!!!!huge problem!!!!

[chowchowjp]

thanks ...... I think the noise is comming from the cam chain tensioners.... how do u find out what models had a recall as our dealers here dont know much idea on these things. And the ford site was not too much help to us.
Ah and yes we have the 4.0 sohc

 

[Robert]

All SOHC Explorers built through April 7, 2000 were affected by the faulty camshaft tensioners. 00M12

All '97 & '98 SOHC Explorers were affected by the faulty camshaft chain guides. 01M01

 

[Bigred08046]

Same thing here but flex plate was replaced 1st. Drove 15 miles OD lite back on. $265 later said it was a valve. 10 miles later od lite back on. Now they say torque converter $250 cause they screwed up. Am I gettin shafted??

 

[chowchowjp]

Bigred

Is your vechile shifting funny, going into any of the gears hard? whilst the od light is on?

 

[chowchowjp]

robert

Our x was has 2 diff plates stating diff years 1 says nov 1996 which is a smaller plate, the other one is 1 1997 I am gathering as it is registered as a 1997 the 1996 plate is for the body.

 

[fordkrazy]

the VIN will tell you the correct model year
the other date stamps are probably for body peices that changed a little in 96 but some will say 95 as thats the first year of that body style

you may have an early 97 model that was built in mid to late 96 which is why your getting conflicting dates.

either way if you have the SOHC and have never had the recall performed then you should have it done.

 

[chowchowjp]

heres what the dealer says on recall

After talking to the local dealer... and then ford Australia head office they state this..
The warranty given on a vechile here is 130,000 kilometres or 4 years. The warrenty in America is supposably 160,000 kilometres or 6 years. Its going to be conflicting on which one will over power the other. Now your saying that faulty camshaft chain guides where a tsb over there does that mean that ford pays the expence for the repair? is there a cut off point in warranty? or is it open?
We appreciate any information on recall ,tsb, warranty issues as ford here really dont want to know about it and we can see that we need all the info we can get to throw back at them seeing it is a fully imported vechile.
Our dealer did not even know about the recall or extended warranty so as you can see we are up for a FIGHT lol

 

[fordkrazy]

well warranties and recalls are country specific. the only reason there was a recall here was because the US has lemon laws and require companies with product that has a common defect to be recalled and repaired at no cost. so i dont know what the situation there is but im sure the TSB is the same...as far as the recall...i dont know.

 

[TPLYNCH]

The 00M12 program extended the warranty on the parts specific to that program to 5years/72,000 miles. 01M01 is good to 100,000 miles. These are NOT recalls, just warranty extensions on the particular parts involved in these programs. If the parts are found to be defective within the milage (which 99% are), then Ford repairs for free.

 

[OZexplore]

......" I think the noise is comming from the cam chain tensioners.... how do u find out what models had a recall as our dealers here dont know much idea on these things. And the ford site was not too much help to us.
Ah and yes we have the 4.0 sohc"
chow


i got mine done at the dealer
took it in told them of a rattle in the engine 2 days later took it back &they did it no questions no hassles nothing they even cleaned the injectors and also replaced the manifold gaskets cost$0000000
cant complain great job great service if you want any more info gavisan@tpg.com.au hope this helps
get it done soon as warranty is 6yrs/135,000klm i think

 

[OZexplore]

the 1/97 is delivery in australia
warranty is from date of first sale of car
mine was done under used car warranty so i dont think they would have done it that easily if the money was coming out of there pocket when it was done it was over 4 years old by only 2 months hurry up and get it done its an $850.00 repair job

ps dont mention this to ford as my dealer may have fudged the numbers

 

[OZexplore]

today seen local dealer & he said that the warranty extension was stopped by ford in sept02 the dealer were mine was done has changed ownership &they knew nothing about it
rang ford in melbourne and said they didn't have extended warranty on it but they knew it was a part that had a premature failure rate & it would be taken into account when being fixed i assume this means you may get some sort of discount on the repair in relation to the miles that it has done & age of the vehicle

now the big problem is finding a dealer who has some idea about it may be where you originally purchased it
a dealer that sells alot of them pull up another X owner &ask them or go all out & P*ss it of altogether & buy a new XR6 turbo or the V8 sorry i cant be of more assistance im just glad i got mine fixed

gavin

 

[OZexplore]

CHOW

i just read your other post on the cam chain and with 150,000 klm you are past the extend warranty that they get in theUSA sorry to tell you this but you are going to have to cough up the full price i suspect which i think is about $850 sorry for the bad news but get it fixed asap its still a lot cheaper than a new motor

gavin

 

[chowchowjp]

ozexplore

Thanks for your information.......
but we have been on the phone to customer service at ford australia. They are stating that once a claim has been put in , ford should cover the repair costs seeing that it was a fault. We have also been told that there was a 100,000 miles warranty put on the part. So we are hoping tht when the car goes to ford on monday that we can get them to except the claim and pay for the repairs.
The price we have been given is $1500 just for the motor to be taken out and checked. Price of all timming chain guides, tensioner, sprokets and chain total $662.00 just for the parts without labour. Thats also just the front timming chain not the back. So as you can see its going to be a very expensive job as the motor has to be pulled out so they can check to see if that is 100% the problem from there the claim has to go in and be processed. If its not excepted customer service have stated that we need to contact them and they will take it further. They were pretty positive that they will cover the cost of repairs.
So fingers crossed we will know more in the comming weeks.

