How many miles with the rattle? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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How many miles with the rattle?

adu1982

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October 10, 2012
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Year, Model & Trim Level
'00 4dr Explorer XLT
So, as per title How many miles have you driven with the rattle before getting chain guides fixed ? or before one of the chains broke leaving you stranded?

Does the chain rattle gets very very loud ? does it cause shakes at idle or speeds? before finally braking?

To kinda give myself some time frame and others that are facing this issue i've created this thread. My rattle is not loud and no shakes, what i found in the pan was tensioner guide plastic and metal bands, and i bought truck at 210k , now is at about 225k. I've read some drove from rattle at 50-60k to 250-300k when they sold, crashed, or junked their exploder so... hence ...not having an air compressor, engine lift, etc... Truck repair only costed me 1k and the purchase price 2500 was what i got for my totaled concorde so..... i'm fixing as i go.....and as getting better tools maybe i will fix it ... or just live with untill the sound gets too loud or it breaks and dies.....:eek::D

I guess for me is : 9 months or 15k . Previous owner don't know, i bought it at 210k so god knows, but judging by no ac, original struts almost rusted all out, hub wheels making louder noise than radio at mid level, i'm guessing chain was not a priority for him.

So about how many miles / months / years after you heard the rattle did you drive your exploder???
 



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Hi, i've got 125K on my sploder and have heard the rattle for the past 20K (it may have been there longer but i only started paying attention after reading this forum). I have the typical 2100rpm rattle that goes away as the engine shifts and less torque is on the engine. I'm having a hard time buying new tires because my mind is always wondering how long it will last and how much more money do I want to throw into it. I'll have to say I do love the vehicle and would considering a rebuilt or even a salvaged motor for a replacement if it could guarantee me a few more years. Unfortunately, I have no back up vehicle at this point and I drive it every day 70miles for work. I 'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best for now.
 






i bought an '01 SOHC over a year ago (i didn't know any better at the time) showed 129k (not sure how many miles it really had - salvaged title) rattled pretty bad then and 40k later it still rattles, sometimes worse that others. sometimes runs rough and sometimes runs fine. i don't know how far it'll go but i'm gonna find out as i'm not willing to put any money into this motor. when to craps out, if everthing else is still okay, i'll put in an '05 stang engine. for now i'm just changing the oil every 4-5k.
 












When one of the chains "give" the SOHC engine is usually toasted (interference engine).
So... I would fix it sooner than latter, especially if you drive long trips and don't have AAA.
 






like i said i might get to it since i'm tending to keep the truck for a while, but i'm starting to think it might be ok. By the way the truck was maintained by previous owner, I doubght the chains were ever cared for, and still it has about 225 now and i got it at 25k. Sound is the same.
 






Mine probably went 40k+ and it rattled BAD. I don't think there was an intact tensioner when I pulled it apart. One chain was cutting through a bolt that used to hold the timing cassette. I coulda fixed it, but at 180k+ it jumped time, and I put another engine in it.
 






My 97 has around 320KM on it, Its rattled for over a year on and off (or more) , the last 150KM . I do know the front timing chain cam Tensioner needs replacing but after two weeks of searching for the part or the 00m12 kit in Canada I might just give up and find one that has more life in it in a Pick and pull. since i already replaced the intake gaskets last year.

Oddly the last 2-3 days since i did a oil flush with some heavy duty cleaner and some fresh oil the rattle has gone away for the most part. at least when its all warmed up. before it was pretty loud when warmed up. Must be one of the ports on the Tensioner blocked. Taking off the air intake soon so il take the valve covers off and see if i can check how well the guides are.
 






The engine rattle gets louder, and your power is sacrificed greatly. My 99 is now on its second motor, the first one got soo bad that you could hear rattle at any rpm. New motor had 121 when I put it in, has rattled since the damn day i fired it up. its actually VERY irritating knowing there's not a damn thing you can do about it without spending a lot of money. Switch to synthetic oils and use an oil filter with an anti-drainback valve and it will help with that dreadful startup rattle.
 






New motor had 121 when I put it in, has rattled since the damn day i fired it up.
When you had the new(er) motor out, before putting it inside the bay, you could do the guides replacement very easy. Sorry...
 






Mine rattled for about 38K miles, then the trans blew.

The next rattle I hear out of that engine compartment will be the rattle of a diesel firing up.
 






Sonic. Up here in Canada the CHEAPEST I can get the timing chain set is $1200, the tensioners are $130 for the front, and $105 for the rear. Not to mention all the gaskets needed to fix it and the timing tool set. The parts for that option alone would run me $2000. Stupid Canada. I read all over here that parts in america are DIRT cheap and I'm going WELL WTF WHY CAN'T IT BE LIKE THAT HERE. Anyways, that's my reason. I also don't have another vehicle to drive so taking another 10 hours to do all the work to the engine wasn't an option.
 






Mine has rattled since approximately 40K...it now has 187K. Believe it or not it really hasn't gotten any worse. I run synthetic oil and change it every 5-6K. I don't plan on fixing it and will run the thing until it blows up. The way it's going though, that will not be for a long time.....this truck is a beast. My daughter keeps hoping it will blow up as she wants to get something "cuter"...like an Escape......ahhh no!!!!
 






i bought a 2000 Tropic Green XLT back in early july with 221k miles. one owner, SOHC v6. had a horrible death rattle when you first started it for a few seconds when motor was cold. the day after i bought it, the death rattle on the front bank started. the engine lasted another day and then blew up an left me stranded. i dunno how the dealer i bought it from doctored it up because there was barely any noise at all when i test drove it.

my 97 that i have now has a pretty bad rattle coming from the rear bank. front banks are good and quiet no noise there. rattle started around 130k on mine and im at 143k now. its getting worse, now i can hear it rattle around when i revv it and sometimes when im driving it. hoping it holds out till summer. not putting any money into the engine, its getting replace with a SOHC out of a 05 Mustang when it goes.
 






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