2000 XLT AWD - a work in progress refurbish

[coderedcomputing]

So... long story short, bought a 2000 XLT AWD waaay back when. Had fun with it, but dear mom needed a new car and me being the good son that I am, offered her my Explorer. She beat the snot out of that truck for YEARS.

Here it is 13 years later (160k miles) and she decided on a 2010 Escape Hybrid to replace the Explorer, and so far loves it. She was planning to donate the EX, but asked me if I would want it back (I already have 2 cars). Recently moved to West VA and with the winter commute over the mountains, I jumped on taking back my old truck.

So here we are, many years later and I have a new/old project truck to work on.

I may just run this thread into the ground depending on what I come across in needed repairs to get the ol girl ship-shape, but for now here's what I've seen in the last 2 days of driving this beasty around.

- Temperature gauge is DOA. Possibly the sender, need to diagnose and repair. I get hot air from the heater so hopefully the thermostat is fine.

- 6-disc CD changer has some sort of metal inside it and looks to be DOA

- Front seat is collapsing. The foam base is shot, needs to be replaced.

- Transmission in (P)ark / roam. Saw a sticky on this, putting it in park w/o the parking brake applied lets the truck roam a bit more than I can remember.

- MPG Fluid swap. Planning to do a full Synthetic swap out on the major fluids to increase MPG and extend the longevity of this beast.

- Audio. 3 of 4 speakers are shot/dead/gone. This is bothering me way more than it should.

- Cleaning. I don't think there is ANY wax on the exterior, and the level of dirt on the inside of the truck is painful. Not to mention the years of having a big white Samoyed in that truck (RIP Sammy) has left a toll.

- Center console lid. Dogs. This piece is SHOT cracked ripped dead. LOL

- Service History. Thankfully have a big stack of service bills to review, so I can see what has been done recently. I am worried, after seeing that the tires have (N)itrogen valve stem caps....


So much work to do. If anyone has any suggestions, or knows of any good threads to review/reference, it would be much appreciated.


Reference thread list:
30 MPG (Aldive): http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372

 

[masospaghetti]

Good luck with it! I just spent the past 6 months fixing up a neglected 96 XLT V8/AWD so I know the feeling.

Temp sender is super easy, one plug and screws right out. I didn't even have to drain the coolant. Unfortunately, it didn't fix my problem (gauge reading high) but you may have better luck.

For the seat you probably want to try a junkyard. Most of the seats are worn out but I have been able to find a few sets in good shape. The basic, non-powered seats are easy to find and really easy to swap covers if you don't mind the complete lack of bolstering. (The seat cushions swap from side to side, so you can find a passenger side one in good shape, unsnap the cover, and you're good to go.)

Sounds like you may have transfer case and front driveshaft issues...You may be lucky, maybe the case is fine, and the front shaft was removed because the shaft was bad. Throw a new shaft in there and it might work.

I'm curious what kind of MPG you can squeeze out of it. I just filled up at approx. 14 MPG, ouch. I got about 18 MPG on a trip soon after I first got the truck before the synthetic fluids.

 

[curt1007]

It does sound like the front drive shaft may be missing, if you are lucky she has it still. Sometimes people remove thinking it helps with mpg, but it doesn't really. I would get that in ASAP. Good luck getting it in shape.

 

[archer973]

I just started a thread a few days ago to tell the story as I resurrect a 1998 XLT 4WD. I hope you do run your thread into the ground telling your story. I would like to hear every detail. Good luck with your project.

BTW: My wife and I have had Samoyeds since the first year we were married--1975. Had a lot of them over the years and think I am still finding hairs from the first one and each one in between.

 

[pbnj22]

i cant help but but will like to hear what you do.. any mods to it besides fixing stuff? tires? paint? off road lights? stereos.. that kinda thing?

as for the nitrogen filled tires, i wouldnt be worried. first it is a better product than air and "air" is 78 percent nitrogen lol so if it gets low dont be afraid to just put regular air in there. and from the sound of everything else i wouldnt be surprised if your mom or someone else just put green ones on because they looked cool or something lol

 

[coderedcomputing]

Thanks folks, I plan to use this to document the whole shebang... diagnosing issues, repairs, upgrades, etcetera. The ol girl will mostly be relegated to foul weather commutes to work, and hauling large items (omg ikea trips kill me please).

Seems multi-quote is being silly, so if I don't respond just yell at me

Nitrogen tires - found a receipt from her 'usual' garage where they filled the tires with nitrogen (you don't want to know how much it cost) so that isn't an issue but just something worth noting. Most of the tires were down around 24-26psi so they were topped up to 36psi. I may go all the way up to 40psi for optimum MPG gains but for now just having them filled makes a big difference.

Driveshaft / (P)ark roam - Seems like something normal afaik. Nothing missing that I can see from just a cursory check under the chassis, and the issue is less severe than what I've been reading about. No ability to push/move the truck while it is off and in Park, no chattering of the parking pawl. I guess the best way to describe it is this: On my driveway incline, putting it in park the truck seems to settle back. It feels like an issue at first but this is comparing it to my 2008 VW Passat, so I have a feeling it is just the truck-nature of the auto transmission on here.

