Hokie's looking for a Ford DD/light tow rig

[Hokie]

Hey guys,

Long time no talk. Many apologies for my absence on this board. Y'all were darn near family to me while in college and grad school and since then I've fallen off the map.

Well, the good news is: I'm in the market for a new SUV and I've got my sights set on a 2006+ (4th Gen?) Sploder.

I was originally sighting in on a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder with the 5.6L V8 (from the Titan... 320HP/390TQ!!!), but they're very spendy. My hesitancy towards an Explorer was that the 4.6L didn't put out as much power/tq as I wanted for a light duty tow rig (flat towing my 4000lb TJ 2-3 times/year). I didn't realize (until recent research) that Ford up'd the ante on the 4.6L for 2006+ and switched to the higher test 3V, 292HP/300 ft-lb motor.

Anyway, I'm back in the saddle again and looking for a Ford. I'd like atleast an XLT (sunroof is a must), but I'd probably prefer an Eddie Bauer to get heated seats.

Any thoughts, words of wisdom or FYI's would be much appreciated.

:cheers:

 

[Douwe]

Check out post #2 in the following thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=391037

The earlier 4.6 had issues with bad cooling of the heads. There is an aftermarket kit to help the issue but if the damage is done you are in for an expensive fix. If you can I would go 2009 or 2010.

 

[Turdle]

How bout a sport trac. You seem like a sport trac kinda guy.

 

[Hokie]

I thought they fixed the 4.6 problem before 2006? Obviously I have more research to do! MSN shows green reliability after the early spark plug issue:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?ICID=HPFAC&make=Ford&model=Explorer&expmdl=efac

How bout a sport trac. You seem like a sport trac kinda guy.

JT. The bed is actually too small :-/ I think I'd get more utility out of an SUV.

 

[Douwe]

Let us know what you find out. I know they redesigned the heads in 2005 and I have not heard of any other changes but according to Flag the problem was not fixed until late 2008 so I am confused on this, as well.

BTW the sport trac, with 4.6, has lesser rated tow capacity than the SUV with 4.6.

 

[boominXplorer]

Long time man! For what you want you want an 08+ Explorer / sport trac with the 4.6. It has the better 6r80 trans and the 4.6 3v has a TON of power for the size of the truck.

To be honest though its a lot of weight to put behind something smaller than a 1/2 ton truck / suv

 

[Hokie]

To be honest though its a lot of weight to put behind something smaller than a 1/2 ton truck / suv

7300lb to capacity. 4000lb (MAX) Jeep. Flat tow/No trailer. Seems well within the limits to me. Ill run a brake buddy so the Jeep will have brakes as well.

 

[Flag Gibby]

Mid year 2008 is when the 4.6L spark plug and manifold issues were resolved. I would definitely go with a 4.6L in your case. You may be able to find a Mountaineer 2008 1/2 to 2010 for less than the Explorer with the better "updated" 4.6L and towing package. Haven't seen many 08-10's with a sunroof though.

 

[Hokie]

Mid year 2008 is when the 4.6L spark plug and manifold issues were resolved. I would definitely go with a 4.6L in your case. You may be able to find a Mountaineer 2008 1/2 to 2010 for less than the Explorer with the better "updated" 4.6L and towing package. Haven't seen many 08-10's with a sunroof though.

Well shoot. Guess I'll start looking for a 2008+. That really puts the Explorer prices in par with the Nissan Pathfinders with the monster, 5.6L V8 out of the Nissan Titan. Which has better HP/TQ numbers than the 4.6L and comparable MPG's.

 

[colintrax]

Why not get a trailer? Flat towing can get a little sketchy. Had to flat tow the ranger again yesterday. Front wheels started shacking lock to lock. Yanked the back of the explorer around real good lol

IMHO you should just buy a cheap car trailer, old diesel truck, and something that gets good MPG for a DD. Tow rigs and DD don't go well. Anything good for towing is expensive to drive. Old 3/4 tons are CHEAP, trailer is the price of a crappy car, or a set of tires on a big truck, and something small is way better for driving to work. Unless of course you need a truck for work?

