Loving my Explorer even more!

[92'WhiteWolf]

So today I decided to change out my thermostat in my 92' with 126K on it. I run a mechanical temp gauge in the cabin to get a more accurate reading(never liked the dummy dash gauges), but it has never pushed the needle past 150 degrees and I wasn't getting good heat out of the vents. Thinking the stat could be suspect, I went ahead and purchased a new 195 degree w/ seal, and also went ahead and changed out the ECT temp sensor while I was in there. Once the water neck came off, I noticed that the thermostat looked to be either original or hadn't been changed in ages, and also looked to be slightly stuck in the open position. I cleaned the mating surfaces up and installed the new stat. Put a little antifreeze mix in the radiator and cranked it up to start the burping process. I originally tried putting the truck on ramps prior to starting the job, but my carport is smooth concrete and it just wasn't happening lol. I would have also just jacked the front end up, but didn't have a jack that I thought would raise the front of the truck up substantially enough to burp. Anyway, it took me about an hour with the truck sitting on level ground to bleed what I thought seemed to be all the air out of the system. I did drain most of what was in the radiator before I started the job because I wanted to put fresh coolant in the system. Did that create an even bigger air pocket? My question is, how do you know when its done burping? It just seemed to keep spewing it out every couple minutes. Either way I finally was able to top it off, put the cap on it and went for a test drive. The needle never got over the 198ish degree mark and the heat will blast you out now which is great! It seems to even have made the truck have more power too! Overall I'm very happy with the outcome of this job done.

 

[gmbroy]

A lot of people say the 4.0 loves the 195 , i run a 180 & my heat will run you out of the ex also . I have over 315,00 on my 1991 . I paid 800 for it 5 years ago & have put over 70,000 miles on it . the a4ld trans is slowly fading away . the rust is growing . these first gen are the last true shade tree mechanic auto . the thermostat should have a little jiggle valve on them . that goes at 12 oclock . I fill it up run it till the thermostat opens then fill up . then i just fill up the reservoir & Let it fill itself & just check on the reservoir for every now & then . hope this helps you some . if you need more help you be sure to ask , you will never find a better forum or better people working towards a common goal . best of luck to you .

 

[92'WhiteWolf]

It's actually funny you say that broy. I bought a 195 with the jiggle valve assuming that the previous owner installed a 180 lol. I parked it on an incline tonight to see if I could burp the system some more, and once the engine heated up it did spew for a few minutes, but I had the needle moving between 180-200 on my mechanical auto meter. So hopefully I've gotten most of the air out we'll see tomorrow. I also do have a couple small rust spots on the bottoms below my rear doors, but that's no big deal to me, the rest of the body is great. As for the A4LD, I have a couple questions. How can you tell when the transmission is getting weak? I have 126k on my ex, is it a major risk to drop the trans pan and swap filter and replace the fluid drained, maybe with a bottle of lubgard red or something? Just wanna prolong this ex as long as I can because I really love this truck. Thanks again for the response broy!

 

[gmbroy]

the first thing you might see is when its cold it will not want to shift out of first gear . slippage is a sure sign . me personally im not a big fan of dropping the pan or flushing the trans unless it has been done on a regular basis . . i change the fluid every 30,000 miles . you can go to a transmission shop that can exchange the fluid . or you can do it yourself by using the fluid return line , just add in new fluid at the rate it pumps out . i use 4 gallons to exchange all the fluid . you can search this forum there is a ton of info on just about anything here . there is even threads on how to attach an external filter on the transmission . the biggest enemy of the a4ld is heat . if you do not have a factory cooler on your trans , put one on it . hope this helps you out

 

[92'WhiteWolf]

Usually I'll let my ex warm up a little bit every time before I drive it, just because I've never been a big fan of just jumping in, cranking up and going. I'm not a huge fan of taking my truck to let a shop do "iffy" jobs like that because I never know what they might do to my vehicle differently than how I would've done it. You get where I'm coming from I'm sure lol. I really would like to do a pan drop and change the filter and fluid, but like you said broy, it's better to know the service history before doing something like that. I do know I am the 3rd owner. First being owned by an older gentleman from VA for 13 years, and then sold to a city close to where I'm located for a Parks & Recreation dept. vehicle, until I purchased it from a govdeals website they listed it on. While they had it, it did not get driven very much, as those PARD vehicles do sit for weeks at a time sometimes not being driven. It does have the factory cooler mounted just in front of the radiator towards the drivers side, but I would like to upgrade to a larger cooler and just try to mount it in the same location as the factory one. Anything to keep the temp down on this a4ld is going to be a plus. It's not that mine is shifting hard or slipping by any means, but just want to make sure none of that starts to happen in the future.

 

[gmbroy]

Amen to that , the cooler that tranny stays the better . you could just hook the new trans cooler up to the factory one , but if you get a larger one you will not need to . I will let a shop do exhaust work , but i am pretty much **** retentive myself . I get in no hurry working on my auto , i take my time & do a really good job , clean well use anti seize on bolts , dielectric grease on connectors ... etc . Most shops just do really crappy work these days . I would change that fluid in the tranny , that really helps these a4ld trans. the fluid should come out of the bottom of the radiator to the trans cooler then back to the tranny . there is where i unhook the rubber hose to change my fluid . i have a friend help me also . just be sure to add as fast as it pumps into your container . do not let the pump suck air . you could add an inline magnafine filter to help keep the fluid clean . you keep the oil changed & take care of your explorer & she will last you a long time & give you many good miles of service . we are here if you need us .