Help with my 2003 Explorer.

[Liska]

Hi Everyone! I registered a while ago to read about keeping and maintaning it to a high level of mileage, but never got around to posting anything. I've got a 2003 Ford Explorer sport that I love, and has treated me well thus far- even in 4 feet of snow! I just hit 116,400 miles.

Anyway, my question is- this last Friday, my check Engine light came on. It isn't blinking (otherwise I wouldn't be driving it) and i'm getting frustrated. I took it into the shop, the computer diagonsed it as the Oxygen sensors, so we replaced those and it went off for half a day... then came back on. I'm short on money, and haven't taken it back to the shop yet. Does anyone have any idea as to what this could be? It came back on after I had just filled my car with gas- and I did check to make sure that the gas cap was properly put back on.

The other thing is- my car is running fantastically. In fact, it's running better than it's ever run before and it's nice and spiffy in terms of accelration, etc-- but my check engine light is still on. I've been listening closely for unusual sounds, hesitations, and nothing.

How should I go about getting the problem solved? Am I OK to drive it until next month, in which i will have more money to be able to put into the car, or is there another route I should take? I've been searching around on google all morning and i just can't find enough information to where i'm comfortable.

Thanks for your help!

 

[jad2411]

Hi Liska, get your codes read and do a search here in the forum for solutions, autozone does it for free in some states, you can give them a try...

 

[LONO100]

i just replaced an O2 sensor myself, its odd that its still on and it is running great. do you smell fuel at all when you are at a light or in park with the engine running?

 

[Liska]

Hi Liska, get your codes read and do a search here in the forum for solutions, autozone does it for free in some states, you can give them a try...

I'll go out and do that during lunch, then come back

i just replaced an O2 sensor myself, its odd that its still on and it is running great. do you smell fuel at all when you are at a light or in park with the engine running?

I thought so, too, but i'm very car sensitive and if anything was weird, i'd notice it right away. There's no smell of fuel for either situation; the only different smell it's got at the moment for a day or so after getting it serviced was the smell of the shop I had it in...

 

[LONO100]

getting your codes read again somewhere else would be a good idea, the only thing i could think of based on the first reading being your O2 sensor would be that you got a defective replacement or maybe you might have dinged up the actual sensor part when you installed it. im not a professional mechanic, but i have a little knowledge on it being that ive replaced those things a bunch of times. do you remember a moment in which that thing may have been dropped or banged around while you put it in? this might sound stupid, but are you sure the plug is plugged in cleanly and all the way?

 

[Liska]

getting your codes read again somewhere else would be a good idea, the only thing i could think of based on the first reading being your O2 sensor would be that you got a defective replacement or maybe you might have dinged up the actual sensor part when you installed it. im not a professional mechanic, but i have a little knowledge on it being that ive replaced those things a bunch of times. do you remember a moment in which that thing may have been dropped or banged around while you put it in? this might sound stupid, but are you sure the plug is plugged in cleanly and all the way?

I'll admit to being auto- ignorant.. i took it to my local mechanic shop and got it replaced there. In the past, these guys have always taken good care of me and have never taken me for a ride (even though they could have, multiple times!). How abouts do I go out checking? I obviously need to learn, but i'm a bit girly in these car things!

 

[jad2411]

When I got my codes read, AZ sold me an O2 sensor, it turned out to be something else, so just get the codes, come here and look for other issues that could trigger the code, that way you can check before you start buying random parts that you might or might not need

 

[Liska]

When I got my codes read, AZ sold me an O2 sensor, it turned out to be something else, so just get the codes, come here and look for other issues that could trigger the code, that way you can check before you start buying random parts that you might or might not need

To be honest, i didn't even think about coming here at the time I ran into the problem. I'm a professional photographer, and had a shoot with a major model that I had to pick up the next day, and I didn't want my car to die in the middle of our shoot She was ####ing awesome and well worth it

i'll find the code out this afternoon

 

[Liska]

Okay, so I went to autozone to get the codes, and to also get the light reset to see if comes back on.

The codes the autozone computer read was P0171 & P0174 . I called the shop I got it originally fixed at to ask, and it only read P0171 when they read it.

Granted, for now the light is off-- i'll see if it comes back on-- but any ideas from anyone if it does turn on again?

 

[enyaw]

I had an 02 sensor give problems for a while, had the light reset several times, never replaced it but changed where I got gas, it has been off now for over a year . Just my own theory.

 

[Liska]

I had an 02 sensor give problems for a while, had the light reset several times, never replaced it but changed where I got gas, it has been off now for over a year . Just my own theory.

My car runs better on this other brand of gas, vs the grocery store brand i'm going too right now- except the latter is closer to my house (2 minutes). I'll try the better place, and see if that makes a difference as well. I'm just happy i'm not somewhere having to get a new car. i LOVE my explorer.

Fingers crossed

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site.

 

[jad2411]

Read this, might help:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=314575

If it does, then I'll deserve pix of said model :

 

[Liska]

Welcome to the site.

Thank you

Read this, might help:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=314575

If it does, then I'll deserve pix of said model :

That gives me a few ideas! Thanks.

And not my pics (can't post em yet) but here's the model:
or http://www.belonoha.com/

 

[jad2411]

lol, wasn't expecting that kind of pix, so you might wanna remove the links before you get in trouble here, PG13 forum...

 

[Glen4X4]

You asked for them Mr. Jad2411 : 2nd link doesn't work lol. But yeah you may get into some hot water for that link lol.

 

[bigdaddyike]

I have an 01 sport trac with 4.0L and an 01 ranger 2.5L both 2wd are the rearend the same

 

[Glen4X4]

I have an 01 sport trac with 4.0L and an 01 ranger 2.5L both 2wd are the rearend the same

You should have searched then posted a new thread instead of posting in someone else's thread. But anyway no the rear ends are not the same and do not mount the same but can be interchanged.

 

[Liska]

Whoops, sorry I fixed it to the one "work safe" link. Heheh. no, i don't shoot nudes, but she IS pretty awesome, and sweet too.

Anyway, since i'm home, i figured I should be more detailed.. this is my explorer out front of my house, right after I had backed it out of my driveway in 2 feet snow:

I got it 2 years ago from my a local ford dealer in CA (used, of course. It's a 2003 and I think i got it in 07 or 08?) and apparently one of the last gens of the 2 door explorers, which makes me really sad.

I've towed hot air balloons with it, gone off roading, driven it through the worst snow and ice storms in 30 years, and it's survived 3 tornado producing storms and marble & golf ball sized hail without a dent.

WOO

 

[Liska]

You should have searched then posted a new thread instead of posting in someone else's thread. But anyway no the rear ends are not the same and do not mount the same but can be interchanged.

It's OK, i don't mind. As long as someone gets their question answered