BD's 2000 Explorer Limited

[CDW6212R]

That's a bummer about the tire, I hope it can be repaired. I've had one that couldn't be fixed due to the size of the rock I found in it. Good luck,

 

[sport97]

I had a tire I was told couldn't be repaired. It had a 1 1/2 inch cut in the tread face. Took it to another tire shop, they popped the tire off and patched it on the inside, never leaked again. Those damn BFGs sucked, always had flats. I'd imagine they could patch yours, but if they say no, get a second opinion. If its small you could get one of those plug kits, i've done my own several times before.

 

[MrQ]

Trans for 470 shipped

I just called some local shops, in hopes of hearing 250-300$ to swap it out, a decent shop wanted 650$ I just about cussed at the guy when he said that! (Not that its his fault)

A smaller mom & pop type shop wanted 500$

WTF! Im so pissed off right now! If I can find some kind of write up, im definitely doing this thing my GD self. (W/ friends)

You can do it. Just allot a couple of days to do it; not half days, whole days. The first tranny swap is always the hardest. My advice is to take it slow, put the bolts for the starter in one labeled bag, the torque converter nuts in another, etc. and keep plenty of buckets ready for ATF (and other fluid) spills. You will need to remove the t case and reinstall it. The starter needs to come off before the tranny can come off. The starter hole is where you remove the 4 torque converter nuts. You will need to rotate the crankshaft by the damper bolt in order to get access to all the nuts. ALWAYS turn it (facing the front of the engine) to the LEFT.

The hardest part will be in getting the tranny back in and aligning the torque converter studs with the flex plate.

My small generalized tranny install guide:

DON'T EVER, EVER use the tranny bolts to pull the tranny up to the engine. You'll strip those little suckers out, and you could damage the pump, torque converter, flex plate or all three.

Remember when you remove the tranny, the rear of the engine will cant back making it very difficult to realign the transmission upon reinstall. What you have to do is use another jack to lift the engine back up so it will meet with the tranny. The engine and tranny have to be within 2 or 3 degrees of each other to even think about seating properly.

T\-->|E , T|-->\E , or T/-->\E , T\-->/E WILL NOT WORK!! Do not force them if they are like this. Back the tranny off again and retry.

T|-->|E , T\-->\E ARE OK!! You will hear a heavy clunk when the torque converter seats correctly.

Once the tranny is seated put the two lower bolts in till they are in there just enough to keep the tranny from sliding back out. These will work as your pivots. More than likely you will have a small gap at the top. That's the 1-3 degree difference showing itself. Now gently raise the rear of the tranny till you hear a LOUD clunk. You are now totally seated. You may still have a 1/4" to 1/2" gap where, no matter how hard you push, it will not close up. That's OK. Make sure both the tranny and the engine are totally in line with each other and put your bolts in, but don't tighten!! Now with all your bolts in place, alternately and evenly, SNUGLY tighten between your SIDE bolts. (don't go all gung-ho and breaker bar tighten them) The upper and lower bolts are just guides for right now. After you have tightened those bolts to where you don't see a gap, you can go ahead and tighten all your tranny bolts evenly in a crisscross pattern.

Don't forget to put on your torque converter nuts and tighten them!!

First time start up:
Pre-fill the tranny with 3 or 4 quarts of ATF.
Turn over the engine.
Cycle the tranny though all the gears (P-R-N-D-2-1-2-D-N-R-P), waiting 10-15 seconds before shifting again. (Don't be surprised if your wheels aren't moving yet)
After first cycle, shut engine off
Check dipstick and add more ATF till pan is full again.
Turn over engine and repeat cycle. (You should see wheel spin now as there is enough fluid to pressurize the servos)
Do this till you register "FULL" on the dipstick

Hope this helps...

 

[BrianDye]

That's a bummer about the tire, I hope it can be repaired. I've had one that couldn't be fixed due to the size of the rock I found in it. Good luck,

I had a tire I was told couldn't be repaired. It had a 1 1/2 inch cut in the tread face. Took it to another tire shop, they popped the tire off and patched it on the inside, never leaked again. Those damn BFGs sucked, always had flats. I'd imagine they could patch yours, but if they say no, get a second opinion. If its small you could get one of those plug kits, i've done my own several times before.

I dont think this is too bad;

I just hope some damn tire shop around here is open tomorrow! Im scared as hell to have to drive this to work in the morning, but I did spit...yes spit on/around the bolt and there were no bubbles tonight after I got home, so at least its not slowly leaking or anything.

You can do it. Just allot a couple of days to do it; not half days, whole days. The first tranny swap is always the hardest. My advice is to take it slow, put the bolts for the starter in one labeled bag, the torque converter nuts in another, etc. and keep plenty of buckets ready for ATF (and other fluid) spills. You will need to remove the t case and reinstall it. The starter needs to come off before the tranny can come off. The starter hole is where you remove the 4 torque converter nuts. You will need to rotate the crankshaft by the damper bolt in order to get access to all the nuts. ALWAYS turn it (facing the front of the engine) to the LEFT.

