thammel
Active Member
- Joined
- September 20, 2004
- Messages
- 93
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Baltimore, MD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002 XLS
This will probably be long - maybe a bit funny too!
I got my 2002 xls Explorer 4.0l about 6 years ago used. From day one there have been issues, most of the ones everyone else has experienced. I wish I'd known about the Uhaul problem about not renting to Explorers but I've managed to live with it (and get around it!)
I've had the following problems; broken rear springs, bad rear wheel bearings (twice!), rear parking brakes shot, screwy electrical system doing the beep-lock thing, timing chain tensioner noise (never fixed, just annoying!), ABS sender on differential went bad, EGR sender went bad.
Ok that's enough of a list at 108k miles but check out this latest problem - the transmission...
I had the flashing OD light and my scan tool told me it was probably the torque converter solenoid. Ok, maybe I'll replace it. I procrastinate and then after about 3 weeks it stops flashing. Great! One less job to do - maybe the dirt flushed through the system an it's ok now?! Wrong. About 2 weeks ago I'm driving home from church and there's a clunk/bang and I know something is not right. The trans is starting to act funny and I think I've lost OD. Going up the hill to my house, I'm losing more than OD, I'm losing all ability to propel the vehicle. I make it about 50 feet from my house and that's all I can do. We call AAA and have it towed to the local trans shop. Next day he says, yup, the trans is no good. NO FOOLIN!!! He wants to put in a Jasper for $3500. I say no, that car is worth only a little more than that Why didn't I do the cash for clunkers?????!!!) I find a cheap shop in the city of Baltimore that'll do it for $1700! And they'll give me a year warranty for $2000 and 2 years for $2500 and lifetime for $3000! I go for the year deal.
Now the fun starts.
They tell me it's ready. I pick it up and pay the 2 grand and drive it back to work. Wait a minute....it's clunking back to neutral at stop lights when still in drive... and wait another minute, what's this terrible vibration above 45????
I drive home, jack it up and check. Well, they said they rebuild it and put it back in. No way - it's not the same trans. Ok, big deal. But why are there only 3 of the 4 prop shaft to diff flange bolts in? And why is one of the rear trans mount bolts only in half way? I make a list and get the car back to them. They work on it and I go back to get it and drive it back to work. Same horrible vibration but the trans is working better. I go right back to the shop and they check it out and fix it. What was wrong?? The prop shaft bolts were loose!!!! Didn't you look at my list, you idiots???!!! They say there's another problem that they'll fix for free - a transfer case seal leak. Well, I knew there was leak - there was a crack at the drain plug (idiot me overtightened the plug causing the crack but I'd repaired it with good old JB weld, which worker really well. I told them about this but he said they'd change the seal. I said ok. Now more fun starts.
They're going to take me back to work with one of their cars - about a 10 mile drive. Half way there on I83 just north of the Baltimore Beltway, I smell something burning. What's going on? Holy Sh*t! The car is burning and smoke is coming out the console! We pull over and ATF is pouring out all over the ground (this was a Kia Optima). Flames start dancing on the hood, the driver calls 911 and the fire dept comes and rips into the hood (funny - the hood release would have been a whole lot faster and easier!) and settles things down. My wife picks me up and said we made the news re a car fire on I-83.
That fun is over and I wait for the car. I call the place on Monday and said he had bad news for me - that the transfer case was cracked. I KNOW - I told you that!!!!! Giving him credit, he gave me another transfer case installed for $450. Not bad. I picked up the car today and everything finally works well.
Moral to the story
1) you get what you pay for
2) Don't ignore AT warnings
3) Don't overtighten transfer case plugs
The last issue - a quiz for all the experts.
My left rear tire has been slowly leaking. I pulled it and thoroughly doused it with soapy solution and could not detect any bubbles for source of the leak. On a whim I grabbed the hub and found that the left rear bearing was bad so I bought a new Timken one and new hub and did the full replacement (yes, new parking brakes, etc) thinking maybe this somehow caused the slow air leak. I did this just before the trans problems. Today the tire was low on air pressure again. I pulled it tonight and doused it again thoroughly with soapy solution and could see absolutely no leak. Any ideas? I wish I had a swimming pool to submerge it in. I'll keep checking pressure on a near daily basis.
