New Member, New Ford Owner

[HopiBuddha]

Hello Folks!

More or less was given a 1997 Ford Explorer Sport 2wd 4.0L SOHC a few months back am looking to fix it up a bit and see if I can get another 100k miles out of it. Right now it is sitting at 108k miles on it and these are true miles for its age. Any pointers, hints, ideas, suggestions on what to look out for maintenance wise would be greatly appreciated.

It does have a bit of rust problem, it was housed in two separate places by the sea. So I do want to keep that in check as well as getting a paint job sometime in the near future. The main items that stand out or rusted out I should say are the side steps/runner boards. Think these came with it from the factory but have not been able to find an exact match anywhere.

So if you know of any sites on the web I can take a look and if they ship to an APO/FPO address that would be a plus. Glad to be on here and I will be searching this site on a regular basis.

Darrell

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check for the sound of a rattling timing chain. Check the Heat - A/C to see if the blend door is functioning properly.

 

[HopiBuddha]

I've got problems with the Heat/AC - from what I've read in these posts it is a common problem. Seems no matter what I do I get blasted by hot air which isn't bad right now in the English winter time. Will be a different story come summer though. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[HopiBuddha]

Thanks for the Info!

Yeah as it turned out I do have the blender problem with the AC/Heat. It's full blast furnace right now which isn't bad for the English winter. But come summer it will be a different story. I am totally mechanically un-inclined on vehicles so I have a feeling I am going to have to search out a local mechanic to take it to. Worse case scenario is taking it to a local dealer and that is rather expensive. When I take my Honda Element in to the dealer it is an automatic £100 for just walking through the door.

I am not hearing any rattling coming from the timing chain, so I take that is a good thing. Bad thing that has happened so far is I had my first accident ever in it a month ago. Fender bender of where an idiot suddenly stopped in front of me and I hit black ice as I slid into the rear of him. The big Ford just pushed his tiny KIA off the road.

Anyway, the damage done to the Ford was minor. I am basically installing new headlamp assemblys (one was busted in the accident). Nothing happened to the grill or bumper mainly because I have a Westin brush guard installed on the front and it absorbed most of the shock of the impact.

Would you have any idea what bulbs I'll need for the park/turn signals? I've got the 9007 for the headlights. But not sure on the park/turn lights - the manual states 3156NAK and I cannot find any bulb with that code on AutoZone.com.

Again, thanks for the response and any advice.

Welcome to this forum! Check for the sound of a rattling timing chain. Check the Heat - A/C to see if the blend door is functioning properly.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Tell them that you want a 3156 bulb. They have these in stock.

 

[HopiBuddha]

Found them.

Do appreciate the advice. I was able to find them at a local garage. I did go to the dealer and found them there as well and for about double the price the local garage is selling the exact same bulb for.

Tell them that you want a 3156 bulb. They have these in stock.