My 1992 ford explorer
 

I bought this new back in 1992, got about 150k miles on it.
some of the stuff done not on the videos
radius arm bushings (clunky sounds under floor boards, very common problem).
rebuilt trans (recent).
new springs (seemed a little droopy did while doing radius arm bushings).
shock/brakes, normal wear stuff.
MAF
never had any engine issues.
inside door handle busted (common got a replacement coming, video to follow).

It's mainly used to get tv's these days, can easy fit a monster combo.



radiator problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo_ApCZI5vo

replaced cassette with CD oem radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJV7S05GHRk

the old radio and the new radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhl0IY_MLv4

New speaker to replace blown speaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juJzSU3Tl9c

Neato, Had that exact radiator leak on the Wife's Accord, I guess those transmission
coolers are installed pretty much the same, Her car now has a NAPA radiator, and
that is the one that had the leak.

Naturally, the second video of yours I watched was titled "squirrel". - Very cool....

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that was a cute little fella, very social, as I am sure must have a million human visitors along I-10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IuLN...CVtyRrqXVtll-g

it was very humid, in the AM and I think the camera must have been cold from riding in the truck, causing the condense on the lens.

Dude, you're about as predictable as I am. Not much has changed about my interests in about 2 decades, and that's most of my life. Well, I got away from some interests but made my way back eventually.

That squirrel is an unusual one, normally we can't get near them.

Yah, Squirrels ain't stupid, they know humans are bad news.....

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I thought I should replace the brake fluid, started by sucking out old (1/2 way) and replacing new, did that a few times until it was reasonable clean.

tried bleeding rears, did not want to flow, I got some out, no air, but way too hard.

fronts bleeding went as it should.

Did some research, seems lots of folks have issues getting rears done.
not sure if its the RAB unit but I assume so.
Not sure if it needs some speacial device to plug in (read that somewhere) or if its just bad from years of yuck fluid (rust).

the rears had VERY little wear so I wonder if they are working at all. Of course I did replace the shoes a couple years ago, and do not drive the car much and I know how to drive so brake wear is low in general.

I have most of my general maintenance on my vehicles, done at a tire and auto repair shop. Oil changes, alignments and tire repairs. They also do brake work.
I inquired about replacing the front pads on my daily driver, a 2006 Toyota Prius. They said that they don't do brakes on any Hybrids. Brakes are related in Hybrids, to the regenerative system. The brakes only lasted 186K miles!:D

got my driver side door handle in, looks like it should be an easy fit. Hopefully better made than the orig, since it broke years ago. video to come on that.

Door handle in, boy that was easy, pull the door panel, grind off the melted on plastic studs, clean up holes, pop in new panel piece, used steel clips over new studs, replace panel, done. I have been fighting that stupid broken handle for 10 yrs easy.

Why don't you set the rear up on jack stands, have someone step on the brake pedal while you try and rotate the tire? If they don't work at all it could be the case that you have a stuck caliper or something.

Try going about 30 mph on an empty road and slam on the brakes.. if it doesn't stop in a straight line or starts to tend one way or another there's a good chance your rears aren't working properly. This could be awful in a panic stop situation.

Brake parts are cheap and even replacing calipers is no big deal. Are the rears drums or disk?

fronts work fine, rear would I think but just not getting much pressure to them. I am 90% sure its the RABS unit, my play is to either replace it or bypass it.

Another possibility is brake hoses. Sometimes they rot on the inside, and the internal diameter goes to a pinhole. I had it happen on an old Ford F-250. What if you totally remove the bleeder screw, maybe it's just corroded inside the hole?

more truck work.

Reading the ford forum I found yak about installing a heater control cut off valve.

On that (and many fords IIRC) model ford left the heat core on all the time, and uses a blend door to cut off in max ac mode, but its still in the cab with you and if the blend door leaks you get hot air from the core.

junk yard time find a valve that was used in the later model year (same gen, guess ford decided to use the valve when they went from R-12 to R134a, perhaps it needed a little help keeping cool), grabbed some extra vacuum lines and fittings (needed a T).

before installing valve I wanted to run the vac lines, so had to poke a hole thru a firewall plug, fished a plastic vac line into place, temp hooked up the servo on the valve and then installed the T on the max AC sero (applies vac to operate the recirculate door, so only Max AC will cut out the heater core, this is the way it was plumbed at the factory).

