The moderator sez post something! this may amuse....
By June of 2004 my 93 4.0 AWD had become a shuddering, vibrating, misfiring, poor idling mess. I was chasing around in circles, engine, transmisssion.....
Went to ford dealer, said "evaluate my van."
An hour (and $70.) later, they handed me a scribbled paper that said: 93 GT NBC trans
transfer case, u-joint rear shaft
baket kit
baket kit (xfr case bracket)?
transfer case ele clutch bad, 4th gear trans bad
front diff mount bracket broken
engine has miss
Parts and Labor $4,792.00 (US Funds)
It was suggested that I "get rid of the thing".

Instead, decided to make it better.
Went to local transmission shop first. He took it for a test drive, slammed it around corners, raced up the freeway on ramp, coasted off at next exit. He declared there was nothing wrong with the transmission. ( But he was shifting away from the problem). Said pull and check driveshaft balance, front end align, rebalance tires or get new., etc.
But I knew driving up the mountains I had the problems, but coasting down at the same speed I didnt, so I didnt follow his thinking. But I let him pull driveshaft, install a
new trans cross member and weld the diff bracket.
This lightened my wallet $280. but cured nothing.
Learned I could pull plug on Torque converter clutch/OD section of transmiss, when I did all shudder/vib disappeared and has stayed gone.
Turned my attention to engine. Got a screw in comp tester, compresssion was really bad. Pulled heads had them rebuilt for $480., not counting another $150. because I goofed the installation the first time.
So now my engine is running smooth and strong.
On a rainy day, pulled onto a grassy hill, nosed into a pine tree, gave it gas and watched my front wheels spin, my transfer case must be transferring.
So 2 years and a reasonable amount of money later, my aero has kept on truckin', and seems fully functional and smooth running.
So i guess the message is dont give up or believe everything they tell you.
I always liked what the indian guy said, in The Outlaw Josie Wales: we should "endeavor to persevere".

 

Nice work Coldgeorge. Glad you got it sorted out. Good story.

 

nice job coldgeorge,

and you didn't end up with those $500 a month for life car payments and $2000 a year insurance increase....and the salesman would have tried to stick you with one of those not so Freestars or one of their new gutless Hybrids that can't pull itself up a hill.....Billy's Hybrids are Not a better idea....they do save gas though....they have to be pushed to the top by another rig, then they can coast down the other side

did you notice any drop in gas mileage or any increase in overheating by pulling the electrical control plug wiring to TC LU clutch?

what failed with heads the first time to cause low compression? any cracks?

these 3 & 4L Aero engines are amazing....simple and long lifed....200k>300k seems to be nothing

have to admit though, I'm drooling over an new V6 Toyota RAV4...but can't pull the trigger because of extra costs and too many rigs now

most dealer service shops are there just for the warranty work.....they used to love to work on their 20 year old Ford products but hi ball refuse anything older than 5>7 years now....
shops have became nothing but sales setup for the new vehicle department.....the service manager must get a percentage kickback on any new sales referral that is successful

 

That sounds like me. But I'm spending a lil more 2-3000$+. On my 94 XLT Ext Sport.
I was going to do the body and paint myself, but welder craped out. And at 1200$ it was a lil steep for a new one and my time and then paint. I had both rockers complete, and side panel, replaced. It only cost me 900$, but it was a deal. It was a lot of extra work because of the rust. It maynot be a show job, but it looks good.
I have to replace the Ac lines, condenser, and recharge: 4-600$ for the parts, that if I have to replace the compressor. The only labour is for the recharge 178$.
I replaced and fixed my door panels for 40$. I have to replace the side passenger panel, 20$. The last lil stuff, is rear diff bump stops 80$ new, centre caps 2X 80$ new. And about 100$ for lil extras.
So I look at it, yes it's 12 yrs old, but only has 120K. One owner me! Its payed off. So if I can get another 12 yrs out of it for 3000$. That 250$ a yr or 21$ a month. Compare it to 4-700$ a month for a new useless Freestar or a new Explorer or better Expedition.

 

Hi Coldgeorge:

Good job, but I would still explore the reason why you had a shudder with the 3-4 shift & the T/C lockup connected.

As it is now, you are driving without a 4th gear and without T/C lockup. Without a 4th gear, all you are hurting is in the gas mileage, but without T/C lockup you might overheat your transmission, and that's something to be careful about.

 

cdnsoldier,
thanks for your service to democracy

one can get all the tools, gauges and supplies to do a/c flush/recharge at Harbor Freight for less than $178...then one is set up for years to do A/C with little further investment....the shops hourly charges are only going higher...most here are now way past $100 per hour because of all the regulation

last Ford my father bought was a new Ranger 6 years ago....3 years and 6 months-off warranty, started having serious electrical problems...to Ford shop and independents several times....Ford finally found problem....defect in main wiring harness, had been TSB but warranty replacement only during first 3 years....wanted $2500 to replace....last new Ford he bought of 22 over the years
Quality is No Longer Job One....It's Stick the Turkey when he walks in the door

 

the shop that did my heads said I must be running rich judging by how the seats burned away at 140,000 miles.
Since I dont put much mileage per year, two winters have passed since I changed the air filter. Mice had got into the air box and built a thick nest under the filter, No doubt limiting the air flow. Could this explain the early failure?
This subject was going to be my next post. The shop said take it to ford to analyze, I already told about my last eval at ford, so I'll hold off on that. But the forum has had some discussion of O2 sensors, it evidently affects the mixture?
Also, I run regular gas, along the front range that's 85 octane, is this doing any harm?
I plan to change the O2, the ford diy manual makes no mention of changing it as a scheduled maintenance item but I'll do it anyway.
Have not as yet checked what the gas mileage is, without the TCC. Seldom used OD anyway in hill country.
And, after the head job, my temp gauge stays steady and low, it used to start climbing at even slight uphills, or real hot days.
So I guess the subject here is, is there more to do tune-up wise, I seem to be running strong, smooth and cool.

 

Hi, copper

that was also going to be one of my next posts, what have I been getting away with, by pulling the tcc/od plug. Is this a clue that transmission trouble is developing, or have I merely isolated those parts, and have a 3 spd tranny. I dont notice any increase in operating temperature.
I'm learning a lot just by reading the back pages of this forum, although that takes time, so I have lots of questions I will be asking soon./

 

M

 

Good job!

Sometimes we have to convert our AWD trucks to 2wd to save money..... so good, that your van is still AWD!

 

Thanks
Here in Canada you require to be licenced, to do AC. I do all my own work but thats the only thing most here cannot do. You cannot purchase Frion here unless you are.
Shops here in Canada the highest I see is 60$/H.
You have to remeber as for wiring, and other parts, they maybe made by a jobber. So you cannot blame Ford directly.

 

cdnsoldier,
too bad about the DIYer A/C work up north and not selling a/c refrigerant retail
R134 is about as safe as any chemical can be.....far more safe than gasoline


coldgeorge,
run codes KOEO and KOER before changing O2 sensor
run and test on new O2 for fuel mileage, performance

then clean MAF, throttle body and check mileage, performance

disconnect neg. batt. lead after each step to clean ECU fuel trim memory forcing ECU to relearn engine run parameters

 

Yes too bad. But if not done right, a person can get injuired.

 

I meant to ask, what is the 13 pin module mounted under the center console.....that I have to unbolt every time I take the engine cover off?

 

ABS RABS electronics