Ok, so in this post I hope to help people that are facing some common explorer (ranger??) problems. Unfortunately I have dealt with all firsthand, except the wonderful Firestone/rollover fiasco. I have a 2000 EB.
I have literally spent just as much as the car is worth in repairs.
Sorry if this is a repost to some problems, but my hope is to consolidate them….by the way, thanks to everyone who has unknowingly helped me with my problems. I have read tons of info about these subjects and have nearly shot my car in frustration.

Airbag light on?


Most likely it is related to the relay underneath the passenger or driver-side seat. It is a problem that Ford acknowledges because they designed a new harness for it. The dealer will gladly install it for you….for about a grand!!!! The service manager tried to scare me into not fiddling with the problem, saying that the airbag could go off without the right tools. Whatever….
The relay in my car was a plastic yellow piece directly under the crossbeam of the seat. I found that, at least in my case, the wires would pull out of the relay and trigger the light to come on. I am not sure if the wires weren’t long enough from the factory or if the relay connections become weak over time. Either way I disconnected the battery (move the seat completely forward before doing this) and I ripped apart the relay (carefully, so that the male and female sides could still connect post-repair). I connected more wire to the pulled out end and crimped the newly-lengthened wire tightly into the relay. Looking back, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add some glue between the relay and the wire for reinforcement…just make sure your contacts remain clean. Lastly, I found that the relay is in prime location for back-seat passengers to accidentally kick it, causing the wires to pull out again and me to cuss. To fix this, I zip-tied the relay more toward the end of the crossbeam rather than the middle of it. Also try to keep the wires out of the way. In my case, the light went off and has not returned since. Total cost was about 10 bucks for a crimper and extra wire. A grand???!!!! Yea right!

Is your external door handle as limp as a 90 year old man without Viagra???

I have found that this problem mostly coincides with the door not unlocking…more on that in a bit. In either case, your springs have sprung. There are two springs in the handle assembly that eventually rust and break. Hence limpness. What you will need to do is to buy a new handle assembly because the springs cannot be replaced alone (unless someone else knows a way). The handle will need to be painted to match the car color. I tried to save a bit of money by jury-rigging the old painted handle onto the new assembly. Take my advise, spend the money to get the new one painted. It did work, but I could have kicked myself afterward. If you want to install the new door handle assembly yourself, it is not that hard. It can be frustrating at times though because your hands will get chewed up inside the door. The hardest part is getting out the rivets that hold the assembly to the door. After putting it all together, it might take some adjusting to make sure the tension is enough to open the door.
At this point, if your lock was acting up, it might be better. In my case it was, until a few weeks ago the lock did the same thing as it used to…it would try to unlock, but couldn’t.

Does your lock try to unlock, but can’t?

Just remember ladies that this is better than premature unlocking.

I found that the problem is another broken spring, only in the latch assembly. It is kind of hard to describe (I need to post some pics), but if you shine a light into the mechanism (you don’t need to take apart the door – just look into the latch assembly) you should see a metal piece that looks like an upside-down “L”. When the door is UNLOCKED, you pull the handle, which causes the L piece to hit another metal piece behind it, thus opening the door. When the door is LOCKED, the L piece is pulled to a position (above) where it cannot strike the metal piece behind it. So here lies the problem….there is a spring that holds the L piece slightly in front of the metal piece at all times. If the spring breaks, then the L piece can get caught on the TOP of the other piece, and door will not unlock. It is easier if you play with the latch of a door that is working properly and then look at the latch of the broken door. I was told that the assembly would need to be replaced, but as cheap as I am, I devised a way around it. I bought a chainsaw sharpening file (round) and attached it to my drill. Then I filed down the metal piece (NOT the L) so that the L piece could slide past it. It wasn’t the cleanest job, but it always unlocks now. Also, adding oil to the filed-down part helped.


Does your engine stall, hesitate, buck, or hiccup?

This could admittedly be a lot of things. But, this post is for common problems. To give you some background, a few times my car completely stalled like it was running out of gas. It was unsafe. Other times, the car would start up and die, but not before shaking like an old diesel. It would happen a lot when it was cold out (around freezing). Usually it would throw Lean Codes (PO171 and PO174). This problem was a thorn in my side for the past year and a half. I’ll save you the story.
The problems usually arise from:
1) dirty/faulty Mass Airflow Sensor
2) faulty/sticking Idle Air Control valve (prominent only during idle)
3) Deteriorated O rings between the upper and lower intake manifolds
As a side note, make sure BOTH upper and lower o rings (gaskets) are replaced. This was why it took me so long to figure out the problem.