The hardest part will be in getting the tranny back in and aligning the torque converter studs with the flex plate.

My small generalized tranny install guide:

DON'T EVER, EVER use the tranny bolts to pull the tranny up to the engine. You'll strip those little suckers out, and you could damage the pump, torque converter, flex plate or all three.

Remember when you remove the tranny, the rear of the engine will cant back making it very difficult to realign the transmission upon reinstall. What you have to do is use another jack to lift the engine back up so it will meet with the tranny. The engine and tranny have to be within 2 or 3 degrees of each other to even think about seating properly.

T\-->|E , T|-->\E , or T/-->\E , T\-->/E WILL NOT WORK!! Do not force them if they are like this. Back the tranny off again and retry.

T|-->|E , T\-->\E ARE OK!! You will hear a heavy clunk when the torque converter seats correctly.

Once the tranny is seated put the two lower bolts in till they are in there just enough to keep the tranny from sliding back out. These will work as your pivots. More than likely you will have a small gap at the top. That's the 1-3 degree difference showing itself. Now gently raise the rear of the tranny till you hear a LOUD clunk. You are now totally seated. You may still have a 1/4" to 1/2" gap where, no matter how hard you push, it will not close up. That's OK. Make sure both the tranny and the engine are totally in line with each other and put your bolts in, but don't tighten!! Now with all your bolts in place, alternately and evenly, SNUGLY tighten between your SIDE bolts. (don't go all gung-ho and breaker bar tighten them) The upper and lower bolts are just guides for right now. After you have tightened those bolts to where you don't see a gap, you can go ahead and tighten all your tranny bolts evenly in a crisscross pattern.

Don't forget to put on your torque converter nuts and tighten them!!

First time start up:
Pre-fill the tranny with 3 or 4 quarts of ATF.
Turn over the engine.
Cycle the tranny though all the gears (P-R-N-D-2-1-2-D-N-R-P), waiting 10-15 seconds before shifting again. (Don't be surprised if your wheels aren't moving yet)
After first cycle, shut engine off
Check dipstick and add more ATF till pan is full again.
Turn over engine and repeat cycle. (You should see wheel spin now as there is enough fluid to pressurize the servos)
Do this till you register "FULL" on the dipstick

Hope this helps...

That definitely helps alot, I understood everything you said lol, trannys are like damn chinese to me, theres SO much stuff involved and SO many parts inside that thing.

THANK GOD, my girlfriends dads brother knows a few people, one who luckily owns a trans shop, and he said he could probably get him todo it for 200-250 MAX. That really made my day alot better

I want to still be there though upon initial startup/fluid fill. I want to run full synthetics, should I use Royal Purple or what? I NEVER see Royal Purple trans fluid though around here...

 

[BrianDye]

Guys just for ***** and giggles would 22" rims on 265/35r22's fit?

I this rim is BEATIFUL! And they say LIMITED on the spokes

(Not getting them unless he would work out some kind of payment plan but I figured id see if they fit. They came off an 05 AWD Explorer)

These are seriously my dream rims, I hate crazy looking ones with tons of details and random spokes. I love 5-6 spoke rims like this.

 

[BrianDye]

I like these ones even better but when he was selling them, he was asking like 2200$

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/pts/2301932243.html

 

[MrQ]

Umm, I don't believe that's likely.

Good luck on you getting it put in by somebody else. It's about $200 in upfront cost if you don't have the tools or equipment, so that's a pretty good deal.

Right now I would steer away from off brands: Walmart, Oreilly's HB and Coastal. The Walmart stuff couldn't take the heat from the A4LD in Red and burned up nearly immediately. Haven't heard anything bad from Mobile 1 or Valvoline (I am using Valvoline Dex/Merc Max Life ATF in Red now and Valvoline ATF +4 in the Ram with no complaints) ATF in of itself is already synthetic or a synthetic blend, so it really doesn't matter what major brand you use just as long as you get the right type. In your case it's gonna be Mercon V. It may be more expensive, but you are buying fluid life, which is very important in these automatics.

 

[BrianDye]

I really dont care about cost, I mean fluid is a BIG factor on the life of a tranny, so thats no biggie; and I DEFINITELY would never use off brand fluids, I see people all day buying kroger brand oil, when theres Mobile 1 and a couple other big brands right next to it...kind of pisses me off.

 

[BrianDye]

So I was doin some math, this morning, I've put almost exactly 11,000 miles on my X in only 6 months, that seems like a lot to me, that averages to 1833 miles a month!

Anyways, Firestone wants 19.99$ to patch my tire for me and they're open today after I get off work, thank god.

 

[CDW6212R]

That blot in the tire isn't too big, one plug may do it. Only if two plugs cannot seal a leak is it really too big of a hole to fix. The rock i had in mine was very large, and the tire leaked with two plugs in it. That tire was about 3/4 gone anyway, so I change the tire.

