My work life means that my '95 Explorer XLT (112K miles) is parked for
2 weeks in a 2nd/3rd floor office garage and then driven very sparingly and parked on the street for my 1 week at home. The truck has been somewhat neglected for the last 3 years but only driven MAYBE 1,500 miles. The truck and I call Miami home.Left the truck at a dealer to get some brake work done and the fuel filter replaced on my last 2 weeks out of town. They (of course?) came back with a $3,500 estimate for the work they said the truck needed. I limited them to just the brakes and fuel filter. One of the things they recommended was "cleaning of the intake system" because they said the throttle sometimes stuck partially open. In fact I had noticed some "sticking" of the throttle a few months back, but a simple "pat" or two on the accelerator fixed the problem then and I had not noticed the problem in a few months. I attributed the problem to a lack of lube somewhere in the linkage/throttle/ accelerator pedal. However, as I said, I did not authorize them to do the "intake system cleaning."
Another item they wanted to charge me $300+ for was a new belt and belt tensioner. The original pulley crapped out and the belt broke over a year ago while I was a few miles from home. Luckily I was within walking distance of a parts store and was able to get some cheapo replacement pulley (and belt) and was able to be back on the road in about an hour. Meant to replace the pulley with a better part from Ford, but I just never got around to it. Anywho, I went out today have a look at the tensioner with the intention of replacing it and the el cheapo pulley with Ford parts. While there I noticed that the "clamp" that holds all the duct work together for the air filter was not properly closed. I had replaced the air filter myself some time ago and would never have left the clamp in such a state, so I figure that the mechanic at the dealer had opened it as part of the diagnostics done on the truck.
I was going to simple close the clamp properly, but I noticed what looked like some loose paper sticking out of the duct work where the clamp holds it together. So, I pulled the air filter to see what was up. Holy crap! There was hardly any air filter left! Some friggin' buck toothed rodent (mouse, rat, squirrell, Miami-Dade politician) had climbed in through the grill and eaten about 50-75% of the filter. Not just the paper, but even the hard plastic "nose cone" (for those who know what the filter looks like). Even found rat droppings in the air filter housing. The guys in the parts department of the DIFFERENT Ford Dealer (I will not take the truck back to the original dealer who apparently did not notice this even though they obviously had taken the duct work apart) were cracking up over my inquiry as to whether or not I could get a titanium tipped air filter or one saturated with rat poison.
So, I have 2 questions:
- What damage could the small pieces of paper, hard plastic, or rat turd have done to my intake system? Is there anything I can do other than take the duct work apart and make sure there's nothing floating around in there?
- What does the Ford service department actually do when they "clean the intake system?"
Thanks!