Thinking about trucks... (Navigators)

sleeper

sleeper

Former LOD President
RE: Thinking about trucks...

That's what i figured, given that every time i turned and accelerated in the 02 one of the rear wheels squealed a little. must be too much goop on the tires. But i kind of expected a straight-up 2wd mode. Kinda rules out burnouts :(

Now that i look more closely at your pictures, i see that my last question was kind of stupid. But, as they say, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people.
 
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flamark

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

The tires spinning is probably due to the tires themself. If they truck has the continental tires they are junk. Every time you turn into a parking space or pull out onto a street and accelerate they will squeel. Its very annoying. Just got some new higher quality tires on my truck and it changed the entire way the truck handles. I actually enjoy driving it again. I suspect that they put tires on that break loose easily for the soccer moms. These trucks are so top heavy that they are easy to roll. If somebody takes a turn to fast with stock tires they will probably slide. With my new tires you will probably flip. I know how to drive so I am not worried about it. Replacing spark plugs on these trucks is a nightmare. The 4wd trucks are much slower and have worse gas milage. I also find the front seats are not very comfortable on long trips. If I could do it again I would buy a Tahoe with the comfy cloth seats and the 5.7 liter. Drove one the other day and found it to be much more comfortable.

I am currently trying to figure out the wiring on the 4wd system so I can hook up a swich to disable it. I only purchased the 4wd so I could get my boat out of the water on our slippery boat ramps.

Also, dont plan on taking more than four friends on an extended vacation with this truck unless you have a car top carier. With the 3rd row seat in place there is nowhere for luggage to go.

I get around 11-12 mpg in the city. Solid 15 on the highway if I stay under 70mph. I have a 22ft boat that wieghs approx. 4,500 lbs that I tow regularly. I never have any problems doing it. My mpg drops to 6-8 mpg though. This is where you may wish to consider a deisel depending on how far you plan to tow your boat. I never tow mine more than 10 miles so its not a big deal. Everything I have read indicates that a diesel gets the same gas milage towing or not. If you are going to tow regulary and long distances the gas milage will probably even out the difference in auto payment.

And the truck has the r100, not the r75 unless its the 4.6 which only comes in an expy. Oh yeah, and by the way. Ford never fixed the rumble strip problem with the tranny. Swapping fluid is the same as the mark thogh, but easier since the truck is already in the air. Its just annoying that ford couldnt fix the problem after nearly a decade.

This brings me to my final point. Except for the engine, the navi is nothing more than a status symbol. The eddy bauer expy is just as nice, but is a little slower. My dad has an f-250 with the 5.4 triton and towes his boat all over the mid-west. His boat is about the same weight as yours and is 30 feet. In either truck you will be at your max tow rating so dont be surprised if you blow the tranny. As with any mod motor, you will see a couple hundred thousand miles if well maintained.

Oh heck, guess that was not may last point. With any newer ford truck you will need to have the windshield resealed or replaced when you take delivery. ford did a piss poor job on this. The windshield will leak causing water to soak the gem with will in turn cause all kinds of electical problems.
If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 
J

jayello

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

I agree about the continental tires. Never again will they be on any of our vehicles.

I somewhat disagree about the luggage thing though. We took the Gator up to Chicago about a year ago. Had 5 of us in it (so the 3rd row was left in) and still had room for all of our luggage behind the 3rd row. It was definetly tight, but it help 5 small bags of luggage.
 
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flamark

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

BTW, my 01 navi has air ride on all for wheels. Not just the rear. It appears to be set up very similar to the mark, except that the pump is easier to get to and is accessible from the engine compartment.

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 
sleeper

sleeper

Former LOD President
RE: Thinking about trucks...

The 00 was a POS when i looked at it, and the 02 was sold before i could go back and buy it. I can finance more for longer on an 01 or an 02 with a lower interest rate. But a lot of the ones around here now are real low miles with a price to match. I want an 00 for 13k or an 02 for 17-18k. There's a nice 02 for 23k not too far from here, but i'm not going to spend that much.

Tires on the mark when i bought it sucked. So that's nothing new :).

I thought about a tahoe or possibly an escalade, but i've had bad luck with GM full size trucks. The two that i've owned have been money pits (although they're older). But if i could afford a newer diesel i'd get one. Duramax + allison is the only reason to buy a chevy truck, IMO.

Adam, if you figure out how to make it 2wd only and can save gas doing it, post it up here. I might need that soon :). Hey, if it needs new tires anyway...
 
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maxmk8

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

Did you ever think about a Jeep Grand Cherokee?? They are really nice. Get better MPG than a Navigator, probably would be better in the snow, handle nice, and are cheaper. I think they can tow up to 7500 pounds.
 
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flamark

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

I used to love the grand cherokee until I met my fiance. She has an 02. It seems like every other week she has another check engine light. I went to some popular jeep sites and they were no help. It seems that everything breaks at different times on the jeep. Think about it. If you came to our site with a problem it would be one of about 10 things causing the problem. All of the same things break on our cars. On a jeep it could be one of a million things and is never the same thing on two different trucks. We are going to get rid of one of the trucks. You have seen all of the complaining I have done about my navi, yet we are going to keep it over the jeep. Its just much easier to track down the problems.

Dave, I am ordering a full wiring diagram of the truck. Gonna track it all down and figure it out. I really dont see the need for awd to kick in every time I get on it. I am currently looking at a couple fuses that may do the trick. I figure that if I wire in a toggle before them I could achieve my results.

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 
sleeper

sleeper

Former LOD President
RE: Thinking about trucks...

