Damm lucky,now help me get F-ing Lucky

[mic98xlt]

I keep myself entertained by always looking for Explorer parts for my 2 Explorer's. I'm willing to go about 100 miles to chase down Craigslist ads that someone is usually parting their Explorer out. About a week ago I found a listing for an 2003 Explorer Sport being parted out. I needed a couple items and after a couple of emails went to grab some parts. Real nice Guy meet me and showed the Sport to me and explained how he had recently brought it for his teenage son. He didn't like the way it rode on the highway (too stiff). The sport was in beautiful condition, 122k miles on OD, rust free and with excellent 16" tires. About two weeks earlier the father decided to continue doing routine maintenance and decided to flush what looked like the original radiator fluid. The father stated a lot of brown gunk came out and possible brown pellets that could have been stop leak product. Shortly thereafter the engine started running rough and missing. Within about a week's time the engine lost more power and it wouldn't start but would crank. The father said he took it his mechanic whom said it must have jumped timing due to the radiator fluid change which must have been sealing a bad head gasket. Being the first one to see the Sport, I couldn't resist and brought the Sport for less than a grand. It came with records from OP who went to a garage for every little thing. No engine problems reported.

Here is where I would like some advice on where to proceed. I once was a young lad and had a Pontiac that had a noisy engine. Mechanic after mechanic said the engine was a ticking time bomb and it was about to die. I drove it for 1 1/2 years more until it won't start. I just assumed the time had come and ran out and got another engine and swapped it out in January in freezing cold weather outside. After changing the engine it intermediately didn't start and sounded dead like the previous engine. The first engine wasn't bad nor seized but the starter indeed was the culprit. Lesson learned, be sure the engine is bad before going to all the trouble of changing it out.

The engine is a 4.0 SOHC and I am aware that if it needs to be changed a long block from a Ford Mustang is the easiest way to go for about a grand from a local auto yard. I really would be seriously pissed to swap the engine out and fine it still doesn't start due to some other problem such as bad sensors or fuel pump problems. I tried starting the engine today and it really reminded me of a flooding condition and almost wanted to start.

So here's where I need input on how to best proceed and all input is welcome. What can I reasonable do to ensure that it is indeed a bad engine with some testing procedures. Should somehow I be able to repair this engine without doing a complete swap, that is where I would be F-ing lucky and have a Sport for less than a grand

 

[swshawaii]

Trouble codes?

 

[mic98xlt]

Sorry, no trouble codes yet. I been down with sinus problems this weekend. I'll have to rent an scanner from Autozone tomorrow.

 

[swshawaii]

OBD-II Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs)

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2054355&postcount=2

 

[mustang6878]

Again, old school ways..get a compression gauge and screw it in every spark plug hole and turn it over and write down the readings. They should all be within 10% of each other. This will show you the condition of the valves and rings on the pistons. Related story...a friend of mine got a "great deal" from a salvage yard on a 1965 300 h.p. 327 that he was going to put in a Camaro. He was VERY happy we did a compression check before we put it in and found a bad #7 cylinder. The salvage yard was pretty much pee'd off that we did the test, but he got him $$$$ back.

 

[mic98xlt]

Just some photo's of the Sport. She's in great shape.

 

[swshawaii]

Nice! Great score for under a grand! Just for future reference, if you need any parts from the "B" pillar forward. GL

The 01-03 Sport has EXACTLY the same front end as the 2001-2005 Sport Trac .....NO difference. They are totally different from the regular 4-door Explorer.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2622504&postcount=9

 

[mitch9521]

Wow that Sport is in great shape, wanna trade?

 

[mic98xlt]

Didn't get much done today due to me being one of the last Mohicans in Connecticut to catch the dam flu. Swshawii thanks for compliment and info and I'm getting the code reader tomorrow. DTC's are a great place to start.
Mustang6878 the good old fashion compression test sounds great too and I will do the compression test. If all else fails and I do need another engine, I'll be sure the replacement has a compression test done first before I buy it. I only wish enough strength to do just one possible engine swap
Mitch if you were a lot closer, I'll just might consider that swap because the Sport Trac is my first choice The '01-'03 Sport model really reminds me big time of the 1st gen Sport Tracs.

