4-FOUR!- problems w/1998 Ford Explorer NEWBIE here pls help

[Lisa288]

I don't know if I'm even in the right forum, so please forgive me and correct me if I am- cuz I'll likely have more questions monthly!

Just joined, and I have several problems in which I looked up in various forums but couldn't "relate" to the answers...so I'm going to try a new post here to see where to go from where I am stuck!

1) My a/c doesn't work. Just the fan and vent (which blows HOT air.) Living in FL this is my BIGGEST, HUGEST, MOST HUMUNGOUS PROBLEM, boo hoo.

I don't know if there is anything I can do to try to fix it, not sure if it takes freon or is one of the newer vehicles that requires something else because freon is now illegal to use. Can't afford an overhaul of this, don't want to get ripped off- so I want to make sure a) I can't fix this myself w/son or b) that if somehow I DO have to take this in, I can be assured that nobody will tell me I need complete new system just so they can make money (what's wrong with this world.) I'm a woman and have been ripped off in the past.

2) About a week after my last oil change, my gear shift lever went crazy. I already know that Ford will claim it's not their fault....Park is now Reverse, there really isn't a "DRIVE" mode- now I have to put into 2nd gear to be in Drive, etc. -everything is one gear off, it seems. Does that make sense? Anything I can do ? (I mean, that my son can do?)

3) Passenger door sticks. Very hard to open.

4.) Radio works SOMETIMES. Lights up ON OCCASION, but is mostly black screen and we have to guess where we are on stations. And of course, with that the CD player doesn't work, either.

SOOOOO....If ANYONE can help me find a way to fix these issues without a mechanic (or knows a reliable and charitable one in Gainesville FL) please reply. I will MOST appreciate your help, and need it!

(and if these problems should be in different forums, please let me know...I'll get better, promise!)

Thanks bunches,
Lisa

 

[deweyville65]

I don't know if I'm even in the right forum, so please forgive me and correct me if I am- cuz I'll likely have more questions monthly!

Just joined, and I have several problems in which I looked up in various forums but couldn't "relate" to the answers...so I'm going to try a new post here to see where to go from where I am stuck!

1) My a/c doesn't work. Just the fan and vent (which blows HOT air.) Living in FL this is my BIGGEST, HUGEST, MOST HUMUNGOUS PROBLEM, boo hoo.

I don't know if there is anything I can do to try to fix it, not sure if it takes freon or is one of the newer vehicles that requires something else because freon is now illegal to use. Can't afford an overhaul of this, don't want to get ripped off- so I want to make sure a) I can't fix this myself w/son or b) that if somehow I DO have to take this in, I can be assured that nobody will tell me I need complete new system just so they can make money (what's wrong with this world.) I'm a woman and have been ripped off in the past.

2) About a week after my last oil change, my gear shift lever went crazy. I already know that Ford will claim it's not their fault....Park is now Reverse, there really isn't a "DRIVE" mode- now I have to put into 2nd gear to be in Drive, etc. -everything is one gear off, it seems. Does that make sense? Anything I can do ? (I mean, that my son can do?)

3) Passenger door sticks. Very hard to open.

4.) Radio works SOMETIMES. Lights up ON OCCASION, but is mostly black screen and we have to guess where we are on stations. And of course, with that the CD player doesn't work, either.

SOOOOO....If ANYONE can help me find a way to fix these issues without a mechanic (or knows a reliable and charitable one in Gainesville FL) please reply. I will MOST appreciate your help, and need it!

(and if these problems should be in different forums, please let me know...I'll get better, promise!)

Thanks bunches,
Lisa

Your A/C takes R-134, which can be bought at Wal Mart. The gear shift problem is most likely a slipped linkage. To fix it, loosten the shift rod at the transmission, place the transmission in park, place shift lever in park, tighten the linkage. How old is your son? A 10year old with any mechanical ability should be able to handle the shift problem, with a bit of guidance from an adult. When you get the passenger door open, lube the door latch liberally, the part inside the door. Actually, do this with all the doors, preventative maintenance. This should help the door situation. If not, then there is something wrong inside the door. The radio, I dont know what to tell hou about that.

