Progress on the 2002 Explorer Sport Trac

[CDW6212R]

That's a wonderful looking machine, huge to handle both older systems.


I do have my old 91 Mark VII with R12 in it. My AC shop still had their old R12 machine when I had to fix it many years ago. The compressor had died and leaked past the seals. So a new compressor, AC lines, and cleaning the exchangers, plus o-rings and freon, it worked again. That was the most I've ever spent on an AC repair, all of that was easily $375 I think, back in about 2015. The start of it was the EATC failing to trigger the compressor, which just took a relay to bypass the EATC high current path.

That car has 137k or so I think, our 2012 hail storm beat it up a lot.

 

[1998rollover]

These ratchets are the ideal tools for R&R on transfer cases for getting to the upper bolts, and other places I've had to work around a corner. Enabled a transfer case rebuild on a 98 Mountaineer without having to remove the exhaust just to get at one bolt. I went up and over from the left side. Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

IIRC I posted on the forum a schematic for an adjustable dual fan controller where it turns on both fans on in series at one temperature then if it gets to a higher temperature it switches the fans to parallel for high speed. It also turns the fans on low when air conditioning is turned on. Ah, here it is Two temp, adjustable, dual fan, dual speed controller circuit. Note that IC2 doesn't have to be a Quad Voltage comparator. The person who drew the circuit (and whom I got most of the parts from) didn't have any dual versions. With the quad version the rest of the circuit could be duplicated to control another pair of fans the same way, using the one chip.

I mounted a dual fan from some Thunderbird or Taurus. It fit quite nicely vertically in a 98 Mountaineer, then got transferred to the V8-ified Sport Trac. No problems at all with clearance to the water pump. I cut pieces of metal to bolt to the shroud so the fan sits in the same side brackets and bottom bolts as the stock shroud.

 

[allmyEXes]

I thought I would get a few minutes in on the 2002 Sport Trac today, but no progress was made, just regress. Whoever tightened the **** out of the intake did it so tight that when I turned the 3/8th" drive ratchet all that I could, probably 40 pounds worth, I twisted the end of the T-30 tip and maybe the inside teeth of the fastener. This is on the very back of the right hand, passenger side. Why would anyone tighten it that much. I'm at a 'I don't really know what to do' point. The bolt is up under the edge of the cowl and would not be able to get a flat blade screwdriver down into the end of the bolt. Why didn't FoMoCo put a hex head on the edge of the bolt? In this particular spot I'm not having to reach through an access hole.

Now it won't stay locked into the fastener. Torx was suppose to be so good. I prefer Allen heads.

 

[CDW6212R]

What brand of Torx bit is that? I have only twisted a couple of Torx bits, and both were lesser brands. I have Craftsman for most things but a cheap small set of bits in my carry around tool box(I twisted those).

So I suggest first find a top brand bit to try. I have a Snap On T50 bit that I paid almost $15 for about 35 years ago, knowing how hard the seat belt bolts were to loosen back then. I have used that one tool countless times and so far nothing has hurt it. I just couldn't afford an entire set back then, and the Craftsman handle almost everything fine.

 

[allmyEXes]

@CDW6212R I'll probably never own a newer car that will use R-1234yf. The new systems that we add to the old antique/classic Mustangs use
R-134a. Added: Don, it was a fairly cheap no-name brand of Torx.
I twisted the T-30 bit the afternoon and if the 2002 4.0 SOHC was configured with a two-piece plastic intake, it wouldn't make sense that I couldn't remove the intake fastener. Someone tell me if I am correct.
Question: The intake fasteners screw directly into the aluminum head on the 2002 engine. So, should I be able to get another T-30 on the end of an extension and pop it with a hammer to shock it a bit to make it want to come a loose easier?

 

[CDW6212R]

Do you have room for a large tool straight inline with that one bolt? If so the old school impact driver tool might help. The tool I'm suggesting is a large round bodied thing with a 3/8" square drive end. It comes with bits like a #2 screwdriver bit, and you hit the end with a hammer. That is great for extra tight screws and some bolts you can find an adapter and socket to fit.

Here's an example;

https://www.lowes.com/pd/TEKTON-3-8-Inch-Drive-Impact-Screwdriver-Set-7-Piece-2905/5004354897?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-bng-_-PLA_TOL_218_Mechanic-Automotive-Tools-_-5004354897-_-Online-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&msclkid=8684338c0bc01b9f39e75041e7732ce9&gclsrc=ds

 

[allmyEXes]

I would have to take off the motor mounts and set the engine down on the crossmember to get room to do that, if it would even give me enough room to get in there. I don't have concrete or an engine hoist at home.
Tomorrow morning before work, I'm going up to our Ace Hardware that sells Craftsman tools and buy a T-30 with a warranty. I don't think that I damage the inside of the bolt is as much as the driver tip but if I did and use a brand-new bit, I should be able to remove it. I don't want to break the intake just to remove it.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yeah that's awful that they put the bolts in too tight, those smaller bolts are the most trouble. I remember learning how fragile the cam plate locking bolts are. They are tiny bolts with a 3/8" head I think, but they twisted off with a short 3/8" ratchet and socket. I had a friend with spare SBF parts who gave me two extra's, I bought a 1/4" torque wrench after that, those were about 6-8lbsft tight(spec).

 

[allmyEXes]

On the way to work, I picked up a DeWalt 3/8" T-30.

 

[oklagp1200r]

Bosch makes some good bits pricey but well worth it if you need strength! Impact grade like for a dewalt drill or impact!