I did a quick test with the eng running to confirm no vac leaks and the servo operated the valve as it should. all good so only need to cut the heater hoses and install. This model uses recirculate valve so both hoses must be cut and 4 connections made.

while at the yard I picked a spare ECU module and power amp, they were cheap so stocked up.

posted up a video of my heater bypass install, no leaks, will have to learn how to paint next. the last time I painted a car was back in the early 1980's and it was with enamel. I presume paint tech has come along way since then.

I would like to just wait for better weather, put up some sheet plastic in the garage for a temp paint booth and have at it.

I painted one car in my life. My 1964 Fairlane. Did all the body work, took off all the trim it was ready. Primed it, came out okay. Put the dark blue on it and the darn thing looked like tiger stripes. Light/dark/light/dark. Had to re-sand the car. Never did paint it again. Good luck with the truck. Would love to see photos.

I will post up some photos later today.

I need some ideas on painting. the paint is good on the sides and the back, the hood I repaint with rattle can paint a while ago. it looked OK but since then the clear has gone to pot AND some dum arse golfer hit me with a bad slice and put a nice ding on the hood that will need to be addressed. Other than that the body is perfect, no dings, no rust, never been bent (I have owned since new).

The top is really shot, the tops of the fenders seem to have lost the clear but the base is still good (I keep in in the garage so no new damage taking place, most of the damage was done years ago when I parked in the sun at work).

I am tempted to see if I can get behind the ding on the hood and at least pop it out a bit, see how it looks, then wet sand it all (I put the base from the rattle cans on pretty heavy) with some 600 grit and see how it looks for re clear. on the top I have considered just painting it gloss white for a two tone (hey its my truck I can do what I want :) ) that will reflect heat better.

Could also do one of those shiny reflective silver finishes...Those should reflect more heat than white.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6KJ0utVYxI

need some paint tips..

You need to paint it...... I did my wife's '91 Accord back in 2010, it was about the
same as your car..... Use a etching primer on those rust spots, but then you have to
cover it with regular primer. Then paint, and then clear coat it..... Or if'n yer not
into all that work, get a single stage paint, they are still around, but less forgiving.

Hand sand all the paint off then etch it, then primer it. If yer good, you can do it with
out removing the chrome, it's expensive to replace those plastic things that hold it on.

Believe it or not, that paint ain't all that hard to hand sand off. And you will not leave
large scrapes in the body like you would with a machine. Looks like you will get away
with a small can of filler, not many dents to go over.

There is lots online, figure out what paint company is around you and learn their
system, I was lucky I had PGP in the next town....

well I decided to try a less full on approach 1st. May end up doing the full job but its really just a learning thing so 1st is what can I do with out going all out.

What I did was wet sand the bad areas on the top of the front fenders. used 1000 grit and just hand sanded. wipe down with some cleaner, then shot some rattle can clear just using a piece of cardboard as a moving mask, feather in to the good part down the side of the fender. Its about 1000% better considering where it was.

I will get some polishing compound and work the feathered part just for grins.

Still looks good for a vehicle its age. If that were here it would likely have been a pile of rusty lace years ago. Year-around use vehicles usually don't survive here. I don't know what's keeping that '78 Grand LeMans from falling apart.

If it's in texas there ain't no rust, so the body will last for decades.....
If yer willing to fix the small stuff you can keep it as long as yer not tired of it....

I don't look at an old cared for car as something I don't want to put much money into,
as cars are money loosing items from day one. A car that goes 500K and needs minor
work, even a transmission, is much much much much cheaper than car payments on
something that can cost up to $30K..... Yikes ! ! !

And it helps if you really like the car you bought in the first place..... I know people
who buy the best deal they can get, then in less than a year they already have a list
of 10 things they don't like about it. I love the cars we have, and I will fight to keep
them running and looking good.....

And I swear our 91 accord has more inside room than the new ones..... Even though
they are much bigger, all that dash stuff is right up in yer face on the new ones.....
Seems like you just can't do anything but plant yerself and not move....

