Ends today. It usually comes back around and always seems to end on a Saturday. It's 40 % off some already reasonably priced auto parts. So it's a tremendous deal for those needing to order car parts and want to save a substantial amount of money. I just bought 2 rotors and a set of 4 premium brake pads made by Wearever, along with some other necessary stuff to change the brakes (e.g, brake fluid) for exactly $125 and got it for $75. On top of that, a $15 advance auto parts rebate for buying the Wearever brake pads and rotors set, which I'll use to buy oil for an oil change. So $140 worth of stuff for $75.
They are also not made to last. I had a leak in my radiator and was losing coolant. Once upon a time fixing a leak in a copper radiator was cheap and fairly easy. But no. I now have a plastic radiator that has to be replaced when it leaks. $912.
Well, I took it to the shop and most of the cost was labor. The V-8 takes up so much space in the engine compartment of an Explorer that you have to remove and replace a ton of shit to change the radiator. I had them replace the thermostat while they were at it because it is almost as hard to get to the fucking thermostat. Many a day I miss my 1956 GMC pickup. Not just because there was no computer or emission control sensors. But you could get in the engine compartment alongside that straight-6 to work on it.
I hear ya but I still wouldn't think it would be that hard to get to. My truck was easy, I will take a look at the Expedition when it comes home to just see how bad it is. Hell the thermostat on my truck is inside the water pump. I do know this, Ford for some reason in their infinite wisdom has changed (or did for the year model that the wife has) to some crazy extra long spark plug that is almost guaranteed to snap off inside the block when you try to remove it. This leads to a serious PITA and after the mechanic is done getting them out you could be looking at somewhere between $500 to a dime just for labor on them. Then you tack on the $15 a plug, if you get the cheap ones and wow. Just another reason why I have owned my last Ford ever. I wish I had known that little piece of information before I bought the damn thing otherwise I would have owned my last ford in 1992.
Talking about making it hard to work on cars anymore, a few years ago the fuel pump on my 97 Chevy pickup went out. I thought "No problem, I'll just buy one and replace it"the way I had in the past on vehicles I had owned. It turned out that the fuel pump is now inside the gas tank. Towing and replacement cost me about $700. Once I had a 66 Buick Wildcat. I bought a fuel pump for $17 and changed pumps in about 30 minutes.
Explorer, seriously smaller than an Expedition. It was designed for a 6 cylinder and they really shoehorned that V-8 in there. You not only have to remove the radiator shroud, six hoses, the power steering reservoir, the overflow tank, fan connector bracket, air cleaner, lower air deflector, and the serpentine belt, but you also must remove the upper intake manifold, the fan (which requires a special tool) and the trans cooler pipes (which requires another special tool).
Yeah that sounds like some classic ford bullshit. When I changed mine it was a couple hoses, in/out and possibly an oil or trans cooler line, fan shroud and the serp belt. Changed the water pump and thermostat at the same time. Took about hour and a half and she was back under power.