Save my explorer from getting junked

[TwiztidRat]

Hey guys, yesterday my 2000 xlt acted up on me. It was hot outside and I was running it in idle with ac going and parked up a hill. I ran it for about a half hour but the temp gauge never got hot. The issue is it eventually sputtered and quit. I tried starting it for over 15 minutes and it would fire but not turn over

This led me to believe the fuel pump went bad, fuel filter got dirty, or it ran out of gas. I had to get it towed back to my place and tried starting it an hour later. The first time nothing, second time it sputtered than turned over.

Today I started it fine, the issue is I thought maybe the fuel pump was bad but it seems fine now. I don't know what to do about this truck because I can't trust it to go on road trips until I figure out what happened. It needs ball joints soon, it's rusted, has the timing chain death rattle. So it's hard to justify putting money into this thing. I just want some ideas what it could've been if simply being low on gas or the heat outside? Thanks guys.

 

[koda2000]

It certainly could be the fuel pump. I've had to replace all 6 of mine in the past 2 years. They all seem to start acting up around 200,000 miles +/-. The fuel filter should be changed every 30,000 or so.

When it doesn't start do you hear the fuel pump run for around 2 secs when you turn the key to the ON position?

The only way to know for sure is to check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail when it's not starting. On your year it should be around 65 PSI.

Don't junk your truck just because your having an intermittent problem. Diagnosis it and fix it.

 

[jonesmw10]

Don't junk your truck just because your having an intermittent problem. Diagnosis it and fix it.

I second this. Even with the issues your truck has, it'll almost always be cheaper to repair than replace. The last time mine did something similar, it was just low on gas (but that's because I just bought, and got it on E)..

 

[lobo411]

You can't trust a 16 year old car on a road trip no matter how well it seems to be working.

 

[XLTrunner]

Am I missing something...how would you not know whether it ran out of gas? Or, was so low on gas that the pump was sucking air when parked on a hill? Gauge broken?

Owning a high mileage vehicle can be costly in repairs if you don't know how to do much of the work yourself. Even so, I understand the difficulty working on rusty vehicles and trying to knock loose rusted suspension components and bolts on the undercarriage (i.e. fuel tank straps/mounts to replace a fuel pump). However, if you can manage to do some of the repairs yourself, there's no question in my mind it's worth the effort. If everything has to be done by an outside mechanic, then things change in a hurry when weighing whether to sink more money into your existing truck vs replacing it.

 

[TwiztidRat]

Thanks for the advice guys. I know how to work on vehicles and am pretty good at figuring out problems. The issue is I just moved out of my home town and right now I basically left my friend's shops and have no tools to work on the vehicle myself at this time. I have another vehicle I drive so this one is basically a spare.

I don't want to junk this thing I've owned it a long time. Usually I could trust any vehicle for road trips despite how many miles or the age of it. Koda if the fuel filter is dirty could that of caused the issue? I really over look simple things and assume the worst. In this case I know the fuel pump isn't that hard of a job to replace. I'm just financially struggling right now and putting money into this thing is hard to do but parting with it for simple fixes is also hard.

 

[ranger7ltr]

One thing no one has asked about was how much fuel was in the tank and was the rear end pointed up the hill or not?

Depending on fuel level and rear end angle the truck can run out of fuel until the truck is flatter...I have had that happen on my 99 Sport before and there was nothing actually nothing wrong with the truck except I parked it with fuel covering the fuel pump pickup but ran the fuel level too low sitting in place...

I don't recommend not doing fuel filters and even pumps if needed but don't give up just yet...I have taken my Ex on 300-500 mile road trips in the last year and it is as reliable as my company vehicles...

 

[TwiztidRat]

The needle on the gauge was just above E, but I had the AC running and of course it will be eating more gas that way. The rear end was pointing up toward the hill. It wasn't even really a hill I guess to be honest it was just an incline in a parking lot. I just wanted to state any info that would possibly factor in the behavior problem.

I have driven this thing already on a few road trips this year 250 miles back each way. So I know how reliable it can be, but again this happened when it was running then it didn't re-start so that's why I am now cautious about relying on this thing until I figure out if it indeed had a problem.

 

[Flash]

The needle on the gauge was just above E, but I had the AC running and of course it will be eating more gas that way. The rear end was pointing up toward the hill. It wasn't even really a hill I guess to be honest it was just an incline in a parking lot. .

That's it there.
That's a well known problem with these cars.

A couple of times I've had to roll down a hill to start my Ex, once I had to plough through a bush.

I wouldn't hesitate to take my '97 Limited or my '98 SAAB or my '86 635CSi on a 1000km trip with no more than a check of the tyres, oil and water.

But I'd be more likely to take my 2010 Touareg.

 

[koda2000]

I don't ask people if there's any gas in the tank (seems like a dumb question) but if the tank is low enough and the rear end is pointing up hill you can run out of gas because the fuel pump is in the rear of the tank.

