New Owner. 1997 expedition XLT with 277k

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

Hi, My name is donald, I work on cars and now trucks as a hobby so to speak, I'm coming over from a 2004 Volvo xc70 that has too many problems to mention. I just bought a '97 xlt with the 4.6 for a steal at $400. The interior and exterior are beat though but I plan to improve that soon. but first there are the kinks to be worked out of her. as I shall mention below.

First off, there is a coolant leak. I suspect the intake gasket as it pools in the valley just under the intake. (anyone have any suggestions for the repair?)

second, it is missing horribly but I suspect it just needs a good tune up. as the wires look horrible.

the steering is wicked loose but I found the arm that connects the steering box to the linkage to be worn where it connects to the bar.

the PO removed the ac compressor. I suspect the bearings went out. they replaced it with a pulley and didn't plug the hose ends

the washer fluid bottle doesn't hold fluid...rather it leaks into the pass floor and pools just under the door. How..IDK. I know it's not the heater core because I poured orange fluid in the washer bottle and green antifreeze into the coolant. Possible that a feed hose to the rear is busted? I haven't looked yet.

the headlights are horrible. they aren't hazed but the light seems to scatter instead of being directed to a usable beam...

the IP lights are allmost all blown out.

so far I have already had to replace the two quick connects for the rear heater core. they were the reason the truck was parked to begin with I suspect. Tomorrow I will go pick up the plugs/wires and try to start on that

a bonus to the deal...When I arrived the first thing I noticed was the ass end sagging. but after fixing the tire pressures ( it needs a whole new set, spare included) and running it a half mile the rear leveled out. when I asked about it I was told it had new rear suspension air bags included, front/rear brakes, new brake fluid, new alternator, new water pump/tstat. all the parts he listed looked new and their fasteners looked like they had been removed recently due to a lack of dirt. the CEL light was on for the mentioned mis-fire. the exhaust smelled fine and it seems the cat converters are doing their job. I also checked the upper corners of the windshield and it seems like the seal is either fixed or isn't failing.

I will try to keep this updated as I fix all the problems. Wish me luck.

 

[FordandPolaris]

Welcome to the family. If you are seeing coolant pooling in the valley, it is very possible that it is getting past the coils and to the plugs, causing your misfire as well. I have read about a coolant hose along the firewall that is notorious for leaking coolant onto cylinder 4. I cannot remember if that was a 5.4 only issue, or if it spanned both engines.

They say never to buy the first year of a brand new model of vehicle, however I think the 97's are an exception to the rule.

 

[hwy73]

the washer fluid bottle doesn't hold fluid...rather it leaks into the pass floor and pools just under the door. How..IDK. I know it's not the heater core because I poured orange fluid in the washer bottle and green antifreeze into the coolant. Possible that a feed hose to the rear is busted? I haven't looked yet.

There is a plastic junction in the washer hose going to the rear, inside the passenger-side kick panel that might have come apart. This causes the washer fluid to completely drain out under the passenger side carpet, into the rocker panel and onto the ground behind the right-front wheel.

 

[KWT2000]

Welcome

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

hwy 73, you pretty much gave an exact descrip of what I'm seeing. I will look at this when I finish with the more major problems. as she sits she is not running. I got the first two plugs out on the right side and the first three out on the left. the third on the right has something blocking a socket from grabbing it. but all the ones I pulled so far are worn out..and the 2nd one right side had oil all over top of it.

my engine has two coils feeding four plugs. I don't see any where for coolant to find a way to those coils, but I won't put it out of the cause for a miss fire. since the intake has to come off anyway, I will just pull that and let the plug set in wd 40 to break up whatever is blocking it and make use of the extra space to replace the remaining plugs. Hopefully remaining finances allow me to do both.

 

[superexpy]

I know on the 5.4's there is a hose/tube that runs from the water pump to the firewall and there is a little tab welded to that, that likes to break. That will fill the valley up with coolent and drip down the pass side and puddle right behind the pass tire. I have got the joy of fixing this a few times on other peoples vehicles.

