New here! Some issues with my 2007 explorer

[cedarsales]

I just bought a 2007 Explorer 4.0 4x4 with 144,000 miles.

1)The brake pedal is very soft and goes to the floor, if I pump the brakes I get an OK pedal but it goes right back to spongy.

2)The truck is making a squealing noise from the pulley/belt system and get louder under acceleration.

3)I kicked the throttle down yesterday to make a pass and the engine went to an idle and the wrench was displayed on the dash. I coasted to a stop shut the truck off and then restarted it. After the restart the wrench was no longer on the dash display and it seemed to drive OK but I didn't kick it down again.

FYI. The truck had been sitting for 3 years with a start up now and then. Any help with my issues would be great. Thanks in advance

 

[Flag Gibby]

Welcome to the forum. To answer your question on the brake pedal, there are several possibilities on what can be done to improve it so my recommendation is to search and read the many posts on it. The squealing noise is just the serpentine belt slipping on the pulleys and probably needs to be replaced because it is old and dried out (it is also possible that the belt tensioner is not working correctly anymore, but that is rarely the problem). As far as problem #3 start by having someone pull the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC's) and check the state of the battery since it was parked for 3 years and batteries have a tendency to get dead cells when stored long term without regular charging (meaning that it may need to be replaced).

 

[cedarsales]

Update on problems: My mechanic just called and said the front brakes need pads, rotors and calipers and the pistons in the calipers are frozen/stuck shut. The rear brakes need new pads and rotors. I am assuming that with the new brakes I will get a harder brake pedal as the rears were doing all the work with very little life left in them. He is replacing the serpentine belt as well. Won't be able to run engine codes until next week and the battery is brand new.

 

[Flag Gibby]

The DTC's are stored so your mechanic should be able to pull them up as long as the battery has not been disconnected since your engine problem happened.