 

[Turdle]

Welcome aboard

#1
Probably low on r134 refrigerant, caused from a leak in the accumulator bottle.
( My guess)

#2
If you look under the steering column you will find a little black plastic wheel on a white plastic housing. There is a small string attached. Hopefully the shift indicator is just out of adjustment. rotate the wheel to see.
( I don't see how the oil change would have affected this though)
#3
Have your son spray some lithium grease into the door latch mechanism, this may take several applications and cycles of the door ( open and close it several times to work the grease in)
#4
There is a sticky in the audio sub forum the deals with this. Some have repaired, sent in for repair, or replaced their units. Just be sure to find one of the same year and features for replacement. Some have subwoofers, some do not.

 

[dcdyd]

For #1, it could be low freon or could be blend door. If frenon is low, the compressor won't engaged or does cycling, engaged or disgaged within 2 to 3 seconds. First open the hood and find the compressor at the left side of the belt. Start the engine and see whether it engages or not. Another way to check is to use A/C gauge for measuring the pressure for both high and low port. If Blend door is suspect, search for it in this forum.

 

[Lisa288]

Reply re: 4 FOUR things wrong w/Ford Explorer fr a week ago!

Hi Guys,

Hey, I'm really really sorry it took me so long to respond here- I had a death in the family I had to deal with, not close to me but to my ex and son...so it took a bit to get back on track of what I was doing before-hand. Being so long, I do hope you all still receive this message somehow.

First, thank you ALL for your answers. It's really nice to know that there are still other people in this whacked out world willing to help others. (My 84 yr. old dad blew out a tire on his camping trailer on a country road in Hickville Fl awhile back, someone stopped and helped him cuz he wouldn't call AAA, saying they take too long- now THAT was scary. And LUCKY, if you know what I mean!)


Now to address you as individually as possible.. (I guess that's the best I can do at this point

a) deweyville65: you and Turdle mentioned something I can purchase, and dcdyd said "freon." Is R-134 a freon that can legally be used now? Or something to replace freon? That's a curiosity question.

I don't have an owner's manual. Googling this, I came up with this diagram:

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSp7gLK1N7GDQ6iiYEGzag1ozzHvywYwqX8MdEv8NRwZu7_xLBmOXDxi2q
(I tried to paste image but that didn't work so well for me..

Hoping that you can open this link, could you verify, is the little grey cylinder toward the left side of the diagram the a/c accumulator bottle that Turdle mentioned? And where would I add the R-134? I would think that would be shown in the diagram, but I don't see what it could be and nothing is marked as such.

I don't know where to even begin looking for where you would put that into the truck, and my son (who's 20) has been rather remiss- no, totally remiss in trying to figure anything at all out about this vehicle, but since HE drives it 99% of the time, he must now "step up to the plate." We can learn together, heehee!

deweyville65, you also said: " The gear shift problem is most likely a slipped linkage. To fix it, loosten the shift rod at the transmission, place the transmission in park, place shift lever in park, tighten the linkage. How old is your son? A 10year old with any mechanical ability should be able to handle the shift problem, with a bit of guidance from an adult.

I know that this truck has seemingly everything hidden from sight (just got a new used engine and in past had another item to fix where the engine had to be pulled. How do I know when the "transmission" is in park? I can guess that the lever is in front of the passenger, lol.

Is the SHIFT ROD under the hood? What kind of tool do I need to loosen it? GLAD to know this should be able to be done by a kid. Here is the link to another couple diagrams I found which SEEM to be addressing the same issue in a different forum (you just need to scroll down a bit to see the two diagrams:


http://www.justanswer.com/ford/1jono-2004-ford-explorer-sport-gear-indicator-shift.html


Hopefully you can open this link as well. Fingers are crossed!

Dewey, you wrote: , loosten the shift rod at the transmission, place the transmission in park, place shift lever in park, tighten the linkage In the diagram it says a part is needed to fix....are you suggested perhaps an easier/alternative way?

