1999 xlt 4x4 help!

[jclock]

hello, i am new! i am looking at buying a used 99 explorer with 80,000 miles. can anyone tell me if they have had any major problems with their explorer. i have been o.k.ed for the final purchase, but it comes with no warranty. i have been reading reviews and they are pretty well mixed. anybody been having problems with transmissions or ball joints?

 

[memhorn]

I bought a 98 4x4 a year ago with 62,000 miles, and so far (75,000) no problems to speak of (knock on wood). I gather it really is a 50-50 deal: some Explorers have a ton of problems; some are nearly trouble free. I sometimes get the idea that there are a lot of posts on this site about problems with the cars, but many more people than that have no problems, and just never post.

On mine, I was able to speak to the prior owner and obtain service records. He had dealer service every 3,000 miles, so that made me feel like taking a chance.

Good Luck.

 

[iforgited]

I am sure that you already bought the car and I dont want to ruin your fun with a new car, but my 99 Explorer Limited is the biggest head ache i have ever had in my life... in just the past 3 weeks my car has like disenegrated. I had to put a new transmission in, then a new 4x4 system, new rear end, new alternator, all new window motors, a new computer. Not to mention all the other repairs that my car has had in its life time.( eg new top half of the motor, new ac system, new radio, all new suspension compenents(springs, shocks, torison bars),new hubs, new drive axels, new drive shaft, new steering system) Basically everything that you can think of on a car i am sure it has been replaced on mine. I swear the car is a lemon that just never got bought back. I dont even beat on my car, i drive it slow cause gas is so expensive. I have the Ford ESP PremiumCare, the best $2,500 i have even spend in my life since my car has had almost $15,000 worth of repairs. My warranty ends and the end of this week and i am going to drive the car until it breaks and then sell off the parts. The Car only has 85,000 miles and i hate it, i just wanted to get my moneys worth with the warranty. The guy at the Ford Garage says my car has the longest repair history of any car he has ever seen and he has worked there for almost 10 years. I will for the rest of my life always buy cars with an extended service plan.

 

[TPLYNCH]

Jclock, does it have the V-8 or the SOHC V-6? If it's the SOHC engine, check and see if the repairs covered by owner notification programs 00M12 and 01M01 have been performed (These are engine related problems with O-rings and cam tensionsers that cause the engine to idle rough when cold and make a tapping/ratcheting sound) before you buy. My '99 w/the OHV 6 has 120K on it. No major problems to report. Did have the upper ball joints/control arms replaced @ 100K when my warranty ran out. Other than the thermostat, that was the only warranty repair I've had to do. Didn't quite get my $ back on the warranty, but oh well.... Idle Air Control is another item that tends to go bad. Engine will howl in warm weather @ idle is the symptom for that. That's an easy fix as well.