I pulled all the seats, center console and parts of the dash. Mostly to replace the blend door actuator but took the opportunity to steam clean the carpets. Cold ac and now heat if I want it.


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Thursday I changed the oil for the second time since I've owned it...I'm using Mobil 1 synthetic High-Mileage 5W30 in this. Did the last oil change in March and I put 4400 miles on it since then. From the middle of May till about last week, it was my daily since my Mustang was down (needed a new radiator).

Changed the oil in preparation for the longest haul I've taken it on since my ownership...did a 400-mile round trip for camping this weekend and it did well. Clicked over 329,000 miles on the trip too. Had it in the mountains of western Maryland; got about 20 mpg out of it, maybe better. I filled up before we hit the road and when I got home I've still got about an 1/8 of a tank left and sitting at 410 miles out of the tank so far.

I took my 09 E/B Explorer 4X4 in for 100K mile service in on Friday. Late in day, the service advisor calls and says the radiator and over flow tank needs replacement and A/C fitting is leaking. Really? I check my vehicles regularly. No leaks. I told them not to replace the radiator or overflow tank. Just prior to 5:00 PM they called and said I had a broken sparkplug wire that needs to be replaced.
Thats funny, there was no miss, no codes.
I know one or more of the sparkplugs are hard to access and I bet the mechanic broke the wire trying to remove the spark plug.
I went to pick up the Explorer from the dealer service today. I asked the service advisor to show me the evidence of leaks. There was none. He pointed out some corrosion on a bolt that fastens the overflow tank to the front cross-member. When I questioned him about the spark plug wire, he admitted it broke when the mechanic tried to remove the wire to replace the sparkplug. They said they would remove the labor cost to replace the wire assembly.
They didn't flush the radiator after all was said and done. I wonder how much gets charged out on bogus repairs.

You really need to be knowledgeable about your vehicle and question them when something doesn't sound right.

Mounting nerf bars on 99 Explorer
 

I bought a set of Keystone nerf bars for my 99 Explorer Sport but when I went to mount them I discovered that the rocker panel and pinchweld were completely corroded away making the method for mounting impossible. After searching unsuccessfully for frame mounts I asked the question on FTE and saw several photos but all were for larger trucks. The photos inspired me to design my own method that involved mounting the original running board brackets by bolting metal plates to the remaining piece of pinchweld and attaching the brackets to the metal plate. I then fabricated struts from steel tubing, bolting them the the bracket/plate and then to sites on the frame. I bolted the rear strut to the spring mounting bracket, and the middle strut to the gas tank support bracket. Today I plan to mount the nerf bars to the brackets using riv nuts and bolts. It may not be pretty but is functional which is what I need for a 16 year old Explorer that runs flawlessly and one in which all the accessories work.
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Tried to buy an engine for my 04. The illiterate guy on the other end of the deal backed out at the last minute and said it was already sold. He knew all week that I was coming today to get it, but I guess his word is worthless. Darn. The search for a reasonably priced 4.0 SOHC continues....

nerf bars mounted
 

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My Grandpa's '08 4.6 puked out all it's coolant, from the reading i've done they have the same plastic t-stat housing as the 4.0? it's going in the shop tomorrow.

I just ran out on my lunch break and went to the quick lube joint down the road to get my A/C checked. It wasn't blowing very cold over the weekend and yesterday it got really hot out...today's not much better.

Anyway, they found there was only.8 lbs of refrigerant in the system; should be at 2 lbs. They filled it up, sent me on my way, and I've got cold air again. For now.

I'm just afraid something bigger might be leaking or wrong...my girlfriend's car went through the same thing a few months ago but after they filled the refrigerant, it still wasn't blowing cold. As it turns out, her condenser and compressor needed to be replaced. I hope I don't have to go through that...we'll see next summer I guess.

Finally located and purchased the correct bed extender for my 07 Sport Trac... $100....and I do use it.

Got a donor engine for my 04. Its from an 02 and has more miles than I like, but runs smooth and quiet and doesn't have a blown head gasket....And it was only 400 bucks! The tensioners look good under both valve covers and I am not going to mess with them. Funny story: I had to drive 2 hours to get this engine and when I called to let them know I was on the way, I was told the vehicle wasnt home yet! The guys wife was driving it 4 hours from Kansas and he would pull the engine as soon as she got home! He wasnt kidding. I pulled up to his house just in time to see the comealong dangling from the attic rafters of the garage yanking the engine out. It was still hot to the touch when we lowered it onto my trailer. It was cut out so no hoses or wires were saved which is OK because I need to use my 04 stuff on it anyway. It has a new water pump and alternator as well. I already have it down to almost the long block. I will try and take pics along the swap just for fun.


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They even left the torque converter on and yanked it out that way with the starter dangling. I love getting spare parts!

That's nuts! pull the motor out of a perfectly running truck...why?


So last week my Grandpa's '08 Sport trac's radiator sprung a major leak. We dropped it off at the shop sunday night and he it back today. New radiator, coolant(duh), oil change, hood struts, checked over for any leaks and none found...then we had the muffler and resonator removed in favor of a 27" Cherry Bomb Glasspack...HOLY CRAP this thing sounds MEAN!! I took it for a cruise and it's just about perfect maybe a tad on the loud side but my Grandpa loves it.

Nobody will mistake it for a 4.0 V6 now!

They bought it a year ago and never got the title. Apparently in OK your tags go with the truck so they drive it up until the tags were due and parted it out. If I had more time I would have taken the 2" receiver also. It has a quiet 3:73 rear to give someone along with a clunky shifting trans. As for the radiator leaking in a 4th gen...its that darn 20 pound cap they use. A 16 pounder will cool just fine and not put quite as much pressure on things.

Yes, the thermostat housing is plastic and will leak ove time. It's always good to keep an eye on coolant levels and do an overall security check.

Turned out not to be the t-stat housing (which sure looks metal on this 4.6??)

It was the radiator, the bottom seam split and puked coolant everywhere.

Took mine in for it's emissions test and it passed, of course. Got the notice earlier this week; I was a little surprised it took this long to receive it since it was properly registered back in November. It used to be just a couple months between registering the vehicle and receipt of the emissions notice. But here it is, nearly a year later and I just got the emissions notice. Ah well, good for two more years...next time it's due is after the next registration renewal.