Some Days It Just Never Ends...

[96AWD5.LOL]

Rants/Ramblings only -

Why does it always seem like first gens need constant attention? I may go a year before something needs repaired/replaced. Most recently I had to replace the oil level sensor. I had just done this a year ago with a smp branded one. Sure enough it was leaking internally as usual. Fine, simple enough, I'll replace it. And this time I'm going to replace it with a NOS Ford part. It was leaking bad enough I had to replace it when I had only just done an oil change...

Next week I notice some odd inner tire wear. I thought it was related to the bumper I built and the winch it now holds being heavy enough to change the alignment. I take it in for an alignment and they tell me the ball joints are toast. I internally call BS but sure enough they are laughably worn. Only 2 years and maybe 10K miles on them. Moog parts are ****e as well FWIW. Tangentially, I'm in the process of replacing these now. I've gotten pretty good at dissembling everything on each arm so it went quickly. I order the parts at Orielly's this time and the parts are finally delivered while I'm working on the disassembly. I go to verify the parts and one is not like the other ffs. I tell them about it and it will take 3 more days to perform the exchange as they have to have the part shipped in from another location. Staying positive, I thought I could put back one side and leave the other for when the part comes in but life decided to have a "hold my beer" moment when one of the wheel bearings was feeling gritty and looked marred on a few rollers. These were put in the same time as the ball joints. All Timken parts and seals.

Prior to these "two" repairs I had odd wear spots on the center of my tire. Shocks were completely gone. No rebound. These were on the car all of 12k miles ish?

The nvh pads between the leaf springs have been cracking and self ejecting over the years following the leaf spring pack replacements. So I continue to replace them. Als if anyone knows a good brand for these let me know. The ones I have I ordered from a suspension shop but they also crack and wear out.

Don't get me started on valve cover gaskets.

I love the truck when it runs. I like being able to work on it and know I did quality work. It's simply having to just re-do everything every few years is just insane. It seems like I can't stop looking for leaks or worn parts. My neighbors probably think I have OCD.

TL;DR - Owning a first gen is a pure labor of love.

 

[DaSovietPotato]

IMO most of it is par for the course when owning an old car with the exception of the ball joints and shocks, that is complete BS.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Rants/Ramblings only -

Why does it always seem like first gens need constant attention? I may go a year before something needs repaired/replaced. Most recently I had to replace the oil level sensor. I had just done this a year ago with a smp branded one. Sure enough it was leaking internally as usual. Fine, simple enough, I'll replace it. And this time I'm going to replace it with a NOS Ford part. It was leaking bad enough I had to replace it when I had only just done an oil change...

Next week I notice some odd inner tire wear. I thought it was related to the bumper I built and the winch it now holds being heavy enough to change the alignment. I take it in for an alignment and they tell me the ball joints are toast. I internally call BS but sure enough they are laughably worn. Only 2 years and maybe 10K miles on them. Moog parts are ***** as well FWIW. Tangentially, I'm in the process of replacing these now. I've gotten pretty good at dissembling everything on each arm so it went quickly. I order the parts at Orielly's this time and the parts are finally delivered while I'm working on the disassembly. I go to verify the parts and one is not like the other ffs. I tell them about it and it will take 3 more days to perform the exchange as they have to have the part shipped in from another location. Staying positive, I thought I could put back one side and leave the other for when the part comes in but life decided to have a "hold my beer" moment when one of the wheel bearings was feeling gritty and looked marred on a few rollers. These were put in the same time as the ball joints. All Timken parts and seals.

Prior to these "two" repairs I had odd wear spots on the center of my tire. Shocks were completely gone. No rebound. These were on the car all of 12k miles ish?

The nvh pads between the leaf springs have been cracking and self ejecting over the years following the leaf spring pack replacements. So I continue to replace them. Als if anyone knows a good brand for these let me know. The ones I have I ordered from a suspension shop but they also crack and wear out.

Don't get me started on valve cover gaskets.

I love the truck when it runs. I like being able to work on it and know I did quality work. It's simply having to just re-do everything every few years is just insane. It seems like I can't stop looking for leaks or worn parts. My neighbors probably think I have OCD.

TL;DR - Owning a first gen is a pure labor of love.

thats the nature of old stuff, at least these things are usually easy to fix! love to see a 2022 bmw turn 32 like your 91. that must be fun! i find, however, that lately the parts quality even from reputable brands cane hit n miss these days, so i find most of the repeat parts failures are either from my improper installation/inspection due diligence or just bad draw of parts. for example, brake booster,, had OE ford in mine 320k decided time to change, put a cardone in and it felt like i was slamming the pedal to the floor to stop it. if i truly slam it to the floor itll stop on a dime, but didnt like the feel at all. remanned duralast not long ago, now works fine. should've stuck with what was in it, if it aint broke, dont fix it. i mean as these parts age,, they anti getting newer or more reliable, but these new parts these days are hit n miss.

 

[Josh P]

Moog is trash, seems like there is only a few factories making parts for all the brands and they keep lowering the standards.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Moog is trash, seems like there is only a few factories making parts for all the brands and they keep lowering the standards.

ive found that the american mafe moog stuff used to be great, chinese not so much. now its all a hit n miss

 

[bwryan]

Rants/Ramblings only -

Why does it always seem like first gens need constant attention? I may go a year before something needs repaired/replaced. Most recently I had to replace the oil level sensor. I had just done this a year ago with a smp branded one. Sure enough it was leaking internally as usual. Fine, simple enough, I'll replace it. And this time I'm going to replace it with a NOS Ford part. It was leaking bad enough I had to replace it when I had only just done an oil change...

...

TL;DR - Owning a first gen is a pure labor of love.