I'm going to try to buy an 01 or an 02, if they got full air suspension in 01. Since 90% of my driving is on-road, i will lower the truck a few inches to reduce body roll, improve handling, and reduce wind resistance (increase fuel economy). Then i'll install switches like on the mark for offroading.

A Grand Cherokee might be rated to tow my boat, but it's still less truck with less motor and it won't do it as well. I need a full-size truck. A Durango would do it, but i don't want a Durango. I either want a diesel or something with class/something ostentatious (depending on your point of view). So that means Excursion, F250/350, GM Duramax/allison (out of my price range), navigator, or escalade. I've had bad luck with full size GM vehicles, so i've pretty much narrowed it down to a navigator.
 
sleeper

sleeper

Former LOD President
RE: Thinking about trucks...

Well, i just bought one. Spent more than i wanted to spend, financed it longer than i wanted to to keep the payments where i wanted, but it's also newer and nicer than i was planning on.

Ended up with an '02 with 41k miles on it. Still under factory warranty, dealer said for the rest of this year. I'll have to check that out myself. Has typical michigan wear (some surface rust on unprotected parts, salt underneath) but it looks straight. It's black, and doesn't appear to have any dings or anything on it. Has a moonroof, backup waring beeper, second row buckets and premium sound, but no nav system. That's fine by me since i have a GPS.

Now i have to sell my suburban and pay off the mark. Anyone want a 91 suburban?

Yesterday was my birthday. This is my present to me. :) Now i have matching black lincolns (except the navigator doesn't have chrome rims :()

Oh, and all of them up to 02 have torsion bars and air shocks up front. The air shocks can adjust ride height, but not as much as the struts in the mark or in the 03-up navigators. I did look at an 03 today, a real nice one, but it was a little too much and it wasn't nicer enough than an 02 for me to spend the extra $$ (if that makes any sense).
 
driller

driller

El Presidente
RE: Thinking about trucks...

Well that didn't take long! :)

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Spent more than i wanted to spend, financed it longer than i wanted to to keep the payments where i wanted, but it's also newer and nicer than i was planning on.
[/div]

Isn't that used car buying axiom #1?

Good luck with it and enjoy! :)
 
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flamark

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

Dave, the first thing you want to do is take it in to them and tell them the windshield is leeking. Advise them that you noticed water dripping onto the floor next to the emergency brake pedal. A simple reseal will fix the problem. Trust me on this. At some point the original poor seal job will leak. They all do eventually. When it does it will cost you a gem and probably a fuse panel. Consider it preventative maintenance for a piss poor job they did in the first place. Go to any f150 site and type "gem" into the search engine. You will see what I am talking about.

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 
A

apbpetey

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

congrats on your buy and happy b-day.

I love having the 2wd option on my navi. I guess ford decided to change that over the years. Funny it usually seems to go the other way. I wish my escalade ext had a 2wd option. I dont have any choice at all, just auto 4wd.

On a side note I'd stay far away fom the Jeeps, they all seem to have problems with their electrical systems. My parents had a 96 Grand Chreoke (spelling) and had all kinds of problems with the electrical system from the day it was new. one time the tech at the dealer flat out told them that they have nothing but problems with those systems. Lights would dim right out and the fog lights blow a few times amoung the various lights that popped up when ever they wanted to.
 
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maxmk8

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

96 Grand Cherokee is way old. I don't see how Jeeps would be less reliable than a Navi, but only time will tell.

Congrats DAVE, you got the car that you wanted plus a B day :)! Lets see some pics !!!
 
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flamark

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

My girl has an 02 Grand Cherokee with 40,000 miles. Half of the hoses for the fuel recovery system have cracked and fallen apart causing a check engine light. The passenger side window motor broke for $400. I have replaced all of the brake lights at one point or another, and I just noticed two more blew again when I was behind her last night. The thermostat has gone bad throwning a check engine light. She has also had other problems that I am not remembering right now. The truck rides nice and has great handling for a suv. I just dont understand how they have such a hard time building a truck with brake lights that work. Its not like its new technology.

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
 
S

stang99x

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

I have the old style 98 with the 2V 5.4. It has 90000 on the clock right now. However, its far from the way it came from the Lincoln. I am never satisfied with stock or good enough. I have since added dual 3 inch exhaust with flowmaster, a Powerdyne BD-11a supercharger pulling 6psi, and a plethra of other little goodies here and there. I have no issues whatsoever with steering, leaking, seats or anything. Welcome to the world of Navi's. The link below is to a site I started for Navi and Expy owners to discuss problems and upgrades, your more than welcome to come on over and join us!

http://navigatorfourms.7.forumer.com/index.php?sid=8c509986b3d9af7dbdec4df4406db7d5
 
sleeper

sleeper

Former LOD President
RE: Thinking about trucks...

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
I have the old style 98 with the 2V 5.4. It has 90000 on the clock right now. However, its far from the way it came from the Lincoln. I am never satisfied with stock or good enough. I have since added dual 3 inch exhaust with flowmaster, a Powerdyne BD-11a supercharger pulling 6psi, and a plethra of other little goodies here and there. I have no issues whatsoever with steering, leaking, seats or anything. Welcome to the world of Navi's. The link below is to a site I started for Navi and Expy owners to discuss problems and upgrades, your more than welcome to come on over and join us!http://navigatorfourms.7.forumer.com/index.php?sid=8c509986b3d9af7dbdec4df4406db7d5
[/div]

You have some pictures? mmmm.... boooooost. I need to see if i can get a package deal, one blower for the boat, one for the mark, and one for the navi :)


BTW, welcome!
 
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maxmk8

New member
RE: Thinking about trucks...

Sweet ride Dave. Two black lincolns drooool. How much did you end up paying for it?
 
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