18,000 And the Bottom Fell Out!

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Mike Wilson

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Just turned 18K last week on my '05 Trac, and all of a sudden, or at least recently

since 17K, the following issues have shown up:

(I still love my trac, by the way!):

2-3 Shift Flare:

Power Steering Shudder on low speed turns:

Front End is making a wub-wub-wub noise while driving,

a bad WUB-WUB-WUB noise while braking:

When I start it up in the morning, or after setting for several hours, it does not want

to idle (sounds like it has a cam in it, if that helps, for all of us old skool boys out there):

The upper left of the dash, or steering column on that side, is making a loud "pop" when

shifting into drive, or from drive into park, and the driveline settles,not like torque-lock

from the transmission, or floorboard area, but from the dash or steering column area.

The PRN2DL indicator shows almost "N" when it is in Drive (I'm sure this is a small thing).

I'm going to take it in to the dealer next week when I'm off, but any advice you all can

give me would be helpful, as usual.

My specs:

2005 XLT stock. No mods other than 250 watt stereo, speakers, and DVD player. (Had

to brag a little, sorry):

Goodyear Wrangler stock tires w/17 inch Premium wheels and stock shocks, and I'm

guessing that that is most of my problems on the suspension/WUB issues!

Dealer has already replaced the front end (upper control arms with the adjustable caster

camber settings!) per my original complaint at 10,000 miles of the inside of the front tires

cupping/wearing unevenly.

All maintenance performed regularly, such as tire rotation, oil changes, safety checks,

undercarriage, etc...

Thanks, Guys...and Gals! :wub:
 
Type everything up and print it out for the dealer explaining all problems. I've been in a couple of times and forgot to mention something due to the fact that I was making sure the more serious stuff got taken care of. I have to pay a deductable so I won't go in until there are a few items of concern. Now I carry a typed letter and hand it to the service guy.
 
Tracnblack, If it makes you feel any better I'm about to turn 20K on my 05 XLT Priemium and I've had the 'thump and bump' for the past 4-5k miles. :angry: After reading all the related info on tires versus shocks, problems with this and that, I decided to just live with it until I get to a point I cannot take it any longer (coming soon!). :D I have also noticed the power steering shutter, but only when stopped and hard turns are done. :angry: I had one Ford dealer tell me that even if you do follow the prescribed maintenance schedules for the front end, you'll eventually end up the way many of us have with the thump-thump syndrome! It's an inherant flaw in the Sport Trac specific. So I'm getting close to going to Michelins and then shortly after that replace the shocks with something other than OEM. Other than these few issues, I have not had any other major, or for that matter, no minor problems with the Trac. I'm regularly getting 17-17.5 mpg with the A/C and 18.5 - 19 mpg without it. That's mixed highway and city driving. I say, you can't beat that for such a versatile vehicle. :D
 
It kinda of sucks that you are having such problems, but it is always good to research the VIN number to find out when the vehicle was built. Mondays and Fridays are the worst days to get. Hopefully your local dealer will tkae care of you. Good luck.



Duece
 
Duece said:
...it is always good to research the VIN number to find out when the vehicle was built. Mondays and Fridays are the worst days to get. Hopefully your local dealer will tkae care of you.
Click to expand...



Though that sounds like good common sense, Duece, I have to ask the following:



- Have there been any studies that correlate build day-of-the-week against defects?



- Is a car actually built in one day, or might those that roll off first-shift on Friday AM "mostly" be built the day before?



- Do we really think quality control, robots, process and procedure all take a "day off" (or gets lax) because of hangovers, or weekend day-dreaming?



Just asking the questions.



Anyone else have any hard evidence (statistics), or maybe even some anecdotal evidence one way or the other?



P.S. I already checked snopes. ;)



Thanks,

TJR





 
I noticed that the power steering shutter in the front end was mentioned. Does anyone know what the cause of this problem is. I have around 12k miles and have noticed it for maybe the last 4 k miles only when turning hard at very slow speeds.



Thanks



Tony
 
I know you don't want a vehicle made toward the end of the model year's production. Had a friend that Co-oped with Toyota near Evansville, Ind. and he said when they knew the end of that particular prodution year was close THEIR maintenance on the automation started to slack off. "Hence a lower production qaulity" he said.
 
Tony, search on "steering shudder". The issue is an underpowered power steering pump. The TSB has it replaced with a higher displacement version from an Explorer.
 
My 05 XLT has about 20,400 miles now. I get that same loud popping noise that you mention. Funny that you mention the gear indicator, mine is just the opposite...it is nearly down on the "2" when I have it in drive.



My gas gauge never has worked right....it will show half a tank when I actually only have 1/4 tank left. The mileage sucks also.



It also seems like it is getting too much gas. When I back out of my driveway, it is slightly uphill but when I shift into reverse it will start backwards up the incline without me touching the gas. It will go forward the same way when shifted into drive...this is a problem that I pointed out to the dealer back around 12,000 miles and they claimed not to see any problem.



