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A small rock or similar road debris, apparently lobbed by a car in front of me, managed to fly past the grill and hit the transmission cooler. It poked a small hole in the vertical tube. The huge cloud of smoke (caused by the fluid hitting the cat converter) grabbed my attention and I stopped on...

Encountered an interesting challenge on my '98 AWD when separating the ball joint on the lower control arm from the knuckle. I just couldn't push the arm far enough from the knuckle and the last couple threads on the ball joint wouldn't come out of the hole in the knuckle. Seems that the reason...

At the respectful old age of 26 all four boots on the ball joints are torn. The joints appear intact and there is still decent-looking grease around them and nothing else. When my daughter's ancient Honda developed a similar problem, I was able to find replacement boots but apparently no such...

Got the fuel tank out of the vehicle for cleaning before replacing the pump. Not sure if the pressure sensor is susceptible to the cleaning chemical (Delphi FC01), but would rather not take the risk. Will appreciate advice from those who did it before how to remove the sensor; is it screwed in...

At 188K and 25 years of (almost) flawless service, my '98 had its first ever no-start event - away from home, of course. Silly me, could not remember where the Schrader valve is (because I never needed to find it before), so cannot say with certainty that there was no fuel pressure. After...

As we are all aware, the design of the 2nd gen rear wiper is horrible: it either doesn't have enough pressure to wipe the glass correctly or, when adjusted - one way or the other - to wipe correctly, gets caught under the bottom of the glass when parked. Owners of most of the 2nd gens around...

I know that this has been discussed before, but not recently, and things might have changed. Need to replace a seized caliper and am wondering how good are remans. Any brand preference? Incidentally, is it a must to do it in pairs? Thanks!

It's been around 30,000 miles since replacing the original rear air shocks in my '98 Limited with Monroes (I believe, sold branded as Motorcraft). Now the compressor is running longer and longer and occasionally (especially when there is more load on the rear), turning on the "Check Air...

Lots of stories recently about thieves entering a vehicle, plugging a programmer into the OBDII port, programming a key and off they go - in a couple minutes or less. I know that our vehicles have a long delay - perhaps an hour, but is that a feature of the programmer (like Forscan), or of the...

Troubleshooting the CC in my 1998 Limited. I have the 1998 EVTM, but the schematic does not match reality. Because it's a late 1998, there is a chance that a 1999 schematic will be closer. If you have one, please post, thanks! Details: CC worked intermittently, then died. Diagnostics don't...

Noticed intermittent disengagement of cruise control in my '98 Limited. For whatever reason, self-diagnostics of the cc servo don't work in this model - perhaps because there are more buttons on the steering than in the plain vanilla models. When the cc failed, some years ago, I was forced to...

The rear wiper was leaving streaks and the fronts weren't great either, so I stopped at the local O'Reillys. A bit of fighting the little computer with the almost completely discharged battery, and I have my recommended part numbers. Suspecting nothing, I pick them up and walk to the counter...

You know, that all-plastic, failure-prone gizmo at the connection to the heater core behind the firewall. As it recently broke, relieving my Ex of all coolant in a jiffy and I am waiting for kind people to tell me which way to install the replacement (see my previous post on the subject), I have...

My good luck of not getting stranded with my Ex in almost 20 years finally ran out - and in a not-so-convenient place to boot. A nipple sheared clean off the plastic heater valve, and it lost all coolant on a remote forest road. Overconfidence in the Ex made me travel with no tools and no water...

At 150k (miles) or so, my rear diff developed the infamous whine under load, common to all Ford 8.8's. Shiny flakes in the oil showed that it's most likely a worn pinion gear. Since then I put over 20k more on it, and the whine isn't any worse, so the Ex will probably outlive me before the diff...

Unlike other vehicles that I worked on, my Ex does not have any threaded holes in the steering wheel, which the "conventional" steering wheel pullers need. Tried to use a small gear puller, but the central screw in this thing is 3/8", just good enough to sink in the M10 thread in the column, and...

Direction lights stopped working. Traced the problem to a pin in the MFS (multi-function switch) connector that pulled itself out. When I disengaged the connector, a couple more pins pulled out too. The reason? Over time the heat dissipated in the not-so-tight contacts damaged the little plastic...

After 20 years and 173,000 miles, the radiator finally bit the dust. Anyone care to recommend a good brand? This is for a 5.0L engine. Thanks!

I am looking to purchase a 2009 or 2010 4th gen with a V8 engine. Generally, those are hard to find in good condition. Noticed that some in the higher trim (Limited or EB) come with AWD instead of the more common selectable 4WD. Oddly enough, this goes together with the fancy, low profile 20"...

Have been hunting for a 2008-2010 with V8 engine with a 4-wheel drive - which seem to be quite rare. I am confused about the transfer case. Was a true 4WD available in that configuration, or all the V8's came with an AWD those years? Thanks!

