My X eats more $ in parts than GAS!!!

[ANMAN]

It can't be just me, but my 1998 Explorer can’t go for more than two weeks without wanting another $150 for who knows what. When I get a new problem and the first thing I do is search the forums and I find fifteen threads here how people try to fix it....WTF

Given, my car does have 145k on it, but the previous owner obviously a woman who commuted long distances (hairs, highway tickets) babied this garage queen to the extreme, and many parts are brand new on it...torsion bars, e-brake cable, plug wires, premium shocks, ball joints, front CV joints, transmission intercooler, fuel filter, fuel lines, alternator, exhaust, etc. But it still manages to eat parts like a *******.

Ball joints (despite directions said to replace the lower control arm) $100
Alternator $150
Idler pulley $10, but nasty to replace
Wheel Bearing $155
another Wheel bearing (it's 3rd) $155
front drive shaft (CV went bad) $185
driver's door latch, wouldn’t open/unlock $115
Chaffed air bag wires $200 (in shop)
little normal stuff: like plugs,belt,fluids,adjusted torsion bars,3 U-joints,tires
Owned it for 7 months!!

Yet...
Engine skips
Transfer case whines loudly
Front suspension clunks loudly
Loud rattle (not the exhaust) suspected in the rear door.
More to come.

And when I went to the shop to get the chaffed air bag wires fixed, I mentioned whining from the engine...I got charged 45 minutes 50 of my dollars so the mechanic could say it was the alternator, oh yeah and added that my e-break cables should be replaced at a substantial sum and a dozen hours in the shop despite both being brand new...what a f'n scam...I did the work myself and had the part identified (idler pulley $9) and replaced in less time than it took for him to diagnose it. And for the break cable...wtf he said that I might not be able to get it inspected if they don't replace it....despite having never had inspection give a damn about it.

Having been a GM/Jeep guy I dove into a Ford, probably because of some sick craving for punishment...I am not going to own another Ford till I have proof it won't be a garage queen.

 

[Robb]

Okay Thanks!

 

[DeRocha]

So you bought a 7yr+ old car with 145K and it has problems what a surprise .. I'm positive no other used vehicle for any manufacturer has ever had such problems ..

Robb what kind of cheese goes best with the wine in this thread?

 

[project92]

okay 3rd wheel bearing at $155 are they doing it right??????
replaced the alt becuase it was winny? I belive you are getting took by the garage!!

 

[Brian_B]

I get the feeling two things are going on here.

1. Your like my mom and every little rattle or squeek bothers her. Hence, she (and you probably) put it in the shop every time you hear something. Dad has found over the last 40 years its cheaper to buy her something new every couple of years than to pay the repair bills she runs up. (currently 2003 caravan-soon to be traded in)

2. Shops will find something to fix if you take a car in. You are a customer with a complaint. Do you think they will say there is nothing wrong, go home? Not likely or you would go somewhere else.

You are not doing the work yourself (from what I gathered), even after reading how to fix it on here. A shop charges a fortune. Thats part of the problem too. If you have 145K on a vehicle, you better either be rich or know how to fix it yourself.

You have 145k on the vehicle, of course things are going to make noise. Thats well over half the life of it (I would guess)

 

[Brett F.]

Mine has 220k on it and only have the rear main seal leak.

You're getting taken dude. Find a different shop to take it to.

 

[vervepipes]

98 xlt, 160000km's, only changed the battery and yet to change a rubber boot, owned for a year, before that it was owned by an employee at the ford dealer

 

[ExplorerSportNu]

Hey Justin - CRY ME A RIVER

 

[greenmtnboy]

Man, you whine more than my ex-wife. 145,000 miles huh! Where's your shop cause I definitely don't want them to do any work on my rig. 3rd wheel bearing... same side, man you are seriously getting screwed! Go find another shop that can guarantee their work! Oh by the way... Quit yer *****in'

 

[J. Anthony]

150k, runs great, makes noises too; but she doesn't make as much noise as you.

