1996 Explorer XLT: Rear Frame "issues"

[discusfish]

So I have a 1996 V8 Ford Explorer XLT that has seen some better days, however it's been with my family for a long time and I'd love to get everyone's serious opinion on if it can be saved or not (within a reasonable budget). The rear left body of the vehicle is sagging something fierce and has done for about 3 years now. Our mechanic says there is nothing that can be done and to junk it (which is completely reasonable, however with something that is extremely sentimental I don't want to give it the boot just yet).

Attached are some pictures of the problem areas. Essentially, our mechanic says that the left shock mount is essentially gone and there isn't anything to weld or bolt to on the frame to reattach it. Now to this day we have been using the vehicle for little stuff, around town and garbage runs. We haven't had any issues. No weird scraping or metal sounds other than the normal rattling you hear from a car that can almost legally rent itself. The engine is running awesome and really the frame rust (some may call it rot) is its only real issue.

What I'm looking for is honest opinions on what to actually do to potentially fix it? Are there any tricks that other people have used that have worked out well?

Thanks in advanced.

Hope an imgur link works well for posting pictures.

 

[BKennedy]

I think the only way to save it would be to swap in another frame

 

[J_C]

There isn't a cost effective fix for that, even if you had some welding experience it still takes fab work to make a cross-member then pull the cab off and fix the frame where it bolts on... unless you already have the tools and skill and then consider your spare time as "free".

However, the left rear sagging is probably more a symptom of worn out left leaf spring. I would take a closer look at whether the frame has deformed and caused that or it's just the leaf spring which is something most of us have had to deal with by now but with the upper crossmember rotted out, you'd be left getting new leaf springs rather than a coil-over shock to fix that, OR you could just leave it alone, spray some *goop* on the rusty frame and shock upper crossmember areas to slow the rust down and keep driving it as long as you can.

In other words, odds are your left rear would be sagging even if the frame and cross-member were perfectly fine, and it can still be driven like that, keeping in mind that its load capacity is reduced, especially the further back in the cargo area you put it, before even considering that the floor pan may be pretty weak too. Would I take sharp curves on the interstate at high speeds in it or take it off-road? No, but some sag is tolerable.

One thing I would be weary of is mechanics that say to junk something then also offer to buy it... in that case I'd get a second opinion.

 

[discusfish]

Unfortunately a frame swap isn't really in the cards. I have neither the time, money, or skills. At some point I'll just have to look around for another one / wait until I strike it rich enough where affording a frame swap would be a drop in the bucket.

Thank you for both responding regarding this. Had a lot of firsts in that car..... well time to drive it into the ground

 

[96eb96]

Unfortunately a frame swap isn't really in the cards. I have neither the time, money, or skills. At some point I'll just have to look around for another one / wait until I strike it rich enough where affording a frame swap would be a drop in the bucket.

Thank you for both responding regarding this. Had a lot of firsts in that car..... well time to drive it into the ground

You can get the helper spring shocks(I have them) and it will prop up the back a bit.

As for the rust,I'm dealing with it too, there are places here that can easily weld that frame for $200 or so. They repair semi frames. These are shops that specialize only in that, so your mechanic may not realize it.

Problem is there are probably 20 other rusty things that may or may not have been addressed.

CT does not inspect for safety, in NY (unless you know a lickem and stickem guy) that would have to be scrapped.

 

[BKennedy]

If you post a picture of the rear leaf spring mount, it will tell the tale. If that mount is rotted like I think it is, then its not safe to drive. If its rusted through there, then its rusted through in a bunch of other places you can't see or haven't noticed yet. You could put it up on blocks and just hang out in it every so often.

 

[96eb96]

If you post a picture of the rear leaf spring mount, it will tell the tale. If that mount is rotted like I think it is, then its not safe to drive. If its rusted through there, then its rusted through in a bunch of other places you can't see or haven't noticed yet. You could put it up on blocks and just hang out in it every so often.

Yeah, his state don't inspect for safety, the responsibility is on the driver. They also salt roads, which eats cars. NY will technically allow a hole in the frame, as long as it is not at a "suspension mount point."

But I know welders that can repair some serious damage. Semis are welded and put back on the road. May not be pretty, but it will hold up.

I know the torsion bars could snap if they lose paint and rust.

 

[allmyEXes]

There are some very solid salt free 2nd Gen explorers down this way that need engines for cheap. If you decide to purchase one to put your engine in the easiest way to do that would be to buy one that has the same engine/trans combo for the swap. That way you are saving you a lot of extra head aches compared to doing an OHV To SOHC swap vs SOHC to SOHC swap. There are 2nd Gens going for $200 to $300 around here needing engines. I paid $400- for my most recent and it was running but needing timing chain repair and it had a 1.5 yo matching set of tires on it and a really good interior.

