I've been in the market for an Ex for a few weeks and finally got around to driving a few today. I'm looking at 2004 and 2005 4x4's. I located 3 diesels and 1 v10 within 10 miles of each other and drove out for a look. 2 were on dealer lots and 2 were private owner. All mileage was 100-115k miles for the diesels and 130k for the V10. The dealer vehicles were trashed out and for the price they wanted there must of been some gold somewhere. I quickly passed on these. The private owner diesel was a 2004 Limited and was in very good condition with a tuner. It drove OK but the front end seemed to wonder a bit. He was the second owner and was asking $18.5 which was reasonable (I think). The owner said he had never had any engine issues in the 4 years he owned it. The V10 was exactly the same truck (except engine), 2004, color, Limited, slightly better interior and is a 1 owner. He was asking $16.5 but dropped to $12.5 (military deploying) because he wants it gone and it needs tires. I like the V10 due to price. $6K will buy a lot of gas. The one thing I found on the V10 was the AC defaulted to the defrost mode for some reason. I know vaccum leaks can cause this but I'm not sure. Any ideas on this issue? Any common problems I should look for? It's late and I'm tired so I hope this makes sense.

Thanks,

Scott

 

Thats usually caused by vacuum leaks because of bad hub seals, hoses or ESOF solenoid. Do the automatic hubs work?

 

I was testing the 4x4 function when this happened. This would make sense because the owner said he had recently changed the fluid in the front axle due to age and milage. Something probably got pulled lose? This doesn't seem to be a major issue. Is it? He said this is a commuter vehicle for his wife (mostly) and he pulls his boat to the lake with very little (if any)use of the 4x4. The undercarrage is what I would expect from this type of driving and I couldn't find any signs of leaks from anywhere. For a 7 year old truck I would give it an 8 due to mileage but everything else has been well maintained.

Thanks for the feedback,

Scott

 

The vacuum issue is not a big deal usually. Mine did that and it was simply a cracked vacuum line going to the drivers side hub.

 

Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and bought the Ex today and drove it the long way home which included several miles of I-85. I was able to get it above normal hiway speeds to see if anything was going to shake lose. Other than an out of balance rear tire the thing drives great. The brakes seemed kinda soft so as soon as I got it home I pulled the right front tire for a look. Rotors appear to be in good condition and the pads have maybe 20% remaining so I'll replace them tomorrow after checking the rears. The locking hub was stuck so I pulled it off to try and free it up. I have no idea how these things work but it was either free it up or replace it so I poured some mineral spirits into it and sloshed it around, poured it out and let it drain. I then sprayed some WD-40 into it and started trying to move the lock. It finally gave and started to move. Now the question is: Is there ay way to lube this hub without disassembly? I've read the threads on ball joint replacement and it doesn't seem too difficult. I'm debating on weather to go ahead and replace them or wait till fall and cooler weather (I have to work in the driveway). I saw several opinions on replacement ball joint brands but where would y'all suggest buying them? I have some more questions but I'll start another thread.

Thanks,

Scott

 

The vacuum leak for the 4x4 was the ESOF solenoid and a broken line to the right side hub. I plugged the vacuum supply line to the solenoid for now. I found the thread on how to clean and maintain the hubs and got that done (I had to reuse the o rings). The 4x4 works great just have to manually lock the hubs for now. I know the guy I bought it from was BS'n about the 4x4 not being used much. It's apparent it wasn't working and he didn't know how to repair it. The rest of the Ex checks out OK. Gonna need brake pads, tires and rear shocks soon. The ball joints are a question. Even if they are OK now its just a matter of time before they will have to be replaced. I'll get the parts ordered and get them done before putting tires on. No need to ruin $500 worth of tires over a $500 repair.

Scott