Arrowhead300
New Member
- Joined
- April 2, 2017
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Stillwater, NY
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2010 Ford Escape
Thinking of using an '02-'10 Explorer / Mountaineer / Aviator as a basis for a chassis swap. Will be a V8 RWD, possibly AWD or 4x4 depending on the donor (not many RWD available up here in the Northeast - although it looks like it's pretty straight forward to delete the front running gear and TC and swap the trans tail shaft). Wondering what years are best for the engines / transmission / drive line. I know there are some issues with transmissions with some years. I'm partial to the DOHC in the Aviator (have rebuilt a few of the Mark VIII versions). I thought I read an article about the Aviator engines saying the '05 was best as some head issues had been corrected by the. I thought I read that the IRS was not the best and can have issues.
I was leaning toward the '05 Aviator, but have seen a lot of '03's available for cheap. Not discounting the Explorers though, but should I look for the '06-'10 for better components?
Any info would be appreciated. And yes, I'm quite capable of the project, already have the body for the swap and have done this before just with different vehicles. Just not very familiar with the nuances in the Explorer line up. Thanks
I was leaning toward the '05 Aviator, but have seen a lot of '03's available for cheap. Not discounting the Explorers though, but should I look for the '06-'10 for better components?
Any info would be appreciated. And yes, I'm quite capable of the project, already have the body for the swap and have done this before just with different vehicles. Just not very familiar with the nuances in the Explorer line up. Thanks