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Bunch of issues.... related?

aces74

Member
Joined
March 7, 2009
Messages
39
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City, State
Las Vegas, NV
Year, Model & Trim Level
'98 Mountaineer
Hey all... been lurking for a while now (bought my '98 Mountaineer in March with 160k on it...) and looking for some solutions to the issues the Mounty seems to have. Nothing major, until today (and I'm not sure what's going on with it exactly)....

Figured now is as good a time as any to ask, as I'm definitely not familiar with the nuances of the Explorers/Mountaineers, coming from working on Hondas for a long time.

I've ran a few searches, but haven't found exactly what I was looking for, so I hope you don't me making a list and going from there....

So anyway, here goes... 1998 Mountaineer AWD V8, 160,000mi. Bone stock.

1- Today the temp guage started acting up. My wife was driving and called to tell me that it went from 'Normal' up to 'Hot' while doing about 65mph on the freeway. It's never done this before, at all. Same deal on the way home. It would fluctuate, back and forth, normal to hot (almost like there was air in the line). The heat blew hot 100% of the time. The air worked as well (as well as it normally does, anyways..... that's another story). There was no noticeable difference in the way the truck acted or drove. No steam, no 'pressure relief' noises, no leaks. Just a strange temp gauge, that moved rather quickly (shot up and down like the speedo would, she said). Very strange indeed. Didn't do this last night, and all of a sudden out of the blue, does this today. Both rad hoses are hot, coolant is NOT bubbling, nor does it have any traces of oil in it, etc.

2- The speedo, at low speeds 'jumps'. Doesn't really register correctly until about 20mph or so. After that, it's fine. But it's jumpy until that point on most occasions. Similar to what a bad distributor will do to make a tach jump, looks like that.

3- ABS light. Assuming it's one of the speed sensors of some sort.

4- Dash lights - they're out. the left half of the cluster does not light up. Hasn't since I bought it.

***I'm assuming that I may have problems with the cluster itself, for one. Then sounds like a speed sensor somewhere. Any ideas?***

5- "Whining/roaring" noise. Any speed, A/C on, or off. doesn't matter. Always assumed it was the AWD being noisy due to the beefier gears in the differential. Wondering if that's the case?

6- A/C is weak. While parked, it gets pretty cold. While driving, not so much - especially while on the highway. Re-charged it, didn't seem to do much good. Forgot to double-check, but NOT sure if I've heard the compressor cycle with the A/C on. I'll check tomorrow... not only that, but it will only get cold under 'Max A/C' on full blast. Anything else, I might as well have the heat on. And the side vents don't put much air out. Maybe they're just weak normally, but the vehicle certainly doesn't cool down sufficiently....

7- Noise from front end. Kind of a faint 'thump' or something. Increases with speed.... doesn't feel like a tire (bubble/out of balance)...

8- Brakes - was told the caliper slide pins were frozen. Brakes work fine, wondering if it could be causing the noise I'm hearing, however.

*************


I guess that's it... more than I bargained for, certainly.... but with the exception of the weak A/C (compressor?), I'm hoping most of this is relatively inexpensive to take care of. I live in Las Vegas, so the things that are issues re: heat (overheating guage and A/C) are pretty worrisome if there IS a major issue, and this is my wifes SUV which she carts our two small kids around in daily.... so trying to fix is and make it safe and comfortable is of the utmost priority.


Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it.:thumbsup:
 






So anyway, here goes... 1998 Mountaineer AWD V8, 160,000mi. Bone stock.

1- Today the temp guage started acting up. My wife was driving and called to tell me that it went from 'Normal' up to 'Hot' while doing about 65mph on the freeway. It's never done this before, at all. Same deal on the way home. It would fluctuate, back and forth, normal to hot (almost like there was air in the line). The heat blew hot 100% of the time. The air worked as well (as well as it normally does, anyways..... that's another story). There was no noticeable difference in the way the truck acted or drove. No steam, no 'pressure relief' noises, no leaks. Just a strange temp gauge, that moved rather quickly (shot up and down like the speedo would, she said). Very strange indeed. Didn't do this last night, and all of a sudden out of the blue, does this today. Both rad hoses are hot, coolant is NOT bubbling, nor does it have any traces of oil in it, etc. Thermostats do weaken and need to be replaced.

2- The speedo, at low speeds 'jumps'. Doesn't really register correctly until about 20mph or so. After that, it's fine. But it's jumpy until that point on most occasions. Similar to what a bad distributor will do to make a tach jump, looks like that. Typical . . . Speedo cable needs to be replaced.

3- ABS light. Assuming it's one of the speed sensors of some sort. Could be rotors worn beyond tollerance, Pads, fluid, or sensors. Hard to pin down, but you should make sure all is working correctly for your safety.

4- Dash lights - they're out. the left half of the cluster does not light up. Hasn't since I bought it. Typical. They burn out fast. Search this forum for answers.

***I'm assuming that I may have problems with the cluster itself, for one. Then sounds like a speed sensor somewhere. Any ideas?***

5- "Whining/roaring" noise. Any speed, A/C on, or off. doesn't matter. Always assumed it was the AWD being noisy due to the beefier gears in the differential. Wondering if that's the case? Could be many things . . . tires, driveshaft(s), wheel bearings. Unfortunately, on a 4x4 or AWD vehicle everything wears out faster. Lift vehicle and run . . . listen for source.

6- A/C is weak. While parked, it gets pretty cold. While driving, not so much - especially while on the highway. Re-charged it, didn't seem to do much good. Forgot to double-check, but NOT sure if I've heard the compressor cycle with the A/C on. I'll check tomorrow... not only that, but it will only get cold under 'Max A/C' on full blast. Anything else, I might as well have the heat on. And the side vents don't put much air out. Maybe they're just weak normally, but the vehicle certainly doesn't cool down sufficiently.... You need to find an expert to track this down. There are many sensors and possibilities. This can get expensive. My 98 Monty (149,000) has been problem free in this area.

7- Noise from front end. Kind of a faint 'thump' or something. Increases with speed.... doesn't feel like a tire (bubble/out of balance)... Possible CV joint or axle problem . . . see #5.

8- Brakes - was told the caliper slide pins were frozen. Brakes work fine, wondering if it could be causing the noise I'm hearing, however. If you know how to work on brakes you can save yourself a lot of money . . . the "pins" you refer to are just bolts that you can grease. Yes if the calipers can't move and follow the rotor you will have noise and wear problems. I think working on the brakes is easy. Perhaps you could read and learn how to fix them yourself.

*************


I guess that's it... more than I bargained for, certainly.... but with the exception of the weak A/C (compressor?), I'm hoping most of this is relatively inexpensive to take care of. I live in Las Vegas, so the things that are issues re: heat (overheating guage and A/C) are pretty worrisome if there IS a major issue, and this is my wifes SUV which she carts our two small kids around in daily.... so trying to fix is and make it safe and comfortable is of the utmost priority.


Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it.:thumbsup:
 






Appreciate the reply.

Yeah, I can do most of the work myself (well, actually probably all of it). Most of the stuff I know can be multiple issues, so I appreciate you helping narrow them down. New to the Monty thing, so figured it would be best to ask you guys..... I know different cars have different temperments and whatnot. :)

I'm hoping that most of the stuff is generic-fix type stuff (thermo, speedo drive, etc) and nothing more Mounty-Specific-shouldnthaveboughtthething-type issues.
 






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