2002 Early build vs. Late build | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations
  • Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks.
    Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac,
    Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar.
    Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.

    Register Today It's free!

2002 Early build vs. Late build

X

XtremeRanger

Well-Known Member
Joined
October 8, 2003
Messages
282
Reaction score
6
City, State
Columbus, Ga
Year, Model & Trim Level
'95 Ranger XLT
So Im searching for a headlight switch with the fog option and thru my searching I've come across the Early/Late build thing.

What were the differences between the Early and late Models?

I do see that the UHJB is different....

Why would the headlight switch be different?

My Girlfriends Expo is early build(8/01)......
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!.





Well, I do believe that a bunch of the very first 3gen explorers came out of the assembly line with the wrong type of transmission fluid in them. This caused a lot of transmission failures within the first few months for some people of the early build 3gens.
 






i wouldn't touch an early build 02 ex with a chevy guy's ****.
 












DirtyDog said:
Why?
Click to expand...

Because they were terrible. My parent's '02 was in the shop many, many times.

  • Transmission Failure at 33k
  • 3 rear wiper motors
  • 3 rear diffs
  • 4WD computer
  • oil pressure sender
  • DPFE
  • Broken rear springs

That's just the main things. It had quite a few issues and was sold in '07 with 50k miles with the transmission slipping and the broken springs. The vehicle was always taken care of and never abused. It never left pavement and towed very, very light loads. I would steer clear and any '02 model. The first production year should always be avoided.
 






IAmTodd said:
Because they were terrible. My parent's '02 was in the shop many, many times.

  • Transmission Failure at 33k
  • 3 rear wiper motors
  • 3 rear diffs
  • 4WD computer
  • oil pressure sender
  • DPFE
  • Broken rear springs

That's just the main things. It had quite a few issues and was sold in '07 with 50k miles with the transmission slipping and the broken springs. The vehicle was always taken care of and never abused. It never left pavement and towed very, very light loads. I would steer clear and any '02 model. The first production year should always be avoided.
Click to expand...

Well that's a better answer than shadowless127. My 02 hopefully has all the bad kinks worked out but I guess we'll see. I didn't pay a whole lot for it so if something goes really wrong with it, I can part it out for more than what I paid for it.:thumbsup:
 






I think the build date has a lot to do with quality. The ones made in '01 were BAD, the true '02s weren't so bad. We had one of each in the family for a while and the later ones were more reliable. I would definitely check the rear springs, thats quite a safety hazard and ultimately lead to ours being traded in. My dad was quite upset when Ford wouldn't stand behind something like that. So what did he do? Bought ANOTHER Explorer.:confused:

There was cosmetic stuff as well, but not vital to the operation of the vehicle. The emblems came with a peeling finish from the factory, the pillars peeled, the roof rack peeled to bare metal, and it shipped with a visually defective headliner. There also seemed to be an issue with seat height, the early '02s with a sunroof had zero headroom for a 6'+ person while a late '02 with a sunroof was perfectly fine.
 






IAmTodd said:
I think the build date has a lot to do with quality. The ones made in '01 were BAD, the true '02s weren't so bad. We had one of each in the family for a while and the later ones were more reliable. I would definitely check the rear springs, thats quite a safety hazard and ultimately lead to ours being traded in. My dad was quite upset when Ford wouldn't stand behind something like that. So what did he do? Bought ANOTHER Explorer.:confused:

There was cosmetic stuff as well, but not vital to the operation of the vehicle. The emblems came with a peeling finish from the factory, the pillars peeled, the roof rack peeled to bare metal, and it shipped with a visually defective headliner. There also seemed to be an issue with seat height, the early '02s with a sunroof had zero headroom for a 6'+ person while a late '02 with a sunroof was perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

the pillars peeling is a general 3rd gen issue....
 






great ... now i have to go check my build date lol
 












Hm....weve had hers since 3/06(i think) and 74k(i think)...Now it has around 92K on it and only thing weve done is replaced the DPFE sensor.

The tranny shifty clunks going in OD and the rear end whines a lil but thats all no major issues with it....Havent done anything but change the oil and routine maintence stuff....in fact i need to do a coolant flush soon...

So back to my main reason of posting this......What would be the difference between headlight switches?
 






IAmTodd said:
Its still and issue that shouldn't be happening and just compounds the early '02 issues.
Click to expand...

yeah I know...I'm just annoyed because one of mine is starting....such a stupid issues to have on a vehicle with a sticker price upwards of 40K
 






XtremeRanger said:
So back to my main reason of posting this......What would be the difference between headlight switches?
Click to expand...

I would guess either the wiring/plug changed or they are taking into account the Gen 2's switch for '01 and the Gen 3's switch for '01.
 






Here is some additional info.....

switch diagram...I only see one...there not a diagram for early and late build. In My GF's the wires are in the opposite order. 1 is where the 6 is.....like you'd think it should be...1 starting on the left.

Can anybody check to see if their's is the same way? and this image is just wrong.....

Switchdiagram.gif


And heres a list of all the switches......

Switches-1.jpg
 






9 year old thread, what the hell I'll jump in. I was wondering if there was any difference in reliability with early and late 02's. Of course the general opinion here seems to be the early ones were the bad ones however mine was built in march 2001 and I'm at 186,000 miles, original trans, timing chains are still original and have rattled since 60,000 miles. I've changed the rear springs, 3 wheel bearings, and an alternator, and finally the original plugs last weekend, sounds like I got lucky with this explorer, maybe best vehicle I've ever owned.
 






Featured images

Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image

Featured images

Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image Featured image

Similar Threads

O
Early / Late 2002 PCM 4WD wiring differences
Replies
4
Views
854
Obi Wan
O
I
Late model 3rd gen or early 4th gen?
Replies
0
Views
1,815
IcelandExplorer
I
R
early vs late model 97 5.0
Replies
4
Views
1,785
410Fortune
410Fortune
H
PCV Valve on 2002 4.0L V6
Replies
2
Views
2,985
boominXplorer
boominXplorer
S
2002 mountianeers any good with late build?
Replies
10
Views
1,674
fusseli
F
4
02 Explorer auto headlamp and fog switch modification
Replies
4
Views
1,767
jsotomar
J
Back
Top