I still don't know how flushing the radiator could possibly cause a major engine failure but this could be an education and better understanding of the SOHC engine for me.

 

[just1me]

That is a nice sport, and a good deal, im partial to the color black. I don't know how a radiator flush would hurt the engine, unless he got air trapped in the system and it got to warm, I don't know.

 

[mic98xlt]

Sorry that I've added anything to this thread. I been down with the flu for the past 2 weeks and finally got enough energy back to start working ouside on the Sport SOHC engine "No start" problem. I still am pursing options just to be sure the engine is definitely bad not just an mere assumption from previous owner. I rented an scanner from Autozone along with an compression tester. I need to buy my own scanner but the rental will do for now.

The scan came back with 3 trouble codes.
P0352 Ignition Coil B Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P2195 O2 Sensor Signal Biased/Stuck Lean (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
P2196 O2 Sensor Signal Biased/Stuck Lean (Bank 2 Sensor 1)

Since it's easy to change out the coil (junkyard $30.00) and I like to have a spare handy, I don't see nothing wrong with just changing the coil. I noticed already at least two obvious bad spark plug boots with one having electrical tape wrapped around the end and the other boot cracked in half. It looks like the spark plugs wires and plugs have never been changed with 122k miles on the engine.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I won't get rained out tomorrow. I'm going to do the compression test of each cylinder, new plugs and wires, swap out coil pack and do a little bit of praying too.

 

[NudgE^SIKBRO]

Wow, 1k for that! I kinda wish I lived over in the US, here in Aus we dont have many Explorers at all, we only got 2nd and 3rd gen wagons, never got a sport/2 door/pickup.
Looks like a pretty cool car.

I notice your OBD scanner is pulling codes for the oxy sensors, would they be leaned out just because its not running?

 

[mic98xlt]

I still pretty damm lucky and got the Sport to start after changing the plugs and wires!!! I must be getting older because it takes me much more time and effort to get the wires and plugs changed, and they were really a bear. The DTC's for the coil trouble disappeared and it started pretty good, I'm glad to say. After running for about 5 minutes it began to skip and idled bad. I pulled the codes and it again came up with the P2196 DTC "Stuck Lean Bank 1". I could smell it was running very rich out the tail pipe.

Fast forward I decided it was time to check for fuel problems and rented a fuel pressure tester from AutoZone. The fitting were crap and I went thru 2 test kits before I could get one to fit without fuel leaking and gave me an reading. The engine running fuel pressure was 70PSI which is very high and of course abnormal. It should be somewhere lower like 62 but it never varied while running. Too much fuel I believe is being pushed into the injector's causing the "rich" condition that the O2 sensor can't trim or correct. This engine is a "return less" system and the fuel pressure I believe for the fuel rail itself is controlled by a sensor somewhere on the fuel rail area.

Can anyone tell me (or show photo) where exactly the "Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor" is located on the engine? Once again I have a 2003 4.0 "Sport" which I believe engine and mechanically wise is identical to the "Sport Trac" not the 2002 thru 2005 four door Explorer's 4.0 SOHC. Perhaps it's buried somewhere under the intake but I don't know. If it is under the intake, is taking the intake off pretty easy or difficult? Any and all help is appreciated guys!!

Nudge, thanks for the info

 

[mic98xlt]

Went to the Ford dealer to ask about the Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor. Crest Lincoln in Woodbridge, Ct. was a horrible experience. The service manager treated me like an idiot and all I did was ask for help in locating the sensor so I could buy it there. Bottom line was unless I brought the truck into them and left a open check they weren't interested in giving any help. All they were interested in was charging me for service and basically treated me like I was personally stealing from them because I asked for a little help not service. The parts guy was no better and told me without the VIN, he couldn't look up the fuel rail where the sensor is located.

I went home and got the VIN but this time I went back to Bob Thomas Ford in Hamden, Ct. What a world of different immediately and the people there were friendly and willing to offer the little help I needed. The service manager did let me talk to a mechanic who determined I had a "Fuel Injector Pressure Damper" (XL2Z-9F775B) not a pressure sensor which appears to be for the latter models '04 and up. The mechanic wasn't sure if the intake manifold has to come off so I brought new O rings for the intake just in case it does need to come off. I'm going to see tonight if I can find the damper which is a $400 part from Ford. I'm sure that I'll get a aftermarket one instead which is more economical. Still looking for suggestions if anyone has any input.