 

[Hokie]

Why not get a trailer? Flat towing can get a little sketchy. Had to flat tow the ranger again yesterday. Front wheels started shacking lock to lock. Yanked the back of the explorer around real good lol

IMHO you should just buy a cheap car trailer, old diesel truck, and something that gets good MPG for a DD. Tow rigs and DD don't go well. Anything good for towing is expensive to drive. Old 3/4 tons are CHEAP, trailer is the price of a crappy car, or a set of tires on a big truck, and something small is way better for driving to work. Unless of course you need a truck for work?

I need (prefer) an SUV as a DD for all of the other fun stuff I do around Denver and Colorado. But don't really wanna mess with a FS SUV (Tahoe, Expedition, etc.) as a DD.

Have considered an F150/Silverado/Tundra/Titan, but don't really need the pickup bed and get more utility out of an SUV than I do a quad cab pick up.

 

[colintrax]

IMHO the explorers are a full size SUV after 2001. Got pretty darn big.

Why not get a pick up with a camper top? Same thing as a SUV without the carpet. Plus it's removable for times when you need a bed.

 

[Henders]

A lot of the 06 Eddie Bauer's had of issues with the Transmission and Radiators. I've had my 06 Limited (4.6L with towing) and haven't had any transmission problems nor Radiator issues. I currently have about 119K miles on it. If you're looking at an 06/07, be very careful on checking out the vehicle.
I did have an issue that FORD wanted to Charge me about $500 to fix (slow fill). I found water got in through the vent (gas cap area) and caused a blockage of the Vapor Canister hose (between the canister and purge valve). All I had to do was disconnect the hose coming out of the canister and drive. Everything cleared and I reconnected the hose. No more problem.

 

[paulyjsob]

I have an 07 Mountaineer V8. It tows great. I tow a 5000+lb boat 300 miles through hilly VT twice a year. Engine has plenty of power and stopping power is fine since trailer has brakes on both axles.

 

[thebrakeman]

Comparably-equipped Mountaineers are cheaper in the used market than the Explorer. Our '06 tows 5000 lbs of camper very well. The only thing different is no low-range transfer case. If you get the AWD version (as most V8 Mounty's are), it's automatic AWD (RWD until slip is detected), or you can electronically lock the axle 50/50. But no low range.

 

[TowingExplorer]

I seem to tow about 50% of the time with my '06 LTD 4.6L and it works just fine.

Usually towing anything from 1500 pound trailer to 6000 pounds with vehicle loaded.

 

[thebrakeman]

As long as you aren't getting into any significantly-hilly terrain, the V8-HD tow package trucks are good for a combined weight of up to 12,000 lbs. 6,000 of trailer is fine, as long as the loaded weight of the truck is not more than 6,000 lbs. If you need the full 6400 lbs GVWR in the truck, trailer weight should limit to 5600 lbs, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Hokie]

Found an '06 4.6 3V XLT fully loaded (leather, sunroof, etc.) with 37k on it...

Y'all still have me gun shy of a 4.6L older than 08 :-/

 

[Flag Gibby]

And rightly so since we all know the problems you will face in the long run in terms of repair if it is the 4.6L built before the head/manifold redesign. If you are not shy about having to do the repairs yourself and have the time/shop to do it in when the engine starts having the symptoms then go for it especially if it drives great and the price makes it hard to pass up.

 

[Hokie]

And rightly so since we all know the problems you will face in the long run in terms of repair if it is the 4.6L built before the head/manifold redesign. If you are not shy about having to do the repairs yourself and have the time/shop to do it in when the engine starts having the symptoms then go for it especially if it drives great and the price makes it hard to pass up.

Point taken

Passin' on the '06...