Was pondering trading in my Sport for a 4DR V8...
Haven't made a decision yet but have been considering it.
I need a more robust vehicle to tow our camper but really didn't want to bump up to an Expedition.
Found a 2000 XLT loaded that looks mint with 49000 miles on it.

I was wondering coming from a stick, whether the tranny behind the 5L is more reliable than the one behind the 4L....

And any other reliability issues with the 5L.

Tx

it is roughly one bajillion times more reliable.

Originally posted by james t
it is roughly one bajillion times more reliable.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Ford even puts the same tranny behind 5.4L trucks which put out a lot more torque.

i have been on this site for 2 years now, and thusfar i can only recall 3 people having trouble with the 4R70W(V8) tranny. now think about all the threads you see day to day on the various V6 transmission problems.

put a big cooler on the 4R70W and run synthetic fluid and forget about it. get a baumann shift kit to finish the job.

not to be the fly in the ointment but my 98 5.0 AWD tranny went completely bad at 50,000.....wasn't even a solenoid or something simple it was a mechanical part....so have it checked out very good before you buy it, not just the tranny, i mean everything.... and good luck

haha, you were one of the 3 i was thinking about. :D 98svt, DarkFox1, and someone else i cant think of at this time.

It's worth mentioning that Darkfox's whole truck was a lemon.

Is the 2000 5.0 tranny the same as the one in the 99' 5.0,as far as reliability?

WPURPLE please excuse the intrusion on your thread

Well, going to check it out this afternoon. It is going to be a hard sell since my Sport is in mint condition and I had it since it was new. There is quite a bit more rust on the undercarriage (of the 2000) compared to mine but me being meticulous, I wash mine after every snow.

The dealer is a Mercury dealer and known to be a bit pricey. According to them it was a vehicle they bought from Ford that was a lease. My instinct says that a lease would be less desirable since if it is leased it would be taken care of less...but then again a Explorer isn't necessarily a vehicle that would be beat on as much as a Stang or something.

Thanks all for your advise....

all 5liter X's have the same tranny (96-01), the 4R70W. i think somewere around 98 it got updated with a few minor things. good luck and keep us posted. :)

UPDATE:
The salesman handed me the keys, I poped the hood, took a look, and handed the keys back to him..
It looked like the engine spent some time on the Titanic's deck. I never saw a engine bay so rusted.
I am sure it ran fine but.....
:(

The search continues....

Degreaser is your friend.

Originally posted by wpurple
UPDATE:
The salesman handed me the keys, I poped the hood, took a look, and handed the keys back to him..
It looked like the engine spent some time on the Titanic's deck. I never saw a engine bay so rusted.
I am sure it ran fine but.....
:(

The search continues....

ugh.. sucks... how much were thay asking for it?

ugh.. sucks... how much were thay asking for it?

..never got that far (I would guess they would be asking around $16300)

Degreaser is your friend.

far beyond what a few cans of degreaser would do...

..I should have taken a pik

A 2000 that cost $16300 must have pretty low miles, which means the engine can't be that bad. I'm thinking you're being too picky.

I may certainly be picky considering my 97 only has 15000 miles and is spotless....
...but the 2000 had layers of rust coming off the exhaust manifold, every possible metal component was rusted, even the radiator hose clamps. All the aluminum was quite white oxidized.
Had 49508 miles on it.

Every option except leather (and I hate leather)