Shame I didn't know that before I picked mine up a couple months ago. Good thing I like tinkering, even if I don't always know what I was doing. On mine, the water pump started weeping as I was driving it home from the purchase, replaced it and the belt. Then the rear mirror fell off so glued that puppy back on. 5-speed was amazingly vague so picked up the rebuild kit, put that in. Heater resistor pack went up in a puff of smoke, replaced it and the blower fan. Rear spring shackles had big ol' rust holes through them, replaced those. Headlight lenses were clouded up so took the Sylvania kit (the BEST) and cleared them up, then put in VLED LED headlight bulbs (the BEST!) in. Then the heater core sprung a leak so replaced it. Also replaced the MAF when just cleaning the sensor didn't take care of the CEL. Now I just have to deal with the rocker rust, plus I'm finding that with the 2dr there ain't nobody selling the panel between the door and the rear wheel well, so I'll have to try and fab something. And I'm lovin' it. :-D

TL;DR - Owning a first gen is a hoot, and you get to learn all kinds of stuff ya never knew.

 

[BKennedy]

I replaced my valve cover gaskets once in 28 years. I replaced my ball joints with Moog several years ago and they are still in great shape, and I off-road the heck out of my Explorer. Before I went with a SAS, I used to go through front wheel bearings every few years, but that was due to the 35" tires.

Rear view mirror, no big deal. Heater core, expected due to age and very easy to replace.

Any car is going to have issues, its just the nature of mechanical things. None of the stuff you are mentioning sounds like any more that routing maintenance with a 28 year old vehicle.

 

[96AWD5.LOL]

ive found that the american mafe moog stuff used to be great, chinese not so much. now its all a hit n miss

When I rebuilt the front end on my Vic I had to call to clarify part numbers with moog. This was when I learned that there was a overseas version and a USA version. Federal mogul had started to move factories over seas and parts were knockoff of the moog versions. I had my first issue with the replacement control arms. The bushing they had put in was loose and not a tight fit. So I ordered an oe bushing thinking this was just an oddity and I can press one in. When the oe bushing arrived it was a few sizes larger than the hole it was supposed to be pressed into. After a lot of research, I learned you could not buy the size bushing that came in the moog arm. In the end I had to go to the JY to get a oe arm for 15$. Lesson learned. Always use oe parts and NEVER throw away the original part you were replacing.

I replaced my valve cover gaskets once in 28 years. I replaced my ball joints with Moog several years ago and they are still in great shape, and I off-road the heck out of my Explorer. Before I went with a SAS, I used to go through front wheel bearings every few years, but that was due to the 35" tires.

My balljoints were their new version with an internal boot. They were greasable which was not my first choice. I change my oil roughly every 3500k and grease all my joints. It’s habitual. I admittedly work from home but the truck gets driven on long trips often and taken off-road a fair bit during the year; sand and rock mostly. I swear when I disassembled the front end for the joints this go around the bearings felt perfect on spin. When I removed them and ran the bearing in the race I could feel grit which I had to overcome to spin it. Only after ordering the new joints I saw I could have ordered Dana joints off rockauto. Bummer.

As for valve cover gaskets, I now have the valve cover supports/plates from Brian. I have one installed and it’s been great. It was just prior to learning about those I was going through a set or so a year. Always at the rear. I must have some tweaked covers.

 

[bwryan]

I replaced my valve cover gaskets once in 28 years. I replaced my ball joints with Moog several years ago and they are still in great shape, and I off-road the heck out of my Explorer. Before I went with a SAS, I used to go through front wheel bearings every few years, but that was due to the 35" tires.

Rear view mirror, no big deal. Heater core, expected due to age and very easy to replace.

Any car is going to have issues, its just the nature of mechanical things. None of the stuff you are mentioning sounds like any more that routing maintenance with a 28 year old vehicle.

I forgot -- I also had passenger window motor failure, had to take it apart (including the motor assembly itself) to remove all the little broken-off gear bits and put in a new gear. No doubt all stuff that wears out over time -- just didn't expect it all to be needed in such a short time. And yeah, the heater core was by far the easiest I've ever replaced. Kudos to the designers of that. Still need to replace the valve cover gaskets -- that won't be as easy as on my old trucks.

Brian

 

[Fix4Dirt]

When I rebuilt the front end on my Vic I had to call to clarify part numbers with moog. This was when I learned that there was a overseas version and a USA version. Federal mogul had started to move factories over seas and parts were knockoff of the moog versions. I had my first issue with the replacement control arms. The bushing they had put in was loose and not a tight fit. So I ordered an oe bushing thinking this was just an oddity and I can press one in. When the oe bushing arrived it was a few sizes larger than the hole it was supposed to be pressed into. After a lot of research, I learned you could not buy the size bushing that came in the moog arm. In the end I had to go to the JY to get a oe arm for 15$. Lesson learned. Always use oe parts and NEVER throw away the original part you were replacing.

My balljoints were their new version with an internal boot. They were greasable which was not my first choice. I change my oil roughly every 3500k and grease all my joints. It’s habitual. I admittedly work from home but the truck gets driven on long trips often and taken off-road a fair bit during the year; sand and rock mostly. I swear when I disassembled the front end for the joints this go around the bearings felt perfect on spin. When I removed them and ran the bearing in the race I could feel grit which I had to overcome to spin it. Only after ordering the new joints I saw I could have ordered Dana joints off rockauto. Bummer.

As for valve cover gaskets, I now have the valve cover supports/plates from Brian. I have one installed and it’s been great. It was just prior to learning about those I was going through a set or so a year. Always at the rear. I must have some tweaked covers.

yep, i usually try aftermarket as far as bushings from daystar or ES sisnce they have always worked great, eveb up to recently (used just last october)