Hi all just got a new truck and have a few questions I hope some of you can answer.

I just bought a 2000 Exp EB 5.4 A4WD with 210,600 on the clock in near mint cond. but no books or any info as it was a repo. However I have found an on line owners manual. Anywho... on with the questions.

1st, It has the Mach stereo in it, and to hear it I have to have it almost all the way up. Is there a way to fix this? I have played with all the gadgets on the radio that I could find but no luck.

2nd, It has the tranny shudder going into OD. Upon searching, I see that a flush might help. The fluid is a slight brownish red and does not smell burnt. Do you think it will be safe to flush the system with a new filter or should I just change the filter/fluid? Also do you think it'll help the shudder or should I start the saving for a rebuild and or TC?

3rd, the second row seats 12v plug does not have 12v, it has 8v. It will not power my daughters DVD player (shes devastated), or anything else for that matter. Is there a reason it will have 8v and not 12v?

OK sorry for the long post but trying to get all questions in one shot. So now Ill post pics, since we all know that threads are useless without pics, and everyone likes to see pics anyway. Thanks y'all. Heres a small pic and links to some big HQ pics.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSCN0212.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSCN0214.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSCN0215.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSCN0213.jpg

 

no one can answer any of this?

 

I would check the power going to the stereo system, because maybe its on the same 8V line as the back port.

 

With that many miles and unknown history, I'd drain/drop the pain, change the filter and fluid and see if it disappears. If not, ehh, I don't know what to tell you except do a search or have a mechanic look at it. You might need a rebuild.

 

I think on the 2000 you can drain all of the fluid out of the trans and torque converter. There should be a rubber plug at the bottom of the bell housing. You have to line up a square plug that is in torque converter with the hole in the bottom of the bell housing. pull the plug and let it drain. It will take some where around 15 to 16 quarts to refil. Be carefull putting back the plug not to strip it. When te trans is empty( mine has a drain plug in the pan) pull the pan and r&r the filter before refilling. While under there I would also replace the transfer case fluid at the same time. Make sure you loosen the fill plug before draining the tc. I have read on here of how some times when people think it is the trans it ends up being a cylinder missfire because of a bad coil or a bad coil boot. Go to Auto Zone and have them read the computer read to see if there are any miss fires. Another area to look at is the rear end, to see if it is chattering, I have read where some people have thought trans and it ended up being rear axle. Don't mean to be so wordy, but just some things I have seen or heard. Congrats on the purchase it looks great.

 

Thanks for all the info. The shudder only started after I did the "lets see if it has more power than the old 'burb it replaced" and goosed it on a dirt road, and the 4x4 kicked in and took off. After that it started shuddering only when it went into OD (RPM drop from 2k to 1.5k @ aprox 55)

Oh by the way it has TONS more giddy up than the ol 'burb had.

Yeah I figured I couldn't go wrong for $3,500 as clean as it is, would never know it had 210k without that digital readout saying so.

 

That may be ignition related. The first night I bought mine I did the same thing (97 Expy w/ 107,000 mi) and sure enough a short time later I had a shudder. Bad coil wire on number 6 that would shudder as I accelerated from 3rd to 4th. I would strongly recommend doing a tune up with new plugs, coils, and possibly new or re-manufactured fuel injectors (3 of mine were cracked). Your vehicle will run better than you could ever imagine. I went from 12 mpg city to 14 mpg in one tank of gas.

 

I will try a full tune up as well since I dont know the history etc. Im just a lil nervous after reading all the posts on changing the plugs. Even more so when I actually looked at mine to see what all the fuss was about LOL. I really cant complain about milage though according to the computer Im getting an avg. combined 15.4 mpg.

 

The plug change isn't really all that bad. If you decide to tackle it yourself you can get your COP's on Ebay for hella cheap! The expy looks nice....I love that color!

 

Kitty is right. Doing the plug change isn't bad; you just need time and LOTS and LOTS of patience. The first time through, I took a week to do it working a little every evening. Do a search for "spark plug". There are lots of articles on doing it plus there's a website: Matt's truck or something like that and he has pictures. There are a few things to remove completely such as the air cleaner assembly and some electrical connections on the firewall (pass side) to give your hands enough access to do the job. You'll need various sized 3/8 and 1/4 extensions plus a 3/8 click-type torque wrench for installing the plugs (harbor freight $15!!! and its a nice tool believe it or not - I was truly suprised). Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend this: buying 2 ft of 3/8 rubber fuel line. It will aid in squirting penetrating oil on the plugs before removal and also, if you cut a section of that hose off (say 6 inches or so), it will make installing the spark plugs a LOT easier that a darn socket. It's better because you can feel the plugs go in with your finger tips instead of guessing. Just remember anti-seize (I used a liberal amount) for the plug install.

Did I mention you need patience? The whole job is a PIA, BUT once you do it, you'll feel great knowing that its been done right. If you have the cash on hand do the plugs (stock platinum replacements, nothing fancy), new boots and wire, and the coils. While your at it, pull the fuel rail (trust me this is worth it) and inspect the tips of the injectors. I had 3 cracked which was giving me shudders at highway speeds. I bought a reman set of 8 off PrecisionAutoInjectors on eBay and they have worked great for $140. Do all these things and you won't have to touch a tune up for a LONG time.

I reemphasized a lot of what other people have told me but they are right. You can do the job, just have a good friend on hand and time and you will wake your truck back up.

 

thanks I might try it myself. I am fairly good at working on cars, heck I took auto shop in HS for 2yrs then went to uti for a little while until some things arose and I had to leave. Anywho I read on a site blownoutsparkplug.com (put up by a ford master tech) that he recommends torquing the plugs to between 28-32ftlb. but here and others say 17. Check out the site and see what you think.

 

Yea I read the same thing about 30 ft lbs and I asked myself this question: Is it truly worth chancing stripping the aluminum head? If you read closely, I believe he tested the torque on heads that were off the motor and possibly on new cylinder heads. I read the whole site over multiple times and thought about it. The problem is actually applying the torque itself. The rear most plugs will require the use of extensions which will throw the actual amount of torque applied off some. From what I read the torque spec is between 7 - 14 ft lbs of torque on the plugs. I did all mine at 12 ft lbs - taking my time and slowly applying pressure. If I was above the recommended amount of torque, I'm still within spec. If I was low, I'm still within spec. That was my final reasoning. To me 12 ft lbs felt like just when a bolt begins to snug up in the threads. You think "Thats it???" and yes it is. Just re-check each plug before putting it back together. I have over 1,000 miles since doing it and I haven't noticed anything.

I realize the whole plug ejection is a scary concept knowing you that it could happen. But think about this: your car has over 200,000 miles on it. If you pull the plugs and it's all original in there, that's doing really good. There is one member on here that believes the problem is not the heads but something in the CPU that makes the car run too lean because as he mentions that every ejected spark plug has always had the tip bent in toward the plug on ejection.

Lot's of people have run into the problem after someone had done a tune up to the motor which would mean it was done incorrectly. You can do the job, just do a lot of reading on the topic and become familiar with everything. First time through is intimidating. You will come to a "this job is impossible" stage when you fight heater core hoses and such but it's a doable job.