I just bought my first Ford Truck, a 1997 HD Ext. Cab 4X4 with 59,000 miles. It's a great truck, has the 7.5L engine, real clean.

1. Driving it home last night, over 60 MPH there is a slight vibration coming from the front that is not consistent. Is this normal? This is my first 4X4. My buddy says it's the straight front end and it can be fixed with a damper?

2. Manual calls for ESE-M97B44-A specifications in anti-freeze. All I can find is ESE-M97B44-D. The overflow was empty so I used the D, so does D trump A or should I be draining it tomorrow?

3. Truck came with factory equiped remote entry, but it doesn't work. I put new batteries in the remote, but still nothing.? It has an after market remote start, possibly that has something to do with it.

 

First, welcome to the site!

Wow, those are some tough issues to deal with right off the bat...

1) I don't think any vibrations are normal. You might want to get the front-end checked to make sure there are no problems.

2) No idea what those specs are for so you might want to research the issue further

3) The entire setup (remote start & entry) is probably aftermarket. You should find the brand and ask for tips/tricks/troubleshooting techniques for it.

 

First off hello and welcome to the site.

>I just bought my first Ford Truck, a 1997 HD Ext. Cab 4X4
>with 59,000 miles. It's a great truck, has the 7.5L engine,
>real clean.
>
>1. Driving it home last night, over 60 MPH there is a slight
>vibration coming from the front that is not consistent. Is
>this normal? This is my first 4X4. My buddy says it's the
>straight front end and it can be fixed with a damper?

Like stated earlier, get the front end checked out. I would also go to a good tire shop and have them inspect and balance the tires.

>2. Manual calls for ESE-M97B44-A specifications in
>anti-freeze. All I can find is ESE-M97B44-D. The overflow
>was empty so I used the D, so does D trump A or should I be
>draining it tomorrow?

I checked out the spec numbers on Prestone's web site. From what I read the -A is plain old green antifreeze and the -D is low silicate, no phosphate extended life stuff. Here is the link I found, www.prestone.com/tips/page7.htm if you scroll down the page you will find the paragraph with the Ford spec numbers in it.

>3. Truck came with factory equiped remote entry, but it
>doesn't work. I put new batteries in the remote, but still
>nothing.? It has an after market remote start, possibly
>that has something to do with it.

I'm not gonna try this one!! Good luck on all counts.

'02 F-350 XLT 4X2 CC SRW V-10 6sp 4.30 Az. Beige

 

>>2. Manual calls for ESE-M97B44-A specifications in
>>anti-freeze. All I can find is ESE-M97B44-D. The overflow
>>was empty so I used the D, so does D trump A or should I be
>>draining it tomorrow?
>
>I checked out the spec numbers on Prestone's web site. From
>what I read the -A is plain old green antifreeze and the -D
>is low silicate, no phosphate extended life stuff. Here is
>the link I found, www.prestone.com/tips/page7.htm if you
>scroll down the page you will find the paragraph with the
>Ford spec numbers in it.


It is my understanding that these coolants are not interchangable! I would consult a trusted Ford dealer for ACTUAL interchangablilty.

 

I have a 99 SuperDuty F250 4X4 with keyless entry, and I bought it
used and last year the drivers side did not work but the passenger
side did. It cost me about $60.00 to replace the module that is in
the door attached to the lock. Evidently the motor burned out as is
a small servo motor. All works fine now and only took about 45 minutes to replace if you know what your doing. The vibration on the front is nothing more than a steering damper fix. I currently added a
Trailmaster SS invader and works very well with my Goodyear MTR's which are 285/75/16's. Goodluck.

 

>>>2. Manual calls for ESE-M97B44-A specifications in
>>>anti-freeze. All I can find is ESE-M97B44-D. The overflow
>>>was empty so I used the D, so does D trump A or should I be
>>>draining it tomorrow?
>>

>It is my understanding that these coolants are not
>interchangable! I would consult a trusted Ford dealer
>for ACTUAL interchangablilty.

monsta, great heads up! These are not interchangable! I'm not sure but I think mixing these is the recipe for...............TAR! Seriously, I've seen it. Kinda purply-black jelly lookin' goo!

Was the "D" spec coolant dyed green? Most Long Life coolants will be dyed a different color. Green has been the industry standard for conventional coolant that requires (SCA) treatment. But red, pink, gold, orange, or Fleetguard even makes a Blue low sillicate ELC.

I would drain it unless someone here can confirm otherwise, but I would definately take monsta's advice and get a COOLant education (Did You like that?-nice huh?) from Ford untill you know for sure what to use.

 

Are you guys serious? Blue Gel!!!! That is nuts. I think when they put in the aftermarket auto start they disconnected the factory keyless entry. I'm going to get the front end checked out next week, I have to get it inspected anyway. I bought it for a tow vehicle so I have another car to drive.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

> I think when they put in the aftermarket auto start they
>disconnected the factory keyless entry.

Check that. I have an aftermarket remote start and entry sytem and it didn't affect the OEM RKES at all. Maybe you should go through the key fob programming sequence in your user manual to see if that helps.