There are a bunch of numbers on the diagrams, is it possible that any coincide with what you've said to do, and you could point out where I should be loosening the shift rod "at the transmission" And what do you mean by "tighten the linkage?" Gawd I sound dumb. (Just wait, I'll be a pro before you know it!)

TO ALL, regarding the stuck door--- lubing the door didn't even cross my mind. I would have used WD-40 had I thought of it.

Turdle, is lithium grease pretty much the same thing? I will get the doors lubed and see where I stand afterward. You also wrote, " Also, I do think I understand what you meant about the compressor and its cycling...if I have a problem, will let you know.
#2
If you look under the steering column you will find a little black plastic wheel on a white plastic housing. There is a small string attached. Hopefully the shift indicator is just out of adjustment. rotate the wheel to see.
( I don't see how the oil change would have affected this though)


I'm assuming just bend down under the driver's seat-- I mean my son does--- to find the plastic wheel? Also, I didn't mean to insinuate that Ford caused the problem, probably shouldn't have even mentioned I'd had it there just prior. I just know that if I'd gone back and said it went out right after you did the oil change (they did a couple more things, too) they would RIGHTFULLY claim they are not responsible.

And dcdyd, thanks for your info, too! I'll first check out the R-134 info and if that is NOT the problem, look into "blend door." That sounds scary!!

And I'll look in the "audio" sub forums (once I find them) for info on my stereo. Something tells me I'm just going to have to replace it, but just MAYBE I'll get lucky, thanks to your help!

To EVERYONE, again, I appreciate your help!!! I can't imagine how hard it is to be on your end trying to explain all this to a woman who doesn't know a thing about mechanics, but you all did a really nice job in getting me started! I hope this post reaches you and I hear from you soon (son's off work tomorrow, we'll get started then! YAYYYY! I'm really excited that some of this may be able to be taken care of on our own, especially the a/c!!!)

Have a wonderful day!

Lisa

(I hope I've found enough diagrams to enable you to work with to help me see where my problems are to help resolve them!)

 

[dcdyd]

R-134 is what we meant by freon. It is legal, at least in MN, for personal to buy and use. First to check whether the compressor is engaging. If you open the hood, look at the first wheel which is driven by the belt on the right side if you face the truck, that is the compressor. WHen it engages it makes click sound and the twp plates stick togather.

The best way to check the A/C system is to use A/C gauge which has two meters and can measure the pressure of the a/C system from both low port and high port. The low port is the port with a plastic cap on top of the accumulator in a picture you linked in your thread. The high port is the one close to the battery on the right front side of the truck if you face the truck. The high side also has a black plastic cap. I can take picture if it is necessary. I just did it for my 98 EB. Note that if you buy A/C gauge, remember to buy one used with R134A freon. Many cheap gauge only works with R12.

 

[deweyville65]

An item that will be of great help is a Haynes or Chilton manual. They can be purchased at you local parts house. A cheaper way to get one is on e-bay. An R-134 system can only be charged from one port. The charge hose only fits one way. Having the gages is the best way to charge the A/C, but the auto parts house and Wally World sell a recharge kit, bunch cheaper, and easy to do when on a tight budget.

Does the gear shift physically go into park, but the transmission not? Like maybe it is in reverse or neutral? If so, the linkage has slipped, or there is a lot of play(loosness) somewhere. If the gear shift and transmission both go into park, but the indicator does not, then just the indicator is out of adjustment. That is found on the steering column, assuming it is a column shift, not conzole shift.

 

[deweyville65]

I just got out my Haynes manual, evidently tbe transmission is cable operated. That being the case, I strongly recommend you get a repair manual, as I put in the previous post. That is going to be considerably more help to you. I have had my truck for a year and a half, and not done very much to it. I was thinking about a metal linkage, not a cable. My apologies.

 

[white_shadow]

i just bought a 98 myself about a month or so ago. a/c would only blow heat. turned out to be the common blend door problem, search for it. its not a major job, but its not something i want to do again.