My Black 2000 Explorer Sport

[4pointslow]

Last weekend (10/5/2024) I bought a Black 2000 Explorer Sport,
I am starting this thread to keep track of what I do to it.
Meet Canvas!

 

[410Fortune]

Oh wow she’s sharp!!! Any rust? How are the door hinge pins?

Do tell the specs!
She looks showroom condition!!

 

[allmyEXes]

Nice truck.Is it from NJ ? That would be a good 5.0 swap candidate. Those 4.0s are tough little boogers. I've got one for sale.
The thread to keep track of what your doing to it is a good idea. My projects seam to be fragmented and run together. I can easily see where I was at when I took a pause on a project by looking on the forum.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

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tenor.com

waiting for the 363 to be dropped in.....

 

[mountaineer2004]

Nice! Looks like the antenna will hit the garage door...time to get a stubby, and it will look better too.

 

[4pointslow]

The first thing I fixed was the rear hatch glass hinges. One of them just needed to be tightened, but the other was missing the stud. I dilled a hole through the place where the stud was and put a bolt though it. It will not go anywhere now.

 

[4pointslow]

The second thing I fixed was the rear hatch strikers. The plastic things break off and cause the hatch to rattle. I replaced both sides.

 

[4pointslow]

Next thing up was a brake light bulb.

 

[4pointslow]

Then I replaced the tag light bulbs. I put some LED bulbs in there because that's what I had laying around. The white look of the lights looks better anyway.

 

[4pointslow]

The next thing I fixed was the lock cylinders. The key worked in the rear hatch, so I knew it was the correct key. The driver side did not work at all. The passenger side seemed to work if you pulled the key out a little bit. The fix is squirting a little oil in the lock cylinders and working the key in and out. I have had to do this on many Explorers, and it has worked every time.

 

[4pointslow]

The windows were moving a little slow, so I lubed them with silicone spray as I usually do. It got them moving faster and smoother.

 

[4pointslow]

Both lower ball joints were very loose and making squeaking noises when turning. I replaced them to make sure the vehicle was safe to drive.

 

[4pointslow]

The door latches have a little spring that breaks and makes opening the door very difficult. I was turning the key in the lock cylinder and pushing the button on the remote at the same time, to get the door to open. Today I replaced the door latch, I had one on hand because I have had these fail many times and it is always on the driver side that is used the most. I ordered a replacement to keep in stock for the next time.

 

[4pointslow]

One of the ball studs for the lift supports on the rear hatch had rusted away to almost nothing.
I found a thread on this forum that talked about grinding it down and drilling it through to install a bolt in replacement ball stud.
It worked.

 

[4pointslow]

I pulled the headliner out to check the sunroof drain hoses.
Using two bungie cords worked to pull the side panels together and down which made removal much easier, and I did not have to completely remove those side panels.

 

[4pointslow]

All 4 drain hoses were attached to my surprise, I found them disconnected on another Explorer. One drain hose was clogged so I cleared it with compressed air. I installed 4 clamps to keep the hoses from coming off in the future. I hope to never experience wet seats ever again after owning a 1984 4wd Toyota pickup that leaked water right on the driver's seat, many years ago.

 

[4pointslow]

Here is a close up of one of the drain hoses.

 

[4pointslow]

The other thing I have seen that causes water intrusion is loose rear window nuts.
I tightened these on both sides, because they were loose like many others I have checked.

 

[4pointslow]

There is some stick-on foam around the rear windows that is not from the factory.
I noticed the windows don't close very tight, so I adjusted them.
Removing the two screws and spinning the whole thing clockwise once or twice did the trick, they close a little tighter now.

 

[4pointslow]

The last thing I fixed yesterday was the center console lid latch on the driver side. It was stuck down and would not let the lid close completely.
I removed it and got it working and put it back in.