MPG - as of this morning, filled up 15.662 gallons with 279.7 on the trip gauge. I nearly cried. Used to 30+ on my VW, getting just under 18mpg is painful!! I need to run the VIN and make sure this is a SOHC engine in here and not the OHV. I know having the AWD will kill MPG a bit, but dang...

Also leading from the MPG, I really need to sit down and hook up my laptop to scan for codes on this thing. See if there are any issues present that aren't throwing a CEL. Once nice thing about owning a VW, all the damn expensive diagnostic tools I already own.

I have seen a sign near my new place that advertises as a large auto salvage lot, I will need to track down a new front seat at the minimum. Anyone know if the leather seats did a better job keeping the bolsters intact or did they all just die out over the years? Or are there other swap options, say from a Ranger / Mountaineer / etc?

[MENTION=248141]archer973[/MENTION] - Yeah my Mom has owned 2 Samoyeds, both great dogs but oh dear lord her house always had white tumbleweeds blowing around. At her age I think she is opting to look at smaller dogs in general now. Heck I remember one time she asked me how to pull the dash apart to get a stuck sammy hair out from under the MPH needle in the gauge cluster!!

[MENTION=180726]pbnj22[/MENTION] - Once I can get this beast running properly I plan to tackle exterior paint. Just working on repairing the rusted spots at first, and trying to revive the paint with a good claybar / polish / wax and hope for the best. It's the black on top of grey two-tone similar to this one:

After that, I may look at putting in a new radio with a large screen and wire up a reverse camera on the cheap. I drive a good chunk of dark 2-lane roads on my commute, and during bad weather I can imagine wanting some improved lighting, so there may be a Bull Bar with a light bar or something like it in the future.

 

[masospaghetti]

So do you have the V6 or the V8? The V8 is the only one with the AWD system, the V6's both came with a selectable electronic 4WD system. If you have the V6, its the SOHC - The OHV V6 was not available with the automatic transmission in year 2000.

The leather is thicker than the cloth and tends to preserve the seat foam better, but the leather is almost always cracked beyond saving at this point. The three sets of seats I've found that were usable were all cloth.

 

[coderedcomputing]

So do you have the V6 or the V8? The V8 is the only one with the AWD system, the V6's both came with a selectable electronic 4WD system. If you have the V6, its the SOHC - The OHV V6 was not available with the automatic transmission in year 2000.

The leather is thicker than the cloth and tends to preserve the seat foam better, but the leather is almost always cracked beyond saving at this point. The three sets of seats I've found that were usable were all cloth.

It's the V6 and yeah SOHC with the 4WD system, just pulled the VIN to verify it. Reminds me I need to go see what gearing it has as well.

The leather may be an option for me, if I can get a cushion set pulled out and recover it with the existing fabric. Even if it is not a 100% beauty job, a simple seat cover would help.

Just amazing how bad this seat is LOL, the hour ride in makes me feel like I need a chiropractor.

 

[coderedcomputing]

Helps to stop fiddling with the radio/speakers to diagnose that issue and listen to the truck making noise...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266041

Sounds like a nice repetitive grind when rolling along at 0-5mph, picks up in tempo as it goes faster. Pretty sure the hubs need work / grease / replacement.

FUN.

 

[masospaghetti]

4WD hubs are a sealed unit and not serviceable, if they are making noise you need to buy new ones.

IMO, don't skimp on new hubs. There are cheap ones for around $40 but they have a poor reputation.

 

[coderedcomputing]

4WD hubs are a sealed unit and not serviceable, if they are making noise you need to buy new ones.

IMO, don't skimp on new hubs. There are cheap ones for around $40 but they have a poor reputation.

No worries there, I try not to buy cheap bits for cars. Already pricing out some Duralast / Dynapak / Timken hub assemblies, all in the $200 neighborhood.

I may just examine the area first to eliminate the possibility of something just rubbing. Could be dust shroud like the previous thread, or who knows.

 

[intelisevil]

No worries there, I try not to buy cheap bits for cars. Already pricing out some Duralast / Dynapak / Timken hub assemblies, all in the $200 neighborhood.

Don't waste your money on $200 hub assemblies. No matter what you buy they'll only last a few years.

They're so easy to replace! My first one took about an hour (50+ years old & I didn't know what I was doing), my second one took less than 30 minutes from placing the jack to tire back on the ground. I budget for them as an annual maintenance part. My set of $47 dollar ones are 3+ years old, 45K+ miles, still as tight and quiet as the day I installed them.

Just my $0.02, i'ts your money.
Dan

 

[masospaghetti]

The Timken bearings were OE and lasted however long - 15 years and 200,000 miles. I would trust another Timken much more than a low-dollar Chinese brand. I'm pretty certain that the low dollar bearings are made from poor quality alloys and poor tolerances that make them wear out much more quickly.

You shouldn't have to budget to replace hubs every year.