Sourcing parts for 5th gen Explorer in Europe

[vmozer]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and also recently purchased a 2011 Explorer Limited. Since I would like to do preventive water pump replacement (+timing chain and the rest while its open) in the near future, I am researching the possibilities of purchasing OEM Motorcraft parts in Europe (ideally EU) - I live in Slovakia. There is always the possibility of purchasing from rockauto and ebay but the shipping fees and import costs are rather high. I was wondering if the european 5th Explorer owners have found some reliable source of spare parts here in the EU. I have been able to find some overpriced aftermarket parts, but no luck with proper Motorcraft inventory so far - particularly the waterpump (after reading the discussions about it here).

On related topic; in my research I have been able to find a source for coolant (Ford Specialty Green one in my Explorer) and the oils for the engine, transmission, PTU and differentials. It's made by Ravenol (Germany). You can check the compatibility here:

ravenol-oilfinder

oilguide.ravenol.de

Also seems to be available in the US: Find the Right RAVENOL Motor Oil or Lubricant | RAVENOL AMERICA
Any experience with this particular brand? Importing gallons of coolant from the US is close to insanity.

Any recommendations on where to source Explorer parts and if you had any luck with recalls (found some hints here and have two outstanding recalls as per the checker) would be much appreciated!

Vlad

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Vlad.
In reading some of the posts on coolant, it seems that yellow VC13G is the newest one and is supposed to be better for the water pump. FYI, I have no experience with it. You could check the specifications.

PIU - which coolant to use?

Hi, Really quick question. Does the PIU really need *only* the orange Motorcraft coolant or will in reality any coolant do? It's 2014 and has a little over 142k miles on it. Thanks!

www.explorerforum.com

Peter

 

[vmozer]

Hi Peter, thanks for your reply.
I have looked at the specs of yellow coolant (WSS-M97B57-A1), but could not find anything matching it exactly apart from two local brands and even they appear to be intended for Japanese and Korean vehicles rather than directly to Ford. If I recall correctly the specialty green coolant was also shared with Mazda, which is perhaps why. There is a ford POAT coolant offered here in Europe, but that seems to be matching the now discontinued orange coolant (WSS-M97B44-D). Valvoline (Zerex) used to make something matching the yellow coolant specs, but that is discontinued too - Europe appears to be inclined to SiOAT coolants and not so much to POAT.

 

[vmozer]

A quick update on the recall part of my story - went to the local authorized Ford dealership and they had no problems with the recalls. It may take about two to three weeks to get the necessary parts but no problems or extra payments otherwise. They did a free diagnostic checkup and ordered what is necessary for the repair. So far so good.
I will also be replacing a rear wheel bearing hub this weekend. It is known to be a PITA job for AWD, but will try to document and post a how to guide here. I got the parts from rockauto. Found some obscure offers from European part stores too, but these were most likely cheap Chinese knockoffs and I could not find any meaningful reviews and judging by the price they could not be really any good. So it seems that rockauto is one of the few viable part sources for US car owners here in Europe, despite the higher shipping costs.