So I made a list of what is wrong with my Explorer...

[MatthewAlan8]

EDIT: So my Explorer has finally seen its final days..as a commuter! I went out and picked up a 2011 Ford Focus SEL and now (once I get my finances back in order at least) my Explorer will only be my recreational/learning vehicle. I am much less concerned about messing something up because I actually have another car to drive. I'm really excited by this, not just because of the new car, but because of the possibilities with the Explorer.

Okay so I made a quick list off the top of my head what is wrong with my Ford Explorer. Most of it is due to just plain neglect as a kid and not having money to get tune-ups and fix it properly when something went wrong. I am positive there are more things to add to this list, and some of this stuff I can take care of myself but I was just wondering, for sh*ts and giggles, what if I were to take this list into a Ford Dealership and say, here, fix this. Would they just laugh at me? : Or just ask me to write them a blank check

Only reason I am asking is because my plan is to stop using this as a commuter car (getting an actual car to drive me around that gets better than 12-15 mpg) and to make this into a camping/drive to mountains for mountain biking and/or skiing rig. That will include larger tires and possible a 2-3" lift


Leaking coolant – Stop leak works as a stop gap, but I have been told it could be the intake manifold gasket so I should get that checked out.

Rotors + Brakes – Both need to be replaced.

Brake Fluid Leaking – Don’t know what is causing this.

E-Brake Seems to be weak – Need to check this out

Interior Lights Stuck On – Had to take bulbs out because they were burning hot

Compass and Temp Display Out – Board needs re-soldering?

4WD Not working – Unfortunately found out when it snowed. It was either not working (didn’t hear or feel it switch over) or the light was not working.

Check Engine Light On – This happened after I left oil cap off for a drive to work accidentally. Stayed on after cap was replaced.

E-Brake Light won’t turn off.

Intermittent windshield wipers not working properly – Either highest setting or OFF.

Cruise Control not working – Unsure what happened

Need a transmission flush and replace.

Tires need to be aligned

Antenna needs to be replaced. Doesn’t go down.

Driver’s side mirror needs to be replaced. Damn kids.

Driver’s side power locks don’t always work.

Subwoofer needs to be re-soldered.

 

[davidhicks16]

sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy.

 

[rhauf]

Sounds like you've been lazy and let things go to pot.

 

[atxexplorer94]

If your not gonna use it as your daily driver then you could probably pass on fixing a couple of those things,if you took it to ford they'd probably try to sell you another vehicle.

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Sounds like you've been lazy and let things go to pot.

Hence the "Most of it is due to just plain neglect as a kid and not having money to get tune-ups and fix it properly when something went wrong" part that was in the original post.

I know Ford would try to sell me another car, but I wouldn't let them. I should take some of the things on that list that I know that I can't do myself and see what people would give me a quote to take care of it.

Anyone have any ideas as to why my 4WD didn't work? It worked well last winter and I have been keeping up on everything lately. It snowed here recently and I had no 4WD.

 

[93nav]

On the 4wd not working, do 97's have the problem where the electrical motor to engage 4wd stops working because a 'stopper/bumper' get worn out and the motor goes beyond it's limit and stops working? Something like that.

BTW, how can you not tell if the 4wd is not working in snow? Just driving it should tell you that. If no snow now, go on dry pavement, put in 4wd and drive slow while turning. That should tell you right away if the 4wd is working or not.

 

[BurnTheLight88]

Brake fluid is possibly leaking because you need brakes so badly.

Brake light is on probably because your brake fluid is too low.

CEL won't turn off just by replacing the cap, find someone with a code reader and have them erase the code. Once it comes on, you have to turn it off.

The windshield wipers problem is funny, my work explorer has the exact same problem. The not so funny part is that because of that someone totaled it because they couldn't get the wipers on fast enough.

Transmission flush isn't too bad to do yourself if you have basic mechanical skills.

Ford would either flash a big smile because of how much money they'd make off of that job (they'll find 100 more things that are wrong since it's neglected) or try to sell you a new car like MatthewAlan said

 

[MatthewAlan8]

Thanks for the advice. IIRC, in the past when I turned on 4WD, I would see the light turn on and I would here a little "click" as it activated. Neither of those things happened this time.

The brake light was coming on long before the brake fluid was leaking (it's been on for a couple of years now) brake fluid started leaking recently.

I have *very* basic mechanical skills and I am not confident doing a transmission flush so I'd probably have someone else do it for me.

I figured that would be the issue with the CEL, just would need someone to clear the code. Guess I should run to Auto Zone and have them do that for me.

I've thought of new things wrong...

I definitely need new shocks. Any little bump I hit feels like Im driving off of a cliff.

 

[CASTLE95X]

As far as the wipers, you can clean the contacts in the intermittent switch. There is a thread in here about that. Did it to my 95 and it works pretty good now. Just did a quickie job, might have to tear back into it.

 

[ash98fordexp]

find something else to drive and off road this one...

 

[Jager]

find something else to drive and off road this one...

Amen brudduh.

 

[jl102284]

Next time you want to use your 4wd. Put your shifter into 4 high, turn the engine off, disconnect your battery, reconnect your battery and then start your engine. See if it works after that.

On my Explorer sometimes the 4wd doesnt work, I do that and it works. Then sometimes I have to re-do that same thing to get out of 4wd.

 

[MatthewAlan8]

find something else to drive and off road this one...

Haha yeah I've been looking at buying a commuter car so I can stop paying $70 a week on gas. I'd love to build an off-roader with my Ex.

So something else happened. The alternator died and it was a pretty simple swamp, although it cost me $160 from Auto Zone (I needed it that day, couldn't wait for a good deal).

Good thing about that is that my e-brake light and check engine light are off now Thats the small silver lining...

