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Help:eek: Aussie damsel in distress here:-)

Sounds like you need to get a couple tough Aussies (I know y’all have em!) to put the screws to this guy and find out what he did.

Spraying liquid moly on a band...you mean the oil dipstick maybe? I wonder if maybe he drained the oil and started it up empty...not hard to do if you’re that drunk...

I’m a nice guy, but if a mechanic definitely messed something big up on my vehicle and didn’t want to fess up to it, I’d be waiting for him in the parking lot.
 



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I've been thinking about this back and forth for a bit and I've finally come up with a little theory that I believe might explain what's going on.
LPG has less energy than gasoline and (if I got the right numbers) it also has a higher viscosity than gasoline.

Now my theory is that this would mean the fuel injectors not only need to inject more LPG (than they would have to inject gasoline) into the cylinders but the LPG also has more resistance/friction due to the higher viscosity (to explain it in simple words: the "consistency" of the LPG is a tiny tiny tiny bit more like honey than gasoline is and therefore flows a tiny little bit less easily).

So I'm thinking maybe the fuel injectors could just be a little bit clogged up, to the point where they still operate well enough for the engine to run on gasoline but cause trouble and misfires whenever it runs on LPG.
I'm just guessing here, that LPG is somewhat more demanding on the fuel injectors to work 'just perfect' in order for the engine to run right than the gasoline is.

It might of course also be that the fuel pressure of the LPG delivery system isn't quite sufficient or whatever else.

So as a result of my thinking:
I would simply suggest to just go and try a bottle of fuel injector cleaner/treatment and pour that it into the (full gasoline) tank (then drive around with the car only running on gasoline until the tank is pretty much empty and the cleaner has finished doing it's job) - and then afterwards just try and see if that helps anything on the LPG side of running things. (And maybe try again with another product from a different brand if the first didn't help.)
Just to give you an example of the fuel injector cleaner I'm talking about, it's something like this bottle here for example: IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner and Upper Cylinder Lubricant | Sea Foam (seafoamworks.com). There are a bunch of different brands that have similar ones.

Edit:
My old OHV engine for example runs 'perfectly fine' ever since I replaced the fuel pump. But it's just old and so it runs on the 'lean side of things', meaning the fuel trim from the ECM is so high that it's pretty much just below the threshold of throwing a check engine light most of the time. That's not really uncommon for older engines that run with with older sensors and old fuel injectors and (although I couldn't find any) possibly some tiny vacuum leak(s). So it's absolutely nothing I worry much about as long as the ECM can still regulate it sufficiently with the fuel trim.
But although my old engine still runs absolutely fine on gasoline, I would indeed imagine it might currently not be running just good enough to still be able to run on LPG, if it were a converted engine and was otherwise in the same condition it is in.


About the sway bars... if it's not the 4WD issue that CdW6212R talks about (which I find the most likely explanation), then it might even just be a pair of broken sway bar links.
Those are cheap and super easy to replace, should they be broken. They just wear out with time, especially when they were tightened down excessively when installed. They cost something like 20 $ (US dollars with the $ sign right side up) a pair at the common auto parts stores and can easily and quickly be installed within just a couple of minutes. A professional mechanic is going charge whatever they charge to roll up their sleeves to do it of course. You can usually see if they're completely torn just by looking at them.
There are plenty of threads here in the forum with instructions and pictures.
ah yes I think the sway bars are broken. Streets around here are windy and every time I turned a corner or went around a tight roundabout the car pretty much broke down entirely. I can't change them myself, my husband's bedridden with cancer...and mechanics around here charge $70-$90per hour.I'll have to hire George the Russian (mobile mechanic) to change them.Sway bars AND calipers I think have all given up the ghost...the cops pulled me over as I have no plates and it sounds like a clunky horror show now. Can't drive it again until they are fixed.

My god people are INSULTING about the Ford Explorer. I'm used to being around polite Gov't workers, since living in Iran with a Jewish boyfriend I've honestly never been so bluntly, rudely insulted to my face as every day this past month I go out with the Explorer. All these random guys just approach me to insult me about the car...rude, rude *******s.

Anyway I'm definitely keeping it now, damn them all to hell. Yes it sounds like hell on wheels, but who doesn't love a renovator & mystery wrapped in one? Rather than admit i bought it sight unseen @ auction and get endless mansplaining lecture and jokes, I've decided I'll look weepy and say my grandad left it to me when he died. Few things terrify guys more than a weepy chick😭
 






Boy just imagine how much more help we can give with some pictures

Just Sayen
 






Could be a million things, honestly. He could have damaged anything.

I’d guess first that maybe he broke a spark plugs porcelain, got the wires mixed up, or like mentioned above ran the motor dry.
 






