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Looking at an 2007

Melon

Well-Known Member
Joined
April 12, 2008
Messages
267
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7
City, State
Blair, NE
Year, Model & Trim Level
00 XLT 5.0
My 2000 has seen better days and been thinking about replacing it. I came across an 07 XLT V6 4WD with 127k miles. I also have an 04 in the stable (currently getting the rear diff rebuilt and front wheel bearings)

Is there anything in the 06-10 that I should look out for? The quick glance I got of it, it looked good. Is the timing chain an issue? Anything driveline that is stupid expensive to fix, minus the rear diff - already know the cost of that one. Anything to look at is greatly appreciated, TIA!
 



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Get a 2009 or 2010 V8. The reasons are:
  • The V8 is more reliable than the V6 and doesn't have the timing chain issues.
  • The V8 doesn't require removal of the engine to replace the chains and guides, if necessary.
  • The V8 has the six speed transmission which is more robust and reliable than the five speeds used in the V6s.
  • The V8 gets the same gas mileage as the V6 and has a good bit more power.
  • The 2009 and 2010 V8 models have the newer design spark plugs so the chance of breaking them during replacement is lower.
  • The wiring insulation appears to be better and does not deteriorate like it can on the 2006-2008 models.
  • The 2009 and 2010 V8 models have the beefier 6R80 transmission that has a higher torque rating than the 6R60 transmissions in the 2006-2008 V8 models.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a V6 3rd or 4th gen model unless it had well under 100k miles on it. Even then I would immediately install a pre-oiler to limit the odds of a timing chain/guide failure. Also, the V6s have the five speed transmissions that are almost guaranteed to need a rebuild as the miles rack up over 100k. There are still plenty of V8 models to buy but you have to be patient to snag a good one. My advice is to buy one that hasn't lived in the rust belt. Even if you have to travel to find one. Lastly, a Carfax report will tell you where a vehicle has spent the majority of its life and give you some info on maintenance history and might indicate collision damage.
 






I found a V8, but the main problem is they are very rare, at least searching for only 2009 and 2010. Now that I own it I see how they got the better highway mileage than the V6. 6th gear is like the manual 5th gear in the '10 Mustang I use to have, where you are going 1900 rpm at 70mph. It was just me in the car driving it home from the dealer and every slight incline, it kicked down to 5th.
 






I am surprised at the MPG I get with mine. If I keep the speed between 60-65 mph I can get 20-21 mpg on the highway. The 3rd gens I owned would never get above 17 mpg highway and mostly got 15 mpg with city and highway use. The 2010 gets around 17-18 city and highway.
 






Eddie,
Your 3rd gen V8 had a 5-speed auto trans. If it had the HD tow package, the 3.55 axles were replaced with 3.73, killing gas mileage, but necessary to get the right final drive ratio to take off from a stop light with the full 12,000 lbs GCVWR. Conversely, 4th gen V8 has a 6-speed auto trans. With or without the HD tow package, it kept the 3.55 because 1st gear is super low. Final drive ratio was still lower (numerically higher) than the 3rd gen with tow package. Yet the final drive in 6th gear is better for gas mileage than the 3rd gen 5th gear.

Rod,
Without the trailer, I do not have a problem with my '06 wanting to kick down from 6th, as long as I'm over 70mph.
 






My 2002 had the HD tow package with limited slip. The previous owner installed a brake unit too and had it wired up for a ham radio. It was a good vehicle that had 48k miles on it when I bought it. It sat in a barn for several years with almost no miles put on it (according to a Carfax report) before I obtained it and it looked and smelled like it did. It wasn't the best version for gas mileage for sure. The Mountaineer I have now is AWD (which I don't care for all that much) but I don't tow anything these days. It does have the tow package but I don't think it is as robust as the 2002 XLT I owned. I do like the 6R80 transmission much better than the five speed in the 2002. It shifts smoother and seems to be more refined overall.
 






I have nothing against the normal driving of the V6. My parents have an 07 Limited and it's a great daily driver. The 06 in question could use a wheel bearing and tie rod ends, but otherwise seemed really clean for the year and miles. After reading about the different trans in 09/10 V8, I'll wait and see if one pops up. I'm in the midwest so finding one that uber clean can be challenging.

