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The everything Aviator thread.

Left front Window regulator from Dorman

Also about the 2004 Aviator I'm working on,The left front window regulator went poof. I went to autozone and purchased a Dorman brand window regualtor.The part # was 740-813. THIS REGULATOR DOES NOT FIT! It is not for these vehicles. I called around and all the parts stores had the same part number.
I finally got one from a salvage yard but it was pretty frustrating. Just letting everybody know just in case.... Mark
 



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Hey guys, Anybody had change the interior courtesy lights to LED? I got some but don't know how to remove the step courtesy light on the outside mirror? Any ideas how to remove the lense? Hey MarkinKC mine is still having issues, when I try to open the window it will go crazy up and down and make a funny noise, sooner I will have to start looking for a replacement. Thanks for the tips on that.
 






Greetings. I have been working on an 2004 Aviator AWD for the past year for a friend.
They bought it with mis-matched tires and continued to drive it till it started grinding and buckling and making all those bad noises you could expect it make.
The front differential I replaced with another and the popping sounds decreased a lot but still popping and banging in turns.I then replaced the front drive shaft next due to a lot of play and damaged boot leaking grease.Still banging.
I then checked the transfer case and found VERY burnt fluid ,so that told me that the clutch in the Transfer case is probably locked up and therefore needs to go too.
The only thing I could do for them is take out the front drive shaft and see how that went. All the popping and banging coming from the front stopped and he has been driving it like that all year.
Now the transmission seems to be slightly slipping and might need to be replaced also.
I am probably going to pull out of a donor vehicle just not sure what to look for to match up other than AWD. Any advice you all could give would be helpful... Thanks .Mark in KC

Aviator uses 5R55S tranny. I'm pretty sure you can use any 5R55S tranny, but might have to swap out the end housing depending on if it's 4x4, AWD or 2WD. Careful not to get a 5R55W. It will fit but has wrong gear ratio.

Pulling the tranny from the Aviator is time consuming but pretty simple. I'd recommend getting the factory manual. Biggest issue I had was the upper bel housing bolts. Total PITA. 13mm swivel socket slips off so I used a 1/2" and tapped it on with a long extension from the rear of the tranny. Don't use a cheap torque converter, they are notoriously noisy on that tranny. I used a Transtar with upgraded Sonnax clutch. It's super smooth and quiet.
 












Hey guys, Anybody had change the interior courtesy lights to LED? I got some but don't know how to remove the step courtesy light on the outside mirror? Any ideas how to remove the lense? Hey MarkinKC mine is still having issues, when I try to open the window it will go crazy up and down and make a funny noise, sooner I will have to start looking for a replacement. Thanks for the tips on that.


I have put LED threw out the entire inside n out, if you go to putco.com you will find the bulbs there which is what i have and they are the best i hvae found .
use a small flat head on the edge farthest from the truck it , if you work it in slowly it will pop right out
 






i just installed a pioneer 3500 double din but i have been looking all over does anyone know how to get the rear dvd to to work ? not worried about audio as the kids use the headphones , i have tried the grn/blk to 12 v acc and ground but it powers up for 15/20 seconds and shuts down if anyone could help it would be greatly appreated
 






Guys Does any one had change the cats on our Aviator? The reason I am asking is because my check engine light came on and the code is P0430, called the dealer for pricing and they wanted 2700 bucks for the whole Y pipe with the 2 upper cats and the main cat, woa no fricking way I am spending that kind of money on my truck. What are my options? Please let see some input from the pro. I have my first option, here it is: I found a truck on a junker and the guy wants 350 for the Y pipe with the cats and O2 which is not bad but the truck has 280k km, what do you guys think should I give it a try or should I go with some magna flow cat and go dual? I really don't want to do this, I already have my 88 toy already and now I am working on my 94 swap from 3.8 to 5.0 GT.

Well let see some comments please! Thanks!!
 






Guys Does any one had change the cats on our Aviator? The reason I am asking is because my check engine light came on and the code is P0430, called the dealer for pricing and they wanted 2700 bucks for the whole Y pipe with the 2 upper cats and the main cat, woa no fricking way I am spending that kind of money on my truck. What are my options? Please let see some input from the pro. I have my first option, here it is: I found a truck on a junker and the guy wants 350 for the Y pipe with the cats and O2 which is not bad but the truck has 280k km, what do you guys think should I give it a try or should I go with some magna flow cat and go dual? I really don't want to do this, I already have my 88 toy already and now I am working on my 94 swap from 3.8 to 5.0 GT.

Well let see some comments please! Thanks!!

I've heard you can clean cats with laundry detergent. Have to drop the pipe and soak it overnight. But it depends if it's just clogged or damaged. Rock Auto has complete system for about $450. It's not so difficult to change it out. Nuts on the manifold are a little hard to get too but not terrible. If mine go I might look at eliminating them entirely but then you have to deal with the CEL. I imagine there is some way around that. You might want to check around the Mustang forums and see what they do.
 






Thanks ponkotsu! I will try changing the O2 first, also I already went thisorning and bought the Y pipe from the wrecker I may use this later on. Thanjs
 






I would just remove the cats and enjoy some extra performance. If you need them in place for emissions testing, then I would definitely have a shop chop out your stock cats and weld in some universal cats. They may even be able to salvage your y-pipe.

Or, it could just be your downstream O2's acting screwy and in fact there really is no problem. I recently chopped the cats out of my F150 and installed longtubes, built new y-pipe and full stainless exhaust. The downstream O2's give me a check engine light, but nothing is wrong. It just see's a problem. Increased mpg and 20 extra HP is not a problem however :)

P.S. My 1999 F150 cats had 120K miles and were shockingly clean.
 