Anthony

 

[IZwack]

ahah u are getting suckered in by the shop.. just relax.. the ball joints was a good idea to replace tho.. i mean ur vehicle has quite a bit of miles on it so not a bad idea to replace the ball joints.. as for the wheel bearings, well dont replace em unless they wont turn or they're making a most foul murderous sound - as if something, maybe a pick axe, is about to come through ur floor... and maybe consider getting a manual (if u dont already have one) and start doing the work yourself.. the wheel bearings for example is simple enough to change and be job accomplished within 2 hrs or so

 

[huskyfan23]

Obviously it wasn't babied... Don't buy a vehicle that hasn't been taken care of or these are the problems you'll face. Chaffed airbag wires? WTF?!

 

[expo5.0]

wow- i think you guys are being a little to hard on this guy.

welcome to the site man. explorers certainly aren't "reliable" but are probably as reliable as most other used suv's etc..

i'm sure you'll be able to start getting problems fixed cheaper from a different place etc.

out of curiosity- what was the symptom of the chaffed air bag wire?

 

[IZwack]

ahah i wasnt hard on him.. i was just saying he was getting smashed by the shop.. anyways, yeah i forgot to welcome him.. so welcome ANMAN!!! see u at the slopes in a few months.

 

[DirtyDog]

out of curiosity- what was the symptom of the chaffed air bag wire?

Welcome. ^^^^^I was wondering the same thing myself^^^^^^

 

[ANMAN]

uh yeah, add new tie rods due to a nice shimmy in the front end...I can take pics of the faulty part if you wish. Right on time again for it's monthly breakdown

and only once did I take it to the shop

chaffed airbag wires were wires that were rubbed down to the metal and thereby shorted out, which was the item I wanted to trust to the shop, I don't like the risk of playing with airbag sensors

the wheel bearings were bad, you can feel the grinding in them when you spin them in your hand, common sense.

uh yeah thanks for the anecdotal evidence about oh my car has 400k and it ran perfect and all brands do have lemons, but per 100,000 I’ll believe the exploder is crap... as for anecdotal evidence of my own, the 93 grand Cherokee I owned had 189k after I put 20k on it with one bad alternator and the rear main oil seal going, other that "perfect!"

I will give you exploder guys this: they sure hold together better than a Blazer, not knowing from experience gladly.

As for the "wining" about every creek and rattle... uh ****ty cars creeks and rattles...[anecdotal evidence here from totally random vehicle] "well my 86 Pontiac le mans has 545k on it!"

I may have been hard on the X, rather frustrated on how I couldn't get out of my car completely at random and having to pry the panel off inside and pop all the connecting rods, took a while because they weren't standard right angle rods which you can pop off, rather they had a double right angle so it required a lot of maneuvering.

Sad though, this exploder design was made till 2002 and they commanded a price in the upper 20's or even up into the 30 thou range...and now, my 98 explorer has the same book as a 98 Civic which was originally bought for half, but atleast on this model ford the cruise control doesn't catch the veichle on fire!

 

[huskyfan23]

I think this is some guy who has such a hatred of Ford that he decided to join and annoy us with made up problems.

You're replacing parts you originally replaced earlier, so you say. Obviously someone is installing them wrong. Do you just come to this site to ***** about your truck? We don't care!

 

[ANMAN]

http://www.gstonemotors.com/ this is my shop... Uh, yeah I first came to this site to see how people modify and customize their rigs, some pretty nice! But jeeze I drive the thing for a while... check out http://www.carsurvey.org/modelyear_Ford_Explorer_1999.html half are negative. I try to love ford, a relative had a taurus and I owned an F250, transmission died at 90k on the first one and the F250 had the horrid 460 V8 that burns more oil than gasoline...yeah but I still hold hope for the newer explorers/mountianeers, they look damn sweet.

 

[thewishkah]

Well for your engine issues try seafoam, or cleaning the maf,adjusting the tps, new platinum plugs, saw you changed wires didnt see plugs in the list. After the alt was changed did the whine stop? because explorers are notorious for p/s whine no matter what you do to try and fix it, short of replacing it and bleeding it.
I came here just over a year ago and I have learned alot of things from this site , not knowing to much about explorers (owned a caprice and a 83 grand prix before). This site taught me alot and has saved me lots of time and money being able to diagnose something my self.Take a look around read up and make sure you keep up on pm(prevenetive maitance) good luck and hope you start to enjoy your truck more.

Oh and welcome to the site.

 

[Creager]

just give up man, its obivious your truck hates you.