zerodevil
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- March 24, 2008
- Messages
- 1,439
- Reaction score
- 24
- City, State
- Anchorage, AK
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 White Limited V8
Hey all,
First post back in awhile, I figured I would share some of the power running board love to you fine people!
So, Like most of you I have been locked in a love/hate relationship with my power runningboards since becoming the new owner of this explorer. I tried it all, WD-40 on the hinges, heavy scrubbing, new motors. But nothing would keep these boards running for longer than a few months.
Until now. My boards have been functioning FLAWLESSLY for almost two years now, surviving two hard core alaskan winters in the process. I'll briefly share my process below for those searching for a real solution to this issue. Worth noting this is a couple day process.
What you'll need,
2x large cans of rust penetrent solvent, like WD-40, liquid wrench, ect.
2x cans of 3 in 1 oil, I used the penetrent at first, and the PTFE blue bottle second.
1x can of lucas thick and tacky red spray greese.
1: Remove the power running boards from the vehicle.
2: Stand boards vertically, place something on the ground to absorb chemicals.
3: Use WD-40, or some form of penetrating anti rust chemical on all pins and moving parts of the running board, leave on this side for 12-24 hours, spraying additional rust penetrent from time to time.
4: after 24 hours, rotate boards so that the previous top hinges are now on the bottom, continue to spray pins and moving parts when able. Let it soak.
5: after 24 hours, use a brush, towels, what ever you can to get ALL of the dirt, gime, and rocks out of the hinges, there will be a lot.
6: carefully start to actuate the running boards with a lever of some kind, I mean be careful, you can over extend things and break the brittle "metal" ford used to make the mounts, you just want to get the boards free moving.
7: Once you have the boards free moving, stand them back up and start dripping the 3 in 1 penetrent oil down into the same hinges and moving parts of the assembly, let sit for a few hours, rotate, and repeat on the other face of the pins. Continue this process until you have exhausted the bottle of 3 in 1 penetrent oil.
8: actuate the boards again, they should be moving A LOT easier at this point.
9: start flooding the pins and other moving parts with the regular PTFE or regular 3 in 1 oil, we want to flush out any remaining WD-40, or 3 in 1 penetraiting oil out of the pins if we can. We have cleaned the pin holes, and now we want to lubricate them. Keep some of the 3 in 1 for when the boards are mounted on the vehicle again.
10: remount the boards to your vehicle, use caution that the doors are not opened, or ideally the battery is disconnected, there is a potential crushing hazard here.
11: Open and close the doors of the vehicle to actuate the boards, continue to add 3 in 1 oil to the pins and moving parts in both the up, and lowered state of the boards, to ensure we get as much lubrication in there as possible. Continue actuating until the boards are moving quick and smooth in both directions, it may take 15 or 20 minutes. Keep the truck running for best results. put something down if you care about your driveway, this is messy.
12: Once you are happy with the performance of your boards, dry as well as you can any remaining lose 3 in 1 from the hinges, I used a rag and some compressed air.
13: Spray lucas thick and tacky greese around the entire diameter of the pins inside of the hinges, this will help seal the lubricant inside of the pin holes, as well as prevent future dirt, road grime, and rocks from becoming lodged in there.
Your done!
The only maintainance I have done in the last two years has been to clean and replace the thick and tacky grease as it was becoming quite dirty, I don't think it was strickly nessisary, but it didnt hurt thats for sure.
Its possible you have a dead motor as well, but thats not normally the problem with the running boards. You can use repalcement motors from the expeditions of similar years, but the swap can be a little nail bitting due to the brittle nature of the metal ford used for the brackets and hinges. I'd start with the above process.
Hope this helps someone enjoy their power running boards for a few more years!
First post back in awhile, I figured I would share some of the power running board love to you fine people!
So, Like most of you I have been locked in a love/hate relationship with my power runningboards since becoming the new owner of this explorer. I tried it all, WD-40 on the hinges, heavy scrubbing, new motors. But nothing would keep these boards running for longer than a few months.
Until now. My boards have been functioning FLAWLESSLY for almost two years now, surviving two hard core alaskan winters in the process. I'll briefly share my process below for those searching for a real solution to this issue. Worth noting this is a couple day process.
What you'll need,
2x large cans of rust penetrent solvent, like WD-40, liquid wrench, ect.
2x cans of 3 in 1 oil, I used the penetrent at first, and the PTFE blue bottle second.
1x can of lucas thick and tacky red spray greese.
1: Remove the power running boards from the vehicle.
2: Stand boards vertically, place something on the ground to absorb chemicals.
3: Use WD-40, or some form of penetrating anti rust chemical on all pins and moving parts of the running board, leave on this side for 12-24 hours, spraying additional rust penetrent from time to time.
4: after 24 hours, rotate boards so that the previous top hinges are now on the bottom, continue to spray pins and moving parts when able. Let it soak.
5: after 24 hours, use a brush, towels, what ever you can to get ALL of the dirt, gime, and rocks out of the hinges, there will be a lot.
6: carefully start to actuate the running boards with a lever of some kind, I mean be careful, you can over extend things and break the brittle "metal" ford used to make the mounts, you just want to get the boards free moving.
7: Once you have the boards free moving, stand them back up and start dripping the 3 in 1 penetrent oil down into the same hinges and moving parts of the assembly, let sit for a few hours, rotate, and repeat on the other face of the pins. Continue this process until you have exhausted the bottle of 3 in 1 penetrent oil.
8: actuate the boards again, they should be moving A LOT easier at this point.
9: start flooding the pins and other moving parts with the regular PTFE or regular 3 in 1 oil, we want to flush out any remaining WD-40, or 3 in 1 penetraiting oil out of the pins if we can. We have cleaned the pin holes, and now we want to lubricate them. Keep some of the 3 in 1 for when the boards are mounted on the vehicle again.
10: remount the boards to your vehicle, use caution that the doors are not opened, or ideally the battery is disconnected, there is a potential crushing hazard here.
11: Open and close the doors of the vehicle to actuate the boards, continue to add 3 in 1 oil to the pins and moving parts in both the up, and lowered state of the boards, to ensure we get as much lubrication in there as possible. Continue actuating until the boards are moving quick and smooth in both directions, it may take 15 or 20 minutes. Keep the truck running for best results. put something down if you care about your driveway, this is messy.
12: Once you are happy with the performance of your boards, dry as well as you can any remaining lose 3 in 1 from the hinges, I used a rag and some compressed air.
13: Spray lucas thick and tacky greese around the entire diameter of the pins inside of the hinges, this will help seal the lubricant inside of the pin holes, as well as prevent future dirt, road grime, and rocks from becoming lodged in there.
Your done!
The only maintainance I have done in the last two years has been to clean and replace the thick and tacky grease as it was becoming quite dirty, I don't think it was strickly nessisary, but it didnt hurt thats for sure.
Its possible you have a dead motor as well, but thats not normally the problem with the running boards. You can use repalcement motors from the expeditions of similar years, but the swap can be a little nail bitting due to the brittle nature of the metal ford used for the brackets and hinges. I'd start with the above process.
Hope this helps someone enjoy their power running boards for a few more years!