I am sure this happened to many of you, so there must be experience there. My passenger-side mirror folded a bit too far, and rolling the window up broke it. This is the fancy, heated version, with puddle light. The replacement choices are somewhat bewildering: OEM from a Ford dealer (starting...

There are no individual ABS sensors on the rear wheels in our 2nd gen Explorers. Instead, there is only a single sensor over the ring in the differential assembly, and all that does is report the sum of the wheel speeds, without any information about their individual rotation. So as far as the...

Almost done changing engine oil. While waiting for the fresh oil to drain completely into the pan, and still having the filler cap off, decided to check the coolant concentration. It was just fine. And where, ladies and gents, did I pour the contents of the coolant tester (about 1oz)? You...

New look, new challenges. Anyone has a clue how to change the order that posts show up within a thread, so that the latest one is on top?

Noticed that a pair of buttons on the EATC panel lost their back illumination. Found out that there are five bulbs in the circuit board behind the panel. Here is what they look like: http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/accordknob/Ford%20EATC/2012-04-0421-38-11854-1-1.jpg As you can see...

Out of curiosity checked 2nd gen Explorers for sale on Craig's List in my area (Greater Seattle). People are asking $4000+ for anything that (they claim) drives reasonably well with 200K+ miles, and around $5000 for something that only has 'minor cosmetic defects' and perhaps somewhat lower...

Finally got to replace the plug wires on my Ex - for only a second time in 160,000K. I know, I know, way too late. The Motorcraft set that I got from Rock Auto (WR-6034) seems much better quality than what they used to make years ago. Insulation is silicone rubber and will probably outlast the...

Just learned a hard lesson not to let a new driver behind the wheel of my 1998 Ex. My lovely daughter managed to 'decorate' it with a bunch of horizontal scratches on the left side rear door. For a scale, the longest one is about 5". There is no dent and the scratches did not penetrate the...

This isn't about an Explorer, but brakes are brakes, so I am hoping to get a word of wisdom from someone who has encountered this challenge before. Here is the story: my better half took her Kia for a long trip and somewhere along the road decided to check fluids. Ended up adding about 3 oz of...

Just like happened to many others, my 5.0L started leaking coolant from the top corners of the timing cover at around 140K. About 10K after the repair the leak returned. This week I finally decided that enough is enough and tore everything down for a second time. Found that the narrow section of...

I just received the Chinese-made Dorman CV for the front prop shaft of my 1998 AWD. As others have experienced, it is a bad product. The instructions said not to use it if it's hard to move, and boy it was! When it finally moved, it got stuck at a large angle and the balls all fell out. It will...

Random popping sounds from somewhere in the front end when speed exceeds 35MPH or so. Ball joints are fine. Sway bar is off, awaiting new bushings, so not there either. Shock absorbers are almost new and feel good. Overall, I don't think it has anything to do with the suspension. Transmission...

I know that this has been discussed before, but couldn't see any resolution. In my quest to find a 'decent' 2nd gen for an offspring, I came across a good-looking XLT with V8/AWD drivetrain. To my surprise, the axle code was 45 = 3.55 ratio, open differential. Looks like for the XLT open diff...

I am shopping for a 'decent' 2nd gen for an offspring that just got their driver's license. Discovered that a good one is very hard to find... Yesterday, while checking a not-so-great 2000 with 5.0L engine, noticed that all the surfaces of the aluminum parts under the hood (upper intake...

Gentlemen, I have helped quite a few people on the 2nd Gen forum drawing on my 14-year experience with the '98 baby, and now is my turn to ask for some advice. I am going to check a 3rd Gen Explorer intended for my newly licensed daughter. Not familiar with those, so can somebody list the...

I see a lot of posts here that are titled something like "1995 Explorer" or "2000 Limited, help". This gives me an idea about your ride, but none of what your problem is and whether I can help you in any way or not. On the other hand, something like the "00 Limited, no key" or "Code 174, 2001...

The time came to replace the front brake pads. Rotors looked good and there was no vibration, so I left them untouched. The last set of pads was Raybestos 'Brute Stop' (carbon-metallic), which worked like a charm. Sadly, they don't make those anymore. Having had this good experience with...

Have been hearing some suspicious rumble from the rear axle of my '98 Limited. It's the V8 version with AWD and limited slip differential. The Ford shop manual tells to test the 'breakaway' torque of the clutches by jacking up one wheel and putting the transmission in neutral. According to the...

This rather faint whine, barely audible above road noise at highway speeds got me concerned. It comes and goes, more-or-less randomly. Was almost sure it's the rear end, but the pitch appears the same regardless of speed. So perhaps it's the fuel pump? Haven't noticed any signs of insufficient...

As many of you know, sooner or later many of our 5.0L engines will start leaking coolant from the top of the timing cover. This seemingly simple task has many gotchas, which had been discussed here numerous times. My 98 Exp started leaking at around 140K, and I posted the details from the...