Good deal?

[ImpactF0nt]

Found a 2013 Fpiu at a dealership near me, they sell older vehicles. He wants $8,900 for it but says he can work with me on price. It’s your basic Iu, except it has sync, the aux switches, and some whelen modules in the space between the spare cover and the 2nd row. It’s got 130000 miles on it and it has 8,300 engine hours total. It runs and drives good and everything seems to be working just fine. Body is in average shape, frame isn’t rusted out except for surface rust and the body i couldn’t find rust except for the rear keyhole. Deal good or no? Lmk what i should do if I do end up moving forward. Thanks

 

[Volksjager]

Found a 2013 Fpiu at a dealership near me, they sell older vehicles. He wants $8,900 for it but says he can work with me on price. It’s your basic Iu, except it has sync, the aux switches, and some whelen modules in the space between the spare cover and the 2nd row. It’s got 130000 miles on it and it has 8,300 engine hours total. It runs and drives good and everything seems to be working just fine. Body is in average shape, frame isn’t rusted out except for surface rust and the body i couldn’t find rust except for the rear keyhole. Deal good or no? Lmk what i should do if I do end up moving forward. Thanks

that rear keyholes an issue until 2016 model year. at 130k and 8300 hours I wouldn't expect much left out of the water pump, but i say this with only one failure so take my advice with a grain of salt. Brake pads are usually toast if they haven't been changed and check the serp belt. if it hasn't been changed it's probably barely holding on. PTU is also another fun thing to think about failing as from what i've read on here the fluid typically isn't changed by agencies. As long as you know you have some maintenance to do then i say the price isn't too bad. i paid 9500 for a 13 with 10k total hours at 104k miles back in August of 2019.

 

[94Eddie]

Found a 2013 Fpiu at a dealership near me, they sell older vehicles. He wants $8,900 for it but says he can work with me on price. It’s your basic Iu, except it has sync, the aux switches, and some whelen modules in the space between the spare cover and the 2nd row. It’s got 130000 miles on it and it has 8,300 engine hours total. It runs and drives good and everything seems to be working just fine. Body is in average shape, frame isn’t rusted out except for surface rust and the body i couldn’t find rust except for the rear keyhole. Deal good or no? Lmk what i should do if I do end up moving forward. Thanks

As Volks said, the water pump is the top consideration, IMO. Then the condition of the PTU is second and then the transmission. At 130k the water pump could go for another 100k miles or as you are driving it off the lot. It is a $1.5k-$2k repair bill to replace it. If it fails and takes out the engine then it is a $5k-$7k repair bill. Can you find out which police department had it? If you can then they might tell you some history on it regarding repairs and maintenance.

 

[ImpactF0nt]

As Volks said, the water pump is the top consideration, IMO. Then the condition of the PTU is second and then the transmission. At 130k the water pump could go for another 100k miles or as you are driving it off the lot. It is a $1.5k-$2k repair bill to replace it. If it fails and takes out the engine then it is a $5k-$7k repair bill. Can you find out which police department had it? If you can then they might tell you some history on it regarding repairs and maintenance.

Thank you both for the answers. I was already aware of both the water pump issue and the PTU, i've been following the explorer scene for a long time, I figured my plan of action would be to inspect the service records (guy says he has a full sheet of that from when it was in service), and see what it needs for my tune up. Of course the ptu fluid needs to be changed right off the bat with some redline or amsoil. I'm guessing ill flush the coolant and fill with some prestone corguard. At some point im going to seriously have to replace the pump and the timing components, if anyone knows of a very reputible shop that can deal with the timing and water pump really well in the chicagoland/northwest indiana area please let me know (i dont trust myself to diy the pump). Thanks again guys.

 

[94Eddie]

One maintenance item I didn't mention that I think gets overlooked is draining and refilling the rear differential. It doesn't take much fluid and at 130k miles it is due, IMO. It isn't too difficult a job. Or at least it wasn't on our Edge. Also, flushing the brake and power steering fluid should be done too. Brake fluid gets pretty nasty if not changed every 80k-100k miles.

 

[Volksjager]

Thank you both for the answers. I was already aware of both the water pump issue and the PTU, i've been following the explorer scene for a long time, I figured my plan of action would be to inspect the service records (guy says he has a full sheet of that from when it was in service), and see what it needs for my tune up. Of course the ptu fluid needs to be changed right off the bat with some redline or amsoil. I'm guessing ill flush the coolant and fill with some prestone corguard. At some point im going to seriously have to replace the pump and the timing components, if anyone knows of a very reputible shop that can deal with the timing and water pump really well in the chicagoland/northwest indiana area please let me know (i dont trust myself to diy the pump). Thanks again guys.

BSG Automotive in Yorkville

 

[ImpactF0nt]

One maintenance item I didn't mention that I think gets overlooked is draining and refilling the rear differential. It doesn't take much fluid and at 130k miles it is due, IMO. It isn't too difficult a job. Or at least it wasn't on our Edge. Also, flushing the brake and power steering fluid should be done too. Brake fluid gets pretty nasty if not changed every 80k-100k miles.

Yeah I was planning to do that also. Planning to use amsoil 100% synth in the engine a couple times at least to give it a bit of a lift, apparently according to testimony on youtube and project farms testings, it cleans things up real well and keeps its quality for a long time. Thanks for the tip.

 

[ImpactF0nt]

BSG Automotive in Yorkville

Did you have yours done there or do people say really good things about their timing work?

 

[Green94]

Okay, that means that so far, the auto temperature control might be a must... Guess we gotta wait and see if someone says otherwise.

Did you have yours done there or do people say really good things about their timing work?

I took my ‘14 Sport there for a water pump and timing chain earlier this year. He will need it overnight to let the silicone dry, but we’ll worth the trip. This is THE guy when it comes to modern Ford engine repair or maintenance.

