Hello from Springfield

[mhoecker]

I just bought a 1996 V8 XLT AWD. I'm not a gear head, wrench jockey, or any of those other good things. I don't fit the mold of a typical member of auto enthusiasts forums. I'm a middle aged woman who wants to learn how to repair what we can by gathering information here and then giving it to my husband to do the hard labor. I am sure most of you married guys understand this dynamic. I do assist, however. I enjoy auto detailing and have lots of cleaning products in my garage (including a Porter Cable buffer).

Although the truck gets poor gas mileage, I know that it will help when we move my son to his four year college next year. The truck passed the NVa emissions test but failed the safety inspection because of the 3rd brake light and one of the fog lights not working. We will try to fix both of these things this weekend to see if we can save $500 (estimate to fix both from our mechanic). If all goes well, we will pass next week!

Thank you for providing this invaluable resource. I have learned much already!

Madonna Hoecker
Springfield, VA

 

[Dopler174]

Welcome to Explorer Forum! $500! I wouldn't go see that guy again. Those are easy fixes that you/your husband can do in the walmart parking lot.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I agree that this mechanic is way over priced. I'm sure that even the Ford dealer would be cheaper than this. Pull the light bulbs out to see if they are blown out. You could buy new light bulbs for a few dollars in any auto parts store.

 

[hybridna]

get 1-to-1 pro advice for free from this site

go to http://www.ecarservices.com and register and use their ask tommy feature to ask questions on your car. it should help how to fix.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome

 

[mhoecker]

Thanks everyone for the kind greetings and advice. John and I are going to attempt the fix this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. I just hope we are able to get it fixed - at least long enough to pass the safety inspection. Then we will have ample time to work on it in the event that brake light stops working again.

Madonna

 

[mhoecker]

Well, we met the limits of our abilities pretty quickly so I guess it is off to the mechanics next week.

The truck is from Michigan and has a rusty underside, including the bracket for the fog light. After generous amounts of liquid wrench were applied, John still couldn't get the nut loose on the fog light. He wasn't comfortable drilling out the rivets in the back to get to the brake light housing (I saw water in there, so we may have to have the whole thing replaced). Better the mechanic than us, I guess. So long money!

Madonna