Hey all,
First off, let me ask a question. I know most of you guys, from what I can gather from the umpteen posts I've read by most of you, are pretty proficient at doing your own mechanic work. Do any of you ever know exactly what "to do" to fix a problem but can't for the life of you figure out how it's "supposed" to be done?
Ford in all it's wisdom put the stupid EGR valve on my '99 Explorer 5.0 on the back of the motor on the passenger side!!! What were they thinking? Do they think you're going to yank the motor to change it? I thought the EGR's on most Fords at least were toward the front of the motor on the driver's side. I actually got the EGR valve broken loose from the intake manifold, but don't know how you're supposed to break it loose from the EGR tube itself. I know that a 1" open-end wrench ain't big enough to get ahold of it, and if it would, I've got no way in the world to turn it. I guess I'm gonna have to break down and let Ford or some other reputable mechanic do it, as bad as I hate to. There goes some $$$. That just really irks me! I never thought I'd find another vehicle that would make me wish I was working under the hood of my '98 F150 4.6. If anybody has any pointers or would just like to join me in venting about any of Ford's other dumb decisions, please chime in. Thanks.
Fordman3
Hey guys,
Me again. To add this saga, I had just changed the oil in the Explorer before attempting the EGR job. This probably makes, oh, the 10,000th time I've changed oil in a vehicle. Well, I gave up on the EGR job and put everything back together, and we get in it to go to town, I crank it up and the Oil Pressure gage needle starts bouncing like a basketball and I smell oil. I shut if off and pop the hood, and there's a literal fountain of oil all over everything. I get my filter wrench back out and get down under it to see if it's tight, even though I know in my mind I tightened it when I put it on, and it made at least one or more turns then. It was starting to get dark so I didn't really get back into it. I did crank it back up to see if I had made a difference, and even though the pressure was holding steady, it was still spewing oil from around the filter (I think, like I said, it was getting dark), though possibly not as bad. This is an absolute first for me in my oil-changing life. Of course, there stands my wife who believes I should never be allowed to turn a wrench on a vehicle and made sure to tell me so. Are there such things as bad oil filters out of the box? Maybe a bad seal? Before you ask, yes, I made sure it was the right one (Motorcraft FL820-S) when I bought it. It's the same as my '98 F150 4.6. I don't always even use a wrench to put one back on, depending on how snug it feels by hand. Never had one spew on me! So, does anybody possibly have a suggestion on what to try. I just went to Wal-Mart and got another FL820-S and some more oil and figure I'll do the job again tomorrow after I get home from work.
Oh, apparently the price of motor oil did the same thing as gas did a couple weeks ago. I buy Castrol 5W-30 Synthetic Blend and paid almost $3 a quart. And no telling how much of that I just blew out! Thanks again for any help.
Fordman3
sometime the gasket from the old oil filter gets stuck to the oil filter housing it's rare but it happens.. if you happen to have two gaskets between the filter and the housing it will blow oil all over the place check it out..
Nick
Exactly what I was gonna suggest. Another possibility is the filter housing was poorly crimped, but the gasket thing is more likely. If you still have the old filter you can tell easily enough by looking at it - if the gasket is gone you know where it is...
As for bad Ford ideas: 5.0 SO. 'nuff said...
Four bolt rear wheel drive.
BlownCougar and T'Chicken,
You guys both nailed it on the head. I went out and looked at the old filter and sure enough, the old O-ring seal is missing. And guess what? It's a Fram, which I only bought when my local Wal-Mart temporarily banned all other brands of filters but Fram but who now has seen the error of their ways and put Motorcraft back on the shelves. I knew there was a reason I didn't like Frams. So do I have to dump what's left of the brand new oil before I remove the new filter I just put on, or can I just drop the filter, get rid of the unwelcome leftover O-ring, and replace whatever oil I come up short? Please tell me I won't waste that $3/qt liquid gold!
Oh, how similar is the 5.0 in my '99 Explorer to the HO's from the Mustangs and Marks? In other words, do the HO guys have the same EGR issues I have with the 'splorer? What am I looking at for a dealership to do the job? I found out that the pressure sensor is actually more expensive than the EGR valve itself, and I don't even know where it is. Again, it just really bugs me to pay somebody else to do this job. But, in probably 4 years or more, I haven't taken either of my daily-driver Fords to a dealership for any work, and they both definitely have to remain fully operational for a long time to come. My '98 F150 is still going strong after 114k miles, and the Explorer is at 96k. It in particular has pretty much maintained itself for the 4+ years I've owned it. It's still got the original plugs, wires, belts, hoses, and I think even the original air filter!
Guess I can't slam Ford too hard. Overall they've been good to me for the most part. Been pretty cheap transportation except for the gas they drink. Thanks again for the help.
Fordman3
You can just pull the filter without draining the oil pan. The filter is higher than the sump in the pan. You should only loose a little bit of oil.
About your egr issue, I know the explorers use a different intake than the mustang, but I cannot remember off hand how the egr / tb is set up. Back when I when I worked in a garage I remebered needing some really big wrenches for egr work (like 35mm or 1 1/4).
About the EGR- That's why I dislike working on newer/FWD vehicles. I had to replace the water pump in my tempo last year, God did that suck :disappoin
I know the EGR on a 4.6 Couger/Tbird is a Bitch to change!
As far as the oil filter deal, I remember back in HS my autoshop teacher told of the tail of a guy named Turbo who put the oil filter on when the old oil filter seal was stuck on. The car got about a half mile down the road when it locked up tight! He got his nick name cause the car he ****ed up had a Turbo!
exactly what I would have said, glad you at least found it.
had this happen to me ONCE, now I always check :rollin:
yah. I went to do an oil change on my cobalt late last week and mobil 1 was 5.50 a quart.. last time I did a change on my bird (3 years ago) I paid 4 bucks a quart for mobile 1. :nono: stupid oil companies. guess 4 trilliion in profits or whatever godly high amount they make isnt' enough.
Slide in car radio that requires either the special tools or cutting up a coat hanger to get them out. No cup holder in our cars or the mustangs. No center console parking brake and the list goes on.
I still like my car. It is a better choice than what brand X had at the time.
And even the Fox that DOES have cupholders have cupholders of a retarded design. I don't even bother using the cupholders on the Mark because cold drinks sweat, and I don't want that sweat dripping down onto the power window and power mirror controls. (which are already screwed up, only two directions on the little direction pad work for either mirror.. same two directions for both.. up and left)
It's STILL a better choice than most of the they are coming out with today no matter who's making it
Including my focus that lasted me 3 months before 3rd gear took a shiznit the wireing harness for the alt decided to self destruct. And numerous other problems. But it had usable cup holders!
Oh ya that brings up one more thing the manual trans in the focus. The lock ring and gear arn't one piece. They are actauly two pieces welded together. Which means you can't beat the hell out of it with out problems like I had.
I can't belive no has mentioned the torex bolts that the calipers slide on on the front brakes on out cars.