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If you don't have an oscilloscope it's practically impossible to check the quality of the spark. Be aware that if more than say 5 year old, the plug wires are very likely to have developed pinholes in the insulation, especially in the area close to the exhaust manifold, and are robbing you of...

189K on my '98 5.0L. Finally got to replace the ball joints; upper were shot but the lower still had life in them. Fuel pump done a year ago. The usual coolant leak from the passages in the timing cover repaired a while ago. Radiator replaced a few years ago. Just like in any other Ford with the...

Thank you, all who offered advice. A new cooler is on order. I would try to repair anything, even just for fun, but can one braze this thing? Looks like aluminum to me.

Caveat: yours appears to be a UK version, so may not be the same. Are you sure you even have front ARC? That was quite rare in the US. On my '98 Limited, the front ARC sensor is attached to the lower control arm on the left side (driver side in the US). To be exact, the attachment point is on...

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...

My 98 Limited still has the ARC system working on all four wheels (and I believe that except for MY 98 it came on the rear only). About a decade ago, when the shocks started leaking, I replaced all four with Monroe products (also sold back then by Motorcraft - at twice the cost). A couple years...

Thanks! That's what I was guessing. Live and learn...

Yes, I did spray penetrant. Separating the cone wasn't the problem; the arm just wouldn't move far enough from the knuckle to let the last couple threads to clear.

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...

As stated earlier, no motion detected with the prybar test. Nevertheless, I removed both the UCA and the LCA, for a closer inspection. The ball joint on the UCA feels "floppy," but the one on the LCA feels solid. So I guess it is a record... As for the boots, I followed donalds advice and...

Great advice, thank you! I have a feeling that the BJs are still all good, but will follow your instructions about checking and report soon.

Thanks for the link! This guy has quite a selection. New starter installed (after acquiring some scratches on my hands and uttering a litany of choice words while tackling that impossible upper bolt). The Ex is back on the ground and I can't find anything loose in the BJs. So following your...

Thanks! The Ex is now in the air, awaiting a new starter. Once installed, I will put the passenger wheel back on and check the balljoints on both sides. Not sure if the usual pry bar trick will tell me anything about the upper ones. And what puzzles me is how to check the bushings. Do you have a...

Thanks! Do you happen to have the ebay item information or the measurements?

Thanks a lot for the detailed response, J_C! The torn boots were an accidental discovery while diagnosing a no crank and there were no symptoms of bad BJs or bad bushings. When the new starter arrives and I get the vehicle back on the ground, will examine both and decide how to proceed. Would be...

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...

Thanks! That was about the green fitting indeed. Should have asked you earlier, because I could not see much in that tight space under the vehicle and just destroyed that little security clip. Guess I'll have to improvise something now, to prevent that tube from popping off.

I managed to remove the sensor intact. The hot soapy water definitely helped. Thank you both! And while at the subject, one more detail, about the vapor line connection. Expected it to be secured with one of those two-prong plastic retainers, but no such thing. The best I could tell, with the...

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...

Just a note: though commonly named "resistor", this part is very different between the EATC and the manual climate control version. Regardless of the type, It must be installed in the air plenum because it receives its cooling from the airflow there. If left to just hang in the engine...

Your voltage measurements indicated that the EATC is - at least for the most part - working correctly. One leg of the motor always gets the battery voltage; the other ("ground side") goes through the "resistor" box, which is controlled by the EATC to provide something akin to variable...

It's been a while, so don't remember the details but believe that it did. It is not a check valve, so regardless of direction, it stops or allows the coolant flow as commanded. The difference, if any, is probably minor. If your heating does not work, check that the valve is commanded to open. If...

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...

Is yours with the heated seats MY 2000? Never heard of lighted running boards option on the 1998 either.

Perhaps aftermarket. I am pretty sure my 98+ had all the seat-related options "money could buy": 6-way adjustable, inflatable lumbar support, etc. -- for both the driver and the passenger. And just looked at the EVTM -- no mention of heated seat option there at all. Somebody correct me, but I...

No heated seats on my 98+ Limited

Thanks donalds! The motor mount is very flexible indeed - obviously designed that way on purpose, though it's not clear to me what that purpose might have been. Great that eliminating some of the flexibility works, but not sure how: the main problem appears to be that putting enough pressure on...

Interesting! Did you stiffen the motor mount? Can you post your mod?

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...

The "ding-dong" that's supposed to sound when you leave the key in and open the door may not work. If you don't have the keyless entry pad option on the door and like me, keep the remote fob on the key ring, this failure may "help" you lock yourself out. The "key presence" sensor --a small metal...

Really? Doesn't look like a task for a transmission shop. Just proper balancing might be more than they can handle. A good excuse to charge you for something that was never done, perhaps?

I realized the value of the lifting glass only after installing a bike carrier - no need to remove the bike or to crawl through the back seat to put something in the storage area.

If you don't mind a thief being able to start your truck with a screwdriver jammed into the ignition, you may have the PCM (computer) reprogrammed to get rid of PATS. Search this forum for a guy who does this. Otherwise, as already stated, get a competent locksmith. In any case, there is nothing...

Out of curiosity, I took my ancient (but trustworthy) Fluke 77 multimeter and repeated your measurement on my '98 V8. It read 0.009VAC (9mVAC). This instrument is not true rms, and measures peak-to-peak, dividing by 2.83 to convert to rms (for a presumed sine wave), most likely same way yours...

Not sure I understand your question, so I will paraphrase: You bought a 99 Explorer in which the cruise control isn't working. The previous owner said he replaced the switches. He also added a separate horn button. You are asking if that added button was needed to complete the cruise control...

Yes, you can. May have somewhat less effective cooling - probably not a problem this time of the year. When you install the replacement, pay attention to the flow direction (marked with an arrow).

The way to sort this out is to attach a mechanical gauge. A healthy engine should show at least 10 psi at idle. Perhaps a bit less when fully warmed up, but nowhere near 5 - which is the point where the dash gauge switches from L to N

$40 for replacing parking brake pads??? Here they charge about as much for repairing a flat in a bicycle tire, and our cost of living is still lower than Orange County, CA.

Glad you solved the problem. What type sensor on this 1995? Is this the pintle position sensor on top of the EGR or something else?

This thread is too long for me to read completely, so just a naive question: any chance of an aftermarket anti-theft system installed on this vehicle? Most of those just cut off the starter, but some were more sophisticated.