Welcome New Members!

[95Explorerguy]

Hello everyone. Thank you for a great sight and and resource for information. My name is Sean and I live in Columbia SC. I have a 95 explorer 2dr 4wd. I love it!! its seen better days and i'm trying to restore it to those better times. I use it for hunting and just having fun in woods, nothing hardcore, just like to get dirty and always looking to ride. I have lots of plans for this thing, Ive owned it 8 years now. looking froward to sharing it all with everyone., Thanks for the help and i am sure ill need LOTS more help.

[John Dozer]

Hey All,

I'm very new here, and I'm glad my Mechanic told me about this place. He use to be a member about 8 years before he fell on bad times. Now he here with me working on my 91 Mazda Navajo LX I bought last Saturday as my 3rd vehicle I've ever owned. I'm glad to be here, and I'm sorry to here the lost of John Rocky. Even though I've never talked to him I give my condolences to the Explorer Elites. I'm here to recieve the knowledge you all have and wish to pass on.

[nwoodward]

Hi Nice to meetcha'll

[pdknz]

Hi all--

It says, "And best of all, get rid of this incredibly annoying new member message," or some such thing, so here I am. I really wanted to read for a while first, but I'm willing to post an intro.

My name is Phil Koontz. I live in a village way off the road system in western interior Alaska, on the north bank of the Yukon River, about 300 miles west of Fairbanks. The Arctic Circle is about 100 miles that-a-way, the nearest stoplight, McDonalds, and parts store is in Fairbanks, and I have two relevant vehicles--a 1990 Aerostar with electronic 4wd, 4.0L V6, and a A4LD tranny, plus a 1995 Explorer with the same engine and a 4R55E. I recently did an engine swap in the Aerostar because it came to me with a seized engine and a spare junkyard replacement, and I have had the tranny out of the Explorer 4 times, averaging about once a year. The Aerostar needs some work, probably a solenoid swap and valve body rework, the Explorer is down with some kind of starter/flywheel issue, again. It also needs a steering column redo.

I'm 60 years old, with two married children and three grandkids, and my hobbies are pretty well reflected by the internet forums I am a member of--

Oldtools, for users and collectors of woodworking handtools,
South Bend Lathe and Practical Machinists lists, for home machinists (my big machine is a 14-1/2" by 8' South Bend lathe made in 1947, and
Absolute Write, for amateur authors.
Part of my shop time is spent on blacksmithing, and I occasionally sell some hand forged tools called holdfasts to handtool woodworkers. If we say "shopping" around here, it usually means working in the shop...

Gasoline in Galena costs about $6 per gallon, there is no commercial mechanic shop, no tire shop, no parts store, and no hardware dealer in town. Most of our freight comes to town by barge during the summer when the river is running. Cold weather this time of year is about -30 to -50F, warm weather is anything close to 0. In the summer, our weather is mostly mosquitoes, but the temps are usually in the 70's.

I have a blog at
pdknz.livejournal.com
and a web site at
www.galenavillageblacksmith.com

My son and I gather logs by raft on the Yukon about every summer, and we have each built a log house of scribed logs. We heat with wood, and gather our firewood by snowmobile in the summer, and by mostly by boat in the summer.

I almost decided to junk the Explorer, but have joined this forum with the intention of giving it one more good fixing-up, hoping that this time it won't bite me in the butt again.

The Aerostar seems like a decent machine, and I hope to slide it over to our daughter and son-in-law when it's reliable enough to be a good mommy-car.

Our little town has a cop as of yesterday. We got along without one for about a year. Buying a car here is a lot like adopting a stray dog. There is no requirement for a license plate, registration, bill of sale, lights, brakes, or signals--if you can get a vehicle to run, that's all that's required.

My other vehicles include three snowmobiles, a 1975 Ford pickup that needs an engine and trans swap, and a Yamaha 4 wheeler. My shop is mostly for metal work, but my son has an auto shop that we can heat with a wood stove (be very careful with gas fumes!), that's available for my use. My plan for the big fixing on the Explorer is to tear it down outside this summer so-as to avoid tying up the shop for weeks at a time.

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome new members

[mikerb]

Hi to all,
My wife drives to work in a 99 explorer xlt with 190k miles. Just before she left town for a month, the xlt lost only reverse. So that is the length of time I have to get it fixed.
Even if I sound like I know what I am talking about, I probably don't. That's just my hard-headedness showing. Otherwise the xlt runs great. It uses a lot of gas (sohc v6), but that is better than a car payment that I can't afford! And participating in this explorerforum gives me much needed typing practice to prepare for whatever I might have to do if I lose my job in these uncertain times. Wish me luck! (This is where I would insert the smiley if I knew how.) Thanks to all who contribute helpful info. :-)

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome new members

[baphomet666]

greazman, Jungle1943, bowhunter52501, Ranger Rico, guilletnt, 95Explorerguy, John Dozer, nwoodward, pdknz, mikerb

Hello and Welcome among us on SERIOUS explorations

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome new members

[ekaj]

I own an early model 2003 Explorer Limited, V8, 4 wheel drive. Purchased 11-30-2002 new and now only has about 64000 miles. It has been dealer maintained it's entire life and very reliable. It is still under extended Ford warranty.

My initial interest is in finding out if there are any non warranty threatening, safe, reliable series of modifications available to help increase efficiency.

As you can see by the low mileage, I and my wife do not drive long distances very often but have made a few forays out into the world. You see, we live on an island in upstate Washington and no place to go unless you ferry to the mainland. We have to climb a winding gravel/mud road to our home so all that driving is slow speed and not at all efficient. Also hard on tires and brakes. Snow at times is also a challenge.