 

[allmyEXes]

This morning after reading a couple of current posts about 4.0 SOHCs leads me to a question. Was it not until 2003 that there was a tensioner upgrade to the SOHC tensioners, or was there another upgrade? I installed improved tensioners in the left half of my SoHC in the '97. I used the improved multi leaf on the primary and an improved guide for the secondary front left chain that is made of more metal than the '97 version (the old version) that I wouldn't think is even available today. The picture below of the guide kit that I used part of the kit only because I didn't remove the engine. Is this currently the best/newest version of the guides and tensioners and what year did this come about? I think someone said 2003. My wife's yellow Sport Trac is definitely a 2002.

 

[donalds]

Only difference is the front multi leaf tensioner
The other tensioner s are the same since 97
The guides look rite for ford .my bet is the ford ones that always break will break again
Install all this stuff then buy a dam preoiler

 

[CDW6212R]

A pre-oiler is the best option for the SOHC engine as it is now. The plastic parts wear no matter what due to the steel chains riding against them.

I don't think there is any oil pressure directed onto the chains, and there should be. The external tensioners are the worst problem, but that can be mitigated by using manual tensioners, or changing them often(50-75k miles). I wonder how close the oil passage is near each chain where that tensioner is. I wonder if a hole could be drilled to the passage, coming from a spot that would result in a spray(say .050" outlet) onto the chain. Having plenty of oil on the chains would help the plastic guide parts to live longer.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

This morning after reading a couple of current posts about 4.0 SOHCs leads me to a question. Was it not until 2003 that there was a tensioner upgrade to the SOHC tensioners, or was there another upgrade? I installed improved tensioners in the left half of my SoHC in the '97. I used the improved multi leaf on the primary and an improved guide for the secondary front left chain that is made of more metal than the '97 version (the old version) that I wouldn't think is even available today. The picture below of the guide kit that I used part of the kit only because I didn't remove the engine. Is this currently the best/newest version of the guides and tensioners and what year did this come about? I think someone said 2003. My wife's yellow Sport Trac is definitely a 2002.

View attachment 438445

i believe in 03 the primaty tensioner was ipdated with more leaves and the hydraulic tensionets in 02? or maybe bothw ete in 03 i forgot. howveer, and im not yet sure on this, but the neeer tensioners i got a few yesrs ago felt softer than what i rememebr the new ones being like before. still on the back burner to test em

 

[allmyEXes]

I'm going to start a translation dictionary for fixfordirt's words.
primaty=primary
ipdated=updated
tensionets=tensioners
i-I
howveer=however
neeer=newer
remembr=remember
Back to the topic. I would have a couple of pictures for you all, however, when I right click to save a .jpg image from mail, the laptop saves it as a .jfif file. I am not a pc/computer guy, so I don't know what is happening. Last week when I tried to post a image here on the forum it did not recognize the file type.
Back to the truck. The 8th bolt in the one piece plastic intake is not coming out. 2 or 3 weeks ago when I twisted the T-30 torx bit, I stripped out the inside of the bolt head too. I wish that it would have broken off. At least broken off, I could take the cylinder head to a pro welder that specialized in bolt removal. He doesn't work on cars but if you take him a part with a broke off bolt in it, he will remove it. 20 years ago, he had a 30 gallon drum 2/3 full of broken bolts that he welded nuts to them and then back them out. I personally have had very limited success doing such. I can't burn the head of the bolt off to slide the intake up off of it because it is plastic. There is no way to get vice grips on it. You guys and gals who have removed a one-piece intake that is on one of these vehicles, know that the 8th bolt is up under the edge of the cowl. It is possible that at my shop, on concrete, lift up the engine, remove the motor mount pads and set the engine down on the crossmember as low as possible, I may be able to pound an oversize torx bit into the star shaped hole and remove it. Maybe. The other possibility is I will be able to reach the top two bell housing bolts and deal with the bolt after the engine is out. That is the main reason I want to remove the intake in the first place and the second reason is I don't want to break the plastic parts of the engine with the lift chain. Any ideas from anyone are worth considering.
When I attempt to load a .jfif picture, I get this message: The uploaded file does not have an allowed extension. The following extensions are allowed: .txt, .pdf, .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .gif, .m4v, .mov, .mp4, .mp4v, .mpeg, .mpg, .ogv, .webm, .mp3, .opus, .ogg, .wav

 

[Josh P]

Thanks for the translation

 

[CDW6212R]

When you are trying to save a picture from your laptop, does it give you any other choices for saving it? Such as "save as" or copy instead of save etc? I'm no PC expert either, I usually hunt and peck my way to a solution.

The intake bolt, I don't know what it looks like. A picture would help, but it may be that the engine has to be pulled to get at it.

 

[Josh P]

Can you get a dremel tool in there with a small cutoff wheel to cut the head off?

 

[allmyEXes]

If I were to strip what I can off of the top of the engine and lower it down 2 inches after removing the motor mounts and that depends on how much space is between the oil pan and the crossmember. The oil pan may need to come off first. Then I might could get a Dremel in there and cut a slot at the most. Then a hand impact driver with a flat tip might break it a loose. It's looking like I'm going to have to shelve this project after I'm done removing the parts that I can at home. At work, the shop is full for now with 4 or 5 current projects going.

 

[swshawaii]

@allmyEXes
Greg, you may be beyond this point, but just in case. Also not sure how much different your 2002 Trac is than the third gen four door.
Good luck, laying on top of the engine is no fun. BTDT

Needed in knowing the easiest way to remove the back bolt on the intake manifold

Hello Everyone, I own a 2004 Ford Explorer with a 4.0 6 cyl. last month I got a check eng light and came up as 193 a fuel pressure sensor needed to be replaced. The fun part was trying to find the part other than the Ford Dealership I found one and started removing all the parts to get to it...

www.explorerforum.com

Just FYI. I'm awake at 2A Hawaii time because of my full time caregiver status for 92 y/o Mom.