Two problems related to engine have been reported for the 1998 Ford Explorer Sport. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford Explorer Sport. The vehicle caught fire while parked. The police and fire departments were notified. The entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames and damaged. The vehicle was towed to an impound. The dealer stated that the vehicle was not on fire when they disconnected the cruise control. There was no power running through the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been diagnosed. A police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were 158,000.
All 1998 v-6 explorer engines (not sure if other models are involved) have a problem with carbon buildup. My 1998 exloroer sport was diagnosed with this problem at 43,694 miles (engine performance was affected). The dealer charged me $388 for the decarbonization process. This will be a recurring problem. I wrote to Ford with my complaint and requested reimbursement. Received telephone call telling me I had to resolve with the dealer. Dealer would not assume responsibility. I wrote back to Ford telling them I had gone to the dealer and felt this was Ford's problem to resolve. This is clearly a manufacturing problem, which customers should not have to pay for. Ford needs to take responsibility and provide the service at no cost to customers.