2005 Ford Explorer

[packman]

This is my Mom's '05 Explorer. A friend sold this SUV to me back in March. I had to get this SUV since the CV project has been delayed for so long. It's powertrain is a 4.0L V6 and it's fairly loaded with things my Mom won't be using. It's also 4WD and has 94k on the odometer. Not much else to say as I have only done maintenance stuff on it. I did rotors and pads back in September and put new tires on it a couple weeks ago because the old (perhaps original?) tires were dry rotting. The Explorer has more features than my Merc; and it drives much better than my MGM; but not as smooth though. No problems so far other than the driver side valve cover leaking onto the exhaust manifold. So I will be replacing those next Spring.

[tjc78]

An Explorer that is still a truck! Those have some issues like anything else but are pretty solid runners. Buddy of mine ran his 04 well over 200K and he was pretty brutal on it.

[87GrandMarq]

What transmission does it have?


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[JeffBoudah]

I had an 03 with a 4.0L. The oil leak is probably coming from the PCV valve at the back of the cover. They like wheel bearings, the rear coils will snap, and 4.0l are notorious for timing chains. Which cant be done in the vehicle since the passenger head's cam is driven from the back of the motor (they basically used the old 4.0L OHV block and used the cam bore for a jack shaft and avoid having a LH and RH head casting)

[packman]

What transmission does it have?


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I will find out. Haven't had too much time to mess with the Explorer. My MGM has leaking intake manifold that I hope will make it to the Spring; my Aunt has an '08 Saturn Vue that I'm taking care of; and then there is the CV project. I should have opened up a shop years ago instead of going to college LOL But I will say that the Explorer suits my Mom well. Hopefully the low-mileage will keep it reliable for a bit of time.

[JeffBoudah]

It's a 5r55, they all were 4.0 or 4.6

[87GrandMarq]

It's a 5r55, they all were 4.0 or 4.6

Thats what I was afraid of. They can be good transmissions as long as you don’t downshift more than 1 gear and keep the atf full. It sucks that they don’t even have a dipstick.


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[packman]

I learned how to use the Actron CP9575 scanner that I bought a decade ago for my Aunt's '05 Elantra. With the Key On Engine Not Running, I got a P0193 code; which had something to do with the fuel rail reading being out-of-spec. So I fired up the Explorer and got a real-time reading of the fuel pressure of 30 - 35psi. For an engine that's running; wouldn't that be considered low pressure. I'm trying to find what is normal running fuel pressure for this vehicle. If that's a low reading; I will change the fuel filter; as that is one of the things I have yet to do on that vehicle. I will move from there if the problem isn't solved.

[87GrandMarq]

That seems normal to me.


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[sly]

yeah... 32 closed throttle... 40 wide open... or in that ballpark.

[packman]

Yah, I will be changing out the fuel rail pressure sensor after I get the CV running. I will use that as an excuse to replace the intake (and gaskets) with a cleaned up junkyard piece and also replace the valve cover gaskets as the driver side valve cover is leaking. Yesterday, I changed the spark plugs and wires. Since I didn't want to make a project out of it (didn't have the time), I pulled the 90* loom off of the passenger wires and put a DEI heat shield in its place until I replace the valve cover gaskets; then I will put it back in.

[packman]

Junkyard intake obtained. It has a broken tab on the corner behind the EGR mount; I will look on the current intake on the explorer and see how important that tab was/is. Otherwise, I will clean and maybe paint the intake before installation. I might tackle the valve cover gaskets too.

[packman]

Question: how does the OBDII determine oil change intervals? Does it calculate the mileage between oil changes? Or does it somehow look at oil clarity (clean or dirty)? My dash keeps telling me to change the oil despite only having done it 800 miles ago. I also reset it a month ago; and the message still persists. Oil level is full too. Don't know why it's dead set on an oil change.

[jaywish]

ford uses a calculation for oil change intervals. It can be a bit tricky to reset properly. It took me some time to get it right. Try doing it while reading from the manual when doing it.

[Tiggie]

For some models, the oil change interval is adjustable if you use ForScan. Not sure if it applies to 2005 or not.