And the best thing is that the cloth seats in it are still prefect!

I don't see myself ever purchasing a new car, even if I had the means to do so. They have zero appeal to me. Also, those I want fortunately have almost zero monetary value.

New cars really are shitty compared to older ones. Plastic everywhere. Plus, all of the integrated electronics GUARANTEE that they won't be around in 20 years. Someone close to me suggested that there won't be any 'collectible' cars from the 2000s in the future, due to all the irreparable computerized stuff involved. I mean, even the main engine control modules are available for a '90s car in most cases, but try and find the parts needed to fix the computers in a 2006 Infiniti in 2025 for instance. Hope this isn't the new norm.
I drive an '04 Acura.. the first year that US-sold vehicles were mandated to contain a 'black-box' vehicle-data recorder. No desire to buy anything new, for varying reasons.

I like my truck hence the efforts to keep it running. Mostly small stuff that goes wrong, which I think annoys a lot of folks into trading in for a new car. That seems dumb to me so I just fix and keep going. Of course it helps to be mechanically inclined and willing to try new things. I was over on the truck forum, mostly good stuff, but some guy comes on and starts with attitude and then questions if I am concerned the health safety and the enviroment. What a laugh. Yes I know to use a proper air mask for the type of paints. Enviroment, give me a break, he was a pro dent fixer, guess from that perspective all DIY is hack.

Eco-freaks, yuck. As for the plastic bumpers, safety requirements seem to have gone back a step in that regard. Bigger, heavier bumpers were mandated for 1974, now this.

I nearly popped for the 6" DA air sander at HF today, but they did not have any fine (wanted 600 grit) sanding disk so just did it by hand.

I sanded the pass side top fender down to the pin stripe, and the edge of the top down a door piller, down to the same pin strip also on the pass side. Using the pin stripe as a nice panel break.

Got it masked off, if weather looks good tomorrow will shoot some rattle can at it and see how it looks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8pRBlpbGJg

not great but a lot better. prob end up getting a DA air sander and a HVLP gun soon.

Nice job, You can keep doing what yer doing and end up with a nice job. But don't use
the air sander, hand sand it and you will end up with a much nicer job....
You might want to invest in a cleaner before you paint. Commonly just called a de-greaser, or silicon
wax cleaner it will remove stuff that can be left behind, even after sanding....
Use a file on the rust spots.... Don't laugh just yet....

For the rust spots you will have to either get it all off, or it will just come back. Especially
if you use that "rattle" brand paint. I have put 2 part paint over surface rust and it
takes a lot longer to come back, I think it seals the surface much better...... Harder..?
I don't know.... Better air seal....

Looks real good...

Today's car paint is much more friendly than the stuff I learned with. It's cleaner, don't smell
so much, and you won't be tasting it for weeks after yer done....

Centari was good but like a chemical plant. Dulux was pretty dam poisonous.... Now this
Base/Clear you can almost put in yer coffee and still live.... And the water base stuff they
use in Calif. you can use in a pinch as baby formula...... Big improvement over the decades...

I still use my old Sears HVHP gun.... Fogs the entire town.....

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I used lacquer thinner to wipe down after all the sanding, then a product called "final prep" or something like that, then a tack rag (that may have been it if it was contaminated) just before shooting the black. the green base wend on easy, but I should have either sanded more, or primed, or more coats (that I can still do) to get better coverage as you can still see some of the orig defects coming thru. I think better sanding a a primer just so the base does not have to mask so man underlying problems, but I am no paint guy so this is just me messing around.

I would like to find a dinged up body panel to go mess with to try doing dent removal. I may have to had auto body work to DAVE's VINTAGE TV repair shop that I plan to open when I retire.

after the paint I plan to learn about auto upholestry.

Upholstery really isn't hard either.... You'll be amazed at how the seats are put together
once you take one apart. Final prep is one of the trade names for that cleaner. I guess
you have visited a paint supply house..... Or done some reading.... 600 - 800 paper is
best for the kinda stuff you are doing. Wet sanding is mostly so you get the stuff off
the paper as it quickly gets clogged.... At first you said you were using some rattle clear
I assume that is like the stuff you get at the Blue store, or the Orange store,
good on any surface even wood. So it will do different things than regular car clear.
The stuff is most likely chemically different. Car base/clear are meant to bond to some
degree, and you have a time window when you can put the clear over the base, wait
too long and you have to sand, then re-base before you clear.

