I don't know where to begin in asking what might be wrong with my 02 Explorer. The past year and half my truck has been leaking what seemed to be water. I took it to auto parts store to get something. I asked the guy why my car might be leaking this water-like substance. He said not to worry it's just condensation. I was not very satisfied with his answer but I was hoping he was right. I live a very busy life. Work etc so I didn't further investigate. Over the summer I needed new breaks and they stuck a machine in my Explorer and it said my starter was bad. That place said my car will eventually just stop starting. He is correct. So the leak ("condensation") stopped. Now my car is running awful. It will die about 25% of the time when I'm at a stop. Clicking sounds constantly. My coolant gauge comes up at about 1/3rd. I know the starter is gonna eventually fail but can a starter have anything to do with these awful noises coming from my Explorer and it dying randomly? I can't see why a starter would cause so many issues. I know I need a mechanic to fix my starter but I'm trying to avoid a bigger bill by fixing things myself and I'm not very savvy with cars. Any suggestions based on my very vague description? 2002 Explorer xls with 143k miles.

 

My first question would be if the charging system has been check for a good/spec rate of charge? Does it die then not start, meaning it won't crank the engine fast enough?

 

No my charging system hasn't been checked. I added lots of 50/50 antifreeze and a sealant liquid for the leak that stopped leaking thinking that might be one of the issues. Still makes the clicking noise and stalls. If it dies, it'll start up again. Just takes a couple tries. I am probably just going to have to take it to mechanic to at least figure out how dire this issue is and what must get fixed asap so I don't damage the Explorer further. I just don't know.