport 2WD OHV 5 speed, 18,000 miles.

• Recalls for tires, hood latch, and multi-function switch.
• Ignition switch would not turn back to accessory position (repaired under warranty).
• Engine has the dreaded "dieseling" sound due to piston slap.
• Creaking rear glass due to rubber insulators under hinges splitting.
• Clearcoat already has some minor spiderwebbing.

I've decided to live with the engine noise. It's only noticeable at low RPM's. My research has determined if Ford replaces the engine, it will be with a remanufactured engine, and might be as bad or worse as the one that came out if it. Supposedly the problem causes no longetivity issues. If I decide to keep the truck, I'll probably build another engine for it in a couple of years anyway.

 

[Jon_Herr]

Steering noise

1998 XLT SOHC
* Cam chain tensioner TSB, Ford replaced tensioners
* Intake Manifold upper and lower TSB, Ford replaced to fix vacuum leak.
* TSB exists for steering vibration, groan in steering collumn. I have not done it yet, but this TSB calls for two parts to be replaced: High pressure power steering hose and an exhaust bracket.
* Driver side rear door lock actuator failed. $25 from salvage yard fixed it.

I suspect that any newer explorer has the updated steering parts so that's where I'm headed - a salvage yard.

My fingers are crossed for anything else ; )

 

[Texan01]

lessee here in the 2 months I've owned my 95 XLT with 105,000 on it, I've:
replaced the Temp gauge sender, replaced the pinion seal and axle oil, did a tranny service, adjusted the front wheel bearings (******* that did them last didn't know that the **** he was doing) replaced the tensioner pulley. Going to have to replace a brake rotor (warped) and the front wheel bearings when I do brakes (noisy) and replaced the 40,000 mile standard plugs with some new plugs (with AC-Delco's at that! Gasps from the audience) and sometime soon, replace the rack and pinoin to fix a really loud clunk when making left turns, (inside the rack itself)

Considering that this is my brother-in-law's old car and he did ok with keeping it up (I have all the records including when it was towed for illegal parking) I was looking hard for problems.

 

[BExplorer]

Another tread for this

This seems to be the second tread for this kind of info, go see High mileage Explorer http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=11210&goto=newpost
it has been running for a long time, you may find some of the info you are looking for.

 

[ajevenson]

My XLT Expirience

92 XLT - Only owned it for a month so I cant say that I have diagnosed everything but here goes:

1. Automatic hubs shot, replaced with WARN Manuals.
2. Rear windshield motor didn't work, stripped down and replaced the main PLASTIC drive gear. Works fine now.
3. Running boards creak and moan going over bumps. Gonna take em off and redo the rock-guard. Got a few rust bubbles.
4. 2 of the black plastic locks inside have broken off so unlocking the doors is a challenge cus they get caught inside the doors.
5. Engine has a lilt to it, goes from a steady idle at 750 up to 1100 and then falls down again.
6. Warped rotors, brakes feel like a machine gun.
7. Broken armrest.
8. A/C line burst in the shop last weekend. Time to convert to R134.
9. AT engages pretty rough after starting it up and putting it in gear in the morning. Enough to knock my coffee cup over.

That's all I've found for right now. I didn't buy this vehicle for dependibility though, I bought it so that I could putter around fix things on my own time, get me out of the house.

 

[Thorbolter]

Wow! I feel really lucky now. My wife and I bought our 92 sport 4wd in 92 brand new. Took really good care of it. Didn't have any problems what so ever until september of 2000. Front rotor replacement and brakes all around replaced. Got a divorce in 2001 and she kept the explorer, I have a 2001 mustang. Anyway, last week she sold me the explorer for 1000. Still running great, clutch needs replacement but after seeing all this stuff about the tranny being bad, will just wait for it to go. Oh, the sport has 148k on it. I feel lucky the tranny hasn't gone out in it. The driver door sages, but going to fix that this weekend. No cup holder in back for my kids, but ordered one of those. Also just ordered the KKM and a flowmastser cat back exhaust. Superchip next on list and then 31/32 tires along with the spacer lift. Great web site too, can't say that often enough.