Ok I bought the used pipe, took out both O2 sensor in bank 2 and swap them Monday afterwork, clear the code and so far light still off. Will keep you updated it light comes back.
 






I would just remove the cats and enjoy some extra performance. If you need them in place for emissions testing, then I would definitely have a shop chop out your stock cats and weld in some universal cats. They may even be able to salvage your y-pipe.

Or, it could just be your downstream O2's acting screwy and in fact there really is no problem. I recently chopped the cats out of my F150 and installed longtubes, built new y-pipe and full stainless exhaust. The downstream O2's give me a check engine light, but nothing is wrong. It just see's a problem. Increased mpg and 20 extra HP is not a problem however :)

P.S. My 1999 F150 cats had 120K miles and were shockingly clean.
I've read that if you put a threaded spacer between the O2 sensor and the pipe it gets it out of the stream enough so it doesn't sense enough and doesn't trip the CEL. Many years ago I had a Pontiac built for the strip. I had one of those hollowed out CAT's. I could adjust the mixture screws lean enough to actually get it to pass emissions test even with no CAT. Had to set them back again after the inspection so as not to damage anything though. Not so easy to adjust fuel mixture on cars now though...
 






Yeah, non-fouler spark plug adapters do the trick. The weather is way to cold to mess with it here so I'll put some spacers in during the warmer months. The trick is finding the right spacing because if it's too far out (or removed and tied up under the car) it will get another check engine light for sensing too fresh of an air charge.
 






That sounds complicated to me, well it had been 4 days now since I changed the O2 and my cel still off! So far so good!! I guess my cats are ok then.
 






Well folks My EL came back on last sunday I ended up changing the whole pipe with cats with the used one from the junker so far light is off, I will let you know if this time will work.
 






Well folks My EL came back on last sunday I ended up changing the whole pipe with cats with the used one from the junker so far light is off, I will let you know if this time will work.

You should be okay. If the engine is running correctly, the cats last a long time. You should probably verify that you aren't running rich or lean just in case.
 






Aviator catalytic converters

Regarding the catalytic converter conversation that was on here recently, late last week, I replaced all of the catalytic converters on my 2003 Lincoln Aviator with a MagnaFlow #447243 high flow catalytic converter assembly. It definitely runs better, fuel mileage has gone up slightly, and it sounds a little throatier. I had a Flowmaster 52572 muffler installed a couple of years ago, so it sounds good without being obnoxious or annoying. The OBDII seems to be adapting to it rather well.

All in all, a worthwhile experiment. I definitely recommend it.
 






New aviator owner

Hi guys and girls,
I have posted for my sporttrac, which I still have and love. Today my wife and I bought a 2004 aviator. It's the ultimate and I was wondering if you could help answer a few questions.
1. How do you clean the silver/stainless looking trim that is all over? I tried windex, vinegar and water, magic eraser. It is just dirty and stained in spots.

2. The previous owner put in a new head unit which renders all the steering wheel controls useless. What options do I have? If I went back to a stock unit, would the controls work again?

3. Flaking on the wheels is annoying. Has anyone sanded it off, primered, and painted them?

4. The rear hatch crack, a mechanic told me lincoln did that purposefully I call bs.

Thanks and happy to join the board
 






Hi guys and girls,
I have posted for my sporttrac, which I still have and love. Today my wife and I bought a 2004 aviator. It's the ultimate and I was wondering if you could help answer a few questions.
1. How do you clean the silver/stainless looking trim that is all over? I tried windex, vinegar and water, magic eraser. It is just dirty and stained in spots.

2. The previous owner put in a new head unit which renders all the steering wheel controls useless. What options do I have? If I went back to a stock unit, would the controls work again?

3. Flaking on the wheels is annoying. Has anyone sanded it off, primered, and painted them?

4. The rear hatch crack, a mechanic told me lincoln did that purposefully I call bs.

Thanks and happy to join the board

The silver color trim on the dash is paint. Probably it's worn off, not dirty.
You maybe can get an aftermarket steering wheel control module if the head unit supports it.
Wheels, mine have just a slight amount of surface corrosion but still look great. I guess you could paint them but I think they would look bad real soon.
The rear hatch, pretty much every Explorer/Mountaineer/Aviator has the problem. There are a couple of class action suits against Ford about it.
 



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Hello OC sporttrac

Hi guys and girls,
I have posted for my sporttrac, which I still have and love. Today my wife and I bought a 2004 aviator. It's the ultimate and I was wondering if you could help answer a few questions.
1. How do you clean the silver/stainless looking trim that is all over? I tried windex, vinegar and water, magic eraser. It is just dirty and stained in spots.

2. The previous owner put in a new head unit which renders all the steering wheel controls useless. What options do I have? If I went back to a stock unit, would the controls work again?

3. Flaking on the wheels is annoying. Has anyone sanded it off, primered, and painted them?

4. The rear hatch crack, a mechanic told me lincoln did that purposefully I call bs.

Thanks and happy to join the board


My wheels were corroded as well. I had a local shop strip them down to bare aluminum and re-powdercoat them. They look great. I paid $100 per wheel. I also bought a whole set of Lincoln center caps to replace mine which looked rough. They were ~$70 a piece I think.

I also had the applique, as Lincoln calls the cracked rear gate piece, replaced. That was roughly $300 with paint and installation as I recall. Had it done a couple of years ago. Haven't had any issues with it since.

There is a company in California called Rive Industries that refurbishes & updates factory radio/CD changers. I had sent my factory unit there and had it refurbished 2 years ago. About $125 as I recall. Took about 10 days to get it back. Well worth the money. Its been working great ever since. They even sell units so they may have one to fit yours. http://rivetech.com/index.htm

Enjoy the Aviator. They are a great vehicle if you give them the proper care and maintenance.
 






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