TSB to better MPG

[endofbaker]

My last visit to the Dealer has increased my fuel economy by 3+ MPG.

My local Ford service manager typically gives me the look like I have two heads whenever I describe a problem with my car.

I decided to spend the $15 to view the alldata.com list of TSB's for the 98 Explorer (they dont have the 99 available yet). One familiar problem I noticed was a "Knocking heard from left side of engine at start up - 4.0 SOHC - 1997-2000". The fix for this is to replace the left hand cam tensioner. There is also a recall notice that instructs the dealer to replace the lower intake manifold gasket whenever the cam tensioner is replaced and vice-versa (warranty extended to 6 years 70k for these two).

Armed with the correctly phrased symptoms and an insistance that the TSB's be checked, I dropped the XLT off for what turned out to be a week.

The Knocking is gone from start up, and better yet, my fuel economy has jumped from 14-16MPG to 18-20 MPG (5 tanks so far).

Anyone with Knocking at start up should follow the steps above.

 

[Pack]

Thanks

Hey thanks for the info. I have a '98 and was wondering if you could post the rest of the TSBs for that model year, or email me the TSBs. There are a couple of things I cant seem to pinpoint, and would like to see if anyone else has experienced them.

Thanks again.

 

[ok89]

I would love to see those tsbs also
is it much different from www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems?

 

[tbomb]

yeah, me too - i wouldnt mind checking them out too, if you dont mind posting them.

and while we're at it, since you guys have 98's, how does your theft light blink? does it just blink normally, or, when you lock the doors, does it come on dimly and blink brightly? i had my truck in to the dealer for this, and they told me that they had another 98 on the lot that blinked the same way, so it must be normal. it never occured to those morons that maybe both trucks have the same problem, because mine never did this before. (i hate dealerships.)

thanks guys.

 

[ok89]

Normally mine blinks on and off
However when I open the door and its locked it blinks from dim to bright

 

[Pack]

Same here

Mine does the same thing as oK89. tbomb, have you ever had any trouble with your control trac system? Mine wants to engage on dry pavement from time to time, ever had this happen?

Thanks.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

TSB web base

Go to


Dead Link Removed

and you can find many current TSB's and recall info

Karol

 

[tbomb]

thanks, guys. makes me feel a little better about my theft light - maybe i just never noticed it before. i still hate dealerships

anyway, pack, ive never had any probs with the control trac, but i think ive read on here somewhere a few guys having the same trouble as you, try a search maybe? i forget the thread it was under.

and karol, thanks, but the good ol' gov.'t came through again with no responses from the nhtsa website, heh.

 

[endofbaker]

TSB

You can get a list of the TSB's from www.alldata.com or www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/servisemmy5.cfm
These sites will list the headings of the tsb's for free. An alldata subscription ($15-$20) will provide you with all the details, instructions to dealers, and fixes. It was worth it to me.

Good luck

 

[Pack]

Looks like we wont be getting any freebies here boys. I was really wondering about the TSB Service Bulletin Number: 13175; Bulletin Sequence Number: 609; Date of Bulletin: 9909. This TSB involves information regarding clutch squawk noise at take off.

If you could help me out I would really appreciate it.

Thanks again.

 

[endofbaker]

The tsb # and date you mentioned is not listed at alldata. the ntsb site lists 20 times the tsb's than alldata. if you have one from the alldata list i can look it up for you (one at a time).

 

[ok89]

Seat back lever

98-25-15 is the TSB number
Is there any way to prevent it from breaking?
Will Ford fix it even if it isn't broken off yet before my warranty expires?
Thank You

 

[espnfreak]

my dad has the SAME problem and he is taking the car in wednesday and hopefully his mpg will improve, he is already getting 21 mpg over 9 tanks of gas. so i think his left cam has a problem. his car is funny though, because when it starts it sounds more like a diesel than anything else and its so freakin loud ;-)

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by endofbaker
The tsb # and date you mentioned is not listed at alldata. the ntsb site lists 20 times the tsb's than alldata. if you have one from the alldata list i can look it up for you (one at a time).

There are a couple of reasons for that; 1) Alldata updates their database every 3 months, 2) NHTSA doesn't purge the old TSBs when they are reissued which leaves a lot of duplicate titles on NHTSA. I've printed both lists before and compared them. After weeding out the ones on NHTSA that were less than 3 months old and all of the duplicates, there weren't many more than Alldata. Both are valuable resources though.

 

[Robert]

Re: Seat back lever

Originally posted by ok89
98-25-15 is the TSB number
Is there any way to prevent it from breaking?
Will Ford fix it even if it isn't broken off yet before my warranty expires?
Thank You

No, Ford will not fix it if it isn't broken.

 

[ok89]

guess i will have to break it before the warranty wears out
Oh well i have warranty till 91,000

 

[Pack]

Thanks, here is one...

There are 4 TSBs from Alldata that I am concerned about. I know you only want one at a time, so if you just want to reply to each, one at a time, thats cool. Thank you so much for helping me with this situation.

00-5-7 MAR 00 Squawking/Eeking Noise From Clutch, 4.0L OHV, M5OD

98-14-5 JUL 98 Clunking Felt While Rocking Steering Wheel Side-To-Side

99-9-8 MAY 99 Steering-Drift/Pull to the Right

99-11-1 JUN 99 Noise/Vibration/Harshness-TSB Special

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[Pack]

Anyone else out there have problems like the ones I previously posted. These problems are a mystery to me.

Thanks.

 

[Pack]

Anyone else out there have problems like the ones I previously posted. These problems are a mystery to me.

Thanks.

 

[Pack]

Just trying to keep this thread alive....