I had wanted a Sport Trac ever since I saw the first one when it came out back in 2000. But now I think if I can find a good deal on something new and get a good trade in, I will dump this one before it starts costing me money when the warranty expires.
 
Thanks for the replies.

On the good side, I consistantly get 21-22.5 miles per gallon, not really highway driving, but one of those two-lane rural type roads that are a little hilly, with a 55-60 m.p.h speed limit, so I guess I got lucky there! That is where I do 90% of my driving.

Another thing, when I had my 2002 Silverado (my trade for the trac) within the first 18 months,

I replaced nearly every outside bulb on that thing! Headlights, tail and brake lights, etc.

That must have cost me close to a hundred bucks out of my own pocket, as the dealer

refused to replace any. I know many Silverado owners that had the same problems.

And the Chevy dealer Sukked! One of my bigger reason going to Ford, this time, as I am

a G.M. employee!

And I also love the fact that when an Avalanche owner in our parking lot pulls up next to me

and makes a comment about my trac looking like a "Mini-Me-Avalanche" (kinda does?)

that I can open my door and show him my "Made by U.A.W. Employees in Louisville, Ky.,

U.S.A. sticker, and then proceed to open his door and show him his "Manufactured by G.M.

Corporation, San Aziripe, Mexico" sticker!!!!! I love the HELL out of that!!!

:wub:;)
 
I have had my Sport Trac for a week (2004 with 8500 miles) and already having problems. I still love it and hopefully with get the problems fixed. I took it to the dealer today for a very loud brake noise in the front, not while braking but rather after braking and starting again. They quickly determined that BOTH of the front calipers were sticking and would need to be replaced. I sure hope its covered under the warranty (it was a private party sale so only has factory warranty).



I have also noticed the power steering problem you are referencing at least I think its the same problem. When I turn the wheel while sitting still or moving real slow you can fell the front end shake. The first few times I noticed it it scared the crap out of me cause I thought it was the engine running roughly about to die out and I had just bought this thing and was about half way home (I drove 500 miles to get it). I took a few times and I realized it was the turning. I just assumed it was the way the Sport Trac was and there was nothing to be done about it. I will now search the forums for previous post about it.



I love this site such great info. Someday hopefully I will have something useful to add. :D
 
Adam, Welcome.

I am an ASE Master Certified mechanic, and one of my first thoughts is that a 2004

with only 8,400 miles may have sat a long time without being driven, as they, (whomever

"They" are) say that nowadays, about 15 to 18 thousand miles a year are average.

Describes, almost exactly the problems you are experiencing with the front brakes/

calipers. They tend to seize or rust after prolonged periods of Non-Use (setting).

When you buy a car that has sat for that long, or have gotten it out of storage, you will

notice all kinds of little quirks about it! The squeaking, groaning, moaning noises out of

all kinds of places! I can't say that the dealer will or will not fix these problems in the

remainder of your warranty, because if they see that the vehicle has sat for so long,

they may say that the vehicle was not intended to sit for so long without being driven.

Don't drive it hard until you have had a full vehicle inspection from someone you can

trust. Have whomever do a fluid check, such as antifreeze, transmission fluid, oil,

brake fluid, driveline check, etc...Good Luck, and let us know how it turns out...
 
Thanks tracnblack for the response.



So far the local dealer is being great. They are going to do a complete inspection of fluids etc. for me as a courtesy check and they apparently do that a certain intervals while under warranty anyway. I never really thought much about the problems associated with buying a vehicle with such low mileage, I only thought wow what low mileage I will never find another one like this. The guy I bought it from bought it brand new and used it very little. Most of the miles that were on it came from a few long distance family vacations. He commuted to work 100miles a day and would use a car (for the 30 mpg) for that. He finally decided that he just could not have a third vehicle sitting in the garage and could use the money for something else. So anyway, I made him a offer I didn't think he would take and hooray I was on my way to owning a Sport Trac something that I had been wanting for a couple years. Hopefully this is the only problem I will have for awhile but even if I have a few it will still be worth it.
 
Adam,

In your circumstance, highway miles are good, at least as far as the drivetrain is

concerned! If the dealer takes care of you, your 'Trac should be O.K.!

:)
 
Just and update. The good news is that after much delay the dealer has replaced my calipers and front brake pads and things are fine. It was done under warranty and did not cost me a thing. The bad news is that I asked them again about the power steering shudder issue. At first they told me that did not experience the problem and this time they told me the famous old "there is just air in the system" line and said it will work itself it. Just today it did it worse then ever. The problem is not a really big deal I guess and is just one of those things that get annoying but it is something that I would like to get corrected and before the warranty runs out in a year. So, I guess I will just wait until my next scheduled service and bring it up again. Any suggestions on how to ge them to fix the problem. I have already told them about the TSB should I take a copy of the TSB right in with me and slap it down on the desk at this point I would imagine they have looked it up for themselves.
 

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