96 4.0 XLT worth keeping?

[zui-generis]

New member here. Been surfing this forum for bout 2 years and finally decided to sign up to get some opinions. I find this forum highly informative and useful.

I have a stock 96 Explorer XLT 4.0 2wd @ 196,x.. miles. My father bought it from a coworker who had taken us camping in the same exact Explorer as a child years ago. I have been using this as my daily driver for bout 8 years now. I keep all maintenance up to date and regularly check all fluids, filters, etc...

I have been taking spontaneous roadtrips in the Southwest and am finding the desert to be quite enjoyable. I have taken my XLT offroad to Red Rock Canyon, NV and had quite an experience making it up the mountain on 2wd nearing the summit but got stuck. The major problems I have had with the XLT is the idler pulley shot out on the I-15 recently and electrical has been acting up (driver side door lock controls).

I'm not looking to do severe offroading. Ideally, I'd like to suit it more for daily driving, roadtrips, deserts, unpaved trails so I was looking at investing in a locker, towing, shackles + TT? etc..Anyways, I have been contemplating on whether or not the XLT is worth keeping or getting rid of from a different perspective?

Thank you all.

 

[FR-425]

It still looks like it would garner a good selling price.

So if you are looking for a little more capability off road it would likely save you $$$ and time to just trade up for a 4x4 model and go from there.

I now family rig, emotional attachment, I get it.

WARNING: off-roading has been determined by the state of California to cause to much fun and enjoyment and often results in "addiction" and unnecessary expenditure of hard earned cash!