 

[discusfish]

Yeah it is used rarely for short trips when another car isn't available. Honestly, based on how it drives, I don't think the rear leaf spring mount is blown, just the shock mount. Went over some fairly bad bumps and it didn't die.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yeah it is used rarely for short trips when another car isn't available. Honestly, based on how it drives, I don't think the rear leaf spring mount is blown, just the shock mount. Went over some fairly bad bumps and it didn't die.

The shock absorber doesn't support the car, you could remove those and the ride height shouldn't change(we're not talking about serious shocks guys).

I'd get a better look at the frame, and take more pictures. It's not clear to us, but it does sound like the frame is seriously compromised(shouldn't drive it).

 

[MrQ]

No offense, but I don't know how you live with rust on your vehicles. My parents lived in Chicago for 3 years after being in Texas for most of their life and their Explorer came back looking as if they had been parked frame deep in the Atlantic ocean. Blegh. Even my brief forays into the Windy city for Christmas and New Years, put an orange patina on my undercarriage.

And I saw the absolute worst vehicles that were literally rotting away and shedding pieces of the body as they drove, rattle can paint jobs, bondo, bailing wire, and zip ties holding the damn things together. And there are no safety inspections! Those things hit anything larger than a speed bump it would break the frame in two and there is no way the crumple zones would work, the body would literally disintegrate in a crash. And crashes are even more likely due to the treacherous conditions of ice, snow, low visibility and potholes that could swallow the Titanic.

Anyways, good luck keeping it together, but sometimes it's just better and safer to let the old girl die in peace (or pieces as the case may be...sorry )

 

[Tshark299]

The rear left body of the vehicle is sagging something fierce and has done for about 3 years now.

In pictures 5 and 7 it looks like your driver-side frame rail, where it goes up over the rear axle, is rotted out - as in almost completely gone except for a few thin slivers of metal remaining. If that's the case I'd say it's sagging because the frame is no longer supporting the weight of the vehicle; most likely the body has taken over that job but it really wasn't designed to do that. Unfortunately new/additional springs is not going to solve that problem.

If this specific truck is something you really want to keep for sentimental reasons, one option could be to find someone (or junkyard) with a junked Explorer that has a good frame, and then have them cut off that section of its frame for you. After cutting the rotted section out of yours, you could have a competent welder weld in the replacement piece. If you go that route might as well get the upper shock mount crossmember too since that also looks like it is completely rotten through on yours. Many years ago I had the rear section of a Jeep frame rot through and this is exactly what I did to fix it. I did have someone else do the welding but did the rest of the work myself. From what I remember, it wasn't as much work as I expected it to be, and it's held up very well since then.

As it looks to me in those pictures, I would be very hesitant to drive it at any kind of speed right now, with that much frame missing.

 

[96eb96]

In pictures 5 and 7 it looks like your driver-side frame rail, where it goes up over the rear axle, is rotted out - as in almost completely gone except for a few thin slivers of metal remaining. If that's the case I'd say it's sagging because the frame is no longer supporting the weight of the vehicle; most likely the body has taken over that job but it really wasn't designed to do that. Unfortunately new/additional springs is not going to solve that problem.

If this specific truck is something you really want to keep for sentimental reasons, one option could be to find someone (or junkyard) with a junked Explorer that has a good frame, and then have them cut off that section of its frame for you. After cutting the rotted section out of yours, you could have a competent welder weld in the replacement piece. If you go that route might as well get the upper shock mount crossmember too since that also looks like it is completely rotten through on yours. Many years ago I had the rear section of a Jeep frame rot through and this is exactly what I did to fix it. I did have someone else do the welding but did the rest of the work myself. From what I remember, it wasn't as much work as I expected it to be, and it's held up very well since then.

As it looks to me in those pictures, I would be very hesitant to drive it at any kind of speed right now, with that much frame missing.

Oh, man I didn't see all the pics. Mine looks like a desert truck next to that. A good welder though can repair. I saw with my own eyes, a semi that was rotted away, and when I came the next day to pick up my thing to be welded, it was structurally sound with black paint. Probably though a job like this would be a grand at least. If he can get frame pieces, that would be the easiest thing, if he really wants to keep it on the road. No way would that be legal in any state with inspection, and rightly so.

 

[Gazios]

discusfish:

You couldn't pay me to drive that based on pic #5 alone!

