I bought a Unicorn of Explorers

[alex5357]

Hey guy and gals,

I just bought to what i believe a Unicorn of Explorers and so excited

1996 Ford Explorer 4.0L 4x4 with 263 Miles on 3rd Engine and 2nd Transmisson

Bunch of New Parts including A/C compressor

And everything is working with Clean Title and No Warning Lights

Paid 1250$ ( probably to much ) ... but i love it

And only concern i have it's that i have to put in 1st gear to start driving when cold, any ideas on how to fix it.

Thank you.

 

[EB4X]

Wow.... first time seeing a Explorer camper conversion..... "263 Miles on 3rd Engine" I had just about that on original 4.0 ohv engine when I sold it....ran flawlessly too - even somewhat neglected.... P.O. didn't know how to take care of cars...
I'll let the tranny pros comment about your shifting issue.....

 

[toypaseo]

There's a conversion in my town for sale, but it needs a lot of work...

 

[donalds]

Nice job

 

[410Fortune]

somebody put the wrong tail lights in there
I have some 95-97 tail lights if you need them
If you have to force 1st gear to get it moving when cold then your 4r55e transmission likely needs some work

Nice find!

 

[alex5357]

somebody put the wrong tail lights in there
I have some 95-97 tail lights if you need them
If you have to force 1st gear to get it moving when cold then your 4r55e transmission likely needs some work

Nice find!

Oh WOW !!!! LOL I didn't even noticed yesterday night ))) I was so excited that i bought even without a test drive LOL

Ill try to service transmission first ( oil and filter ) and if worst come to it i will just buy used for 400$ )))

Thank you guys so much for support i will keep posting on my updates.

Cheers.

 

[XLTrunner]

Ahhh...the Ford Explorer Centaurus! Had never seen one up close until one showed up at the local U Pull a couple yrs ago.

 

[fast_dave]

@alex5357

Welcome to the forum

WOAH! I thought @XLTrunner was joking about a "Ford Explorer Centaurus" and then I GOOGLED it and found this (Click on BLUE link below for full story on the conversion):

For $5,900, Would You Slip On This 1996 Ford Explorer High Top?

 

[MrQ]

Not a very common sight to see a Centaurus. I don;t think they were very popular at the time and that's why not many were built.

Good luck!

 

[toypaseo]

somebody put the wrong tail lights in there
I have some 95-97 tail lights if you need them

Nice catch

 

[rustylugnut]

Why do you have to put it in 1st? What does the trans do to keep it from moving?

 

[alex5357]

In the mornings it feel like it's slipping if i put in D but if i put in 1st gear manually it starts moving.

 

[alex5357]

@alex5357

Welcome to the forum

WOAH! I thought @XLTrunner was joking about a "Ford Explorer Centaurus" and then I GOOGLED it and found this (Click on BLUE link below for full story on the conversion):

For $5,900, Would You Slip On This 1996 Ford Explorer High Top?

But this Explorer for 5,900$ is 2WD and mine is 4x4

 

[ThreeJs]

In the mornings it feel like it's slipping if i put in D but if i put in 1st gear manually it starts moving.

If you're going to drop the pan...why not change out the shift solenoids while your in there.
4R44E 4R55E 5R55E 5R44E 4X4 FORD SOLENOID KIT FILTER SET SHIFT TCC EPC A56420K2 | eBay

 

[alex5357]

If you're going to drop the pan...why not change out the shift solenoids while your in there.
4R44E 4R55E 5R55E 5R44E 4X4 FORD SOLENOID KIT FILTER SET SHIFT TCC EPC A56420K2 | eBay

Thank you for your recommendation.but i think i have 4R70W or AODE as my VIN number sticker show : " TR T " which i believe is Transmission code " T " and after a research of a filter on autozone.con it's showed me those to transmissions.

And looks like my Explorer came with LSD 3.7 as Axel code is D4

 

[Josh P]

The 4R70W was behind the 5.0L. The 96 4.0L had the 4R55E.

 

[ThreeJs]

Thank you for your recommendation.but i think i have 4R70W or AODE as my VIN number sticker show : " TR T " which i believe is Transmission code " T " and after a research of a filter on autozone.con it's showed me those to transmissions.

And looks like my Explorer came with LSD 3.7 as Axel code is D4

1996 Ford Explorer Technical Specifications - DriverSide.com

Well. I have a 1996 Eddie Bauer 4.0, 4x4, Auto with 4.10 gear ratios. I have a 4r55E trans. I had mine rebuilt a few years ago.

 

[410Fortune]

96 explorer came with
pushrod 4.0 and 4r55e automatic
or
pushrod 5.0 V8 and the 4r70w


The 4r55e automatic is based on the old A4LD which was originally derived from the "pinto" C3 automatic
So the C3 auto became the C4/C5 and then they added an aluminum overdrive drum and called it the A4LD
The A4LD used a kick down cable and vacuum modulator to control things
In 1995 the computer controls were added and it became the 4r55e/5r55e
The 5r is a complex transmission that actually uses 1st gear and oiverdrive to create a flase second gear or computer generated second gear

The 4r70w on the other hand used to be the old AOD auto from the half ton trucks, The AOD was changed to computer controls to become the AOD-E and when they upgraded the trans a bit with a wide ratio gear set it became the 4r70w
the 7 stands for 700 ft lbs of torque, factory rated.
No A4LD/4r/5r55e can take 700 ft lbs of torque from the factory

Been around these trucks for a while

 

[fast_dave]

@alex5357

Here's an easy way to "nail it" with regards to which 4 speed FORD automatic transmission you have:

Crawl under your Ex and look at which shape/bolt pattern you have on your transmission pan.

Hope this helps, and again, welcome to the forum - keeping your Classic Ford Explorer on the road!

 

[koda2000]

A '96 non-V8 Expl could only be a OHV 4,0L V6 with a 4r55e auto trans (or a 5-sp manual trans). No?

These vehicles may be "rare", but rare doesn't always translate to desirable or valuable. I think they're ugly as sin, but to each his own. That's why ice cream comes in many flavors.

3rd engine in 263K? The 4.0L OHV V6's are known for achieving 400K on just one engine.