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Yeah, if they want to make it right, I'll let them put me in something & take care of it.
I think there is a reflash/fix for the cameras that could get done at the same time. The image quality is a bit grainy, be good to have that addressed under warranty.
Added a quart & it's looking normal on the stick. Will keep an eye on it over the next few days & make sure it isn't going down.
If so, I'll put it on the dealer to make it right.
Flummoxed by the MiniBus
Attempted to change the oil yesterday.
Got the undertray removed, pulled the front air dam so I could get around under it easier.
My little Pittsburgh low-pro 1.5t jack isn't going to cut it trying to lift this tank.
Got to the oil pan drain & the Hulk's roided out cousin must've changed the oil last. Felt like I was going to round off the plug. Gave up for the day. Going to order a couple Fumoto valves for it & the Exploder, and try again when they come in. Might have to put a vice grip on it & YOLO. It's such a small amount of space to get a wrench in here, between a crossmember & the front sway bar.
Left the air dam off, think it looks better, but may put it back since I think it might give some water/debris protection to the drive belt area of the engine.
Defeated the Expedition yesterday.
Took doubling up on wrenches to get enough torque to break the drain plug loose
Replaced with a Fumoto, so I never have to deal with that again. Just need to get some 3/8" tubing before the next oil change.
Oil filter was on really tight as well had to break out a channel lock to get enough leverage to get it loose.
Ford put a drain tray on the crossmember so oil from the filter doesn't leak everywhere, and a nice little slide for it to drain down. Except it goes the opposite direction of how it seems, and I now have a nearly 12" dia stain on my driveway
Still need to rotate the tires, but my little 1.5T low-pro jack wasn't going to get it done. Going to need o get a bigger jack, or bite the bullet & get a Quickjack.
Permanently attached to the crossmember, under the oil filter.
Has a 'slide', down the front of the crossmember, where you'd expect the oil to go as it drains from the filter as you spin it off.
Nope, there's another drain, on the back of the crossmember, that's nearly invisible until the oil starts running out of it.
Looking at it from below, you'd expect the oil to follow the red arrow, as you can see the bottom of that little slide from underneath.
Instead, it follows the green arrow to a stubby little drain & actually drains onto the mini 'skid plate' then down to the ground.
There's an outstanding & suspended recall campaign for the backup cameras on Explorers/Aviators. Blue screen & unrecoverable without restarting the vehicle.
Got my first one today
It's already on my list, but now it's presentable as an issue.
Dropped the Exploder off at the dealer Friday for a laundry list of recall & warranty work.
Wandered the lot while waiting on my ride, mightily tempted by an F150 there, but at the $62k sticker...
New F150 Lariat 3.5EB, 4x4, pretty loaded. Maybe if I had more equity in the Ex & could get closer to a wash on finance.
My dad had an F150 King Ranch edition, I think it was a 2018, whichever year they went to aluminum frame. He had a few gremlins here n there but nothing too bad. Reason he got rid of it is the ride. Unless it was a dead stop or the most pristine tarmac, the whole truck was constantly juddering. His old Silverado rode a lot better and the RAM he has now does too.
otherwise it was a pretty good truck, the 3.5L with 10 spd pulled really well and economy was reasonable for a large truck, towing was also excellent.
2015 was the first year for the aluminum body. I had a 2016 XLT. Great truck, I had the 2.7TT 2wd. If it weren't for the incessant noise from the pano roof, I likely would've kept it.
The 23 Lariat I was peeking at on Friday, surprisingly, didn't have a sunroof at all, which is a big plus for me.
2015 was the first year for the aluminum body. I had a 2016 XLT. Great truck, I had the 2.7TT 2wd. If it weren't for the incessant noise from the pano roof, I likely would've kept it.
The 23 Lariat I was peeking at on Friday, surprisingly, didn't have a sunroof at all, which is a big plus for me.
youre totally right, it must have been a 2015, possibly 2016, but I really think it was first year. He had the giant pano roof and 0 noise from it. It was a quieter place to be than the TL.
which wheels did you have? Maybe the issue was the large wheels the king ranch comes with (I mean rims, not tire). Another issue for us is the bed was higher than the Silverado by a couple of inches and the ramps for the ATV made it a steep climb.
I had it in a few times for the pano roof. Originally for rattles, which progressed to squeaks after the rattles were 'fixed'
It was a great truck, otherwise.
Topped up the Burban this morning, forgot how thirsty the 6.2 is....14.8 mpg
Love the truck, hate the cost. Makes me look forward to getting the Exploder back sooner than not.
Dropped the Exploder off at the dealer Friday for a laundry list of recall & warranty work.
SA texted me on Tuesday last week, still 6 cars ahead of me for getting it in front of their transmission guy.
Everything else is done, hoping they wrap it up this week.
Also, rolled over 50k on the Expedition last Tuesday.
Got 16.6 on the last tank in the Denali. But that's pussyfooting it everywhere & keeping it under 70 on the highway.
Dealer called yesterday & all items for repair are complete.
Plan is to go pick it up tomorrow after work. Downside to not getting a loaner, I have to get a ride to work, then a ride to the dealer, so I don't end up with 2 trucks at the office. Luckily 1 coworker lives about a mile from me & my boss lives a couple miles from the dealer.
Just have to hope that all of it is actually fixed, since my B2B warranty expires in about 1k miles or in mid-Dec, not sure if a recheck on a warranty fix is still covered after exceeding mileage/time.
Powertrain, I've got 5yr/50k I believe.
Exploder needed an oil change.
My little Pittsburgh low-pro floor jack didn't have enough range to even lift a wheel off the ground.
Borrowed a high-lift jack from my FIL. guess it needs oil added to it. It got to put tension on the jack point & wouldn't go any further.
Was going to order a new jack, was looking at the 'all-terrain' jack from somewhere like Harbor Freight. Would work great on my unevenly textured driveway.
Had this video pop up in my YT feed & decided to give it a shot. I'm out about $50 in materials & it works great.
Other than nearly driving off the endo of it It got the front high enough to slide under on a creeper with no issue, and the 'tail' swings out of the way to allow side access.
Video built his with 2x8, but after measuring the 275 tires on the MiniBus, I went with a 2x10. Would've gone with 2x12, but it would've doubled the cost & added a lot of weight to lug around.
That's what I did on the MiniBus, it's just tall enough to shimmy under (with the air dam removed) and get it done.
Wasn't gonna happen with the Exploder.
New 'tool' inbound.
Along with the ramps I built, I'm giving a pair of these a shot. Always been a challenge to jack the car up, then find somewhere to put a jackstand. Nearly dropped the Malibu due to an iffy spot.
If they work well, I'll leave 1 in each of our trucks, which will be better than the hand-crank scissor jack & will order another pair to have a set of 4 to get at all 4 corners.
Had a $50 GC from work, so I'm only out $90 for a pair.
Will know next week how well they work with the Fords.
Strategically lifting the Midget with a regular jack & getting these under it would definitely give some extra working from from below.
Went down to our ranch in S TX last week for a hunting trip. Towed my dad's Mule down there, about 400 miles each way.
The Exploder handled the towing really well, apart from the 8mpg [really windy] on the outbound & 9mpg on the return trip. Spent a lot of time in 8th gear, with all the drag from the Mule.
The stock Pirellis are definitely not a gravel/dirt tire.
01-31-2023, 10:45 AM
at the $62k sticker...
Dealer called yesterday & all items for repair are complete.
It got the front high enough to slide under on a creeper with no issue, and the 'tail' swings out of the way to allow side access.