 

[metaldrgn]

Almost sounds like it's more trouble than It's worth

 

[FordandPolaris]

hwy 73, you pretty much gave an exact descrip of what I'm seeing. I will look at this when I finish with the more major problems. as she sits she is not running. I got the first two plugs out on the right side and the first three out on the left. the third on the right has something blocking a socket from grabbing it. but all the ones I pulled so far are worn out..and the 2nd one right side had oil all over top of it.

my engine has two coils feeding four plugs. I don't see any where for coolant to find a way to those coils, but I won't put it out of the cause for a miss fire. since the intake has to come off anyway, I will just pull that and let the plug set in wd 40 to break up whatever is blocking it and make use of the extra space to replace the remaining plugs. Hopefully remaining finances allow me to do both.

Sorry I forgot the 4.6L does not use the same coil setup as the 5.4L. 5.4's have an individual coil for each cylinder, with no plug wires. That is why the coolant pouring on the plug well can cause problems. That being said, if coolant is getting into the well it could still cause a short from the plug to the plug well wall.

That thing blocking your way is the fuel pressure regulator. Going to have to use a couple of universal joints to reach it.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

the third on the right has something blocking a socket from grabbing it.

I didn't get to that one on the left side(drivers side). But the one I was referring to has something on the actual bolt part of the plug stopping a socket from sitting on it to let it grab and loosen it. I filled the hole with wd 40, once the intake is off I should have enough of a better angle to tap a socket onto it.



as far as progress goes, I managed to get everything out of the way to start removal of the intake. going the reverse of tightening order, I ran out of time before I could start on the rear four bolts. I can't seem to get those heater hoses out of my way. Makes me miss working on the transverse engines I'm used too.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

also, I forgot to mention In the OP, I had to disable the abs on the way home. The tires are near bald in the rear and the road was slick. but it wasn't allowing me to brake at all. abs off and the brakes did fine. I'll look into it when I get her rolling again but as I said, I suspect the tires were causing it. Have any of you all had a similar problem?

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

Okay, I managed to get the last bolt off the intake. I ended up removing the throttle body then breaking the heater hoses off to make room to get a ratchet down there. then after two sockets, and one ratchet broken. it broke loose.

The spark plug with the gunk on it freed up after the intake was removed which allowed me enough room to tap on it with a socket on top to break it up. the remaining plugs came out no problem. all eight were worn past due for replacement. the overhanging part was worn into an oblong shape rather than being a rectangle. as was the electrodes. the coolant part of the intake gasket was blown out on both front parts which filled the valley up with almost a gallon of water. I will see tomorrow if I have the money to replace the gaskets, do the tune up, and replace the hose from the water pump while the intake is out.

 

[FordandPolaris]

I didn't get to that one on the left side(drivers side). But the one I was referring to has something on the actual bolt part of the plug stopping a socket from sitting on it to let it grab and loosen it. I filled the hole with wd 40, once the intake is off I should have enough of a better angle to tap a socket onto it.



as far as progress goes, I managed to get everything out of the way to start removal of the intake. going the reverse of tightening order, I ran out of time before I could start on the rear four bolts. I can't seem to get those heater hoses out of my way. Makes me miss working on the transverse engines I'm used too.

I see, I was thinking right side looking from the front of the truck, which is the driver's in that case. My bad. Sounds like you have quite a project rolling now.

also, I forgot to mention In the OP, I had to disable the abs on the way home. The tires are near bald in the rear and the road was slick. but it wasn't allowing me to brake at all. abs off and the brakes did fine. I'll look into it when I get her rolling again but as I said, I suspect the tires were causing it. Have any of you all had a similar problem?

Mine would do this to me during right turns while braking. It was related to the new wheel hubs I had put in (probably wheel speed sensor) but I unplugged the ABS about 3 years ago, and aside from the light always being on, I have not missed it. I would leave it off until you get new tires, and then test it to see if it is good again.

I would guess you were getting hydro-planing/wheel slippage due to no tread and that was causing your ABS to kick on. It is pretty sensitive.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

I see, I was thinking right side looking from the front of the truck, which is the driver's in that case. My bad. Sounds like you have quite a project rolling now.



Mine would do this to me during right turns while braking. It was related to the new wheel hubs I had put in (probably wheel speed sensor) but I unplugged the ABS about 3 years ago, and aside from the light always being on, I have not missed it. I would leave it off until you get new tires, and then test it to see if it is good again.

I would guess you were getting hydro-planing/wheel slippage due to no tread and that was causing your ABS to kick on. It is pretty sensitive.

Yeah, she really is a project. Looks promising too. Here Is an album of her pre cleaning/repair forgive the quality, poor lighting and I wasn't in photographer mode. When I get the engine sorted I will drive her for awhile then start on removing anything cloth and pressure washing it. it doesn't smell bad at least. just dirty/stained.

