New to Forum - Two questions

[bonanzabill]

Hello,

Very new to this forum but have lurked to gain some knowlege that has been helpful. Oirginal owner of 1999 Ford Explorer Sport. 187,000 miles, very well cared for with regular maintenance. No real maintenace problems other than normal items for these models. I tried to find these issues in the forum but failed to see them. My apologies if they have been asked a hundred times.

My steering wheel starting leak the black goo a while back. I added a aftermarket cover but would like to replace the steering wheel with the factory stock type wheel. Any suggestions on a source?

The other issue is my parking brake indicator light - it works but not always - seems to be working better when the vehicle is level but not always the case. Is there a switch someplace to indicate the position? The brake itself works great - just not the indicator which leaves the possibility of being driven with the brake on.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Bill

 

[koda2000]

if you could find a replacement new OE steering wheel, it would be very expensive. used ones wont be much better than what you now have. the "black goo" is what's left of the foam padding that used to be under the cover. what I've done is cut off the wheel cover, remove the goo and what you'll be left with is a thin plastic steering wheel. then go to Wall Mart and get a nice thick, padded vinyl steering wheel cover (around $11).

as far as your parking brake light. there's a small switch that provides the ground for the light when you step on the parking brake. it's located just above the parking brake pedal assembly. this switch can become dirty and not make a good contact. try spraying something on it like WD40 to lube and clean it. then exercise it until it would smoothly. replacement switches are available, but I've never found it necessary to replace one. I don't believe being on level ground has anything to do with it (unless your brake fluid is low, which can turn on the same light).

 

[bonanzabill]

Thank you very much. I may have to follow your advice on the steering wheel. Living in Florida the heat is tough on the interior even with sun shades etc.

Can I assume that switch is located near the mechanical part of the parking brake inside the car? I have a couple of types of electrical cleaner that work well on my airplane and may be just the answer for the truck.

Thanks
Bill

 

[1998Exp]

I would not use WD40 for electrical cleaning, because it leaves an oily film, which will attract dirt again. IMHO the 'no residue' electronic cleaner spray (available in hardware and auto parts stores) is a better choice.

...as far as your parking brake light. there's a small switch that provides the ground for the light when you step on the parking brake. it's located just above the parking brake pedal assembly. this switch can become dirty and not make a good contact. try spraying something on it like WD40 to lube and clean it. then exercise it until it would smoothly. replacement switches are available, but I've never found it necessary to replace one...

 

[bonanzabill]

Thanks very much - I usually use a LPS product or that stuff called electro-clean

 

[koda2000]

Thank you very much. I may have to follow your advice on the steering wheel. Living in Florida the heat is tough on the interior even with sun shades etc.

Can I assume that switch is located near the mechanical part of the parking brake inside the car? I have a couple of types of electrical cleaner that work well on my airplane and may be just the answer for the truck.

Thanks
Bill

yes, it's inside the vehicle right on top of the pedal assembly. you'll see the wire. the reason I suggest WD40 is that it cleans and lubes the switch. contact cleaner will clean it, but not lube anything. imho, the lube is just as important as the cleaning. try whichever you like.

 

[bonanzabill]

Thanks Koda - will try that this weekend - the Explorer is no longer my daily driver so finally have some time to make sure everything stays working.

 

[bonanzabill]

Thanks to all who helped me - just finally had time to work on the emergency brake switch and very happy to report it is back to working perfectly. I followed the advice here and all is good. Now on to tackle the windshield washers!

Bill

 

[Bobmbx]

Thanks to all who helped me - just finally had time to work on the emergency brake switch and very happy to report it is back to working perfectly. I followed the advice here and all is good. Now on to tackle the windshield washers!

Bill

Something wrong with your squirters? I don't mess with them anymore. I just run down to Advance Auto or other parts store and pick up a $5 package of replacements.

 

[bonanzabill]

I think the pump motor runs but no water comes out - makes me think the pump may be bad - this is a second car so work on it as I have time.

 

[SoNic67]

Check to see if the hoses aren't cracked/broken and leaking inside the engine compartment. Age and heat will do that to them.

 

[bonanzabill]

Thanks for that suggestion - I will do that. I forgot to mention that I was also able to grab a serviceable steering wheel from someone on this forum and that cleared that issue up as well. These few simple repairs make me think about keeping my Explorer another 100K miles.

Thanks

 

[koda2000]

Check to see if the hoses aren't cracked/broken and leaking inside the engine compartment. Age and heat will do that to them.

my rear squirter wasn't working on my red Mountaineer and it turned out that the hose was kinked. i've replaced a front squirter ($10 from Ford) but it's kinda hard to do, as you need to remove the plastic cowl cover to snap it in place.