Tom
I got my 2002 xls Explorer 4.0l about 6 years ago used. From day one there have been issues, most of the ones everyone else has experienced. I wish I'd known about the Uhaul problem about not renting to Explorers but I've managed to live with it (and get around it!)
I've had the following problems; broken rear springs, bad rear wheel bearings (twice!), rear parking brakes shot, screwy electrical system doing the beep-lock thing, timing chain tensioner noise (never fixed, just annoying!), ABS sender on differential went bad, EGR sender went bad.
Ok that's enough of a list at 108k miles but check out this latest problem - the transmission...
I had the flashing OD light and my scan tool told me it was probably the torque converter solenoid. Ok, maybe I'll replace it. I procrastinate and then after about 3 weeks it stops flashing. Great! One less job to do - maybe the dirt flushed through the system an it's ok now?! Wrong. About 2 weeks ago I'm driving home from church and there's a clunk/bang and I know something is not right. The trans is starting to act funny and I think I've lost OD. Going up the hill to my house, I'm losing more than OD, I'm losing all ability to propel the vehicle. I make it about 50 feet from my house and that's all I can do. We call AAA and have it towed to the local trans shop. Next day he says, yup, the trans is no good. NO FOOLIN!!! He wants to put in a Jasper for $3500. I say no, that car is worth only a little more than that Why didn't I do the cash for clunkers?????!!!) I find a cheap shop in the city of Baltimore that'll do it for $1700! And they'll give me a year warranty for $2000 and 2 years for $2500 and lifetime for $3000! I go for the year deal.
Now the fun starts.
They tell me it's ready. I pick it up and pay the 2 grand and drive it back to work. Wait a minute....it's clunking back to neutral at stop lights when still in drive... and wait another minute, what's this terrible vibration above 45????
I drive home, jack it up and check. Well, they said they rebuild it and put it back in. No way - it's not the same trans. Ok, big deal. But why are there only 3 of the 4 prop shaft to diff flange bolts in? And why is one of the rear trans mount bolts only in half way? I make a list and get the car back to them. They work on it and I go back to get it and drive it back to work. Same horrible vibration but the trans is working better. I go right back to the shop and they check it out and fix it. What was wrong?? The prop shaft bolts were loose!!!! Didn't you look at my list, you idiots???!!! They say there's another problem that they'll fix for free - a transfer case seal leak. Well, I knew there was leak - there was a crack at the drain plug (idiot me overtightened the plug causing the crack but I'd repaired it with good old JB weld, which worker really well. I told them about this but he said they'd change the seal. I said ok. Now more fun starts.
They're going to take me back to work with one of their cars - about a 10 mile drive. Half way there on I83 just north of the Baltimore Beltway, I smell something burning. What's going on? Holy Sh*t! The car is burning and smoke is coming out the console! We pull over and ATF is pouring out all over the ground (this was a Kia Optima). Flames start dancing on the hood, the driver calls 911 and the fire dept comes and rips into the hood (funny - the hood release would have been a whole lot faster and easier!) and settles things down. My wife picks me up and said we made the news re a car fire on I-83.
That fun is over and I wait for the car. I call the place on Monday and said he had bad news for me - that the transfer case was cracked. I KNOW - I told you that!!!!! Giving him credit, he gave me another transfer case installed for $450. Not bad. I picked up the car today and everything finally works well.
Moral to the story
1) you get what you pay for
2) Don't ignore AT warnings
3) Don't overtighten transfer case plugs
The last issue - a quiz for all the experts.
My left rear tire has been slowly leaking. I pulled it and thoroughly doused it with soapy solution and could not detect any bubbles for source of the leak. On a whim I grabbed the hub and found that the left rear bearing was bad so I bought a new Timken one and new hub and did the full replacement (yes, new parking brakes, etc) thinking maybe this somehow caused the slow air leak. I did this just before the trans problems. Today the tire was low on air pressure again. I pulled it tonight and doused it again thoroughly with soapy solution and could see absolutely no leak. Any ideas? I wish I had a swimming pool to submerge it in. I'll keep checking pressure on a near daily basis.
Tom
