173000 miles.. what to expect

explorer 4 life · November 10, 2013

So my 02 XLT 4x4 is a hand me down from my parents who bought it new. I love it and have been driving it for about 5 years now. Absolutely everything is original including the brake rotors except for the following parts.

Rear diff - replaced at 130,000

All wheel bearings - replaced within the last 10,000

drive shaft u joints "weren't bad" - replaced around 150,000

Driver Window reg / track - replaced three times.. my mom was a smoker and so am I so it goes up and down a lot

fuel filter - replaced for the first time at 170,000

battery - last year

These are seriously the only things besides wear items like break pads and belts that have been replaced. It seems to run just fine and drives like new but i know approaching 200k some things are bound to break. So my question to you guys is what items should i just go ahead and replace proactively and what should i expect in the near future.

F47 · November 11, 2013

Explorer 4 Life,
I am certainly no expert, but if you have not had the transmission and transfer case fluids changed, you might want to. I have been told by a friend who owns a transmission repair shop to avoid having the transmission flushed, especially if the fluid is old, but simply change it. Other than renewing things like those fluids, gear oils, coolant, and brake fluid, I would wait it out. You are going to find out in due course.

It sounds like this truck does not owe you much and if you want to keep it on the road, staying on top of regular maintenance items is about the best advice I can offer.

explorer 4 life · November 11, 2013

Yeah i forgot the mention the transmission fluid has been changed at 60k and 120k . probably wouldn't hurt to have it done again. I wasn't aware that transfer case was even serviceable I will look into that thanks. I have noticed the automatic 4wd doesn't seem to work like it use to. especially on wet road I use to be able to just punch it and it would kick in and grip like crazy but anymore its a gamble weather its going to automatically kick in or not. Is that probably from the transfer case needing a fluid change?

jprentice94 · November 11, 2013

I would say do full synthetics for an oil change . Plugs .check rear brakes front brakes. How are your radiator hoses if they are worn i would replace them and also thermostat do a cooling system flush. Thats all i can think of also trans filter and more synthetics

Ronin8002 · November 11, 2013

explorer 4 life said:
Yeah i forgot the mention the transmission fluid has been changed at 60k and 120k . probably wouldn't hurt to have it done again. I wasn't aware that transfer case was even serviceable I will look into that thanks. I have noticed the automatic 4wd doesn't seem to work like it use to. especially on wet road I use to be able to just punch it and it would kick in and grip like crazy but anymore its a gamble weather its going to automatically kick in or not. Is that probably from the transfer case needing a fluid change?

Yeah a transfer case fluid change might help with that. Wouldn't hurt to get a set of 4 new strut assemblies (shock plus spring already assembled). Monroe makes them under the model name "Quick Struts" or you can try "Struttek" brand assemblies...bunch of people on this forum run them and are happy.

Might also want to look at the condition of the upper and lower ball joints on the front suspension; if the boots are rotted away it's time to replace. You can replace just the ball joints but some people opt to buy replacement control arms with the new ball joints already pressed in.

explorer 4 life · November 11, 2013

Yeah my upper ball joints the boots are busted but i just keep a healthy dose of grease in there.. they are still good and tight though. .. I was kinda thinking the cooling system probably needs to be gone though there is some corrosion on the top of the thermostat .. Its never been low on coolant but its leaking a tiny bit.

BigRondo · November 12, 2013

Ronin8002 said:
Wouldn't hurt to get a set of 4 new strut assemblies (shock plus spring already assembled). Monroe makes them under the model name "Quick Struts" or you can try "Struttek" brand assemblies...bunch of people on this forum run them and are happy.

Welcome aboard explorer 4 life!! :salute:

Both my rear springs were broken & my front struts were leaking when I bought my Ex in Feb 2010.

Now I'm running the StrutTEK's on all four corners and have nothing but good things to say about them! The ride is awesome and the price is right. I can't compare them to the original struts since they were FUBAR when I bought my Ex.

The rears were installed on 11/29/2010 & the fronts were installed on 2/20/2012.

I love them. The ride is great.

Click here to find out more about the StrutTEK Struts.

173000 miles.. what to expect

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