1995 Explorer Fix it or drive till it dies?

[Armyguydan]

I have a 1995 explorer. Has the 4.0, auto tranny. Since i bought it almost 2 years ago, i have not done alot to it. I have however done IAC valve replacement, front and rear breaks(including new rotor/calipers) and a new starter and fuel pump(thanks to the diagram here how to cut the hole). Now my problem is, this thing has massive oil leaks. sometimes i can go months without adding oil and sometimes i can drive 70 miles to spokane and ill be 3 quarts(yes, 3 quarts low in 70 miles)low after checking it before i leave. It does have other problems, has small amount of oil in coolant, needs the shocks replaced, new tires, some electrical work(sometimes the wipers wont work, other times they will work perfect), it has a hesitation at around 40mph, where it will surge/drop like the tps sensor is going out, but i have also replaced that and that didnt stop it either. body is in great shape, paint not so much. Now on Friday i am getting a couple grand from my taxes and i can either dump in around $2000-$2500 in repairs(maybe a new engine/fix some of the other items) or i can go buy a new vehicle and just use my explorer as a backup(Wife drives a Durango). So what would you guys do? ohh, if it matters, vehicle milage is right around 240,000 miles. Thanks for looking.

 

[Turdle]

IMHO
I like the backup plan.


http://spokane.craigslist.org/ctd/2217784138.html

 

[Armyguydan]

IMHO
I like the backup plan.


http://spokane.craigslist.org/ctd/2217784138.html

thanks very fast reply. i am acually in lewiston idaho. i will scour the cl adds here and surraounding cause imo, 99% of the time i have driven all the way up to spokane to buy a car, they are never as nice as the pics. ie knocks, pings, interior that a dog chewed up lol.

 

[my98nnj]

It's a 16 year old vehicle. Don't put more $$$ in it then it's worth.
Why keep a back up? Sell it, add that to the tax return and go get yourself a newer vehicle.

 

[backfrmcolorado]

Honestly im in the same boat. I love my 94 X. Mine is in goo condition as well. Last night i flipd the coin on weather or not in redoing the engine, body work (rockers/doglegs rustey) and of course the coin won. My tax money is goin to my X. Its more or less a weigh of comp/. could go either way. good luck on your desisions tho!!!

 

[shadowless127]

IMHO
I like the backup plan.


http://spokane.craigslist.org/ctd/2217784138.html

that's deff gotten intimate with another object(s) up front..

 

[Jordan86]

I have a 95 and I'm in the middle of dropping a motor in it now. The body is clean and the tranny is good so I'm just going to build it into a beast. We just bought a 96 so I get to keep the 95 as a project/play toy. If you can do a lot of the work yourself I would just keep it, but to each his own. Good luck on the decision.

 

[GuardianSport]

Fix it. Always fix it.

 

[G-96XLT]

why spend $2000+ . you can get good stiff shocks for $20ea, your leak might just be a gasket, even a head to change is only $400-$500. You can get away with a couple of hundred if you do it yourself. I wouldn't pay $2k to fix a 95 but I would pay a couple of hundred.

 

[Doubt Incarnate]

fix it, if you have enough know-how to do most of it yourself you could fix most of what's wrong and still have some $$$ left for beer, lots of beer. you could spend the money on a newer car and have a payment for several years, insurance, and still pay for gas...