Sounds like you need to get a couple tough Aussies (I know y’all have em!) to put the screws to this guy and find out what he did.

Spraying liquid moly on a band...you mean the oil dipstick maybe? I wonder if maybe he drained the oil and started it up empty...not hard to do if you’re that drunk...

I’m a nice guy, but if a mechanic definitely messed something big up on my vehicle and didn’t want to fess up to it, I’d be waiting for him in the parking lot.
nah, serves me right for paying some random guy $20ph cash. A guy recommended to me at the dog park of all places. I know plenty of BAD mean assholes (on both sides of the law)...but he's just a hopeless babbling drunk now who's terrified as he now knows who I work for.

Who knows, he could have wrecked the engine entirely within 2 hours. Sure I technically had a contract with him as I paid him, but even hauling him into court (where I spend a lot of time, so I know) would be useless...an old drunk who can't remember a thing is of no use. And he has no money so I'll just have to write this off as stupid me for picking him.

Only question now is, do I try to save this thing (pre-2003 Explorer engines become completely destroyed when timing chains dislodge don't they?) or take it to the truck guys and have the whole engine remanufactured for $3000?
 






Could be a million things, honestly. He could have damaged anything.

I’d guess first that maybe he broke a spark plugs porcelain, got the wires mixed up, or like mentioned above ran the motor dry.
yes the 5 cylinder sound happened after he messed with it...so I'm thinking spark plug. He could have trashed the engine entirely- my bad. I've been told the engine will have to be lifted out ($600-$800) for anyone to check. Magic man says that's nonsense but he's going on a 3 week holiday today and I have two weeks just sitting around watching Justified re-runs to piece it together. Can this engine and all it's connecting widgets be saved or does it go in the acid bath for a $4500 rebuild? Cue Jaws music...
 






The front sway bar end links are somewhat common to break, in some climates or severe use, because those were plastic OEM. I've broken one of those among six Explorers I've owned. Usually I get around to changing those out for urethane end link bushings(the center link being steel), but my last 98 I didn't and finally broke one.

The rear end links are easy to see by looking under the back, but those are solid steel and the end rubber bushings will wear out. The front end links are a bunch of small parts, so they are easier to break etc.
Ta....yep I think everything on it's underbelly is broken. When the cops pulled me over they were laughing as it sounded like a metallicky nightmare under there ...it conked out each of my last three roundabouts:) I'm gonna go buy a camcorder as this will be a mystery rebuild project to entertain me over the next few weeks. When I'm out I'll buy new link bushes calipers as it's undriveable without those fixed.. George the Russian only charges $50ph...bargain mechanic for these parts.
 






I've been thinking about this back and forth for a bit and I've finally come up with a little theory that I believe might explain what's going on.
LPG has less energy than gasoline and (if I got the right numbers) it also has a higher viscosity than gasoline.

Now my theory is that this would mean the fuel injectors not only need to inject more LPG (than they would have to inject gasoline) into the cylinders but the LPG also has more resistance/friction due to the higher viscosity (to explain it in simple words: the "consistency" of the LPG is a tiny tiny tiny bit more like honey than gasoline is and therefore flows a tiny little bit less easily).

So I'm thinking maybe the fuel injectors could just be a little bit clogged up, to the point where they still operate well enough for the engine to run on gasoline but cause trouble and misfires whenever it runs on LPG.
I'm just guessing here, that LPG is somewhat more demanding on the fuel injectors to work 'just perfect' in order for the engine to run right than the gasoline is.

It might of course also be that the fuel pressure of the LPG delivery system isn't quite sufficient or whatever else.

So as a result of my thinking:
I would simply suggest to just go and try a bottle of fuel injector cleaner/treatment and pour that it into the (full gasoline) tank (then drive around with the car only running on gasoline until the tank is pretty much empty and the cleaner has finished doing it's job) - and then afterwards just try and see if that helps anything on the LPG side of running things. (And maybe try again with another product from a different brand if the first didn't help.)
Just to give you an example of the fuel injector cleaner I'm talking about, it's something like this bottle here for example: IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner and Upper Cylinder Lubricant | Sea Foam (seafoamworks.com). There are a bunch of different brands that have similar ones.

Edit:
My old OHV engine for example runs 'perfectly fine' ever since I replaced the fuel pump. But it's just old and so it runs on the 'lean side of things', meaning the fuel trim from the ECM is so high that it's pretty much just below the threshold of throwing a check engine light most of the time. That's not really uncommon for older engines that run with with older sensors and old fuel injectors and (although I couldn't find any) possibly some tiny vacuum leak(s). So it's absolutely nothing I worry much about as long as the ECM can still regulate it sufficiently with the fuel trim.
But although my old engine still runs absolutely fine on gasoline, I would indeed imagine it might currently not be running just good enough to still be able to run on LPG, if it were a converted engine and was otherwise in the same condition it is in.


