zpn_by
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- November 5, 2012
- Messages
- 123
- Reaction score
- 3
- City, State
- Ontario
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 Explorer EB
Well, I'm divorcing. From my Explorer. My eyes had started to wander, thinking about those lighter, shaplier younger models with fewer "issues" and which wouldn't eat me out of house and home. I was killing time with my son one night, and had taken him to see a classic fire truck at a local car dealer, and of course I had a look around the lot while I was there. When we went to leave, I took off quick to make a left across 5 lanes, and that's when it happened - THE TRUCK SHOWED ITS JEALOUSY! Second gear was missing, and refused to show up. I limped it home and hopped on the forums once the kids were in bed. All signs (thanks to BrooklynBay, Glacier991, and especially JK080!) pointed to a bad second gear piston/bore/band. I investigated the option of the sleeve repair, and A1JE's pistons with o-rings, but the truly daunting part was the potential repair bill.
So I decided that this was something I could tackle, but I was hurting for wheels (I work in an office, but must sometimes drive out of town or onto construction sites) and had borrowed my dad's 91 Tbird in the meantime. I appreciated the wheels, but it was a pain to put the kids in their carseats in the back. So I found a 2005 Mistubishi Outlander 2.4 manual with low miles for a good price, and bought it, figuring to fix the Explorer on the weekends once I had a ride again. Turns out I got screwed - the car had its cluster replaced in 2008 while in it's original warranty period and it actually had 60,000 km MORE than what was showing. I checked its records with the licensing office and found that as far as they knew, it had the indicated mileage, not the actual mileage. Even the CarProof (Canadian) was clean, although I didn't see the annual registration mileage. I only found out by taking it to Mitsubishi for some service under the powertrain warranty which was still in effect. I contacted the dealer and faxed the service records to them, and returned the Outlander for my full purchase price, although I got stonewalled on the Mobil 1 synthetic oil change I had done the week before I found out about the mileage. LESSON LEARNED - despite being as careful as possible, it's still possible to get screwed. At least we have strong consumer protection laws in Ontario for incorrect mileage. When I transferred the Outlander back to the dealer, I made sure to write in the correct mileage on the ownership, so it was registered properly...
Back to the Explorer I went... I called around and was given quotes (keep in mind our labour rates are high, with 13% tax) starting at 2500, which would likely end up at 3500 when it's all said and done. The truck, in its present condition (with the single rust spot fixed) could realistically fetch about $5000 if I ran it through all the inspections prior to selling. I could justify (barely) a $2500 repair bill, if I would keep it for several more years. This being the 4.6 with only 167,000 km (just over 101,000 miles) the odds were in my favour. BUT - I couldn't rationalize a $3500 bill on the same truck. I like it but not that much.
I guess this truck was never truly happy with me, or the previous owner... COP units and misfires were common, the alternator croaked on me with no warning (I carry a voltmeter in the truck, and regularly watch the gauges), so it had already stranded me three times (2x COP, and 1x alternator). The AC let go (just a charge, but still annoying) and the 4x4 actuator had been replaced by the PO, but still would not give me low range, no matter how accurately I followed the owner's manual.
At this point, I'm sad to see it go, as I really enjoyed driving it (when it worked) but it's like finding a new home for your dog who's suffering from old age (at least it doesn't have to be put down yet). I know what needs to be done, and I was trying desperately to find any way or excuse (once it became necessary) to avoid having to get rid of it, even contemplating outrageous bills to keep it going, without knowing if the next time would be worse, or when it would happen.
Later this week, I will be picking up my new Hyundai Elantra. Our RAV4 will take over the truck duties, and will be fitted for a hitch very soon. I'm sad because I got screwed by another Ford transmission, (1994 Cougar 4R70W, similar bill) sad because I have to give up my truck, and sad because it's for a Hyundai (crap, it took my three tries to type that!) I only got the Hyundai (two tries) because I need a good sized back seat for my kids in car seats, and the price was right. I leased it, and it's got full warranty for the term of the lease, but I still didn't want any hassles with an automatic so I got the 6-speed manual. I didn't want a car again, and certainly not a Hyundai (OK got it right) but I don't really have time anymore to deal with an unreliable vehicle that always makes me think "what's next?" I knew it was a bad sign with the explorer when I started carrying a socket set, my code scanner, screwdrivers, pliers, and a multimeter with me everywhere I went, in addition to the usual jumper cables and bottle of water. Looking at it now, if I needed to carry all that to make sure I could get to work (8km/5 miles) the end was near for some time.
I have some parts left over which I had planned to use on the truck, but as I don't need them anymore, I'll be happy to sell them to any forum users in the SW Ontario area who may need them. PM me for a list, and I'll send it along. I'm going to stay a member here, and keep checking in, as I really like what some of you are doing to your trucks (you know who you are! 5.4 cough cough... manual conversions cough cough...) and Aldive's fuel mileage tricks are relevant no matter what vehicle you drive.
