Count-down to 100k miles!

[kmack]

It's been a few weeks in the making (since I don't drive the Explorer very much now), but I'm getting close to finally rolling over the odometer for the first time! The 100,000 miles mark is looming...

Back story on the truck...'93 4x4 4-door XLT
Original owner was my wife's Uncle in San Diego, CA. He only drove it to Texas in the summer for use on the beaches to go fishing. Or he drove it to Pennsylvania in the winter to visit family. He got the 4WD for the sand and the snow.

Fast forward to 2008, and my wife's Dad buys the truck to use as a hunting vehicle. It had roughly 60k miles at that time.

Fast forward again to 2013 when my wife and I buy the truck for my personal vehicle. It had 76k miles. I start driving it fairly regularly for work, but it would generally sit for up to two weeks at a time. It is still used as a hunting truck, but it does not get beat up.

Interior is in excellent shape: no tears, rips, drips, or stains! Exterior paint could use a little help. It's been sitting outside in the hot Texas sun since '08. Paint on the hood is fading quickly as is the roof. The rest looks ok.

Current mileage as of last night (coming back from deer lease) is 99,939 miles!

It most likely won't be driven again thru the holidays, but I'll update this post as the count down continues.

Sorry if this seems trivial for most of you since almost all Explorers nowadays have high mileage, but this one has been baby'd and well taken care of. It is a true gem in my eyes, and this is a major milestone to have waited this long to roll over.

I'll keep you posted!

 

[96firephoenix]

damn! I love that bumper/guard.

I also love to see a car that's been taken care of!

 

[Rhett]

Yeah, that's a hell of a front bumper setup you have there. Recess those lights and you could push some serious stuff around. Interesting design, it looks like the sides are diamond-plated and it'd be interesting to see how it's bolted up.

I thought mine was low mileage (183,000) !! You should take a pic when it rolls to 100,000

 

[Josh P]

Only vehicle I own that's under 100k miles is an 86 merkur xr4ti. All the others are at or above 200k miles. That is a very nice looking explorer!

 

[kmack]

Yeah, that's a hell of a front bumper setup you have there. Recess those lights and you could push some serious stuff around. Interesting design, it looks like the sides are diamond-plated and it'd be interesting to see how it's bolted up.

Thanks Rhett!
This is a matching set of Ranch Hand bumpers front and rear! Got them used off a '94 Limited. The main bumper portion is diamond plate welded to a 4" dia pipe.
Both front and rear are bolted to the frame with four 5/8" bolts and then tack-welded.
If I had smaller lights, they would fit behind the uprights. But these were cheap so no loss if they get damaged. 100 watt bulbs so they light up the ranch pretty good. I have them piggybacked off my brights.

(Edit)
Don't ask how much I paid for the bumpers...it'll make you cry!

 

[kmack]

Only vehicle I own that's under 100k miles is an 86 merkur xr4ti.

I always did love the design of the xr4ti's! Very cool car!!!

Thanks for the compliments guys! I plan to take pics of the odometer as it rolls over. Have to make sure I plan my trips so I can pull over easily at the time!

Somewhere I have a pic from my old Suburban when it hit 275k and our old BMW 325is when it hit 300k!!!

Updates to follow...

 

[kmack]

Got a little bit of driving time this past holiday. 43 miles to go!

 

[Josh P]

Almost a new car again.

 

[kmack]

Felt a little bad about the Explorer sitting out in the TX rain these last 4 days, so my daughter and I took a quick little trip up to Bass Pro Shops for a little "window shopping!"

Only 28 miles left now!!!

 

[kmack]

Well, It finally happened! The week before Christmas I had to go get a state inspection which put a few miles on. But then yesterday I did a little more running around and she finally rolled over! It's kind of weird seeing all the 0's!

I had to pull over on the side of the road to memorialize this moment.

 

[Arne13]

Brand new truck. Congrats. Arne.

 

[Watchman]

Hey Kmack - congratulations. I have 331K on my 93 Ex Sport 4WD. Concerning your paint ... Have you thought about letting a local high school body shop re-paint your Ex. I just got mine back after 4 months at a local high school here in SW Virginia. The rockers were rusted off both sides and the hood and roof had peeling clear coat, etc. I was shocked to see how good a job they did on it. I had bought rocker panels and was wondering how was going to do all the body work, re-paint etc. Just a thought. Your paint looks pretty good on the side .. It's the overhead that takes the brunt of UV.

 

[Rhett]

Congrats. And you do have a new zero miles truck now!

I'm at almost 184,000 now. Still pulls strong, in fact it runs better than it has in years now that I've fixed my air intake tube, and EGR vac leak.

 

[kmack]

Thanks guys!
This truck is going to be a work in process. I have some plans but for now, I just plan to keep it on the road. I love driving it! It's the third Explorer we've had and since this one has been in "the family" since new, it means that much more. Hopefully in the upcoming years, I'll be able to dig into it deeper and give it good going over to truly make it new again. I love projects!

 

[UtahX]

Way to go. I'm getting real close to 200K on my 2000 X.

 

[larrydd999]

There was one Gen1 XLT advertised for sale locally recently with 80-some thousand original miles. It was a '94 with the additional digit on the odometer. The seller wanted $3.5k. According to the listing it's only problem was the clearcoat on the hood. The ad didn't stay up long, so I assume someone bought it.

 

[kmack]

Just an update:

Over month since the last time I posted and only at 289 miles! And that's just from one weekend out to the deer lease. I'm driving it this week for work just to get some run time.

 

[Rhett]

Is your truck an auto trans or manual?

 

[2stroke]

He has it in OD in some of his pictures, so I'm going to say auto tranny with 99.9% certainty.

 

[kmack]

Yes, it's an auto trans. Never been opened up, which is a little concerning.