I'm not new to sensitive abs systems. I had a 2000 lesabre that had three 215 70 r15 tires and a 205 70 r15 up front right. the abs kept killing the rear brakes until I replaced that tire. May be what I have going on now as I haven't compared the sizes. but it may be a bad hub as I was told one whee;s bearings had been replaced but they forgot. seems they kept having problems and replacing the wrong parts. at least the repairs looked okay in their quality.

I like to refer to left/right from the truck point of view as most forums I've been on do it this way.

what headlight lenses would you all recommend. I couldn't see crap on the way home due to the glazed lenses.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

Okay, I found that the intake was pitted rather badly where the coolant was leaking. I don't have $350 for a new one so I've filled those pits with jb weld. I was going to put it in today but my help was busy and I had to add more weld to one part to bring it out some. Tonight it should be dry enough to sand it level and maybe the rain will hold back tomorrow to allow it to be installed.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

UPDATE: 11/21: no mech work done, found the washer fluid leak int eh right qtr panel. teh soft line coming in goes about 5 inches and has a coupler that connects to a harder line. it was not connected. also removed the logo from the rear glass.

11/22; Intake sanded down and installed. Did not investigate the heater hose below intake **mistake** first start was horrible and she wouldn't idle w/o applying throttle. green and tan/white vac lines reversed and she fired up with a dead miss coolant leak noted below intake in the valley heater line suspected gave up for the night at near midnight

11/23; with fresh eyes I set out to find the leak. added water and heard it dripping into the valley which screamed "you should've replaced that last night" but I'm glad I didn't now. I bit the bullet and risked the new intake gasket to fix the line. I bought 8 feet of 5/8 heater hose, a coupling and several clamps. before I could even get the intake off I spot this on the left rear bolt. that wire is for an injector and it was grounded to the bolt somehow. I repaired it after replacing the hard line. I cut the line at the first bend after the pump then with some twisting and pulling with a pair of vice grips i got it off and found this there is a pinhole from corrosion... and the whole inside of it was ate up with rust. I couldn't get at the rear bracket bolts of the hardline so I cut the hose off the other end, put a coupling and clamps on, and hooked the other end to where I pulled the hard line off. I cleaned the gaskets off and they weren't deformed so I re used them and got everything installed. on first startup she smoked like a train but after 15 mins it cleared.the miss is gone and every coolant connection I can see is dry total cash invested so far is $535

Issues resolved to today:

Miss fire: grounded injector wire
coolant leak in valley: metal heater hose under intake
washer fluid leak to pass floor: rear washer fluid line disconnected in qtr panel.

issues remaining:
steering arm from steering box
creaking noise from front when turning the wheel left/right or when going over bumps

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

Update: So far everything is holding up. going to transfer insurance over tomorrow and drive her to work. also had a fight with getting the headlights aimed...seriously some of the things that make me say WTF are just awkward. also, I found that all four speakers need re foamed or replaced. they rattle like something out of an older car.

 

[metaldrgn]

Update: So far everything is holding up. going to transfer insurance over tomorrow and drive her to work. also had a fight with getting the headlights aimed...seriously some of the things that make me say WTF are just awkward. also, I found that all four speakers need re foamed or replaced. they rattle like something out of an older car.

You know there's a company that just sells the surrounds so you can replace them. I did it on my sub on my 01 yukon and it works great. Way cheaper too. Pretty easy to do, just take some measurements and order the ones you need.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

I had heard of a place that does this. But I will eventually replace the stock stuff and also dynamat it as well


UPDATE: drove her to work and back with no issue. the rain really made the tail end happy to slip out from under me. I also picked up a pair of the front corner markers for $20 as my left one is MIA. the girl also has numerous other interior controls and even the front grille.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

update. so far no coolant loss, and no oil, trans, or brake fluid loss. I did a double check of the front suspension today and found the left end link bushing is toast, the bolt is just floating there. will be replacing those Friday along with the steering pitman arm.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

another update. Helped my mother move some things to a storage unit. drive about 150 miles total today and 1/4 tank used after filling up for $86. no coolant leaks at all. but I did get a CEL and the trans seems to have a shudder every now and then.. pulled the code, one was for the knock sensor and the other was something about a computer not being ready p1000 or something like that.