Start by adding some fuel and changing the fuel filter (you'll need to do this anyway if you install a new pump).

BTW, I got burnt with not having enough fuel in the tank when I replaced the timing belt on my daughter's '02 PT Cruiser. There was just enough fuel in the tank to get the car up on ramps, but not enough to start it to get it down after I was done. I ended up taking everything apart again only to find nothing wrong. Then I checked the fuel gauge and saw it below "E". I was pissed. This is a tough enough job to do on this particular vehicle w/out having to do it twice! Cost me a full day. Then 2 months later her boyfriend got in a wreck and totaled the car. Buying a replacement vehicle was how we got into Gen II Explorers.

 

[MAS Tequila]

I can't tell you how many times I have had to roll down the driveway to get mine to start.

It's even stalled while sitting in the drive while low on fuel.

I regularly take mine from south FL to NC and back with no problems or second thoughts.

Remember Occam's Razor, 'The simplest solution is usually correct'.

Drive it a little more often and see what happens.

MT

 

[jester1023]

This may or may not be of any value. My '95 Sport had fuel pump failure at about 165,000 miles. I mistakenly installed an Airtex that produced the lower than needed pressure after a week of service. I then swapped it out for a Precission pump from O,Reilly. A few months later, my truck cranked and cranked, but it just wouldn't light. I did a quick check of fuel pressure and got zero. I immediately assumed my pump was bad because of history. So I swapped out the pump via warranty from O'Reilly. By now, I'm an expert on replacing fuel pumps in Gen IIs. Alright, new pump in, turn the key...no sound. Sure enough, it cranks, but won't start. Now I'm thinking there is no way this pump is bad out of the box. After all, I installed that brand in four other vehicles in the time between my install and failure. So now I'm checking relays and Explorer Forum for some answers. My relays were fine, but upon doing a swap to check them...the truck started. I swapped them back and it started. What was going on? It turns out there is a very important wire that connects to the bottom of the fuse/relay box under the hood. That wire can become loose or corroded and make a bad connection. There are several threads on here about this. At this point (for the last 96,000 miles), the "Fonzy" method has worked. Whenever it cranks, but won't start, I pop the hood, knock the top of the relay box with my knuckles and the pump powers up. I just hope that Leatherface isn't bearing down on me with a chainsaw when this happens.

 

[koda2000]

I haven't run a car out of gas since the late 60's. Even then it ran out as I rolled up to a gas pump (I had to push it the last 2 feet). You're going to have to buy gas anyway. You might as well buy it when it gets down to a 1/4 or so.

I'd jump in my '01 EB (with 185,000 miles on it) and drive it to California tomorrow. I have no doubt it would make it there and back w/out a problem. My '00 XLT (217,000 miles) might make it, but the rear end hums. I wouldn't trust my '01 ST to make it though. You just never know about the timing chains.

Edit:
The first fuel pump I replaced I installed an Aixtex FP. It didn't last 10,000 miles. I exclusively now buy Bosch FP's. I've never had a problem with any of the Bosch pumps. Stay away from Airtex pumps. They are know to crap out. Many auto parts stores have stopped selling them.

 

[manimal]

My 96 once had intermittent issues with FP relay not energizing. I had to pull the relay and physically clean the contacts in the fuse block - spray was not enough. I also keep a spare relay just in case the FP or AC relay goes out on a road trip.

I once had an FP relay fail on my old 87 B2, but those are a slightly different. I just swapped it with the AC relay and made it home OK.

 

[MAS Tequila]

I haven't run a car out of gas since the late 60's. Even then it ran out as I rolled up to a gas pump (I had to push it the last 2 feet). You're going to have to buy gas anyway. You might as well buy it when it gets down to a 1/4 or so.

I'd jump in my '01 EB (with 185,000 miles on it) and drive it to California tomorrow. I have no doubt it would make it there and back w/out a problem. My '00 XLT (217,000 miles) might make it, but the rear end hums. I wouldn't trust my '01 ST to make it though. You just never know about the timing chains.

Edit:
The first fuel pump I replaced I installed an Aixtex FP. It didn't last 10,000 miles. I exclusively now buy Bosch FP's. I've never had a problem with any of the Bosch pumps. Stay away from Airtex pumps. They are know to crap out. Many auto parts stores have stopped selling them.

Yes on buying gas, but mine will refuse to start in my NC drive while having 1/4 tank left.

It all depends on the slope.

Like you I would trust my 00 Mounty to go to Alaska and back.

MT

 

[TwiztidRat]

Just so you guys are aware trust me I know about the possibility of running out of gas when you are parked up an incline. The problem is even after this happened I pushed it to flat ground and it still didn't make a difference.

Perhaps it was just so low that rocking it back and forth off the tow truck pushed enough gas in the lines? Haha never know I guess right?