New Member with a 1999 Explorer Eddie Bauer 5.0L

[JohnCameron]

Hello. My name is John and I live in the northeast corner of Tn. I just got a ‘99 Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD. This baby needs restored to her former glory. It is hard to start and has a rough idle. There’s an exhaust leak. It needs A LOT of things replaced in the interior. The glass won’t close on the lift gate. However, the 302 is still strong and it’s never been wrecked. It’s a good project car. When ‘99 Explorer Eddie Bauer was released new there wasn’t a nicer more comfortable vehicle on the road. She was king. I’m going to see if I can restore her.

 

[Mike65]

Welcome to the forum from another 99 owner.

 

[Rdc#1958]

Hello. My name is John and I live in the northeast corner of Tn. I just got a ‘99 Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD. This baby needs restored to her former glory. It is hard to start and has a rough idle. There’s an exhaust leak. It needs A LOT of things replaced in the interior. The glass won’t close on the lift gate. However, the 302 is still strong and it’s never been wrecked. It’s a good project car. When ‘99 Explorer Eddie Bauer was released new there wasn’t a nicer more comfortable vehicle on the road. She was king. I’m going to see if I can restore her.

Welcome aboard, I have the sibling to your EB a 2000 Mountaineer Monterey 5.0 AWD and love it.

 

[CDW6212R]

Welcome, and with that enthusiasm you will have it running well and looking better in no time.

 

[410Fortune]

Welcome! We love the 5.0 trucks here very much

How many miles?
Is the check engine light on?

Hard start or long crank is usually low fuel pressure or an egr code

 

[CJYoung]

Hello. My name is John and I live in the northeast corner of Tn. I just got a ‘99 Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD. This baby needs restored to her former glory. It is hard to start and has a rough idle. There’s an exhaust leak. It needs A LOT of things replaced in the interior. The glass won’t close on the lift gate. However, the 302 is still strong and it’s never been wrecked. It’s a good project car. When ‘99 Explorer Eddie Bauer was released new there wasn’t a nicer more comfortable vehicle on the road. She was king. I’m going to see if I can restore her.

Welcome. Many of the aforementioned issues are repairable. As long as you're mechanically inclined, and Patient, you can have her in respectable shape in 6 to 12 months. Faster with a decent shop and mechanically, and a 10k credit card.
I got mine in good shape in around 6 months.. New Front end, 5 shocks, Spring shackles, cleaning rust, and more rust. But I got it for $800, owner used Synthetic oil. 4.0 sohc runs like a champ.
Enjoy, and if doing it yourself, have patience and ask questions on the forum. CJY

 

[JohnCameron]

Welcome! We love the 5.0 trucks here very much

How many miles?
Is the check engine light on?

Hard start or long crank is usually low fuel pressure or an egr code

Yes, the check engine light is on. I started by going at the rough idle. I found that several vacuum lines are gone. By putting a voltmeter to the TP sensor I found out there’s a short somewhere because the reference voltage terminal read 0.1 for a second then stopped. I couldn’t get anything from the + and negative. I had the wife(my little helper) turn the ignition on and push that pedal to the floor several times but no reading. Anyway, I’ll have to replace the vacuum lines. I believe Ford uses 3,5 and 6mm vacuum lines. Is this correct? Since there’s very little room to track down shorts and where all the missing vacuum lines ended up then I am going to pull the intake manifold off. I might as well replace the fuel lines, injectors and all the sensors and hoses. That’ll save me some trouble down the road. So, the fun begins!

 

[410Fortune]

Check the engine codes before you pull it apart!

No need to change fuel line

5.0 vacuum routing is pretty simple once the upper plenum is off

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! What were the codes?

 

[JohnCameron]

Check the engine codes before you pull it apart!

No need to change fuel line

5.0 vacuum routing is pretty simple once the upper plenum is off

Hello everyone!
I started on the restoration. From here on out you’ll see me refer to my ‘99 Eddie Bauer as “she” or “her”. I’ve always tried to treat my vehicles as a lady. It’s a just a habit. Anyway, she was a little hard to start and had a rough idle. I assumed it was because the previous owner had pulled almost ALL the vacuum lines off her. After getting some good advice on here about these issues maybe caused by low fuel pressure.(THANK-YOU!) I looked the fuel lines over and found a leak near the filter. It only leaked at idle not when pressing the gas. Someone cut the line probably when replacing the filter. I’m guessing someone had trouble getting the Ford quick connect fuel lines off. They can be a pain.I replaced the fuel lines. I decided to drop the fuel tank and replace the fuel pump. I mainly wanted to clean the inside of the tank and get a new float/sending unit on it because the gauge was stuck on full. Man, I hate putting gas tanks on. I won’t risk lifting it with jack because I put a dent in one even with a pad in between the tank and jack once. It takes some pressure to hold the tank where it goes. I lay on my back. I hold the tank with my knees and shins and get the straps back on after some loud foul language. Now she starts easier and idles better. Does anyone know if many parts for this 5.0L 302 will cross with 4.6l 281 parts from the same year? I’m guessing not many. I bought a head gasket set, all sensors and basically everything to rebuild my brother-in-law’s ‘99 F-150 and just like a brother-in-law he then sold it. I have all these parts if anyone has a 4.6L I got new parts! Lol. Will Autolite APP104 plugs work in my 302? Lol. They are good plugs.
Next I’m pulling the intake off. I want to clean the ports going into the throttle body and see what kind of crud is in the lower plenum. Then I’ll take off the fuel rails, pull the injectors and do what’s called “rebuild” them since it’s easy and cheap. Does this ‘99 5.0L have hydraulic lifters I can replace without taking off the heads? This is going to be fun restoring this old girl. As you can tell I’m not a professional mechanic. I’m pretty much learning about her as I go. I ordered a Hilton’s manual for it but it hasn’t arrived yet. So, if you professionals will give me some advice now and then and not make too much fun of me then I’ll keep posting. Again my questions are….are any 4.6L parts usable on the 5.0L(made same year)? If not then anyone need any ‘99 4.6L parts? Lol.
Next question…does this have the hydraulic lifters I can replace just by taking off the valve covers? I appreciate your feedback so far. Especially the wise member that told me to check the fuel pressure on my starting/idling issues.

 

[CDW6212R]

Welcome from about 40 miles away. The coil packs are the only things you can use from the 4.6 engines, nothing else is the same.

Why would you remove the roller lifters(which are identical to all SBF OEM roller lifters)? At old age there may be some extra noise, but that would be from poor oil maintenance. The injectors could use servicing, and the valve cover gaskets also would be good to replace. The vacuum lines are more critical than the rest though, be sure that those are all in excellent condition, and properly attached of course.