91-94 vs. 95 and Newer Explorers

[IN2FORD]

I have sold my truck and I am definitely going to buy an Explorer. I went 4 wheel'n yesterday in Oliver Springs TN on some trails that were great!!

The question is do I want a 91-94 to do a small lift and 32" tires and expect the trans to go bad, or spend the extra cash to get the 95 and do the same lift and supposedly has the better trans? What are the pros and cons between the two?

IN2FORD
Barry

 

[kocke01]

The (TTB) suspension in the 91-94 is generally regarding as being stronger, and I think any tranny can cause problems under the conditions we put them through. You're right though, your ODDS are probably much higher on the 91-94, however, you can get a rebuilt manual tranny for a 91-94 on eBay for less than 700 bucks, and the 91-94s are selling pretty cheap (I just picked up a 94 sport in beautiful condition for 3500 no haggling and I'm sure there's much better deals out there.). You should research the "tranny maintainance" cost of a 95+ to see what if any the difference would be.
All I can offer is my experience that I have with my 91 auto. I rebuilt that thing for 1500 dollars only to have it blow up on me 2 years later. The suspension never let me down short of a busted U-joint once. Now I have a 94 manual that I love, but haven't driven long enough for an assessment. I do know MANY people (including my sister who has a 94 sport) have had problems with it as well. Still, when it was time to dump the 91, 94 is as new as I would go because I know parts are readily available. Not saying they aren't for 95+, but there will always be more 91-94s out there for the scavenging.
Now for all those 95+ owners who want to argue suspensions based on my first sentence go for it, I'm too old a care too little to jump into that. Whatever, you win.

 

[dogfriend]

If you want to lift it, either go for a 91-94 or go for a 98 -01. The reason I say this is that you can use a Ranger lift on the 98, but not on the 95 - 97 without modifications.

Seems like quite a few 95 - 97 X's are going for the Solid Axle conversion. There is a whole forum devoted to it here

 

[udmsvt]

Originally posted by IN2FORD
I have sold my truck and I am definitely going to buy an Explorer. I went 4 wheel'n yesterday in Oliver Springs TN on some trails that were great!!

The question is do I want a 91-94 to do a small lift and 32" tires and expect the trans to go bad, or spend the extra cash to get the 95 and do the same lift and supposedly has the better trans? What are the pros and cons between the two?

IN2FORD
Barry

you buy a manual with low miles! (ie i have a 93 sportie 5-speed w/ a 3" BL and NEW 32s and 102k i am thinking about selling )

 

[Webster3]

I would say that if you want 32's you are going to need to do at least 3 to 4 inches of lift on a 1st generation Explorer. I have a 4" Skyjacker lift and the 32's fit great (although any wider than 11.5 an I'd be seriously rubbing the sway bar in the front - that is with 15x8 rims with a 4" offset).

You could do a body lift + shackles-aal on either generation to get the 32's ... which is much cheaper but still a lot of work to put on.

I'm at 100k with my 94 tranny and it's showing no signs of problems... but you never know how the truck was driven unless it was in the family it's whole life like mine was.

Ed

 

[Rhett]

If you're going to get a 1st gen, get a 93 or 94 model; their auto transmissions were upgraded from the 91-92 models. Still not bulletproof by any means, but if you've been around enough of them, and took stats, you'd see more tranny problems in 1991 and 92 models than 93 and 94.

 

[IN2FORD]

I am leaning towards the 91-94 because they are cheap and reliable except for the trans. Parts are cheap and there are a bunch in the junkyard as well. I found on Baumann Eng. website that they offer a different valve body for the A4LD that is supposed to help with clutch and other component wear. Just food for thought...

I might lean towards getting a 5 speed, although they are hard to find.

IN2FORD
Barry

 

[udmsvt]

Originally posted by IN2FORD

I might lean towards getting a 5 speed, although they are hard to find.

IN2FORD
Barry

not if you know where to look......!

 

[IN2FORD]

What is the difference in the 93-94 transmissions?

udmsvt
How much for the 2 door? I am really looking for a 4 door, but curiousity has got me!!

IN2FORD
Barry

 

[udmsvt]

whatcha think its worth?

93 sport 4x4
5-speed man, bw1354e transfer case, auto hubs
new clutch, tires, master cyl, slave cyl, brakes (front and rear), steering gearbox.
venshades, clear corners, altezzas, $600 power moonroof w/ warr, pioneer premier 740mp HU (playes mp3s and has wireless remote), pioneer 6x8s all around, q-logic 10" stealth box with 10" RF sub power by 200wRMS/600 max amp (stealth mount), KKM, bosch+4/splitfire wires, fogs, nonsmoker, 102k on teh clock, mobil 1 inside, Kayline spare tire carrier w/ full sized spare, ultra 160 15x8 rims, NEW 32x11.5" BFG all terrains, 3" BL, 7% limo tint from side view mirrors back, PW, PL, keyless, alarm, class III ford oem hitch, throttle cable mod, indiglo/white faced gauges, 40-ch CB, bug shield, 10k on monroe sensatrac shocks.

i think thats it. oh and EVERYTHING works....including AIR (r134a) and NO warning lights.

