New Purchase, a few issues

[eyal8r]

Hey guys-
I just bought a 2000 Mountaineer from my family, and it has a few issues I need resolved. I'm trying to get them fixed as cheaply as possible, but I am very unknowledgable and inexperienced with cars. I'll probably take it to a mechanic to do the work, but I'd like to not go in blind and know what to expect before going in...

1) Display on head unit doesn't work- was told it's just a blown fuse in behind the unit- but the unit itself works great.
2)Driver's side door lock doesn't work- I have to manually lock/unlock it (can't use the remote to do it)
3) This is the biggest one- the suspension is horrible! The entire back end is sagged down, for one. But driving it, you feel every bump in the road, it hits them pretty hard and shakes you up good. I'd like to get this fixed.

Any ideas as to what this stuff will cost? Or, is there anyway I can do it myself? It's a 2000 Eddie Bauer edition, 95k miles on it.
Thanks guys!

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

For issue 1), this is a pretty common issue on some Fords. I believe the problem has to do with either bad solder joints or faulty capacitors on the display board in the head unit. The most cost efficient option may be to pick up a replacement tested head unit off of one of the auction sites or from a local salvage yard, unless you'd rather go aftermarket. You can search the Ford Explorer forum for more details. The Explorer forum is a bit more active than the Mountaineer forum.

Issue 2) is probably just a bad door lock solenoid. Should be a rather simply, but potentially pricey repair.

Issue 3) could be a lot of things. The springs could be shot or broken, or if you have the air ride system, the air shocks could be shot. Without being able to perform an inspection in person, it's really hard to say. If you have the air ride system and that's the issue, the repair will be quite expensive.

Since you have the Eddie Bauer edition, are you sure you don't have an Explorer? I though the Premier edition was the Mountaineer version of Eddie Bauer trim on the Explorer.

-Rod