Thanks again to everyone for all you do for each other in this community. Someone had mentioned it in one of the thousands of threads - I've not seen any real fighting/flaming/provocation in here, and there are no pissing contests or heated arguments. Almost everyone here is respectful and earns the respect of the other members. We should be very proud of what we have here.
Keep on trucking! I hope you all have better luck than I did with my truck. I know there are some really nice ones out there, even in completely stock trim, and they are handsome trucks which earn their keep.
So I decided that this was something I could tackle, but I was hurting for wheels (I work in an office, but must sometimes drive out of town or onto construction sites) and had borrowed my dad's 91 Tbird in the meantime. I appreciated the wheels, but it was a pain to put the kids in their carseats in the back. So I found a 2005 Mistubishi Outlander 2.4 manual with low miles for a good price, and bought it, figuring to fix the Explorer on the weekends once I had a ride again. Turns out I got screwed - the car had its cluster replaced in 2008 while in it's original warranty period and it actually had 60,000 km MORE than what was showing. I checked its records with the licensing office and found that as far as they knew, it had the indicated mileage, not the actual mileage. Even the CarProof (Canadian) was clean, although I didn't see the annual registration mileage. I only found out by taking it to Mitsubishi for some service under the powertrain warranty which was still in effect. I contacted the dealer and faxed the service records to them, and returned the Outlander for my full purchase price, although I got stonewalled on the Mobil 1 synthetic oil change I had done the week before I found out about the mileage. LESSON LEARNED - despite being as careful as possible, it's still possible to get screwed. At least we have strong consumer protection laws in Ontario for incorrect mileage. When I transferred the Outlander back to the dealer, I made sure to write in the correct mileage on the ownership, so it was registered properly...
Back to the Explorer I went... I called around and was given quotes (keep in mind our labour rates are high, with 13% tax) starting at 2500, which would likely end up at 3500 when it's all said and done. The truck, in its present condition (with the single rust spot fixed) could realistically fetch about $5000 if I ran it through all the inspections prior to selling. I could justify (barely) a $2500 repair bill, if I would keep it for several more years. This being the 4.6 with only 167,000 km (just over 101,000 miles) the odds were in my favour. BUT - I couldn't rationalize a $3500 bill on the same truck. I like it but not that much.
I guess this truck was never truly happy with me, or the previous owner... COP units and misfires were common, the alternator croaked on me with no warning (I carry a voltmeter in the truck, and regularly watch the gauges), so it had already stranded me three times (2x COP, and 1x alternator). The AC let go (just a charge, but still annoying) and the 4x4 actuator had been replaced by the PO, but still would not give me low range, no matter how accurately I followed the owner's manual.
At this point, I'm sad to see it go, as I really enjoyed driving it (when it worked) but it's like finding a new home for your dog who's suffering from old age (at least it doesn't have to be put down yet). I know what needs to be done, and I was trying desperately to find any way or excuse (once it became necessary) to avoid having to get rid of it, even contemplating outrageous bills to keep it going, without knowing if the next time would be worse, or when it would happen.
Later this week, I will be picking up my new Hyundai Elantra. Our RAV4 will take over the truck duties, and will be fitted for a hitch very soon. I'm sad because I got screwed by another Ford transmission, (1994 Cougar 4R70W, similar bill) sad because I have to give up my truck, and sad because it's for a Hyundai (crap, it took my three tries to type that!) I only got the Hyundai (two tries) because I need a good sized back seat for my kids in car seats, and the price was right. I leased it, and it's got full warranty for the term of the lease, but I still didn't want any hassles with an automatic so I got the 6-speed manual. I didn't want a car again, and certainly not a Hyundai (OK got it right) but I don't really have time anymore to deal with an unreliable vehicle that always makes me think "what's next?" I knew it was a bad sign with the explorer when I started carrying a socket set, my code scanner, screwdrivers, pliers, and a multimeter with me everywhere I went, in addition to the usual jumper cables and bottle of water. Looking at it now, if I needed to carry all that to make sure I could get to work (8km/5 miles) the end was near for some time.
I have some parts left over which I had planned to use on the truck, but as I don't need them anymore, I'll be happy to sell them to any forum users in the SW Ontario area who may need them. PM me for a list, and I'll send it along. I'm going to stay a member here, and keep checking in, as I really like what some of you are doing to your trucks (you know who you are! 5.4 cough cough... manual conversions cough cough...) and Aldive's fuel mileage tricks are relevant no matter what vehicle you drive.
Thanks again to everyone for all you do for each other in this community. Someone had mentioned it in one of the thousands of threads - I've not seen any real fighting/flaming/provocation in here, and there are no pissing contests or heated arguments. Almost everyone here is respectful and earns the respect of the other members. We should be very proud of what we have here.
Keep on trucking! I hope you all have better luck than I did with my truck. I know there are some really nice ones out there, even in completely stock trim, and they are handsome trucks which earn their keep.