 

[92xlt4x4]

hey isnt there a whole forum dedicated to the throttle cable mod? and does it really help, if so can someone make a link to it please i tried to do a search but couldnt find it. thanks!

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by 92xlt4x4
hey isnt there a whole forum dedicated to the throttle cable mod? and does it really help, if so can someone make a link to it please i tried to do a search but couldnt find it. thanks!

Actually, it is in the Useful Thread Forum

Throttle Cable Mod

 

[udmsvt]

Originally posted by 92xlt4x4
hey isnt there a whole forum dedicated to the throttle cable mod? and does it really help, if so can someone make a link to it please i tried to do a search but couldnt find it. thanks!

it helps a little. when you consider the cost to benefit ratio, yeah certainly...but i have a heavier foot and am sure i get less mpg because of it!

 

[Pheonixx77]

i have a 94 EB and i love it! however sometimes the "quirks" can be a PITA. trans runs great, no slippage or anything. (KNOCK ON WOOD) body has no rust engine is running pretty good, a few minor problems (not enough HP) seems lke something is always acting up, but i have been told must be psychic about my truck (Psychic not psycho) cause i start to fix things and when i check the old stuff it was on its way out anyways.

 

[IN2FORD]

udmsvt
You know better than me what your Explorer is worth. If you decide what you want for it let me know.

IN2FORD
Barry

 

[IN2FORD]

A lady here at work is selling her Explorer. It is a 94 XLT 4 door 4x4 with 180,000 miles on it. One owner and has had it serviced regularly. She has never had to put a trans in it. It looks like new. Michelin tires and such. I can buy it for $2500....is it worth it? What kind of quirks did a 94 have?

IN2FORD
Barry

 

[kocke01]

Well,
I paid 3500 for a 94 4x4 sport manual with 122K 4 months agao.
Can you really go wrong with ANY running 4X4 truck for under 3K?
I mean even if the tranny costs you 1500 bucks to rebuild and the engine blows up for another 1500 you'd have a brand new truck for 5500 dollars. Maybe you could get her down to 2K, but I can't see any running truck going for less than that.
IMHO of course.

 

[Pheonixx77]

"quirks?" well , it idles funny, (despite brand new plugs, wres, TPS is .95, everythng is perfect) i have had weird problems with my brakes, my heater fan was acting weird (came on when it wanted to, was just a relay though) my 4x4 is wacked, i cant figure it out and i think i actually stumped some of the peeps on here) other than that i think the front trans seal is going, leaks a bit. but EVERY ex i have ever seen did that. i still love my X though!
oh yeah and that daM plug #6 on pass side is a PTIA!

 

[udmsvt]

Originally posted by IN2FORD
udmsvt
You know better than me what your Explorer is worth. If you decide what you want for it let me know.

IN2FORD
Barry

between cost 1 yr ago, repais, and mods, i have in teh rheln of $11k into it. i planned on asking 6k/best, dealer offered me 5k trade or 3500 buy. 5k would be nice, but that isnt set in stone. BB is over almost $4k onit, plus the mods and stereo should bring home $5k

hoenstly, that one you mentioned sounded ok but expect to spend 1800 for a trans. we just sold a 91 eddie 4x4 with 165k, in good working order with a new trans and rebuilt engine for 1800 (it was rusty and 4x4 was intermitant but worked if you pushed it a few times). it waqsnt nearly in as good shape as mine, and the onyly mod was keyless with remote start and a CD changer

only pitfall to my rig is it still has teh 3.27 gears...so its a little pokey. gets me 13mpg city, dont know highway, but thtas what you get with 3.27 gears and 32" tires and a lead foot!

 

[Rhett]

Originally posted by IN2FORD
What is the difference in the 93-94 transmissions?

Before I answer, let me just say that I am not a transmission guy, so there's a lot I can't tell you because I don't know. I do know that the 93-94 auto trans featured torrington bearings instead of thrust washers, and that's just one thing that was upgraded.
If you want, you can do a search on the topic and you'll see threads about these upgrades here by people who know a lot more than me!

If you're looking for a 1st gen truck, then I would either get a manual of any year 91-94, or go for a 93 or 94 auto. Back when I bought mine I went for a 94 because it was the last year of the good truckish bodystyle. If you're going to use the truck offroad I would recommend an automatic just because it's nice not to worry about shifting when you're trying to run a trail or pick thru rocks, but that's just me, some offroaders love the manual shifting. The manual trans are made by mitsu or mazda (varies from truck to truck) and are generally considered to be more reliable than the automatics.