About the sway bars... if it's not the 4WD issue that CdW6212R talks about (which I find the most likely explanation), then it might even just be a pair of broken sway bar links.
Those are cheap and super easy to replace, should they be broken. They just wear out with time, especially when they were tightened down excessively when installed. They cost something like 20 $ (US dollars with the $ sign right side up) a pair at the common auto parts stores and can easily and quickly be installed within just a couple of minutes. A professional mechanic is going charge whatever they charge to roll up their sleeves to do it of course. You can usually see if they're completely torn just by looking at them.
There are plenty of threads here in the forum with instructions and pictures.
wow, fantastic...yes this makes sense!! I'm only in my beginner 'hearing' of the Explorer engine & LPG engine & bits( and reading all about it) but this makes sense! Thanks SO much!!
 






I know the phone bit. Worked for a while in a unit that preferred phones with removable batteries. Been there, done that.

I think we need to do some diagnosing before we condemn the engine to the scrap heap. I’d pull the plugs and inspect, and while they’re out have a compression test done.
 






For a video camera, many exist that are in the $50-$100 range that do well, even though many are unknown brands etc. The Go Pro stuff runs $400ish and up, but similar tech low end brands do similar things for under $100. Browse Amazon or eBay for examples or ideas.

It might help slightly for you to have an idea of what some parts look like on that truck. This forum is full of threads about member's project trucks. Mine was for my work needs as a mail carrier, so it's close to a street stock level.

My 99 Limited has the same features as your 98, with minor differences like colors and seats, fender flares etc. But the drivetrain is identical to your 98, and I have many pictures of it in various levels of repair of the timing chain system. Plus with the body off, most of my pictures are detailed and clear. So browse my project thread, which is linked in my signature below. It's mainly a reconstruction thread, I used my old 93 Limited to repair my 99, both had been rolled. Thus, it has lots of body cut up and lifted pictures, later it has detail stuff about the timing chains and electrical upgrades etc.
99/93 Explorer Limited A4WD,
 






wow, fantastic...yes this makes sense!! I'm only in my beginner 'hearing' of the Explorer engine & LPG engine & bits( and reading all about it) but this makes sense! Thanks SO much!!

I'm sorry I just noticed that my theory might possibly not make much sense at all in your case.
Depending on the type of LPG conversion in your case the LPG may (likely) not be injected directly into the combustion chamber, but might go through a carburator instead.
 






For a video camera, many exist that are in the $50-$100 range that do well, even though many are unknown brands etc. The Go Pro stuff runs $400ish and up, but similar tech low end brands do similar things for under $100. Browse Amazon or eBay for examples or ideas.

It might help slightly for you to have an idea of what some parts look like on that truck. This forum is full of threads about member's project trucks. Mine was for my work needs as a mail carrier, so it's close to a street stock level.

My 99 Limited has the same features as your 98, with minor differences like colors and seats, fender flares etc. But the drivetrain is identical to your 98, and I have many pictures of it in various levels of repair of the timing chain system. Plus with the body off, most of my pictures are detailed and clear. So browse my project thread, which is linked in my signature below. It's mainly a reconstruction thread, I used my old 93 Limited to repair my 99, both had been rolled. Thus, it has lots of body cut up and lifted pictures, later it has detail stuff about the timing chains and electrical upgrades etc.
99/93 Explorer Limited A4WD,
thanks so much, this is brilliantly helpful!
 






You guys won't believe the absolute fortune to get this roadworthy. The mechanics blame Covid, I blame my husband for allowing them to hold it hostage...all-round a 1st-world-soap opera. But no matter, I have Faye Hadley on one screen here and this on the other: Additives Liqui Moly | Automotive Superstore

Can any of you fine gentlemen over in the land of Ford's birth tell me whether to continue the credit card bleed and just buy all of these- or do I need just a couple? I've been so harangued about this car, I fear I will need to super-glu leaks after every trip!

I'll only be puttering around town on ordinary roads- around 50km a day during the week, 400km on the weekend and the odd 2000-4000km trip thrown in. No terrifying off roading until I am sure it's not gonna fall apart on me:)
 






What’s still actually wrong with it? I’d say just drive the damned thing already and fix it as it breaks.

No matter how much you fix it, it’s still gonna break.
 






Ditto, drive it and enjoy it while you consider any new things it needs. It is way easier to fix one that is driveable, then something that has issues that stop it from functioning, which makes it much harder to figure out.

Take some pictures and drive it more and more, as you feel comfortable with it.
 






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