Hi there,
I've been doing a bunch of research here in New Zealand, as my goal is to replace my rather unsafe 1996 Toyota Surf with something safer for the family and still capable off-road.
The Explorer ticks all the boxes for me - side airbags, good safety rating, heaps of room etc.
My concern is building a reliable Explorer - from my research the main concerns seem to be transmission, rear diff and wheel bearings.
If I was to get a good condition, low mileage 2005 Explorer and upgrade trans with the aj1e kit and a trans cooler, service the rear diff immediately, and do bearings as needed, would I be avoiding the most major issues?
Also, can any of you comment on 4.6 v8 performance? I haven't test driven one yet, but a customer of mine said he didn't buy one as it felt way underpowered. It doesn't need to be a rocket but if it's a slug it'll be extra hungry on fuel!
I know there are other small issues like the door open sensors etc, but I just want to build something that won't get me stranded! Some places where I go to surf are tide affected and getting a breakdown could mean getting stuck in the tide!
I've done a lot of reading, especially on this forum, but I'd love some real owner/enthusiast advice!
Edit: I'll be running all terrain tyres, maybe with a slight lift.
I believe you would be satisfied with a 2005(not the early 02/03's) from what you sound like taking care of a vehicle.
Most cars with poor reputations have issues reported by poor owners, people who don't fix anything until it fails. Bad maintenance methods are worse for any vehicle than the inherent quality of the vehicle. I have had lots of coworkers who are constantly working on their cars, either when something fails, or they keep taking it to a mechanic. I'm talking about low oil issues, broken tie rod ends, BJ's that wear out tires fast, over heating from electric fans not working etc, things that were let go for weeks or months at a time, until the failure. The cars themselves were fine vehicles, but hearing about them would make most people condemn every one(it's the vehicle's fault, bad vehicle).
This forum is a treasure if information about any Explorer, the great things, and the bad, what to watch out for, and what to fix(replace or upgrade) now. Example, to all owners of a 3rd gen Explorer, don't wait until the rear hub bearings and BJ's go out, replace them now(mileage does not matter, do it now).
If you can learn about your vehicle and what it will most likely need sooner, then you can choose to replace or service those things when you first buy the vehicle. Then you can keep a record of what you've done, and know how long those things should go before worrying about them again.
The SOHC 4.0 V6 for example, that has a very bad reputation. Most people know about it, and most people do nothing about it. They worry about it, they posts comments about it, and still they wait until the engine stops running due to the valvetrain issues, or it blows up, or they give up and sell, still having done nothing about it. The SOHC is a fine engine, when taken care of. That doesn't mean having the oil changed regularly, it means replacing the timing chain cassettes, and all tensioners, regularly(every 75-100k miles).
It's all about vehicle care. If you can take care of a vehicle, you can handle anything, and almost any vehicle can be reliable. Yes there are lemons with inherent problems. Some things can be managed, some cannot. I think from what I read of the 3rd gen Explorers, they can do well in the right hands. I'm not thrilled with the body style, or interior, of hardly any Fords of the 2000-2011 models. But I really like the newest Fords since about 2011. I buy what I like first, and take care of it for a long long time. Good luck,