66,000 Maintainece

[jbwilson3791]

Hey guys, this is kind of a rookie thread (and a long one) but figured there's no better place to ask. I bought this 2004 Ford Explorer xls sport 6 cylinder 4.0 with the flex fuel option. I bought it 3 years ago at 45,000 miles and now currently has 66,000 miles. I paid 10 grand for it in 2012, I should have done more research because I know I overpaid but I loved how low miles it had. Since I overpaid I decided I'm not going to sell this car, I'm going to try to get 175,000 miles out of it, plus I love it. I have a couple weeks off work before I start my new job where I'll be commuting 120 miles everyday. I wanted your guys opinions on everything that you think should be Check or replaced at 66,000 miles. So far this last month I've replaced brakes,4 rotors, front upper controls arms, lower ball joints, sway bar bushings and links, new tires, oil change, transmission flush (had this done elsewhere and not positive they did filter), appliqué panel, coolant flush, pinion seal, front and rear differential flush, rear differential leaking seal, front differential gasket, new passenger Cat, new spark plugs (didn't do wires), battery, fuel filter, blend door actuator, brake fluid flush, power steering flush, driver side passenger window regulator. Is there anything I'm missing to make this thing go another 100,000 miles guys? Thanks in advance

 

[Number4]

I bought my '05 in '06 for 19k with only 16k miles on it. Then the market crashed, literally, in the middle of my loan process and it was only worth 13k, we just didn't know not yet. Oh well, I bought it to keep it.

What did you mean by this statement:"rear differential leaking seal"
Also, this concerns me: "new passenger Cat"

Why'd you replace the cat? Did you fix whatever it was that caused it to fail?

Otherwise, your work done is pretty extensive, not much to add. Maybe wiper blades?

 

[jbwilson3791]

I bought my '05 in '06 for 19k with only 16k miles on it. Then the market crashed, literally, in the middle of my loan process and it was only worth 13k, we just didn't know not yet. Oh well, I bought it to keep it.

What did you mean by this statement:"rear differential leaking seal"
Also, this concerns me: "new passenger Cat"

Why'd you replace the cat? Did you fix whatever it was that caused it to fail?

Otherwise, your work done is pretty extensive, not much to add. Maybe wiper blades?

Yeah it's a long story how I purchased this car, I live in Kansas but found it in Colorado when I was on a trip out there and bought it. I usually do extensive research when making purchases but for some reason I didn't this time. Anyway I don't regret it because I really like the way this vehicle looks and rides even though 10 grand can buy a much newer one. And yeah there was a leaking Axle seal where the axle meets the diff on the passenger side. And I had the worlds worst rattling noise when idling, took me forever to diagnose but it ended up being the passenger side catalytic converter that had fallen apart inside. Not really sure what would cause that to happen, but I replaced it and all seems well.

 

[Number4]

There are breathers for the differentials. The front one comes up at the drivers side wheel. You'd have seen it when you did the control arm. Not sure on the rear one. If they get crushed the cause pressure to build up and usual causes a seal to leak. This is just what I've read on this forum.

Cats usually get eaten up due to excess amounts of fuel going out the exhaust. But I'm guessing you don't have any codes. So previous owner may have fixed the fuel issue and left the cats.

 

[jbwilson3791]

There are breathers for the differentials. The front one comes up at the drivers side wheel. You'd have seen it when you did the control arm. Not sure on the rear one. If they get crushed the cause pressure to build up and usual causes a seal to leak. This is just what I've read on this forum.

Cats usually get eaten up due to excess amounts of fuel going out the exhaust. But I'm guessing you don't have any codes. So previous owner may have fixed the fuel issue and left the cats.

I remember checking the rear differential breather, not sure I ever did check the front one, I'll make a note to do so next time I have the wheel off. I do get pretty bad fuel economy, about 11-12 mpg with good driving habits so perhaps you are on to something. Thanks again for your help!