1998 Explorer - Rebuild transmission or sell?

[Haak]

I have a 1998 Explorer 4.0 Eddie Bauer 180k miles and I believe the rear band in my transmission broke this morning, in that everything works except reverse and this is a common thing with 2nd Gens.

I've been holding on to this car because I have a 14 yr old son, and my plan was to get a newer car when he turned 16, passing the Explorer along to him. Obviously this is going to be a pro-Explorer "keep it running" forum, however I was just looking for some responses on whether it'll be worth rebuilding or not. I'm in construction and my current project, to last another year, has a 90 mile a day round trip commute, so my Explorer hasn't been doing me any favors with gas mileage either and I can't help but wonder if I should bid adieu to the old guy and get something more reasonable.

Everything else works good, engine seems to run great, and only the interior has been giving me fits with nothing mechanical until now.

 

[Rick]

If you have the OHV 4.0 you have a very long lasting engine which rarely requires major repair. If you have the 4.0 SOHC, the timing chains guides are prone to going bad and that is an expensive fix.

Overall the rest of the Explorer suffers from the same things every older vehicle does. Window switches and motors go bad, bushings, front end components etc all need to be checked and replaced as needed.

Welcome to the forum

 

[chefduane]

It just depends on how much you want to keep your Explorer. My '98 XLT 4x4 SOHC needed a transmission last year. Other than that, it runs like a top and looks great. Always garaged. I do meticulous maintenance and have redone most of the suspension, brakes, electricals, radiator, rack/pinion, etc., and lots of interior stuff. I could buy new car but doing the financials
($2300 new trans/12 months = $192 month) + gas, oil, and tires when she needs them. There's no way I could get a 4x4 SUV equal to or of greater value for $192 a month. So I now have a new trans. 207K+ miles and going strong.

 

[Mike65]

Welcome. X2 on what chefduane said.

 

[Heatstroke]

I have a 98 Eddie Bauer explorer and I rebuilt the tranny over 2 years ago and definitely no regrets