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What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Sock Puppet

Active Member
Joined
August 20, 2014
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City, State
High Desert
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Explorer XLS 4X4
I love threads that share ideas, tips, inspire, and keep other members motivated, so I love threads like this!:D

Let's keep each other going! Share what you've been doing to your 3rd gen, no matter how big or how small. Did you rebuild your engine with nothing but a screwdriver and a Chihuahua? Post up, Son! Did you change your wiper blades? Heck, tell us what you bought, why, and where you got 'em.

We've gotta keep our "aging" rigs on the road, and a little help can go a long way. I've picked up a lot from this forum and look forward to seeing what everyone is up to!:thumbsup:
 



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Changed my transmission filter

OK, I'll start. Today I decided to drain my tranny and change the filter. I found this video to be helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEPb1pAA_oI

Picked up a new filter and 6 quarts of Mercon V and headed home. Jacked up and leveled the wagon..and the fun began. The torx head plug would not come out, and finally broke loose the entire plug. It ended up being so stuck that I broke my (admittedly cheap) torx socket off in the plug. Luckily the local Ford dealer had a new one for $11.03. Pt. #6L2Z7A010AA .

The rest went relatively smoothly and with little blood or Mercon V lost. One of the filter "o-rings/gaskets" didn't come out with the filter, but it was easily removed with a small pick. The fluid was dirty, but everything looked OK and the pan cleaned up fine. No major metal on the magnet, so I call that a win.

FordExplorer004_zpsbff5b9da.jpg


Pic was taken before I cleaned the mating surface.
FordExplorer005_zpsde6f3fd3.jpg


Got it filled back up (took about 5.5 qts) and took it for a drive. Everything functioned as it should. One more thing checked off the list!:)
 






Thought about pulling the rear seats this morning, cleaned out the mess me puppy made of the sheepskin seat covers then thought bugger it, I'll leave em in.......Does that count? :D
 






Getting the struts replaced
 






The Explorer is due for tires, but I didn't want to pay $500-$600 at a retailer, or buy online and get hit with freight, so I've been watching local ads.

Picked up a full set of Dunlop GrandTrek AT20 tires in 245/75-16 today for $320 cash. They were pulled off of a new Tacoma with less than 1500 miles as the owner installed a lift kit and larger tires. I paid $320 cash and have a local guy who will mount/balance them for $10 each, so I'll be all in at $360. Not bad. Maybe not terribly aggressive, but should work for my intended use. I only drive this wagon about 4K miles per year.
 






Well not today, but last weekend I removed the roof racks and painted them. They were due for it. This weekend I'm going to rob parts from the local pick-n-pull. I need the drivers seat, or at least the bottom portion cover and a couple of knobs, two ventvisors, thinking about getting a stock radio (probably not willing to spend the money on that now), and some other odds and ends. Oh and I hope to get some LED lights to go around the interior. I'm torn between making them or ordering a package on ebay (ebay package is actually cheaper, but may not be as quality). Hmm... Oh and a good detail job on the interior. I may pick up a fuel filter as well. Tranny fluid change in the future. Grease any fittings that take grease... you know, it never ends.
 






I went and apologised to mine - had been thinking about selling for a 4-cyl SUV, so my exploder got jealous and decided to blow the transmission as i left a used car lot.

They DO have feelings folks!
 






Ordered Rancho Quick Lift struts all the way around.
 






Bought some Valvoline maxLife full Syn for an oil change
 






Well not today, but last weekend I removed the roof racks and painted them. They were due for it.

5whiskey, was this difficult to do? I need to do the same to mine, but haven't climbed up yet to assess just how to remove the racks.

As far as what I've been doing lately? Nothing lately (except replace a fuse to get my power seat working again - wondering how it blew), but it's been an interesting last few months since I acquired this beast!

Deciding on what tires I want for winter, and getting ready to replace coolant (it's still rated to -20, but I'm going to put new in, since I just got this Explorer a few months ago).
 






Washed it
 






I tried Marvel Mystery Oil for the first time--my 4.6L is really noisy but this stuff does a great job at quieting the noise--much better than any Lucas product, octane boosters or anything else I've tried!

Barry
:exp:
 






Changed the oil. Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic 5W30. Oil worked great last time, so I'll keep using it.
 






Installed the new 245/75-16 tires today. The tires that were on it were a little undersized at 235/65-16.

Before:
Tires001_zps0895465a.jpg


After:
Tires003_zps48e869e6.jpg
 






5whiskey, was this difficult to do? I need to do the same to mine, but haven't climbed up yet to assess just how to remove the racks.

Not really. All you need is a set of Torx wrenches. For what it's worth, I used Rustoleam undercarriage paint. It's lightly textured and works well. I like textured paint in certain applications because it's easier to blend later if you scratch it again. Plus my paint job is holding up really well. I don't know if I could scratch it if I tried right now.
 






This past weekend I replaced the upper control arms w/ ball joints on both sides, as well as the front passenger side sway bar link as the previous one snapped and was driving around like this for however long unnoticed.

Once I get paid again I am going to replace the front strut assemblies with springs and find out how large in diameter the sway bar is so I can replace the bushings.
 






I'm getting ready to wash, wax, and sand mine. Only sanding a few areas, but I've got a little bubbling and also a rear passenger door that a young kid decided to carve their name into. So I'll be working on cleaning it up and fixing the paint. Next will be spark plugs and differential fluid change. Right at 105,000 miles and it's time to change some stuff out.
 






I drove it around a bit while listening to my timing chain rattle, wondering what timing chain kit to buy, which than lead to me thinking about how much I'm going to miss driving it while the engine is sitting in my garage as I replace the chains :(
 






The Explorer is due for tires, but I didn't want to pay $500-$600 at a retailer, or buy online and get hit with freight, so I've been watching local ads.

Picked up a full set of Dunlop GrandTrek AT20 tires in 245/75-16 today for $320 cash. They were pulled off of a new Tacoma with less than 1500 miles as the owner installed a lift kit and larger tires. I paid $320 cash and have a local guy who will mount/balance them for $10 each, so I'll be all in at $360. Not bad. Maybe not terribly aggressive, but should work for my intended use. I only drive this wagon about 4K miles per year. Ummm...sorry for the gigantic pic

Sock Puppet..for future reference...Check out discounttiredirect.com or tirebuyer.com. They have excellent prices. They both offer free shipping all the time. I've got experience with both and ontop of the free shipping, it's insanely fast. Their always at my door in 2-3 days tops. I'm ordering a set of Goodyear Fortera's for my explorer for 380$ shipped.
 



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I found out that "0 MILES TO E" means that it takes 21 gallons to fill! So that leaves me with a 1 gallon reserve. Don't wan to burn the fuel pump up!
 






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