 

[GR899V8]

’99 Limited 5.0
Original owner

Here is a partial list of items replaced on my Explorer while under warranty:
ABS sensor
Air bag sensor
Rear wiper motor
GEMS module (twice)
Multi-function (wiper) switch
Toe-in adjusted (three times)
Ignition coil replaced
Number 7 spark plug wire replaced
This is all with less than 7,000 miles on the truck, imagine how many times I have been to the dealer...

Since then, more parts have been required:
Lumbar seat switch
Cruise control cable (recall)
Hood latch (recall)

After warranty, I purchased more parts:
Fuel vapor control valve
Complete set of spark plug wires (this is from the same dealer that, while the truck was under warranty, only ONE defective spark plug wire was replaced, but the same problem arises out of warranty and I'm forced into buying a complete set of wires).
Brakes, battery, etc. as needed for normal maintenance.

 

[EasyRhino]

Mine: 97 XLT 5.0L/AWD, got new, now @83,000 miles:

Battery at 45K ($50)
Idler pulley at 78K (<$40)
Driver's seat recline adjust lever at 65K ($50)
Brake pads at 78K ($75)
Replaced lots of dash light bulbs (cheap but painful)

Still looks new (waxed 4X year and always garaged).

Other than that, just lots of TLC and maintenance - it has never ever been in the shop (do myself)

Father's: 94 Limited 4.0L/4WD, got new, 100+K miles:

Maintenance only, no repairs ever. He changed oil every 3K and replaced the tires when they got out of round. He sold it when it got over 100K miles, and had never even replaced the tranny fluid, battery, or brake pads.

 

[navigator]

97 XLT AWD 4.0 V6
Where do I start?

Early on Seat Adjustment lever broke.

X would cut off if I put it in drive. Dealer said I had been driving it in a pond or something and there was moisture and dirt in some connection between Tranny and motor and it was grounding out. They wanted to charge me and it was under warranty. The guys manager said "hey look, it has been raining for 2 weeks straight, it could be normal".

Driver rear door won't open from inside.
Driver rear door won't lock/unlock with button.

Air breather system makes a howling noise on warm days.
Passenger rear door won't open from inside.

98K Crankshaft breaks in two where it enters the block and the harmonic balancer is attached. I call ford and they customer service says "if it is outside of your 75k warranty, we can't cover it." I say ok, that is expected no problems. I carry it to my mechanic who used to work for a dealership and he tears it down, after looking at how clean the inside of the block and all the bearings were he said "this crank was bad, it should never break" I carry the crank to my local Ford dealership and TWO of their mechanics say it should never happen and that Ford should cover it. I call their customer care dept again and that person says "If two of our mechanics said that, we will tow it to our dealer, repair it and pay any fees you have inccured because of it". "We will put a claim into the dealer and you should hear from them soon." This was August. I keep calling the dealer and they never hear anything, I call customer care back and this person says "We can't do that. We'll have to put you in to our regional manager. Anyway, Come late November, Early December I hear from them that they will pay 30% of the cost to replace the crank. My mechanic rebuilt the engine cheaper than they were willing to replace the crank, parts included.

It is not as much that they wouldn't fix the X, I know it was out of warranty, it is more they took so long to tell me what they would do. Down to one vehicle for almost 6 mos. is a real pain. Especially if you are paying over $500 a month for one you can't drive!!!!!

Now the heat is stuck on, all the time except for Max AC.
some of the guys here gave me some ideas on how to fix that.

It now has about 130K on it.
I have a Ranger though with 175K on it, no problems, only problem was Tranny went out at about 98K because of a leaky seal (100K Warranty), they fixed it no questions, gave us a loaner car. That tranny holds up so well that they didn't have any rebuilt ones in stock and had to wait for all the parts to come in to build it on site. I can't complain about the ranger other than it is weak, but many times I wish I had gotten and extended cap pickup instead of the EXP.

enough ranting.

 

[diablo5969]

Originally posted by navigator
Tranny went out at about 98K because of a leaky seal (100K Warranty)

You cut that one pretty close