Please Help, multiple "Small" Problems

[jbwilson3791]

I have a 2004 ford explorer with only 55,000 miles but over the course of the last year almost everything that can leak has leaked and as soon as I fix one thing, another goes wrong. I love this car, but it makes me mad that i've taken immaculate care of it and still its falling apart. Anyway, I have multiple problems but here are the ones I'm not sure how to fix.

1) Leaking Refrigerant 134a from the AC manifold hose assembly. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Has anyone had luck 134a that supposedly lubricates and repairs seals? And how difficult would it be to replace this piece, I know its expensive. Pic at the bottom of page

2) I recently replaced front lower and upper ball joints on both the drive and passenger side. Ever since doing that I periodically get an ABS light (seems like it comes on sometimes when accelerating or turning, not braking hard, but goes away after shutting the car off) C1440 was the code that appeared when i plugged in my scanner, saw some people on this forum mentioning replace a cruise control switch fixing the issue but that didnt quite make sense to me so if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be awesome, thanks!

3) and Finally if anyone has a solution to why my TPMS on the dashboard never comes on I'd love to hear it (doesn't come on when you turn the key or with a flat, never has). The Ford dealership charged me 100 bucks to misdiagnose it, said I had a burn out bulb which didn't end up being the case. They then said I needed a new TPMS module, so I got one, that didn't do the trick either. Obviously not a big deal but im annoyed I can't figure it out.

 

[bizzs]

Has same ABS problem with my 2003. Changing that cruise control part solved the problem with minimal cost.

bizzs

 

[lincolnshibuya]

need to replace that hose, no "stop leak in a can" can fix that large leak. if you don't fix that soon your compressor will be toast since there will be no refrigerant (for lubrication) and air going inside your ac system.

replacing the brake pressure switch under the master cylinder will fix that issue.

you should be lucky to have not the TPMS enabled..

 

[Number4]

I've never seen my TPMS light come on. I'm convinced it doesn't work. But, I suppose my tires have never gone low on air either.

That AC hose is a major PITA to replace. Mainly, getting it lined up right with the compressor. I actually removed the compressor and mounted the hose to it outside of the car.

As a side note, try to keep your images to no wider than 600 pixels. Fits the forum better.

 

[jbwilson3791]

I've never seen my TPMS light come on. I'm convinced it doesn't work. But, I suppose my tires have never gone low on air either.

That AC hose is a major PITA to replace. Mainly, getting it lined up right with the compressor. I actually removed the compressor and mounted the hose to it outside of the car.

As a side note, try to keep your images to no wider than 600 pixels. Fits the forum better.

Thanks. I didn't think about removing the compressor then assembling that may be the way to go because it looks very difficult to reach. And yeah sorry about the large photo, I use imgur.com tried reducing the size but the website was crashing today every time I did.

 

[jbwilson3791]

need to replace that hose, no "stop leak in a can" can fix that large leak. if you don't fix that soon your compressor will be toast since there will be no refrigerant (for lubrication) and air going inside your ac system.

replacing the brake pressure switch under the master cylinder will fix that issue.

you should be lucky to have not the TPMS enabled..

From what it sounds like it seems to be that everyone hates that tpms, I just hate the fact that I have it and it has never worked. And the leak is actually very small, this pic is about a months worth of leakage, it usually is just barely visible around that very top rim. I've purchased some replacement 134a but the gauge shows that the pressure is still normal-high. It also doesn't seem to leak when running the AC, it seems to leak more when you run the heater for some reason

 

[05XLimited]

From what it sounds like it seems to be that everyone hates that tpms, I just hate the fact that I have it and it has never worked.

The TPMS on mine works like this - if it gets under 30 PSI, it will trigger a light and if you have an EB/Limited a message in the message center (Check Tire Pressure). The one way of doing a test to see if it functions at all is to air down to 25 PSI in a tire, and wait a while. The TPMS system "sleeps" to save battery life when not being driven. When you start the vehicle, the TPMS light should continue to illuminate. Re-inflate and the light will disappear. If it is not illuminating, either wiring has gone bad, the TPMS computer is bad, as any other aspect would throw a "Tire Pressure Fault" warning message.

TPMS is one of those items that we shouldn't have to put on cars, people should check their tires regularly. Its just another thing to go wrong and cost money. I think that is why there is a dislike of TPMS on vehicles.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

From what it sounds like it seems to be that everyone hates that tpms, I just hate the fact that I have it and it has never worked. And the leak is actually very small, this pic is about a months worth of leakage, it usually is just barely visible around that very top rim. I've purchased some replacement 134a but the gauge shows that the pressure is still normal-high. It also doesn't seem to leak when running the AC, it seems to leak more when you run the heater for some reason

are you using a "gauge in a can" or the standard hi/low gauges? using a "gauge n a can" which only checks the low pressure only is OK as long as the system is just low on freon, if there's some issues with your AC system it could actually help ruin it.

 

[Sweersa]

The TPMS on mine works like this - if it gets under 30 PSI, it will trigger a light and if you have an EB/Limited a message in the message center (Check Tire Pressure). The one way of doing a test to see if it functions at all is to air down to 25 PSI in a tire, and wait a while. The TPMS system "sleeps" to save battery life when not being driven. When you start the vehicle, the TPMS light should continue to illuminate. Re-inflate and the light will disappear. If it is not illuminating, either wiring has gone bad, the TPMS computer is bad, as any other aspect would throw a "Tire Pressure Fault" warning message.

TPMS is one of those items that we shouldn't have to put on cars, people should check their tires regularly. Its just another thing to go wrong and cost money. I think that is why there is a dislike of TPMS on vehicles.

My 2005 XLT 4.0 Flex Fuel TPMS works exactly as you described. The light comes on, and the "Check Tire Pressure" displays on the message center.

 

[jbwilson3791]

My 2005 XLT 4.0 Flex Fuel TPMS works exactly as you described. The light comes on, and the "Check Tire Pressure" displays on the message center.

If someone with an 04 XLS could tell me they have the Tmps and it fictions that might help me, but someone on here a while back showed me a technical service bulletin stating that some of these were built with fully functional tire pressure monitoring systems except there was no display to the driver it was working. And like someone else mentioned, there is no reason for these things because drivers should always be on top of stuff like this but I'm also ocd about small things on a car not working haha