1998 Ford Explorer engine/exhaust trouble?

Question

1998 Ford Explorer engine/exhaust trouble?

Answer 1

Need more info, a shcronizer is not a part on a car. Are you talking about a starter motor or an alternater? What was it exactly that you replaced? When the vehicle died did the engine simply stall and then would not crank over? Or did it die and then engine still cranks? If it died but still cranks over you could be dealing with an ignition issue or possibly a fuel delivery issue. Also is the Check Engine light on? There could also be a sensor causing the trouble. There are too many variables. Your best bet may be to take it to a credible mechanic and have them look at it.

Answer 2

2nd opinion time. Find another shop to look at it. Sounds like you're getting taken for a ride. Why did they change the oil pan??? Was it dented or cracked? An oil pan lasts the life of the vehicle, unless its been hit by something or the drain plug strips out. Strange oil pan replacement is a flag for me that something funny is going on.



How's the oil pressure and engine temperature? Any smoke from tailpipe? An honest muffler shop can give you their opinion on the exhaust system. Bad cat converter isn't going to fail all at once and cause a sudden loss of power. The late 80s-newer honeycomb type converters typically rattle when cold, and performance drops off over time as they fail.



Oil pressure, engine temp are good indications of engine health. If it was me, I'd drain the oil through a coffee filter and look for metal in oil. You can also cut oil filter open and look for metal trapped in pleats. Metal in oil = bearing failure. When the engine is making metal, its ruined. Changing other parts is useless.



Here's what I think happened. The shop installed a new timing chain and/or tensioner. Either the oil pan was damaged, or they clipped you for a new one. 2 months later, the timing jumps and the engine looses power. If the tensioner is installed incorrectly, it will wear out early. Most engine designs, the tensioner and chain should be replaced as a kit. When done improperly, the chain slack lets the chain jump time and the engine loses power.



Signs of this would be poor idle, no power, hard starting, rough running. Compression check numbers are way down. Ignition timing may be incorrect. Oil pressure and engine temps may be in OK range. There are ways to diagnose this without tearing the engine apart again.

Answer 3

Sounds like two unrelated problems that just caught ya at the same time. The noise wqas probably the timing chain issue. The sudden loss of power was no doubt caused by a plugged catalytic converter-which will stop the engine (because it can't breathe through a plugged exhaust), but not before a noticeable loss in power occurs due to a partial exhaust blockage. (The converter overheats from too much raw fuel geting dumped into it (runaway thermal reaction) and the guts melt and blow downstream, plugging up the muffler-gagging your engine. No air=no power.



If your timing chain had possibly jumped a tooth or three, causing inefficient combustion-it's possible that it allowed raw fuel to be dumped into the exhaust-melting your cat, which will have to be replaced (along with the muffler unless they can knock all the pieces out of it which is unlikely-thank god mufflers are cheap.).



More common causes of melted converters are:



fouled, worn spark plugs

worn, leaking plug wires

extremely dirty air filter

malfunctioning Throttle position sensor

Malfunctioning MAP sensor

malfunctioning O2 sensor

Failed fuel pressure regulator

leaking fuel injectors

Answer 4

Yeah, it makes sense. If your Catalytic converter is bad, it'll send signals to your O2 sensor in the exhaust pipe that your fuel mixture needs to be adjusted- which is the wrong thing to do, but the car doesn't know any better. Anyway, your fuel mixture is now fooked and it's probably running EXTREMELY lean. (When your ca is idling, is there any blue smoke coming from the exhaust, or does the exhaust smell strongly of petrol? If so, I would take it in to the same mechanic and raise hell. a knocking engine (Which is what you have) sounds nothing like a timing belt cover or a tensioner pulley. They took advantage of you and they know it. Now it's your turn. they need to replace that Cat and reset that sensor on the house or you'll tell everyone you know including the Better business bureau what crooks they are.

Answer 5

Do NOT listen to any of the above answers. They obviously have no clue as to the internal workings of this particular engine. The symptom you describe, is caused by the need to have the left bank timing chain tensioner replaced with an updated one, as well as installation of an oil restricter, under Ford's Owner Notification Program Number 00M12. Was this campaign ever performed? Did you ever receive notification from Ford Motor Company?