One nice thing about new base/clear is that after you spray the base, you can tack
before you shoot the clear, and you can even tack between clear coats. It don't
sound like much, but for painting outside its like a gift from the Gods. Centari
use to stay tacky for quite a while and collect bugs like crazy.... Very frustrating
for outside painting under a tent....

Your doing well enough just watch a video on YT about fixing dents with Bondo, it
ain't expensive, and the cheap stuff is the same as the gallon can at the body shop
supply. I think you can do it.... I'm impressed at the quality work you have done so far.

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I've been around people who might be desperate enough to get high in such a way.

many moons ago I painted a car outside (well in a barn actually) with enamel. I like working with it but yea the bugs were killer, fly lands and does the back stroke and you just have to sit there and watch it.

I have been using the duplicolor base/clear in the spray cans for this project.

HA ! HA ! I use to run around the car with a bright light and tweezers....

And one of those Chinese hand fans for the flies with curiosity but no landing
gear down yet...

I think the first car I did on the grass, from then on I put a tarp on the ground
too, as most of the little flies seemed to be in the grass area too.....

The second car came out much better than the first....

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I tried flicking him out, just pissed him off and then he went in circles. I got to the point where I would just let them croak in there and sand them out then buff and wax, mostly leaving just tiny bits. fun days.

nearly heat stroked out today, but got a driver side seat switch, man it was hot, got a spare as well. the set goes forward easy but you have to fiddle ALOT to get to go back. Picked up some parts that were on a 94 that look to be part of the air daming of the radiator to keep the hot air from getting back to the front of the condenser. Had the whole as replaced about 13 yrs ago, don't know if the tech that did it put in the foam sides that also keep the hot air out, but it was not there, not even any bits, so got some foam to seal that up as well.

Its working well now, but next time it needs service I am doing it myself.

got the seat switch in, power seat now works as it should woo hoo. Slowly but surely I am getting everything fixed on this old truck.

to do list:
brake line (slight kink done years ago in Mast cyl replacement, I have a bent line from a junker)

fan and fan clutch

foam surround the AC condenser

air dam corrections to 134a specs (still have R-12 but planning ahead)
hood light

driver side door panel light

driver side seats (the top us attached with a zipper so should be easy to remove for repair of the leather)
driver side bottom will wait for cooler days but at least I know how to remove the seat, easy now that I can move it fore and aft.

headliner

paint

that should get it back to as like new as possible. The drive line is solid, has a rebuilt trans and the motor run very smooth no oil or coolant loss. The only real prob is a very slow rear main bearing leak that I will just have to live with.

I would like to get another 20yrs out of it.

Dave,

If you are still running R-12 in the Exploder's A/C system, I have a case of the 12oz cans if you're interested a few to top it off. If it's not leaking too badly, you might be able to hold off on the R-134A conversion a few more years? They sell R-12A now, but I don't think you can mix it in with R-12; someone else may know. Also, my take has been that R-12 systems have always seemed to cool better than the newer refrigerants. Also, even if the A/C system is working fine, it still may be low on refrigerant.

Tom (PK)

I am kind of on the fence about the AC, right now its working fine, but it is 13yrs old since the last major overhaul. In Florida its all about the AC since its used pretty much year round. With that in mind I am will to spend for the best possible system.

I have been doing some research and it seems the parallel flow condenser and evaporators are the most efficient and best for use with 134a. I don't know if they would make a R-12 work any "better"

So when the day comes to rebuild (say a comp breakbreak down) I was thinking of going with the P flow parts, maybe do some research on optimal orifice tube size (or thermal controlled expansion valve) for the extreme heat of florida, and use a oil compatible for both 12 and 134 (PAO?) and try R-12, and if the supply of R-12 ever dries up completely I could just change to 134a and not sweat the componets or oil.

DAve,
I have over 90 lbs of virgin R12 and I am not that far from you. Keep your vehicle R12 if at all possible. In order to chabge to R134a properly, it is expensive to say the least.