I really want an Expedition or F150, but the 3v 5.4 has it's own issues that bother me. I guess I'll keep looking and see what I can find. Fortunately, I'm really not in a hurry.
 






DO NOT buy any Explorer with the 4.0L. 2 years ago I bought an 07 V6 with 140k mi on it, after reading that timing chains and transmissions aren’t an issue for everyone. Well, 1 year ago the timing chains broke- 3.5k repair. A couple of months ago the transmission lost third gear- 4k repair. (Not to diss anyone who said that, but it’s hard to tell without knowing the history of a car. Most of the blame is on me for buying a 140k mi used car from a buy here pay here lot.) I decided I’m done and will be moving on. I changed the ‘sploders oil every 5k since the day I bought it with mobil1 synthetic, but it seems cold starts really don’t help. I never changed transmission fluid for fear of messing it up.

Maybe if you could find one with super low miles on it, change the oil every 5k to prevent timing chain damage, and never rev over 2.5k RPM or reverse up a hill (what killed mine) to protect the transmission it might have a prayer of reaching 200k.

Other than that, common issues included bad wheel bearings (mine had) poor wire insulation (mine had) and coolant leak out of T-stat housing (mine didn’t have).
 






I really want an Expedition or F150, but the 3v 5.4 has it's own issues that bother me. I guess I'll keep looking and see what I can find. Fortunately, I'm really not in a hurry.

Keep in mind that the 4.6L came in the F150. They are very hard to find but do exist. I am not sure if they are all 2V versions or some are 3Vs. The 4.6L 2V engines likely have the five speed transmissions so that isn't that great compared to the six speed transmissions in the 2006-2010 Explorer/Mountaineers.
 






You better put a scan tool (forscan) on it be sure there are no codes. It could even pass a state inspection with a bad cat, you could be looking at $1000+ to replace that.
Do NOT buy a V6. The engine and trans are both junk. You also don't know how well they were maintained, they weren't great new and now 10-15 years later are worse used.

Yeah, some hit 250K, but if it don't and you need a shop it is going to cost MUCH more than the truck is worth. They are generally not DIY repairs. Even techs need a shop and engine lift, and lift to work on that.

The V8s are good but they have issues too. I went thru this with a V8 I wanted to buy, ended up passing, even though I wanted it.

I only consider 09-10 v8 now. Very few issues with those. For the V8, there is still the warped manifold issue though, which is a major repair.
And they are hard to find, esp if you want any options. if I find one here it has very high miles or beat to death.
 






I only consider 09-10 v8 now. Very few issues with those. For the V8, there is still the
warped manifold issue though, which is a major repair
And they are hard to find, esp if you want any options. if I find one here it has very high miles or beat to death.

For someone to find a good 2009-2010 V8 quickly then they likely will need to be willing to travel. Especially if they live in the rust belt. Even then get a Carfax report to know where it has lived its life. For me, a lack of rust is as important as a solid drive train because I typically drive my vehicles for several years and up to 200k+ miles. The rust belt is brutal on 1st through 4th gen Explorers/Mountaineers.
 






For someone to find a good 2009-2010 V8 quickly then they likely will need to be willing to travel. Especially if they live in the rust belt. Even then get a Carfax report to know where it has lived its life. For me, a lack of rust is as important as a solid drive train because I typically drive my vehicles for several years and up to 200k+ miles. The rust belt is brutal on 1st through 4th gen Explorers/Mountaineers.
Yep, I see rust belt cars in Texas. They probably get them cheap. Maybe they fix them up and figure rust isn't going to be an issue anymore.
 






There was 2009 EB V8 for sale in Sacramento, close to the lot of the 2010 we ended up buying. Checked the Carfax and it was a Louisiana car. Did not even look at it. Might have been ok, but all i could think of was FLOOD!
 












There was 2009 EB V8 for sale in Sacramento, close to the lot of the 2010 we ended up buying. Checked the Carfax and it was a Louisiana car. Did not even look at it. Might have been ok, but all i could think of was FLOOD!

Potential flooding is a reason to get Carfax reports to check the title history. When looking for a 2010 V8 4th gen it wasn't uncommon to see where many vehicles had jumped across several states when ownership changed. for a car coming from a coastal area, I would be more concerned with the possibility of rust damage due to the vehicle being run on a beach or being exposed to salty sea breezes.

