Prolonged un-driven Expy concerns!

[CertusExpo]

My 2003 5.4 EB Expedition has sat idle since June of 2022 and I'm wondering...

What items should be checked and/or what if any fluids should be changed at this point before I get her back on the road again?
She has been garaged so the elements aren't a variable.

Thank you in advance for your intel.

 

[Gary Waugh]

I personally would just flush all the fluids, (brake fluid, engine oil, coolant) and do a visual inspection of the rubber hoses for cracking), I would also try to add fresh gas to the tank as the gas will have gone bad in that time.. then try and start it and do a couple of gentle small drives to make sure everything is okay.. if it wasn’t kept on a trickle charger, your battery might also have failed or need changing.. you will find out when you try to start the engine..

 

[GaryH]

15 months is not really all that long, but definitely due for an oil change. The gas MAY still be usable, but get fresh fuel in it as soon as possible. Otherwise check all the normal fluids. A battery that sits that long unused may be permanently dead. Play that by ear. Put the charger on it and hope it holds a charge. If you are using 10% ethanol fuel, rust in the tank and or fuel system may be a problem. Might be a good idea to change the fuel filter.

 

[CertusExpo]

I agree, I'll change the fuel filter. I hadn't thought of that.

 

[Davey]

that's not a long time. Mom's 2003 Lexus E300 sat longer than that. No worries, started right up (battery tender) filled up the tank and drove the heck out of it.

 

[CertusExpo]

Found my battery was bad. Bought a new battery and she started up but wouldn't stay running. Checked and heard the fuel pump functioning as expected. Then ran my fingers along all vacuum lines and found one chewed, possibly by a squirrel. Replaced and and she runs. Took her for a slow local residential street drive to get her fluids going and listen for other issues.
I only found one. Feels like a brake is dragging because when I let off the gas, she'll slow rather quickly.

I'm thinking stuck or dragging caliper however, does anyone know of a transmission issue that would cause the automatic slowing?

 

[GaryH]

If you have one of those infrared thermometers, you can use it to find which caliper is stuck or if that's the problem. How does the transmission fluid look?

 

[CertusExpo]

If you have one of those infrared thermometers, you can use it to find which caliper is stuck or if that's the problem. How does the transmission fluid look?

That's the thing. I've never replaced it because honestly, I'm scared to. I've read many stories about how after transmission maintenance has been neglected, that in many cases, the fresh fluid and it's detergents will make every fault and worn part completely noticeable. So I'm worried about opening a can of worms.

 

[GaryH]

That's the thing. I've never replaced it because honestly, I'm scared to. I've read many stories about how after transmission maintenance has been neglected, that in many cases, the fresh fluid and it's detergents will make every fault and worn part completely noticeable. So I'm worried about opening a can of worms.

I've heard the same thing. "They" say if you haven't changed the transmission fluid by 100k or so, not to change it now because of the reasons you stated. I don't know how much truth there is to it tho. There are arguments on both sides.

 

[CertusExpo]

I've heard the same thing. "They" say if you haven't changed the transmission fluid by 100k or so, not to change it now because of the reasons you stated. I don't know how much truth there is to it tho. There are arguments on both sides.

And she's at 250k so the paranoia is real

 

[GaryH]

Yeah. I see your point.

 

[CertusExpo]

UPDATE:

I decided to throw caution to the wind and take her to the car wash because (sitting since June 2022) there was quite the layer of dust.
So, she drove fine at residential speeds however, once I got on the freeway and went to accelerate to freeway speeds, she started pinging like a can of ball bearings something fierce! Then, as I needed to push her a bit harder up an off ramp, while I was also being light on the pedal to keep the pinging to a minimum, she stalled out and refused to start back up. Luckily, due to my paranoia, I had my wife following behind me.
I tried several times to start her up to no avail. She wanted to but died almost immediately or bubbled at an almost indiscernible level.

Jumped in the chase truck and ran home. Grabbed some Starter Fluid and a screwdriver so I could go back and spray right into the intake at the MAF Sensor.

Got back to Bonnie and my wife crank as I sprayed. She started up immediately and as long as the throttle was pumped, she ran. Had the wife jump out (shoulder of a bridge off-ramp) and I jumped in to keep gassing her to keep her alive. Threw her into D and coaxed her home.

So.... I'm thinking bad gas with a very diminished octane rating. Would y'all agree?

Side note: When she stalled, I didn't get her all the way off the exit lane and threw her into N to let her roll back so I could get her better out of the way however, she refused to roll as if a brake was on or she was still in gear even though she was in neutral. So, this correlates to my feeling like a caliper is dragging as she was obviously shifting accurately because I was able to get her home.

Would y'all also concur with this second theory?

 

[CertusExpo]

UPDATE:

I've only driven her locally as I didn't have confidence in taking her on long drives because she was shutting off randomly.
I did notice one dark morning when I went to start her up and she kept shutting off that the fog lights kept on flickering in sequence with a relay clicking.
I decided to remove the fuse cover to isolate which relay may be faulty and much to my surprise, when I did. The flickering stopped so I started her up and what do you know... No more stalling so I surmised that somehow, the cover is pressing on a relay and causing the random stalling issue.

I've been driving her locally still for a couple weeks and she hasn't stalled once!

I DO still have the issue where she seems to be have a hanging brake caliper because when I let off the brake, she stays in place without my pressing the brake AND it's definitely not a transmission issue.
I did touch all the wheels after driving her at speed on the freeway and the front right wheel feels hot hot while the other three do not.

I'm gonna try the short cut version and spray some penetrant into the caliper guides on the front right at night when it's cool and see if there's a noticable difference the next morning. If that does show some marked improvement, I'm gonna disassemble and clean/grease that guide.

I'll update as I continue.