 

[mic98xlt]

I finally found the fuel rail pressure damper. It's on the drivers side fuel rail at the very end of the rail. It was hidden from view underneath the ignition coil pack which is inches from the rear firewall. It's not easy to find unless you know what you're looking for. It has a vacuum line and looks like a small metal cylinder about an 1 1/2 inch diameter. I did some searching and found a great article by 2000 StreetRod entitled "What's on the fuel rail". He did a great job of describing the different years and how the fuel pressure is controlled on the fuel rail. The third photo down is the photo of mind which matches the V6 engine from full size '99-'03 Explorers. It appears I will have to take off the intake to remove the fuel rail. It's just too tight between the engine wiring harness on the firewall and rear of the engine.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393850&highlight=fuel+damper

 

[Kiliona]

You said that it had lean codes but smelled like it was running rich. You also said it ran good until 5 minutes then it started chugging.

This sounds to me like what is happening is the engines in great shape, and when in open loop (computer doesnt read o2 sensors until they warm up) it runs good. as soon asa the pcm sees the O2's it THINKS it's running lean, so it dumps more fuel to compensate, still sees lean so it dumps even more fuel until its running pig rich and starts to stumble and run badly.

What could cause this is if
ONE- you have a bad cylinder or a misfire, this would let unburned OXYGEN into the o2's making the cmoputer think it's lean.
TWO- you have an exhaust leak before the o2 sensors, this again would let the o2's see a "lean mixture" and in this case the mixture may be perfectly fine (ill bet it is seeing as it runs good in open loop).
THREE- you have another sensor that's getting lazy and giving bad readings.

Do a compression test, but my bet is that the compression will be fine and it's an electronic engine control issue. The best way to diagnose would be to hook up a scan tool THAT CAN DATASTREAM and watch all your sensors. But to do this you need to know exaclty what you're looking for and be somewhat experienced with computer controls.

If you want to just have the car run fine while you diagnose it, unplug the o2's if they're easy to get to. Or unplug the maf, or similar sensor. If you do that maf it'll default to speed/density (calculate air flow based on load and throttle position, map and tps) and run in open loop in either case, which should keep it from having this stumbling problem you're talking about.

If you're not familiar with electronic engine controls or can't datastream, my advice is to take it to a mechanic.

 

[mic98xlt]

Thanks for the response Kiliona. I forgot to mention earlier that when I changed the spark plugs and wires, I also did a compression test on the engine. All cylinders had good compression and within 10 percent of each other. On cylinder #3 I did find a wet spark plug and most of the spark plugs tip looked sort of black not brown. The info you gave is great and I'm going to try bypassing the O2 sensor and MAF, if replacement of the fuel rail damper doesn't work.

Today I picked up a complete used fuel rail with the fuel damper plus injectors from a local yard for $45. I did a vacuum test of the fuel damper and it didn't leak and held pressure so I'll assume it OK. The $400 Ford or $160 aftermarket part was too rich for my pocket today. Somehow at the factory my fuel damper was installed incorrectly with the vacuum line buried face down which meant I couldn't test it without removing it from the engine first. Had it been installed with the vacuum line facing the top, I could had easily checked it by pulling off the vacuum hose to see if there was a change in the fuel rail pressure.

I did manage to remove the damper tonight without removing the upper intake manifold. It literally is the size of a "C" toy battery and held on by two tork screws. This was only after moving the engine harness wires and vacuum hoses around the drivers rear valve cover. Darkness set in today so hopefully the weather won't rain me out tomorrow.

 

[Floridaexplorer43]

I just posted this: "Recently my tailpipe going into muffler was broke or rusted.
I replaced muffler with a thrust turbo muffler but don't have any tailpipe after the muffler.
My 2003 Explorer with 4 0 and 4wd recently threw 2 codes p2195 lean b1s1 and p2196 b1s1 rich. Engine not running good.
Likely things to check?
Would no tailpipe after muffler cause this?
Clogged cat??"