what am i doing wrong?

[Retardriot427]

ever since i got my 93 Explorer EB in feb. of this year everything has gone wrong.
bent suspension membrane - $300
blew transmission - $2100
blew brakes - $500
engine work due to tapping - $500
i dont understand why, i offroad, but nothing real harsh, i got 31x10.50s and a 2 inch suspension lift so off roading wouldnt be as bad on the car, but it still seems the X breaks down pretty much every week, i dont understand?
anyone?

 

[410Fortune]

Sounds like the owner before you abused it big time.
What suspension membrane are you spreaking of?

Some of those prices seem a little high too. Maybe try tackling some of the work yourself? Youcan do that $500 brake job for $200 yourself in a single afternoon with simple hand tools and some advice.....

 

[Retardriot427]

no no, i just started driving (im 16), my parents had it the whole time, they bought it new, they treated it REAL well, my dads good with cars,lol

 

[Retardriot427]

its got 125k miles

 

[410Fortune]

Well at 125K miles you will start to have things wear out.

Once you get the truck up to par, preventive maintenence is the key. Now that you have that $2500 rebuilt transmission, you gotta change the fluid and filter every year, or it's just gonna happen again, understand?
Once the brakes have been done, dont let the pads wear out to the rotors and it will cost $50 to fix instead of $500...

 

[Retardriot427]

i just found out the reason for the brake job, since i went off roadin a bunch of mud got in the brakelines, messed up the master cylinder, compleltly disables one of the rear cyclinders, all cause of the mud, i dont see what i do that makes it get all this mud in the brake system and noone else has this problem

 

[410Fortune]

Sounds like the brake shop is feeding you a bunch of HOOEY or something was lost in the translation. It would be awfully tough to stuff mud into a brake line, first the brake line would have hole in it which would cause loss of hydraulic pressure, then the mus would have to find it's way into the hole and up through the proportioning valve, up to the master cylinder.

I wouldnt trust that shop if thats what they are trying to sell you. sounds like they are tryingto take advantage of a 16 year old kid if you ask me......

 

[Maniak]

The only way mud will get "into" a brake system is if you have a leak. The brake system is a sealed system.

You will get dirt/mud around the brake system (around the calipers etc)..

To keep that from causing problems.. you need to clean the truck after you get it muddy... I don't mean just hose it off.. I mean pull the wheels.. clean off the calipers, regrease the slide pins if you have to.. Check the bearings (I do this before and after everytime I go wheeling)..

if the mud you are going through is souply (lots of water) you should raise your breather tubes for the front/rear diff/ xfercase and transmission.

If you don't raise them and you drive through water over you axle I can just about guarantee you will get water/dirt into your diffs. If the stuff you drive through pushes the water/dirt over your tranny/xfer case you will get water/dirt in there also..

BTW.. A bend suspension member is most likely caused by someone smacking a curb etc or hitting something too hard when wheeling. Those pieces don't normally bend (unless you hardcore wheel)..


~Mark

 

[Retardriot427]

it bent because i was being chased and was forced to go over a 3 foot drop while turning

 

[Retardriot427]

i know the guy at the shop, hes a good friend of my dads, but they are trying to stop me from wheelin, so im guessing theyre saying this stuff to make me think off roadin is all horribly bad etc.

 

[410Fortune]

Dude well there is your answer. Quit driving like that and you wont break stuff. Cant afford to break stuff if you cant afford to fix it.

being chased? Are you a movie star or something? Poverattzi got ya on the run?






Ahhhh remember the gool ol days...you know I had a BMW as my first car, I beat the crap out of it and it sure did cost me a lot of money to keep making repairs, brakes here, shocks there.....Sure did spend alot of time without a car because of it.......

 

[410Fortune]

If you really want to abuse your truck off road then you need to do some preperation work and alsolearn how to do it safely. You think htese guys on this board go tearring down these trails as fast as they can?? Not unless they have spent a ton of time and $$$ building their rigs to handle it. Most of the time they go very slow. The key to climbing obstacles is not speed or full throttle, it's traction, momentum, and control.

Your truck is a tough truck, Explorer's can take a lot of abuse, but they are also hard on their drivetrains and suspensions, especailly when abused off road. If you want to know what you are doing wrong, start getting some off road magazines and reading all about these topics here on line, take it easy off road and treat your truck like it was your Girlfriend...

 

[Retardriot427]

well, when i got off roadin on dry dirt with obstacles im fine. i only run into problems when i go muddin, so i do i prepare my truck for muddin

 

[410Fortune]

Mud can be very hard on the truck and there are plenty of things to do before and after you tackle the mud.

You need to extend your breather lines up, so water cant get in your diff's, tranny, and t case.

You will need to inspect and re-pack your wheel bearings often, and like mentioned above clean and maintenence the brakes after each trip.

Thats just to get you started........

You need to keep mud out of your starter, and wires too...

 

[Retardriot427]

how do i extend my breather lines up, do you need to buy some kit to do this or what?
how do you do it?

 

[MyExpWork]

I still wanna know how and why he was being chased?

 

[410Fortune]

16 year old in Explorer= gonna get in trouble and chased by other high school kids. Wasnt this the norm for your Saturday nights? Heck I got in so many stupid car chases and crap back then I dont even know what I was thinking. Nowdays they just pull out guns and shoot each other though. What ever happend to good ol fist fights?

Hell a couple weeks ago I get cut off by this F-150, I was thinking Jerk! I'm gonna cut him off, next thig I know the passenger pulls out a bat and swings at the Blazer next to me, missing the drivers door by about 4" (Blazer swerved at last second. The only reason he cutme off was to get closer to the Blazer...some high school punks having a territory war I suppose, I jusr backed off and layed low, I dont need any new dents or bullet wounds for that matter.....

 

[Retardriot427]

i was chased by the police for off roading in an area that i thought was legal
apparently not
-i dont get in little fights with kids at school, tis stupid

 

[2001ExpSport]

I suggest you take the keys to that Explorer, walk over to your dad and place them in his hand. The rest I'll keep to myself.

 

[Retardriot427]

and why would i do that?
just cause im not as old as you?