 

[chowchowjp]

Thanks all for your help!

Thank you everyone for all of your help, and information we will keep you all informed on the progress. No doubt we will be posting back regular for more info if it becomes a fight to get ford to pay. Also please note any prices we have entered have been in Australian dollars.


OH and by the way if it does'nt work our way anyone want to buy a cheap explorer LOL

 

[TPLYNCH]

Round up.... AUD 2,500/1.68 = $1,488 USD

Still a pretty penny no matter how you look at it.

 

[Robert]

The procedure to check if the cassette is damaged does not require the removal of the engine. The engine also does not require removal if the only cassette they are replacing is the front one. The radiator as well as the front engine cover need to be removed, but not the engine. Here is the procedure to verify if the cassette is bad:

Inspection
1. Is engine running?

^ Yes, continue to step 2.

^ No, go to step 6.


2. Check the engine oil level before performing the inspection. Add oil, if necessary.

3. NOTE : The engine should be cold.

Start engine and listen for excessive cam chain noise at the front (left) cam chain.

Also, observe the motor to determine if it is running smooth or rough at idle.

^ If noise goes away within five minutes, check OASIS and perform 00M12 if appropriate.

^ If noise persists, continue with the inspection procedure.



VEHICLES WITH ENGINE RUNNING SMOOTH

4. Remove the left and right valve cover. Refer to Valve Covers in Section 303-01B in the appropriate Workshop Manual.

5. Inspect the left cam, right cam and upper valve train for damage caused by lack of lubrication.

^ If there is damage to the cam(s) or valve train, contact the Special Service Support Center at 1-800-325-5621.

^ If the cams and valve train are not damaged, perform CAMSHAFT CASSETTE REPLACEMENT.



ENGINE RUNNING ROUGH (OR NOT RUNNING)

6. Remove the left valve cover. Refer to Valve Covers in Section 303-01B in the appropriate Workshop Manual.

7. Inspect the left cam and upper valve train for damage caused by lack of lubrication.

^ If there is damage to the cam or valve train, contact the Special Service Support Center at 1-800-325-5621.

^ If the cam and valve train are not damaged, continue with the inspection procedure.


8. Perform a cylinder leakage test on the left cylinder bank as follows.

A. Remove the camshaft roller followers from the left side of the engine. Refer to Roller Followers in Section 303-01B in the appropriate Workshop Manual.

B. Remove the spark plugs from the left side of the engine.

C. For each cylinder, install the Rotunda Engine Cylinder Leak Detector/Air Pressurization kit, 014-00708 or equivalent, into the spark plug hole.

D. NOTE: Since the cam followers have been removed, all the valves on the left cylinder bank will be closed. Therefore, it is not necessary to bring the pistons to top dead center during the leakdown test.

Pressurize each cylinder with compressed air and read the cylinder leakage gauge.

^ If any cylinder has a reading in excess of 50 percent, contact the Special Service Support Center at 1-800-325-5621.

^ If all of the cylinders have a reading of 50 percent or less, continue with the inspection procedure.



9. Remove the right valve cover. Refer to Valve Covers in Section 303-01B in the appropriate Workshop Manual.

10. Inspect the right cam and upper valve train for damage caused by lack of lubrication.

^ If there is damage to the cam or valve train, contact the Special Service Support Center at 1-800-325-5621.

^ If the cam and valve train are not damaged, perform CAMSHAFT CASSETTE REPLACEMENT.

 

[chowchowjp]

robert

The procedure to check if the cassette is damaged does not require the removal of the engine. The engine also does not require removal if the only cassette they are replacing is the front one. The radiator as well as the front engine cover need to be removed, but not the engine. Here is the procedure to verify if the cassette is bad:

Thats really interesting .... here they are stating they need to take the motor out to know if the timming chain, guides or tensioner are faulty or which one is faulty. Like we previously stated they are charging $1500 So are we being shafted????????

 

[Robert]

The procedure I posted above is Ford's procedure to check the condition of the cassette (front). To check the rear one though, the engine will have to be pulled. Ford however states that the rear one is not usually the source of the problems so it isn't covered under 01M01 and Ford usually won't go through the trouble of checking it until after they have verified that the problem is not related to the front cassette. I don't think you are being shafted, just that your dealer doesn't understand Ford's procedure for verifying the problem. If everything ends up getting covered under your warranty then at least it won't cost you anything. The problem is that if they pull the engine and find out it isn't related to the cassettes, you will have to pay the $1500 to find that out when it wasn't necessary.

 

[Robert]

I just had a thought though. Remember that this procedure applies to the U.S. version Explorer. I'm not sure how much different the Aussy version might be. Is yours perhaps right hand drive? Even if it were, I can't think of any reason that would prevent them from checking the cassette using Ford's procedure.