not really powerful

[deamon3]

I recently went on a short road trip with a series of car changes , in which I drove my sisters old honda accord (felt fine) , my parents e series cargo van (felt fine) , and my explorer (not so fine).

My explorer honestly feels like it develops all of maybe 80hp. It's terribly slow , underpowered feeling (compared to the other vehicles). I mean it really does take quite a stretch to get it up to 55 , even more to 65. When you step on the gas at speed in the other cars I drive , they kinda torque you back in the seat. But my explorer when you really step on it , just makes alot of noise under the hood and slowly gains speed. Also , I typically drive it slow cuz it sounds like that poor engine has a tough time moving the car. If I even just take it on a normal highway for a bit it punishes me later by "chugging" when it starts. It eventually stops chugging and runs fine.

I just wanna know , is this consistent with all your explorers? That basically every other car feels more powerful in comparison? And maybe I'm asking way to much of it? Or is mine just broke? I got a tune up about a year ago and keep the oil changed every 3k. . .

 

[Masterd]

Maybe theres something wrong with yours, mine has no issues winding the speedo right off of the numbers.

 

[marragtop]

Start with the basics... plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter. Also, measure you gas mileage to see what it is. You should be somewhere in the 15-18 mpg neighborhood.

 

[deamon3]

I get somewhere about 14mpg. When I go the tuneup last year I already got wires plugs and filters too.

 

[KobeJ05]

how many miles on it?

 

[Maniak]

In addition to what has already been mentioned... here are some things to think of.

The 1st gen X when new only made 160hp and 220lbs torque. Also the explorer is a 4000 lbs vehicle. With that said, keep in mind, its not going to go very fast anyway.

Some other things to think of. Your gear ratio will have a big difference on how the vehicle feels, especially on acceleration. If you have 3.27" gears your going to have issues getting out of your own way. If you have 3.73 or 4.10 gears you will accelerate much better, but at the higher speeds your going to get much worse gas mileage..

~Mark

 

[Slowlyvverot]

Like maniak said, it's just not a very powerful engine and it's trying to push a large amount of weight. That's how mine was when I started driving it. After a tune-up, exhaust and some work on the intake, it's become much more fun to drive.

 

[KobeJ05]

you want a faster suv 4x4 get an escape 3.0 they move.

 

[deamon3]

It's got 139,000 miles on it. I honestly don't expect it to be a sports car. But it really does sound and feel too under powered.

 

[deamon3]

I also just got back from the grocery store and it was "chugging" again in the parking lot. I didn't even drive it that fast really.

 

[RangerX]

What size tires are on it?

 

[arco777]

Assuming stock tires, you have problems. My X has 3.27s and it hauls ass pretty well even stock. Not quick off the line with those gears but it will top out the speedo easily and does great on the highway.

Check for slack in your accelerator pedal. If you can lift the pedal up by hand and let it go and it drops down, refer to the "50 horsepower for 5 cents" thread. Make sure you have a clean air filter. Check that your plugs are in good shape and you're not trying to make the spark jump a long distance. Check that your catalytic converter isn't plugged and that nothing odd is coming out your exhaust. Put your hand under the exhaust and feel for excess moisture (can indicate a cracked head) or a puff-puff-puff (misfire). Check for dragging brakes. If your transmission is slipping, often you can help it out by re-adjusting the bands which is pretty easy. Just a few things to check. The 4.0 OHV is a good motor and can motivate the Explorer quite well if it is running right.

EDIT: I have not done any major engine work on it and I regularly average 17-21 MPG. This is with 156K miles. If you're getting only 14MPG, that's another sign your motor is not running right.

 

[deamon3]

The tires that I got for it I think are over sized , but they said they would fit and they do look ok.

I checked my gas peal and it is kinda floppy. I'm not really sure how to checks plugs or the catalytic converter. My brakes don't seem to drag but they sometimes make a squeak noise when I'm going real slow. The transmission always was kinda broken even when I bought it (takes a while to change between reverse , forward ect..). I'm not sure how to readjust bands.

I'll try the "50 horsepower for 5 cents" thing. Seems like something I could fix.

 

[deamon3]

Well I tried the zip tie thing and it's helped a tiny bit I think. It feels slightly more torqueky at lower speeds.

However I still think it's probably not running well. If I add up how many engine related problems I notice it just boggles the mind as to how it's still working at all.

 

[RangerX]

The tires that I got for it I think are over sized , but they said they would fit and they do look ok.

That could be the problem...tell us what size they are.

 

[arco777]

Band adjustment is easy for the money, you will need an inch/pound torque wrench to do it and a few basic tools. The link below shows specifications and how to.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158160

It can seem like a daunting task and a long read, but it's not that hard to do. While you're under there is a good time to drop the trans pan and change the fluid and filter, which can help things too.

 

[68amc]

I've owned 5 first gens. All but one haul. The one that didn't move was a 1992 EB. I tried exhaust, intake, tune up, everything to get it to go like the others. The engine only had 44k original miles on it. So I put it in my other Eddie and it sprang to life. I never figured out what was wrong with that demon truck. Both trucks had a D4 axle code (3.73 LS)

 

[MrQ]

Computer, maybe?

 

[Glen4X4]

You may want to try seafoam through the intake I've noticed slight improvement after using that stuff in the past.

 

[deamon3]

That could be the problem...tell us what size they are.

I think they are 31 or 32 inches. The thing is though my explorer was still a slow poke when I had the old tires.

I looked through that band adjustment thread and it really looks like something I would mess up , I really can't be taking my engine apart since I have no idea what I'm doing , I think I would break something and not be able to get it back together lol.

My transmission also leaked all of it's fluid out this year a few times when it got hot and I replaced it maybe twice so I think I'm good on transmission fluid. It doesn't leak when it's cold now.

As for sea foam one of my co workers told me it burns up the inside of the engine and can wreck it, which didn't sound very good to me! lol.