 

[Volksjager]

Did you have yours done there or do people say really good things about their timing work?

Ive heard a lot of good things. The guy is also on youtube and owns a gen 5 Explorer.

i had a WP done at a local ford dealer on my 13 because it had already failed. I plan on having him do my 17 eb next spring. Might have him clean my intake valves before then though.

https://youtube.com/c/FordTechMakuloco

 

[ImpactF0nt]

Ive heard a lot of good things. The guy is also on youtube and owns a gen 5 Explorer.

i had a WP done at a local ford dealer on my 13 because it had already failed. I plan on having him do my 17 eb next spring. Might have him clean my intake valves before then though.

https://youtube.com/c/FordTechMakuloco

oh no way that’s him? I’ve seen his stuff on youtube, didn’t know he worked so close by me. I’ll definitely have to check that out

 

[ImpactF0nt]

I took my ‘14 Sport there for a water pump and timing chain earlier this year. He will need it overnight to let the silicone dry, but we’ll worth the trip. This is THE guy when it comes to modern Ford engine repair or maintenance.

if you don’t mind me asking, do you know what the final cost was to have it done by him?

 

[Green94]

oh no way that’s him? I’ve seen his stuff on youtube, didn’t know he worked so close by me. I’ll definitely have to check that out

He has a small shop and try to schedule at least a month ahead of time. He does it right and has clients lined up for weeks.

I can't remember the final price, but even with an upgraded water pump, I was around $2,100. Less than that for factory parts.

 

[Volksjager]

He has a small shop and try to schedule at least a month ahead of time. He does it right and has clients lined up for weeks.

I can't remember the final price, but even with an upgraded water pump, I was around $2,100. Less than that for factory parts.

Water pump upgrade or did he put in an upgraded oil pump while it was all out?

 

[Green94]

Yeah, sorry. Had water pump on the brain, but it was a high volume Melling oil pump.

 

[joefoss]

Found a 2013 Fpiu at a dealership near me, they sell older vehicles. He wants $8,900 for it but says he can work with me on price. It’s your basic Iu, except it has sync, the aux switches, and some whelen modules in the space between the spare cover and the 2nd row. It’s got 130000 miles on it and it has 8,300 engine hours total. It runs and drives good and everything seems to be working just fine. Body is in average shape, frame isn’t rusted out except for surface rust and the body i couldn’t find rust except for the rear keyhole. Deal good or no? Lmk what i should do if I do end up moving forward. Thanks

Who would want a 4-wheel drive unless you live off-road, like to pay high gas prices and enjoy dealing with PTU, water pump issues and very bad head lights. I have sold a few Ford Explorer police cars in MI. The explorer has an ever failing water pump. The first one is generally fixed under warranty @ 60,000 miles or less. The PTUs are never serviced (unserviceable) You will have to drill a drain hole and fill through the vent hole. and they generally, will fail @ about 90,000 miles, depending on how it is used. The PTU for the police vehicles have a water jacket to help keep the cool so they will last longer than the civilian vehicles but still gets too hot. They have premature failures of the catalytic converter. I know of one vehicle the converters (2) were replaced twice under warranty and once out-of warranty. Wazz-up wit datt? Projection headlights are the worst in the industry. Oddly they were developed in Europe. Europe, with their road racers, have developed great lighting, i.e., Lucus, Cibie, Etc. Why projection beams?? Most police will use auxiliary lighting. If you buy one of these police vehicles, make sure the water pump was changed at least once. Drain, & flush the oil in the PTU as soon as you get it so you will know the status. It will come out like lard @ about 120,000 miles. The only good thing I can say for these Explorers' is they have good brakes and if the 6-speed tranny is working well it will have great shifting. I would never buy one of these for resale without a complete service record. Most of my records have been about 60 pages; mostly dealing with nails in tires, general fluid changes and bad batteries. Good luck.

 

[Volksjager]

Tell us how you really feel, joe

 

[peterk9]

Who would want a 4-wheel drive unless you live off-road, like to pay high gas prices ...........................................

The Explorer is not actually a true 4WD Joe. It is FWD biased and only changes to AWD/4WD when conditions cause it to automatically change. Thus the term "Intelligent 4WD". You don't need to live "off-road" to take advantage of the system, More and more of these types of vehicles have the same system. It is great for driving in snow, sand, loose gravel, wet roads etc. As for gas prices, you don't have to pay any more than any other vehicle for gas since it will run perfectly on regular gas. People that buy Explorers and similar vehicles aren't buying them for fuel economy so they expect lower MPG.

Peter

 

[Volksjager]

The PTUs are never serviced (unserviceable) You will have to drill a drain hole and fill through the vent hole. and they generally, will fail @ about 90,000 miles, depending on how it is used.

my 13 had 15k hours and 130k miles. It was still going. I added a little fluid and it did have a drain plug. Pretty sure my 17 PIU has a drain plug as well. Getting to the ptu vent on the eb has proven to be a bit more challenging.

 

[joney]

The Explorer is not actually a true 4WD Joe. It is FWD biased and only changes to AWD/4WD when conditions cause it to automatically change. Thus the term "Intelligent 4WD". You don't need to live "off-road" to take advantage of the system, More and more of these types of vehicles have the same system. It is great for driving in snow, sand, loose gravel, wet roads etc. As for gas prices, you don't have to pay any more than any other vehicle for gas since it will run perfectly on regular gas. People that buy Explorers and similar vehicles aren't buying them for fuel economy so they expect lower MPG.

Peter

Agreed on the 4wd usefulness! Which generations is it true "intelligent 4wd"? My 98XLT has the switch dial on the dash but I've had the automatic 4wd kick in on rutty gravel. I "think" it's RWD most of the time but can't confirm that.