I'm kind of sad to hear this... I had a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport that I bought used in 2008 w/ 32k miles on it. I drove it until 2019 when I donated it just before I deployed. It had 186k miles on it when I donated it. It had the 4.0 SOHC motor. I maintained it well, and had to do the usual things with a car that was 15+ years old. I replaced the body-mounts (they'd deteriorated), replaced the suspension bushings and ball joints, the leaf springs, and the shocks. I also replaced the fan and the belt tensioner and idler pulley. But the engine itself was amazing. I think the only thing I ever did to it was change the spark plus, and I had to replace the coolant neck because it cracked. But it ran fantastic. I never had any engine rattle that I can remember, and I beat the piss out of it (it was pretty quick). I'd started to really let it go through about 6 months before... I don't think I even changed the oil because I just had so much going on. But I donated it to a kid down the street who had straight As, and they continued to drive it EVERYWHERE for the next 2 years I still lived in that state. The dad ended up making it his car, which kind of irked me because I gave it to his kid... but whatever. I saw it all over San Antonio at all the local events (Christmas lighting, etc.)... and I know it was mine, plus I saw him driving it back and forth to work every day... so I know the guy literally drove the s**t out of it after I gave it to him. It HAD to have had over 200k miles by the time I moved. It's probably even still being driven now. This was a picture of it when I lived in Maryland back in 2011...
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Like, really... it was such a fantastic car.
The 4.6 SOHC motors are some of the most dependable motors Ford has ever built. It's literally what they used in the Crown Victoria which saw police duty for 100k+ miles, and then typically went on to taxi duty for another 200k miles. When I'd see them in the junkyard, they were so ragged out, and it wasn't uncommon to see them with over 300k on them.
This is my Ford Crown Victoria. I inherited it from my grandfather back in 2004. It basically sits in the garage... I think it has 50k miles on it now, almost all of which was put on by me over the years...
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The engine and transmission are totally stock. But I've taken the best parts from the Police Interceptor, the Grand Marquis LSE, and the Marauder, and put them all in my car. Everything from the interior to the engine compartment to the exterior. But I've done so in a way that it looks totally stock. It's nice and quiet, and the interior is not gawdy, but totally stock looking...
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You'll note the 140mph Speed Calibrated Police Interceptor speedometer integrated with all the factory LX gauges...
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I swapped them out when both my factory gauges and the Police gauges matched in miles. Steering wheel was a NOS from a Grand Marquis of the same year and interior color.
Car is a little dirty there, but completely unchanged in the 13 years since those last three pictures were taken. I actually only start it once every 6 months (battery is almost always dead). I put maybe 100 miles on it per year, if even that. It basically just sits in the garage...
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But yeah, I love the power of this thing. It has all the suspension upgrades (while keeping the original wheels). It also has tons of "factory" performance upgrades, such as aluminum driveshaft... again, all the performance police stuff (larger MAF, Marauder airbox). The ECM's been reflashed, transmission points adjusted (shifts nice and calm when just cruising, but really firm shifts when you floor it). Magnaflow high-flow cats, LSE Sport Exhaust (again, super quiet when just cruising around, and then screams like a raped ape when you floor it).
I love the car, but just never drive it, and it takes up a garage bay.