If you want to recoop, find another chassis to put your parts in, if the engine and tranny are strong. I wouldn't drive that to my mailbox ..(

 

[palavine1951]

Part it out or sell it as a parts car. Many good pieces on a GT40 Explorer.

 

[mercabago55]

So I have a 1996 V8 Ford Explorer XLT that has seen some better days, however it's been with my family for a long time and I'd love to get everyone's serious opinion on if it can be saved or not (within a reasonable budget). The rear left body of the vehicle is sagging something fierce and has done for about 3 years now. Our mechanic says there is nothing that can be done and to junk it (which is completely reasonable, however with something that is extremely sentimental I don't want to give it the boot just yet).

Attached are some pictures of the problem areas. Essentially, our mechanic says that the left shock mount is essentially gone and there isn't anything to weld or bolt to on the frame to reattach it. Now to this day we have been using the vehicle for little stuff, around town and garbage runs. We haven't had any issues. No weird scraping or metal sounds other than the normal rattling you hear from a car that can almost legally rent itself. The engine is running awesome and really the frame rust (some may call it rot) is its only real issue.

What I'm looking for is honest opinions on what to actually do to potentially fix it? Are there any tricks that other people have used that have worked out well?

Thanks in advanced.

Hope an imgur link works well for posting pictures.

I am originally from upstate NY,born and raised there,moved to SC in 1995, Back in the 80s I had a Pinto Wagon,and the frame also rusted like your Exploror,the frame rail over the axle was about to collapse, what it did was found two pieces of 1/4" Thick steel plates ,jacked the rear up to relieve pressure and Fish plated them across the bad area with 3/8"long bolts and nuts. This worked as welding is hard to with rust.Been there and done that,Jack

 

[sandsprayer]

I am originally from upstate NY,born and raised there,moved to SC in 1995, Back in the 80s I had a Pinto Wagon,and the frame also rusted like your Exploror,the frame rail over the axle was about to collapse, what it did was found two pieces of 1/4" Thick steel plates ,jacked the rear up to relieve pressure and Fish plated them across the bad area with 3/8"long bolts and nuts. This worked as welding is hard to with rust.Been there and done that,Jack

That is a great (inexpensive)way to extend her life.
Unfortunately Mr Discusfish is going to need a lot of plate, and a couple of drill bits....
Really would like to see him hold on to the old girl!

 

[Hacra]

Anything can be saved if there is will, all you really need is welder and angle grinder... and bit of patience.

Living in the rust belt has its challenges.

 

[de]

You should have just trusted your mechanic. His expertise vs opinion is good. You're driving an unsafe vehicle now. You'll need to look for another one in good shape. It will save you time, money and headache of a frame swap and you mentioned you don't have the time to do it anyway. If you look for another used vehicle, of course, you'll run into other maintenance issues, many neglected by the previous owner(s), hence why they usually sell.

I take it you live in a section of the US where undercarriage rust is a normal issue? If so, it will be hard to find a SUV in good shape. All vehicles should have a complete suspension rebuild after about 100k to 150k miles as everything is worn out. Last summer, I purchased a 96' Explorer with 162k miles and rebuilt the entire suspension. The previous owner had newer rear springs already put on so that was nice. My '91 Explorer has a full suspension rebuild as well with 320k miles and both vehicles feel great!

So I have a 1996 V8 Ford Explorer XLT that has seen some better days, however it's been with my family for a long time and I'd love to get everyone's serious opinion on if it can be saved or not (within a reasonable budget). The rear left body of the vehicle is sagging something fierce and has done for about 3 years now. Our mechanic says there is nothing that can be done and to junk it (which is completely reasonable, however with something that is extremely sentimental I don't want to give it the boot just yet).

Attached are some pictures of the problem areas. Essentially, our mechanic says that the left shock mount is essentially gone and there isn't anything to weld or bolt to on the frame to reattach it. Now to this day we have been using the vehicle for little stuff, around town and garbage runs. We haven't had any issues. No weird scraping or metal sounds other than the normal rattling you hear from a car that can almost legally rent itself. The engine is running awesome and really the frame rust (some may call it rot) is its only real issue.

What I'm looking for is honest opinions on what to actually do to potentially fix it? Are there any tricks that other people have used that have worked out well?

Thanks in advanced.

Hope an imgur link works well for posting pictures.

 

[Lil9er]

My 97 was rusted out by the rear shackle mount. Luckily that was all, no where near as bad as yours. I got a section of frame and had a body shop weld it in to repair it. Good luck, that may be too much.