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated with the goal of most bang for the buck. Things like lubricants, filters, tire sizes and pressures, etc. Of course I am interested in the more exotic things like computer ECU upgrades, headers, dual exhaust, etc.

I am happy to be a part of your forum and group and hope to contribute as well.

[baphomet666]

Originally Posted by ekaj

I own an early model 2003 Explorer Limited, V8, 4 wheel drive. Purchased 11-30-2002 new and now only has about 64000 miles. It has been dealer maintained it's entire life and very reliable. It is still under extended Ford warranty.

My initial interest is in finding out if there are any non warranty threatening, safe, reliable series of modifications available to help increase efficiency.

As you can see by the low mileage, I and my wife do not drive long distances very often but have made a few forays out into the world. You see, we live on an island in upstate Washington and no place to go unless you ferry to the mainland. We have to climb a winding gravel/mud road to our home so all that driving is slow speed and not at all efficient. Also hard on tires and brakes. Snow at times is also a challenge.

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated with the goal of most bang for the buck. Things like lubricants, filters, tire sizes and pressures, etc. Of course I am interested in the more exotic things like computer ECU upgrades, headers, dual exhaust, etc.

I am happy to be a part of your forum and group and hope to contribute as well.

Hello and welcome among us.
I hope you fully enjoy your explorateur
And maybe one day come visit FRANCE

[wolfmen007]

Hello I am a new member here but i been getting some exiting info from the site from a long long time lol well i finally decided to join and well here i am, its very cool to see such a tight group of people helping each other in this site and let me tell you that i am proud to finally be a member. cheers everyone.

now lets just enjoy some beers!! ha ha ha

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome new members

[baphomet666]

Originally Posted by wolfmen007

Hello I am a new member here but i been getting some exiting info from the site from a long long time lol well i finally decided to join and well here i am, its very cool to see such a tight group of people helping each other in this site and let me tell you that i am proud to finally be a member. cheers everyone.

now lets just enjoy some beers!! ha ha ha

Hello and welcome among us.

[mtnlovrs]

I'd hate to quote him again, but I couldn't have said it better than wolfmen007 did! I'm glad to finally be a member here and share some of my experiences with everyone while I'm learning from them at the same time. I really love my Explorer and don't plan on ever parting with it. I'm planning on overhauling the engine in Spring; she's getting mighty tired. I'm looking forward to the many helpful tips that I will find here. Thanks for such a great site!

[italianbigsky]

Hi from Italy!

I found this forum searching the internet and looking for some infos about the explorer I'm going to buy in a few days. Lots and lots of pages, images and so on, but this board is the one that made me sure of 2 things:
1.become a member
2.buy the explorer!

So, to introduce myself. I live in northern Italy, I don't know if there are other Italians on this board or if anyone has been to my country, anyway my town is a small one near the Swiss border. Lots of mountains around and a lake.
American cars, just like country music and American football or baseball, are my daily bread, but it's very very difficult to find such things in my coyntry, or even people to talk about them here.
Anyway, a few weeks ago it was time to change my car, after 190000km in 5 years I thought to sell my mazda3. And now, after this mazda3, mazda2, opel corsa and opel kadett, I think it's time to driva a real American car. Some kind of dream, once in a lifetime.
I found a 1996 Explorer Limited, 4.0 V6, with some 150k miles on it. The owner seems to be a guy that really treated the car as a son, and is forced to sell it due to family issues.
There aren't many explorers in Italy, most of them are in bad condition even if they seems perfect. Mileage is not the true, you won't get infos about maintenance and the history of the vehicle. I hope this time all the data are true, they told me tires, brakes, AC and other minor parts have been changed, and also transmission is brand new. I've seen it, and decided to buy for about $7000. You may say I'm a fool, but this is the medium price for those cars in my country. A brand new explorer costs more than $80000!
Now, I'm waiting for my car. The owner wants to fix everything before giving it to me, and I really appreciate this even if I have to live without a car for a couple of weeks.
This will be the one and only 1996 explorer limited in my area, and I'm proud of this. Wish this car all the best, and all the best to all the people who will appreciate the soul and spirit of this piece of history.

Forgive me for this long intro...
Regards to all!

Beppe

[brewer1972]

Thanks for allowing me to join. The reason I joined is because on more then one occasion your site has helped me with my Explorer. This is my 2nd Explorer that I have owned. I love them. They are rugid little vehicles.

[dwalden]

hows it goin everyone, im new to the forum world so heres a little bit about myself. i live in massachusetts and i just recently bought a 1998 ford explorer sport with only 50,000m on it. no rust on it whatsoever (a very rare find if you know about new england winters) lol. i love it. but there is alot i want to know and even more i want to do to it nice to meet you all, im looking forward to being apart of these forums!

[92squarebodytank]

Hey guys. I'm new to the forum but I've been wheeling and turning wrenches as long as I can remember. I have a 92 explorer xlt 4x4 4 door 5 speed overall a great suv but I need some budget build pointers and I am open to all suggestions let me know what u think. And don't b afraid to ask me about anything vehicle related I am a 10yr a.s.e. certified technician with over 10 yrs of Ford experience. Wish y'all the best n keep her on her wheels!

[Phil in Lowgap]

Hi, I'm Phil in Lowgap, NC I'm in the process of converting a 2006 Suzuki Motorcycle to a trike.

I'm using a Ford Ranger rear axle assembly which has been flipped over (because of the driveshaft rotational direction) , axles & tubes cut down and welded shorter. The vent was welded shut and a new vent/filler tapped in the top side.

The load on the rear end will be nothing like it would be on a truck. I am however getting some noise from it and want to renew all the bearings in the differential.

I'm here doing research on the reinstallation of the pinion * carrier gears.

Nice website.