Time for a Tune-up?

[Mr. JEX Limited]

Hello everyone I have a question about my Explorer. I have a 1999 Ford Explorer Limited V8 2wd and I'm wondering if I need a tune-up or not. The reason I bring this up is because I'm getting really bad gas mileage right now (12.9 non-lead foot and heater use here and there) in city and I use to average (15.8 with a lead foot).

When I bought my Explorer, it had 96,x.. miles on the clock and now it has 138,836 and I read around the forums that a key source to bad gas mileage is a bad oxygen sensor and old or fouled spark plugs. I need advice on what is the full list a tune-up consists of and how much on average does it cost.

One other thing I have noticed is that my Explorer will have this vibration when at a stop light idling and this has been happening since 2009. I am wonder will a full tune-up fix my problems or not.

My truck has been very good to me since I bought it in 2006. The only problem I had (except from normal wear and tear) that was frustrating was a coolant leak by the fan area and I found out it was a old heater hose that was cracked.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[BradR]

Plugs, Wires, Fuel and Air Filter, Oil change and filter, MAF cleaned, seafoam or some sort of fuel injector cleaner. I'm sure theres plenty more I'm leaving out.

A quick search should help you loads.

 

[Electrohacker]

change all your oils and check all your wheel bearing and such, figure out any squeeks (squeeks = power loss)

you should change the axle oil's trans fluid, transfer case fluid and replace with synthetic this should help if you had any lubrication breakdown

possible you have a bed bearing causing drag give those a spin my hand and see if you feel any grinding

check your driveshaft joints

and of course plugs wires, maybe up to a K&N air filter or intake of you have a few bucks, on my truck just the filter alone made a huge improvement, but I mainly bought it because filters were a pain to find

check your tires, 32-45lbs check the tread, maybe get an alignment

 

[Mr. JEX Limited]

change all your oils and check all your wheel bearing and such, figure out any squeeks (squeeks = power loss)

you should change the axle oil's trans fluid, transfer case fluid and replace with synthetic this should help if you had any lubrication breakdown

possible you have a bed bearing causing drag give those a spin my hand and see if you feel any grinding

check your driveshaft joints

and of course plugs wires, maybe up to a K&N air filter or intake of you have a few bucks, on my truck just the filter alone made a huge improvement, but I mainly bought it because filters were a pain to find

check your tires, 32-45lbs check the tread, maybe get an alignment

Thanks for the help guys, but I thought only 2wd and awd had transfer cases I got a tranny and rear diff flush and change about a year or so ago.

I checked my tires and have them at 35 psi all around and I really can't check the tire tread very well because I have brand new tires all around. I'm running Michelin LTX M/S 265/70 R16. I do hear some squeeks from the back of my truck when I slowly go over a speed bump and I know its not the shocks because I just put them on in March 2009. That squeeking noise only happens when I leave for school here and there. Maybe I need new bushings?

I will take the advice on a front end alignment tho. I do have a K&N drop in air filter and its been a dream to have it instead of the standard toss away air filter. So obviously its time for a tune-up. I will stay away from the bosch spark plugs since I read and heard explorer's and bosch do not mix except for the bosch wiper blades.

So, what price do you guys think will be reasonable price for a tune-up? $200 to $300? I am really thinking about getting a Sct tune chip and device since it seems a lot of people on these forums have one and to see how much of a difference I can get out of a stock truck.

 

[aldive]

Don't blame the O2sensors until you verify with a scan.

Good luck.

 

[Electrohacker]

a full tune up should be around $100

you really only need to clean your K&N and change the plugs and wires

the rear bushings wont effect mileage

pull your air box and tube and clean it all out and the MAF, but I cant imagine its all that bad

my mileage has gone down recently too, but I think mine is related to that EGR code I have