1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4x4 4.0L SOHC V6

[97EddieBaurer4X4]

hey all, just making my second post at this forum.

in Febuary I obtained a 1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition to replace my beloved 1998 Chevrolet Blazer.....it has all the things I like (Comfy Leather Seats,Power Everything,Automatic climate control) and things that I rarely have use for (4x4 & a Sunroof lol)

at the time it seemed like a great deal....a fully loaded low mileage ford explorer. paid 2900 for it and the Odometer read a few ticks over 103 Grand.

Drove it around for a month....noticed some issues within a couple of weeks that I probably overlooked at the lot due to my eagerness to own it.

mainly the transmission not shifting quite right & some signifigant driveline vibration above 45 mph.

it didn't take me long to also notice the odometer & speedometer didn't work....though there is a difference between where it current read at the lot and the last recent inspection so at some point recently both had to have worked.

I then noticed a red fluid under it where it was parked frequently and immediately identified it as transmission fluid....wasn't a big leak so I just added fluid until the problem could be addressed.

well the leak continued to get worse & I took it by a transmission shop for their "Free inspection" my jaw fell to the floor when he said the Tailhousing of the transmission was cracked.

im thinking this issue was present when I got the truck and driving it around just made it show its ugly self as I cant see a tailhousing just cracking out of the blue....the guy at the tranny shop said the tailhousing was cracked due to some piece of the 4x4 hardware that attatches to the driveshaft at the back of the transmission.

to keep it going I was basically dumping transmission fluid in it everyday...which really totaled up quickly.

so its been parked in place since March and has only been moved by hand a few times since.

despite the odometer not working im quite sure the Mileage is in that range (based on the listing of the last inspection)

so what im stuck with is a Nice Explorer....everything works but the Tranny....well technically it does....the battery is now dead but if I jump it off and fill it with fluid it'll move technically.

low miles,interior is in great shape which even further supports the low miles.

what should I do with it?

should I get it fixed and continue to drive it.....get it fixed,sell it and immediately begin looking for a V8 Version?

I was considering Buying a TCI Trans Module,the 4.0L V6 Adapter and just yanking the 4L60E out of my blazer and just using that but that's more money & trouble than its worth.

 

[Sedition]

If it was mine I would change out the trans. I would find someone who had wrecked their Explorer and pull it out of their wreck myself to get it as cheap as possible.

I'd say they would be fairly cheap in the US anyway.

That's if you wanted to do the work your self. Otherwise you could fork out thousands of dollars to a shop or perhaps try to sell it on as it is.

 

[drdoom]

Junkyard extension housing. Back on the road in two hours.

 

[97EddieBaurer4X4]

[MENTION=195502]Sedition[/MENTION] - that's an Idea.....though im aware the Ford 5 Speed auto has issues so im not sure how good my chances are of pulling a Viable unit.

as said...technically the transmission still works....but based on that black smoke that was pouring out the fill tube the last day it was on the road somethings probably abit (or a lot) burnt in there.. im sure it would need some work done on it if I planned on it covering a lot more miles.

that day I went for the transmission inspection they wanted to crack it open immediately & inspect it.

2900 Dollar vehicle...already seems like ive got too much invested in it to just throw it away especially considering how nice the truck is.

just Sold my blazer for scrap & im getting under 300 for a 2500 Dollar Vehicle so go figure.

time will tell....

@ dr doom - how much are these Extensions?