05 Aug 15 13:39, you wrote to me:

 ml>> i almost dread getting started on the front end rebuild of my
 ml>> Chrysler 300 to remove the deer damaged sections and replace them...
 ml>> have also just taken posession of a 2000 Eddie Bauer Ford Expedition
 ml>> that has had some problems in the past... first ford i've owned,
 ml>> ever... haven't had any problems with it in the ~300 miles i've
 ml>> driven it since saturday... the difference between the two vehicles
 ml>> is profound... not only handling but fuel mileage, too... this thing
 ml>> is like driving a semi-truck which i hope to get to, too, in the next
 ml>> month as well... things appear to be looking up!

 MH> I have heard those Ford SUVs have spark plug / ignition coil problems
 MH> often, but have never owned one, myself.

this is my first f.o.r.d. vehicle... a lot of vehicles have problems with
spark plugs and ignition coils but everything i've run into in the past has
been due to aluminum blocks and (in one case) i suspect a dealership mechanic
either broke something or swapped out the original coil for a known bad one...
in that particular case, the vehicle was in for them to replace a suspension
bolt in the front that holds one of the sway bars... when i went back for the
ignition problem, they told me that they always raise the hood and check all
the spark wires and such... i was so livid because their instructions were to
raise the vehicle and replace the one bolt that i already knew was missing and
they were to do nothing else to the vehicle... someone was lieing and trying
to scrape more $$$ out of me... i passed the word on and they lost a lot of
business but i never got any more satisfaction than that from them...

 MH> Probably one of my biggest battles which you never know when you are
 MH> going to run into, it the "stuck bolt".  Happens often on suspension
 MH> areas of the car - especially up north in the snow/salt areas.

i've run into that numerous times... the worst i've ever dealt with is exhaust
stuff and i refuse to do any exhaust work any more... anything like that goes
to a mechanic and i'm not paying for any broken drills they may run into ;)

 MH> I swear, I could have taken a spin down the road in the Durango with
 MH> no lug nuts on any of the wheels.  It was that stuck - due to rust.

i hear that!

 MH> I have started using anti-seize stuff on those trouble spots to
 MH> prevent that from happening again.

that's a good plan... that and locktight... antiseize to protect the threads
and locktight to prevent them from coming loose during normal operation...

i had to change a tire on this beast the other day, too... got a bencil sized
stick shoved into the left rear tire somehow... i forgot how much these things
weigh! as it turns out, the original spare was on the vehicle... yeah, 15
years old... it needed some air and i was stuck waiting for someone to bring
me a tank of air to fill it back up... i could have made it a little ways but
i was not going to back up the highway entrance ramp and i certainly wasn't
going to pay $0.50 to $1.00 for some air... that's just totally insane...
anyway, i got it home and took it to a shop the next day for an $8.50 plug
when i went and got the title switched and the plate swapped from the 300 to
the expedition... all in all, it was a good day and has been since then... i
still keep finding little things here and there but for the cost, they are
more than acceptable... on that, let's just say that the cost was as minimal
as you can get... it would have been given to me scott free if it weren't for
the BoS requiring a $$ amount ;) i love karma! i'm always helping others and
it does come back to help when least expected! ;)

)\/(ark

... Hard work is the yeast that raises the dough.
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 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)