98 Explorer Sport, SOHC questions

[thechemist]

hey guys i have a few questions about my car.

Basicly, How good are the auto 5speed trannys on these cars? what about the engines themselfs?

So far car has 46k, without problems, but i no longer have warrenty, and want to see what lies ahead.

What about the premium stereo, is there some sort of recall? or a way to fix it? (display dims out every now and then)

What about the rear wiper, mine stopped working a while ago, is there a recall on that?

thanks in advance
Victor

 

[SWLathrop]

No problems with my 97 Sport w/SOHC. Engine and tranny haven't missed a beat. Had a 98 Sport in the shop yesterday that the rear chain tensioner was rapping real loud on (not covered, only the front). But, this thing was used, abused and had piss-poor maint. This is the only SOHC that has come thru the shop like that. All others are fine. Radio and rear wiper, well we've had a few of those issues, but there's no recalls that I'm aware of.

 

[thechemist]

thanks for the replay bro =)

 

[yob_yeknom]

Do a search on this site about the radio. You may have the same problem that many others have had. There are directions on how to solve the problem. It involves removing some solder that melts and contacts a heat sink I believe.

 

[JDraper]

The auto trannys have had some issues. Best things you can do to extend it's life is regular maintenance and add a tranny cooler to it. Heat is the enemy of the transmission.

The SOHC motor has had problems with the chain tensioners breaking, and there are recalls covering that. The recalls are 00M12 and 01M01

 

[JWood]

Just buy something new....

why go through all of this.....you can afford it......it will only go downhill from here. Do you think you will ever get away from a car note..?

 

[thechemist]

huh? what the hell are you talking about bro.

 

[JWood]

Just being practical Mr Chemist

that's all...and speaking from experience.....maintenance or new car/truck note...which sounds better? Think about it!

 

[Jason_25]

Re: Just being practical Mr Chemist

Originally posted by JWood
that's all...and speaking from experience.....maintenance or new car/truck note...which sounds better? Think about it!

Some people apparently are not as fortunate as you and cannot afford brand new vehicles.

 

[thechemist]

i am not a rich man, so practical to me is my current vehicles. 98 Explorer (46k miles, i bought it with 1000 (salvage vehicle, so i have never had warrenty/problems with it). And my 92 mustang gt (bought with 66k miles, at 78k now), also out of warrenty but these engines from what i know last for ever.

I do not mind getting my hands dirty... pulling a engine/tranny is no problem.


I was just asking about the explorer, so i can start saving some money, some cars are naturally bad and i do not know the history of explorers. Mustangs i know will last 150,000 easily and thats beating them to death.

Ford isn't exactly the best at building auto trannys, so i had some concerns.

 

[JWood]

Older trannys are...

certainly a problem.....but on a low milage 98 hopefully not...my comments earlier are out of a great deal of frustration on my old 93 Explorer...$$$ thousands in repairs....so what did i do...well... I bought a new one

 

[X24]

I think the chemist is right to a certain point. I bought a 93 explorer 2 years ago. I had it for one year and spent over $1500 in repairs. I got sick of it so I traded it for my 98 with a 4 year warranty. I have not had to pay for a single repair and now have a much more reliable vehicle. Yes, I do have a car payment every month, but I would rather pay a little more to know that I have a more reliable vehicle. Having a newer, nicer one is always a plus too.

Anyway, I have a SOHC and I love it. It has plenty of power for its size.

Tonight I felt something weird. I was going up a hill, bearly on the gas because the speed limit decreases and I was doing about 25 mph. Normally, it will downshift on its own just because I'm going so slow, not because I give it more gas. Tonight, it felt like it was having trouble down shifting. Like it tried a few times and couldnt do it. I took my foot off the gas and reapplied it and it worked fine. Worked fine for the rest of the night and never had any problems in the past. I have a tranny cooler and recently, as in last week, put on a remote tranny filter. From that I monitor the tranny temp and it has been running between 110* and 130*.

 

[Alec]

chris, if it doesn't happen again i wouldn't worry about it. sometimes the computer gets 'stuck' for lack of a better term. no biggie unless it starts happening often.

 

[yob_yeknom]

Yeah, those exact parameters could have been at just the right point for it to not be able to decide to downshift or not.