In the mid 1990s I made the colossal mistake of driving my 1992 XLT on the beach at Nags Head, NC. This might be the single dumbest thing I have done regarding a vehicle. Within six months I replaced more brake and suspension parts than I care to remember. I sold it within a year and replaced it with a 1994 Eddie Bauer Explorer because the rocker panels on the 1992 XLT were starting to rust out from the sand and salt that went into every nook and cranny.
 






Around here V8 Explorers are rare, but most are 4WD. I bought my 4.0L 2007' 15 months ago with 90k miles on it and I'm very happy with it. The only thing I have done the past 10,000 miles is replaced the plastic thermostat housing last week. With the 4.0L frequent oil and filter changes are important, I do mine every 3000 to 4000 miles and using the specified 5w-30 viscosity oil no matter the brand is also recommended. The PO had recently changed the transmission oil and filter before I bought it, but changing that every 30 to 40 thousand miles will help with getting a long life out of the transmission. I also would not use mine to tow anything more than a motorcycle trailer or other light trailer. A neighbor has an 07 V6 she bought new with 280000 miles on hers and has had very few problems with it, nothing major but she keeps the maintenance up on it, 3000 mile oil changes and has the transmission serviced every two years including new fluid and filter.

Deals like this one are around
2008 Ford Explorer 4x4 - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle...
 






Lmao don't buy a v 6
Nothing wrong with it if you actually change the oil

It makes me wonder what are y'all doing to these engines to break them so fast
Around here we don't see many v6 engines with bad timing parts

Just buy a pre oiler and call it fixed
 






It’s not what we did, it’s what previous owners did/didn’t do. No way of knowing how a previous car was treated makes it too risky for these 4.0s. My 07 V6 has cost more to repair then it did to buy in 2 years.

Even when the V6 does work, it’s still a weak oversized engine with no power and even worse fuel economy bolted up to a POS transmission. My dad gets ≈2 MPG more in his 09 F150 with the 4.6 than he does in my ‘sploder.

The only positive things I can say about the V6 Powertrain is that it sounds good at high RPM’s but if you want to experience that more than once a year you’ll be destroying the transmission. I never had to replace anything outside of normal wear and tear, except for the timing chains and now the transmission.

I’m moving on now, and I’m fairly confident that if I bought a V8 I wouldn’t be in this situation today. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky and won’t have any problems. But if it was me, I wouldn’t take that chance again
 



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My 2000 has seen better days and been thinking about replacing it. I came across an 07 XLT V6 4WD with 127k miles. I also have an 04 in the stable (currently getting the rear diff rebuilt and front wheel bearings)

Is there anything in the 06-10 that I should look out for? The quick glance I got of it, it looked good. Is the timing chain an issue? Anything driveline that is stupid expensive to fix, minus the rear diff - already know the cost of that one. Anything to look at is greatly appreciated, TIA!

I have a 2008 XLT with 2 wheel drive and a towing package. I've never towed anything, and other than a break job at 90,000 miles in 2016, here's what I have experienced with the 4.0 V6.

2016 - Replaced radiator and all hoses. (Crack in bottom of radiator) (Appx $550) 100,000 miles
2017 - Replaced Alternator & Battery (Appx $400) 110,000 miles
2018 - Replaced Water Pump (Appx $250) 120,000 miles
2019 - Transmission rebuild (Appx $5,600) 133,000 miles
2020 - Replace heater valve and head gasket, plugs and wires (Appx $930) 133,000. miles.

Not experienced known problems with age: Timing chain, Air conditioning, motor rebuild, rear end, wheel bearings).

I purchased new in November of 2007 and you can see I don't put a lot of miles on the car and do all scheduled maintenance. I never had the transmission serviced or had the spark plugs/wires changed until the dates above.
The car still has a great smooth ride and certainly enough power for my needs. Hoping, with the major work done, it will last closer to 200,000 before I have to give it up.

So that should be some kind of idea what to expect on a car that is one owner, one driver well cared for and not heavily driven. I do live in Texas where the heat is extreme during the summer and may add to some of the wear.

Others experiences may vary from mine.
 






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