New Owner - Just Checkin' In

[ctgriffi]

Hey everybody, I recently inherited a green Explorer XLT 4.0 SOHC from my parents for a terrific "family" price—they bought this vehicle brand new when my Dad was stationed in Grand Forks, ND back in '97. It's in terrific shape for its age ('cause they spent a ton of money on it at the dealer over the years, ha!) and has about zero rust anywhere on it. Drives pretty well, despite a lot of miles (225K), although it's a bit rough in the front-end, traveling over bumps, etc.

I'm a handy guy and will probably jump right in with some basic tune-up items. What other stuff should I be checking or aware of? The rear shocks were replaced last year (Monroe Load Adjust) and the fronts are Motorcraft (not sure how old, or if they're original, but they look to be in decent shape).

So, hello to the forum. Appreciate your comments/suggestions!

-ctgriffi
Southern Missouri

 

[Rick]

The SOHC motor is known for timing chain issues. Hopefully they have already been replaced. If not, they could become a problem.

Welcome to the forum

 

[ctgriffi]

The SOHC motor is known for timing chain issues. Hopefully they have already been replaced. If not, they could become a problem.

Welcome to the forum

Hi Rick, appreciate the welcome! Yeah I have heard about the timing chain issues you mentioned. I do know that a lot of work was done on this vehicle by the dealer over the years, but I don't know if that was ever addressed because no records were kept. Seems like that problem would've been corrected over 20 years of dealer service, but it's not 100%...

Today I noticed a problem with the thermostat, I think. Heat has not been blowing very consistently, and when I started the motor this morning, only cool air was coming out. A few minutes later, the temp gauge started to spike for a few seconds, and then the temp came down very quickly, at which point the vents suddenly started to blow hot air. Seems like a textbook example of a sticky thermostat, right?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! You could check the blend door, and the heater control valve as well as the thermostat.

 

[ctgriffi]

Replaced the thermostat which was definitely sticking, and I'm glad I did because it was a good opportunity to also drain/flush the rad and add new coolant. One problem: the recommended o-ring/seal for the thermostat was Fel-Pro 35617, which I purchased, but it's oversized and seems like a lousy fit. Anyone else have this problem? What's a good PN for the correct seal?