Sherpa1911
New Member
- Joined
- December 27, 2009
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- BFE, WA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 97 Mountaineer
Run. Far and fast.
As a fellow "broke college student" unless you've got the time an energy to fix all the issues, I'd highly suggest remaining with the jap cars or find a low mileage gem. Not to mention fleet vehicles get driven like rentals.. ran hard and put away wet.
After having rebuilt the front end(ball joints, unit bearings, cv shafts, and tre's) in my AWD 5.0 Mounty(which has 138k on it).. they are a nightmare compared to the older twin traction beam trucks. The t-case is now biting the bullet, so I will have to track down a used one just to get it back on the road.
Other issues:
The engine bay in the 5.0 is tight. The exhaust routing blows chunks. The AC drains on the exhaust manifolds(cold water and hot manifold.. hmm). The heater doors break way to easy. Sway bar links that haven't been recalled need replacing since they are often broke. Ball joints are weak. AWD t-case is junk. 4.0l auto isn't the strongest.
On the positive they have rear discs, the 5.0 has the 4R70W transmission, and Explorers are really cheap to purchase.. for some.. unknown... reason
And there is always a metric assload of them in wrecking yards.
Of course this is just my opinion. My Mounty is being sold as soon as I get it road worthy enough to pawn off on some unsuspecting buyer. My little commuter Nissan has been great, save for crappy door hinges, leaking tail lights, and thermostat housing made of pot metal. It gets 35mpg and I have about $850 into it with new tires.
As a fellow "broke college student" unless you've got the time an energy to fix all the issues, I'd highly suggest remaining with the jap cars or find a low mileage gem. Not to mention fleet vehicles get driven like rentals.. ran hard and put away wet.
After having rebuilt the front end(ball joints, unit bearings, cv shafts, and tre's) in my AWD 5.0 Mounty(which has 138k on it).. they are a nightmare compared to the older twin traction beam trucks. The t-case is now biting the bullet, so I will have to track down a used one just to get it back on the road.
Other issues:
The engine bay in the 5.0 is tight. The exhaust routing blows chunks. The AC drains on the exhaust manifolds(cold water and hot manifold.. hmm). The heater doors break way to easy. Sway bar links that haven't been recalled need replacing since they are often broke. Ball joints are weak. AWD t-case is junk. 4.0l auto isn't the strongest.
On the positive they have rear discs, the 5.0 has the 4R70W transmission, and Explorers are really cheap to purchase.. for some.. unknown... reason
And there is always a metric assload of them in wrecking yards.Of course this is just my opinion. My Mounty is being sold as soon as I get it road worthy enough to pawn off on some unsuspecting buyer. My little commuter Nissan has been great, save for crappy door hinges, leaking tail lights, and thermostat housing made of pot metal. It gets 35mpg and I have about $850 into it with new tires.