For the trans, look at ATF in three levels, and you do have to have Mercon V. The cheapest plain brands like Walmart and other sell is questionable, sometimes it'll do, but avoid it if you can.

The top tier of ATF is small, Amsoil and Royal Purple, I prefer Amsoil. The rest is very similar, Mobil 1 and plain Castrol are the same to me, none of those are enough better than each other to choose one over the other. So pick one of the three levels. Most people buy the middle stuff, and they should buy the cheapest of that, which is still $3.50 or more.

The Amsoil is over $9 per quart, but it's the best and you have to mail order it. I've been buying it in 2.5 gallon jugs, and 1 gallon jugs mostly.

When starting the engine with the new trans dry, first put in six quarts of ATF, that fits easily. Start the engine with more ATF ready. Add another quart immediately after starting the engine. Then add another, with eight quarts in it then check the dipstick. You should be able to add another 2-3 quarts without waiting except top check the dipstick between them.

It is not necessary or helpful to move the shift lever with so little fluid in the trans. Wait until there's within about 2-3 quarts of being full, which means about 9-10 quarts in it. When you start moving the shifter between gears, hold each gear for 1-2 seconds, and go to the next gear. It doesn't take much of that to circulate the ATF in the VB, but there has to be fluid in the pan.

So don't move the shifter until you have added a good 9 or 10 quarts of ATF first, from dry(new trans, no fluid). The converter holds a gallon of fluid by itself, that's where the first fluid goes to. That's why you can add another 3-4 quarts just after starting the engine.

The last quart or so of ATF will take a while to put in, be patient. When you finally begin to show fluid on the dipstick, not just wetness from the inside of the tube, then only add 1/3 to 1/2 quart of ATF at a time. Once the fluid shows well on the dipstick, it doesn't take much to go over the fill mark. Don't try to get it fully filled to the high mark until the engine and trans are warmed up.

It's best to only fill it enough initially to reach the bottom marks of the dipstick. At that point it is safe to drive it for a short distance. Take it out and drive it a mile or two, just enough to get through all the gears for a short time. Bring it back and then carefully wipe the dipstick hard(really dry), and fill it to the hot fill line. Check it again after the first couple of trips you make in the vehicle.

 

[BrianDye]

They patched it just fine! I was worried, thinking the bolt was alot bigger than it really was.

I took it to Sears, 19$ they plug AND patch it (Supposedly)

Anywho...I gotta take advantage of this workable day!

*WARNING WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS DISCUSTING. IT IS ADVISED THAT THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS CLICK THE "BACK" BUTTON ON YOUR COMPUTER'S BROWSER IMMEDIATELY!*​

I cant believe I let this go on for so long! I hate long nights at work! It causes me to toss things in the backseat that sit back there for days or weeks sometimes! Those brown stains ARE NOT from me, theyre from the PO and their kids.

 

[CDW6212R]

How is your RF floor mat? My 99 Limited only had one in it, and it's nice after I cleaned it.

 

[BrianDye]

All my floormats are great actually, passenger front looks new still (After I washed them at the carwash)

The drivers side needs replacing, theres a good size worn on hole where your heel sits. The back is close to damn perfect, a couple spots seem darker than others.

They definitely all need a good cleaning again though. Im heading to the GF's right now and were gonna pull the center console and front seats to get the carpet out then throw the front seats back in.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's the way to clean it, do it out and then hang it upside down for a short while. Flip it over in the sun on a big bush etc, for 2-3 hours.

 

[sean99]

These are seriously my dream rims, I hate crazy looking ones with tons of details and random spokes. I love 5-6 spoke rims like this.

Aren't those 7 spoke rims or is one of the spokes considered a thumb?

 

[corkey]

that's funny right there,

 

[BrianDye]

They are....I didn't even count :

But WOW, all I can say is WOW right now. Just got back from the carwash...amazing!

Pics later, were heading to the gym for awhile.

Question; do my seats have arbags in them? Only my drivers seat is in right now and my airbag light is on. My seats have a yellow plug and a wider black one.

Also, my rear speakers aren't working now, and my cig lighter in the bezel has next to no voltage, does that have anything todo with the big harness for the center console?

 

[CDW6212R]

The seats with air bags have that extra two wire connector going into the seat. You only have the airbag resistors, that's what those yellow plugs are. If the plugs come out, the airbag light will come on.

The rear speaker signals go through the console, so that the rear controls can use the signals for the rear passengers.

I know how dirty that rug was, and leave it out in the sun tomorrow. It will dry in a couple of hours that way. Night,

 

[sean99]

Question; do my seats have arbags in the?

 

[BrianDye]

Yea my seats definitely dont have that, thats a dead giveaway :

But im uploading the pics as we speak...its amazing! Im definitely gonna do this at least once a year, probably Springtime.

You can see all the salt buildup that was in the drivers area, and the passenger area just still looks new. I dont think many people used that front passenger seat, the mat is like new, carpet didnt have A stain on it over there, the seat isnt cracked/worn, door is alot firmer than the others, etc. The backseats are a different story, lol.