What did you do to your Explorer this weekend?

[TNTEXPLORER]

replaced the interior carpet and padding! cleaned and repainted the dash and all plastic pannels with krylon fusion

 

[Fifty150]

I stared at it for about 2 hrs, and then sang Miss Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in front of the vehicle until dinner time.

I did the same exact thing. Did your neighbors call the cops too?

 

[IZwack]

I did the same exact thing. Did your neighbors call the cops too?

Yes, but then the cops came, and joined the karaoke party. Smashing good time really..

 

[97xlt4.0]

I replaced the water pump, and took it hunting the next day....now it needs a bath. I've been sick all week, so it's been mostly sitting since Monday...

 

[Fifty150]

I replaced the water pump, and took it hunting the next day....now it needs a bath. I've been sick all week, so it's been mostly sitting since Monday...

Any problems with any of the water pump studs? Mine were rusted and they broke.

 

[98eaglesport]

I hit the Otay trails right here by the Mexican border, got some mud all over the truck. Now I'm faced with the difficult task of cleaning the whole thing. By the way, I'm surprised with what a 2wd explorer sport can do, this truck just has too much power.

 

[97xlt4.0]

Any problems with any of the water pump studs? Mine were rusted and they broke.

Nope, not a problem with 'em...the project was actually simpler than I had anticipated...took me and a couple friends about 3 hours to tear down and reassemble.

 

[Fifty150]

On mine, with the 5 liter engine, I had to cut the hoses with my Buck knife, then peel them off the fittings with a pair of Irwin Vise Grips. Not to mention that it took sweveral days of penetrating oil and the use of left hand drill bits to get those broken studs out. Finding parts was a real adventure too. It wasn't easy matching up hardware to get replacements, and those hoses were all "special order" items.

 

[97xlt4.0]

Holy Crap, that sounds like a nightmare!!! Mine had been leaking down the engine block for a while, but amazingly didn't fight that hard being replaced!

 

[syn-]

Just installed my first tune from James Henson to complement the black magic 180 xtreme. Holy crap the 4.0 OHV has some great response once you upgrade a few things. 40 to 60 is crazy compared to stock.

 

[2TimingTom]

Busy day in the garage. Started at about 8:30 am and finished up about 2:40 pm. No breaks.

Installed my Pro-Comp add-a-leaf in the rear with new Rancho RS5000 shocks front and rear, plus a new left front bearing/hub.

After removing the bearing/hub, I'm not so sure it was bad. The bearing wasn't noisy after I removed it and I still have a faint "rump rump rump" noise.

Also noticed that I have a leak coming out of my transfer case where the rear drive shaft comes out. Anyone know how hard that seal is to replace?

 

[97xlt4.0]

I have a similar leak on mine, at the back of the t-case...I think it's the rear output seal, and I'm not sure how hard it is to replace. Is yours a slow leak, too? I'm watching mine right now, and it doesn't seem to get any worse...

 

[2TimingTom]

Slow-ish. If I spray it with brake cleaner, it'll be covered again in a few days.

There's a how-to sticky in the transmission/transfer case section of the forum. I just read it. Doesn't seem like too bad of an install. I've done a couple on a FWD transmission before. This procedure "sounds" significantly easier.

I'll probably tackle this in the next week or so.

 

[97xlt4.0]

I'll be interested to learn how it goes for you. The great outdoors is my shop, so I'm naturally hoping to wait til spring....;-)

Your front end noise.....I just replaced all my bearings/brakes, etc, and have a similar noise...have you checked your CV's yet? I'm down to either CV's or balljoints on mine...everything else has been replaced, and shouldnt be making noise(LOL....riiight)

 

[4rd4life]

what kind of upgrades syn- id be interested in this lol

 

[bcboy4ca]

After removing the bearing/hub, I'm not so sure it was bad. The bearing wasn't noisy after I removed it and I still have a faint "rump rump rump" noise.

Have you tried rotating your tires? It could be some cupping/uneven wear on one of your front tires.

 

[2TimingTom]

I am going to get all new tires and an alignment within a week or so. So if the noise is tire related, it should go away then.

 

[2TimingTom]

BUMP!

11/3/2010

NEW TIRES! I love the smell of new tires!

I went with 30x9.5r15 BFG KO T/A tires. I also upped the pressure from the door sticker 26 psi (I guess it never got the updated sticker) to 35 psi.

For the past several years with my previous car (2003 Mazda Protege) I've been using summer tires in the non-winter months and winter tires in the winter. These BFG tires come pretty highly regarded and have the snow-flake symbol on them which means they should work better in the snow than a normal all-season tire. Even though I've now got 4wd, I've always had 4 wheel braking and braking is usually where you get into trouble in the snow. Plus they'll go off road.

Switching for a P-rated passenger tire to the LT-rated light truck tire and increased air pressure has made the suspension feel a little more stiff, but it's all good.

I can't wait for it to snow!

The old Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires weren't worn out- they still had 8/32" of tread remaining They were showing some signs of dry rot cracks though. They were kind of old- molded in the 19th and 20th weeks of 2007. I sold them on craigslist for $100 90 minutes after I originally posted the listing. I got 2 calls and 1 email in that time.

11/5/2010

Got an alignment. The steering wheel wasn't quite straight while driving and I thought I noticed some odd wear on the old Goodyears. Since I got new tires, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to ruin them prematurely.

Turns out the right side toe was out of spec.

Now the wheel is nice and straight and everything is within spec.

11/7/2010

Driver's side door lock issue HERE.

 

[snoranger]

I bought a 2000 XLT with a bad trans.


Back up to 3!!!

 

[chezoom]

Flipped it off and said some mean words to it.
started it up at 5:30 am yesterday and flipped the heater on. went back insiide and got ready for work. 20 minutes later i come out and the son of a ***** is off. She went back to sleep. It hadnt ever run long because it was still freezing in the truck. temp guage hadnt even moved.
(She has an idling problem)