I'm going to look at cleaning the multi-function switch as that seems to be the issue. I'm guessing I'm going to have to end up replacing it. I have to press several times to get any wiper fluid, and I get the "buzz" a lot of the time when using the left turn-signal. I'll try cleaning it first to save some cash, but might end up replacing it. Looks fairly simple.

 

[alohamonte]

She's fixable.

When u lost all power, the car's computer reset which turned off the check engine light and brake light. they may come back within a day or so of driving if the underlying problem is still there and triggers a code again. take ur ride to autozone and have them scan it for error codes - they do this for free. ask for a print out of any error codes. They will also test your battery which is a good idea if it's a few years old. It's good practice to reset the computer (disconnect the battery for 10 minutes) after repairs that affect engine performance.

For brakes, bring it to a trusted brake shop. They'll replace the rotors, fix the leak, and correct the ebrake. However, it can cost about $300-350 per axle. You can also have the shop check out your front end and tires and figure out why your wheels are out of alignment. Could need balljoints or just air in the tires, hard to say.

For coolant leak... wipe the motor down so its dry and try to trace the leak. Could be from a number of places ranging from cheapy hose fix to major overhaul. Is there evidence of coolant in the oil or vice versa?

Wiper speed - this is controlled by the Multi-function switch on the steering column (the stalk the controls lights and wipers opporsite the transmission shifter). It's a snich to replace. You can buy the part new on ebay all day long for around $65. Plenty of posts on this forum on how to replace that (10 min job).

Transmission flush is easy to get. Any oil change place will do it for $100 ish. Be sure to get the full service with new gasket and filter - not the cheaper "fluid transfer" which is crap.

4x4... could be transfer case fluid is low. Check that first.

Door locks, subwoofer, etc are relatively small issues that are annoying but wont cause u to break down or compromise safety to do the other items first.

 

[brandondox]

for your check engine light, did you disconnect the negative terminal?
Disconnect the negative, or both terminals on your battery, keep disconnected for about 10 minutes and try to re connect. see if that helps.

 

[brandondox]

i just realized, Alohamonte said the same thing i did.lol. doesnt hurt to try my friend!! Good luck to you

 

[MatthewAlan8]

She's fixable.

When u lost all power, the car's computer reset which turned off the check engine light and brake light. they may come back within a day or so of driving if the underlying problem is still there and triggers a code again. take ur ride to autozone and have them scan it for error codes - they do this for free. ask for a print out of any error codes. They will also test your battery which is a good idea if it's a few years old. It's good practice to reset the computer (disconnect the battery for 10 minutes) after repairs that affect engine performance.

For brakes, bring it to a trusted brake shop. They'll replace the rotors, fix the leak, and correct the ebrake. However, it can cost about $300-350 per axle. You can also have the shop check out your front end and tires and figure out why your wheels are out of alignment. Could need balljoints or just air in the tires, hard to say.

For coolant leak... wipe the motor down so its dry and try to trace the leak. Could be from a number of places ranging from cheapy hose fix to major overhaul. Is there evidence of coolant in the oil or vice versa?

Wiper speed - this is controlled by the Multi-function switch on the steering column (the stalk the controls lights and wipers opporsite the transmission shifter). It's a snich to replace. You can buy the part new on ebay all day long for around $65. Plenty of posts on this forum on how to replace that (10 min job).

Transmission flush is easy to get. Any oil change place will do it for $100 ish. Be sure to get the full service with new gasket and filter - not the cheaper "fluid transfer" which is crap.

4x4... could be transfer case fluid is low. Check that first.

Door locks, subwoofer, etc are relatively small issues that are annoying but wont cause u to break down or compromise safety to do the other items first.

Hey thank you for the response. I had the battery out of the car when I replaced the alternator so that took me about an hour. So far the check engine light has stayed off. It happened when I accidentally left the oil cap off and when I put it back on the light stayed on waiting to be cleared. This may have done the trick.

Curious about the brakes. I can replace the rotors and the brake pads myself. What do you think it would cost for them to fix the leak and take care of the e-brake?

For the coolant leak, I've been told (albeit from a shady repair shop) that I had a leak in the intake manifold gasket and wanted like $500 to repair it. I do know that the hoses have not been replaced since I bought the car (2004) and I'm pretty sure they're old as dirt. I just don't know how to get to all of them to replace them and would prefer to do it myself cost is an issue).

I did some research last night about the multi-function switch and I plan to take care of that after the holidays. Sounds easy enough.

Ditto to the transmission flush. Plan to get that done after the holidays.

4x4 transfer case fluid. I'll have to check that out now (search function and google). If you have any info (as in: is this DIY for a beginner?) please let me know!

Thanks again for the advice

 

[CASTLE95X]

As far as the t-case fluid it is pretty simple. There should be two plugs, usually on the rear side of the case. If you are changing fluid, just drain with bottom plug then use top plug to pour in the right amount of fluid. It is usually filled to the bottom of the upper plug. When you replace your fill or drain plugs, don't crank down on them just a little more than snug. As far as the fluid that the case takes, i ain't sure now will have to check owners manual some take atf others gear lube depends on the t-case manufacturer. Best of luck with your rig.

 

[edwardalmost]

petty driving school
MECHANICAL AND SAFETY INSTRUCTION .Learning important Details of the race including how to enter and exit, shifting patterns, safety devices ect.
DRIVERS MEETING – You will meet and go over any last minute details and get any remaining questions answered. This is also an opportunity for you’re to get your picture taken next to your race car.

I have been thinking about trying out the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School. Has any one hear had the opportunity to try it out?

 

[tonyroc14]

my list goes as follows:

-Fog light switch, and right side cruise control switch do not light up
-Rust on the roof.