2002 explorer xls issues and questions

[flutyr525]

I have a 2002 explorer xls and need some pro lens addressed and questions answered.

1) power locks work with both the switch and keyless remote except the drivers front door. Will not do anything. Only way to lock or unlock it is with the key from the outside or from manually pushing the lever from the inside.

2) both the heat and A/C work great as does the blower but at different temperature settings, it makes either a clicking noise, banging noise or both. It will even make the noises when the blower is off and I'm just turning the wheel for the temp. As the blowers is turned up higher, the noises become faster paced. I've owned the ex for about 6 months now but this issue just started recently. Once again, the temperature being blown out is not affected by these noises and at some settings the noises are non existent.

3) being an xls, it has just the front and rear cloth seats and the fronts do not have a desperate/adjustable head rest. What are my options for swapping in different seats? Ideally I would like leather with an adjustable head rest. Is it a direct bolt in, no modification swap if I use seats from another ex? Only certain years? Mountaineer seats compatible? Also, any way to put in the 3rd row seats? I currently have the basic 2 storage compartments in the back now.

4) both rear windows don't work. I'm assuming it's the regulator. Is there a specific brand or model I should or shouldn't use as a replacement? Is my best bet to just go with OEM from Ford?

5)after replacing the regulators in the rear windows, i came across another problem which was the rear passenger side window doesnt go down with the switch on the drivers side front door but will with the switch on the door itself. the window WILL go up though with the master driver door switch. the only issue is going down. everything else on that master switch works from locking the windows to the up and down of the other windows and locking the doors. i dont know if i should replace the whole switch or not. any ideas would be great.

thanks in advance

 

[Exproblems]

1) power locks work with both the switch and keyless remote except the drivers front door. Will not do anything. Only way to lock or unlock it is with the key from the outside or from manually pushing the lever from the inside. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have a similar problem with mine. My drivers door lock doesn't always "unlock" on the first press of the remote like it should, only sometimes it does. It usually takes me 3-7 taps of the remote to get the lock actuator to unlock the door. All the other door locks work fine. I thought I had it fixed a month or so ago, by reprogramming my remote control to the vehicles PCU system, thinking the remote was some how out of sequence with the vehicles PCU. It worked okay for a day or two afterward and it's back to the same old BS. I'm going to phone a local Ford Dealership tomorrow and see if they can tell what is causing this to happen. I'm not holding my breath in anticipation that they will steer me in the right direction with a straight answer. My remote and door lock actuator both do work, so I have no clue as to why this is happening. If I get an answer from them tomorrow, 11-21, I'll post it up on the board.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>2) both the heat and A/C work great as does the blower but at different temperature settings, it makes either a clicking noise, banging noise or both. It will even make the noises when the blower is off and I'm just turning the wheel for the temp. As the blowers is turned up higher, the noises become faster paced. I've owned the ex for about 6 months now but this issue just started recently. Once again, the temperature being blown out is not affected by these noises and at some settings the noises are non existent.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You could have one or both of these problems: "Blend door actuator" is about to take a dump and your "air recirculation door" is coming loose from it's hinge points and about to fall to the bottom of the blower air box. The clicking and banging noises coming from behind the dashboard are usually a sure sign of these problems. Have you lost blower air flow speed thru any of your dash vents yet? If so, the air recirc door has already fallen down to the bottom of the blower box. When the blend door actuator craps out, it usually will fail to the cold temp side of the system and you won't get any heat thru the dash. When you try to switch to the hot side, you'll hear that clicking or clunking noise start to happen. This is the blend door actuator attempting to flip the blend door panel to the hot side, but it can't because some gear teeth inside of it have broken off, thus the clicking noise. Below are the web links for both repair issues:

Blend Door Actuator repair link below, give thanks to "BigRondo" for the repair post!

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=294140



Air Recirculation Door Link from "Curtis":


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284042


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3) being an xls, it has just the front and rear cloth seats and the fronts do not have a desperate/adjustable head rest. What are my options for swapping in different seats? Ideally I would like leather with an adjustable head rest. Is it a direct bolt in, no modification swap if I use seats from another ex? Only certain years? Mountaineer seats compatible? Also, any way to put in the 3rd row seats? I currently have the basic 2 storage compartments in the back now.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Can't help you with the seats.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>4) both rear windows don't work. I'm assuming it's the regulator. Is there a specific brand or model I should or shouldn't use as a replacement? Is my best bet to just go with OEM from Ford?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You may have some broken wires in your door jams, check for those first before you spend money on new regulators. Common problem with Explorers, especially the 02's. I don't have the web link for it, but "BigRondo" has put up a post in here on how to check for broken wires in the door jams. I'm sure he will help you out if you send him a message in here. Good luck.

 

[flutyr525]

Thanks for the thorough response.

 

[Kazer]

seats from any 2002 through 2005 explorer or mountaineer will bolt right in

my 02 xls came with 2 rows of gray cloth, i swapped black leather from a 2004 mountaineer AND added a third row to my truck from the mountainer

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=323552

 

[flutyr525]

That's awesome! How much did you pay for the mountaineer interior?

 

[Kazer]

$400 for all 3 rows, all 4 door panels, the radio bezel, the rear driver and passenger interior side panels(behind the second row), and the third row seatbelt brackets and tensioners.

 

[flutyr525]

holy crap thats amazing...i need to find a junk yard with some intact 3rd gen interiors.

do you know if the black leather was only in the mountaineers or if the explorers or aviators had a dark leather too?

 

[Kazer]

I'm sure explorers came with black leather too, but so far I've only seen them with tan and grey leather. Can't say for aviators, I've only ever seen one at a Junkyard and it was white leather with 2 row captains seats/bucket seats. I was on my way to get the white leather but decided to check the Junkyard across the street and found the mounty instead

 

[Jwigs7]

do you know if the black leather was only in the mountaineers or if the explorers or aviators had a dark leather too?

My 04 Limited came stock with Black leather interior. Seek and ye shall find...eventually lol

 

[flutyr525]

a little update...thanks to this awesome forum and the great writes by some of the members, i have resolved the rear window situation. both the regulators were bad so i found the cheapest ones i could on the internet and replaced them. i think it was ~$200 worth of parts.

i also have resolved the clicking noises from the heat which was the blend door actuator and i also replaced that and now it works flawlessly.

still have the issue with the front driver door only locking and unlocking manually with the key or by pushing the lever inside. i have reprogrammed the remote and still doesnt work.

after replacing the regulators in the rear windows, i came across another problem which was the rear passenger side window doesnt go down with the switch on the drivers side front door but will with the switch on the door itself. the window WILL go up though with the master driver door switch. the only issue is going down. everything else on that master switch works from locking the windows to the up and down of the other windows and locking the doors. i dont know if i should replace the whole switch or not. any ideas would be great. thanks.