Does the display on your radio fade out?

It’s been a while since I have dealt with this. There is a part in the radio that is affected by fluctuations in heat. It either needs to be resoldered or replaced. I would write more but I am getting tired of typing….

I hope other people post their experiences so that others can benefit.
Thanks

 

Good post...gave me something to think about on a my Explorer and another family member's Explorer. I will sit down and think of a few things that I could add...hopefully it all will be helpful to someone else down the line.

 

Anyone have a problem with truck dying out and having to be reset?

 

Nice Tip On The Door Handle/lock Problem
I Have Same Problem With My 98 Explorer.
You Nailed It.

 

Don't know if this is a common problem or not, but our 08 Limited has a poorly sealed steering column and a TON of cold air comes up thru it and out around the air bag. Have to schedule a visit to the dealer to get that looked at.

 

hmmmm how about this
rough idle
stinky exhaust
poor gas mileage
CE light is always on talking about lean/rich o2 sensors

we have an intake on the explorer so that might contribute

 

I had the limp handles on my old '92. Spent $300 with dealer to fix them in 2001, got rid of it a few years later.

On the first couple of years (91-92), rocker panels in front of rear tire were shot-peened by gravel. I had the dealer repaint and then put on running boards, but it eventually rusted out. Which was the main reason I got rid of it.

Engine was fine until an exhaust valve burnt out at 221,000 miles. Manual tranny had issues with 'soft' seals on a couple of occasions, total rebuilt twice.

My new one '06 has had problems with auto tranny shifter, and the driver's seat is pretty uncomfortable. Love the suspension and V8.

 

You need new O2 sensors, probably need to clean the MAF element, and decarbon the engine.

 

how would you suggest cleaning carbon from engine?

 

Hello to every one here, i just bought a 1996 explorer xlt 4x4. it has just about the same trim package an eddie has, just not the badge. its 4.0l pushrod w/auto trans. any real problem areas or weak points on this model?

 

I have a 2006 Explorer and the airbag light will come on intermittently. Once on, it will not flash any codes just come on and stay lit. If I restart the vehicle the light may or may not come back on. It used to only come on when the temp was -20 but now comes on anytime.
Is it a problem with the connectors/sensors/RCM? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

I had two problems in my 05.
#1 When the truck was in cruise control, and at about 40mph, it would show all the idiot lights, and then stall. It only did it at slow speed, not highway speed. They reprogramed the computer, and it has not happened again.

#2 When I got the truck used with 49K miles, it got terrible gas mileage ( mid 13's). The dealer supposedly checked it. All I did was change the plugs with Autolite double platinums for $25 at Pep Boys, and now it gets a little under 17 mpg. Big difference for a few bucks and a little elbow grease.

My 98 was pretty much trouble free. Got it with 47K miles, some dopey girl hit me from behind, and totalled it with 130 K miles. Just oil and filters, brakes, shocks, a new battery and tires. This is pretty much what any truck would get.

 

I am new to TFE and I am wondering if anyone knows about the banking problems. I have my check engine light on and have taken it to two different places which tell me that bank one is running too rich and bank two is running too lean. What does this mean. Obviously I am not doing the work myself but I wanna make sure I have the knowledge on whats going on before I let them take my truck for another 3 weeks to only have the same problem arise. I have a 98 Explorer

 

I am certainly not an expert in this area, but I believe that this refers to which side( bank) of the engine is in question. This means the left side or right side of the engine or the passenger side or drivers side. I saw something here( on the forum) indicating that one side of the engine is supposed to get a certain type spark plug and the other side gets a different plug. The difference is the heat range, and whether it is platinum or not. This seemed a bit odd. However, the person writing said that if you use "double platinum" plugs on both sides it eliminates the issue. That is what I put in my truck, and they were only a few dollars each ( less than $4 at Pep Boys). The truck now gets much better mileage.

 

Well I wish I knew exactly what they were all talking about but as much as I ask questions and the little answers I get is a pain in the butt.. That is why I am on looking these things up so I can stump the mechanic that will be doing it.. It just seemed kinda strange when the mechanic was like i have to do some research on these things and get u in tues. Something had told me to ask about the plugs and he told me that there was no problem.. Maybe I will go and do that this weekend and surprise the Genius Tues when he does my inspection.