97 Mountaineer 5.0L AWD -- worth it?

[sixtyfive]

Went and looked at a 97 Mountaineer today, it has the 5.0L with 119,000 miles. Everything on the car seems to work fine, haven't driven it yet but I did fire it up. The rocker panels are rusted out underneath the plastic trim pretty bad and just a slight amount of rust on the rear wheel wells and the front bumper. Other than the rust it is missing the spare tire but the interior and engine bay are just about mint. The dealer is asking $2,995($2,200 now) for it. What do you think its worth?

Thanks for the advise!

 

[parad1mg]

YES!!:biggthump

have one myself.. :exp:

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Stang8URMPRT]

I bought my 97 X Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD for $3800 and put over $1500 in parts to replace what was bad or just to catch up on maintanance, and even at that price... this truck is worth every dime.

 

[sixtyfive]

I bought my 97 X Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD for $3800 and put over $1500 in parts to replace what was bad or just to catch up on maintanance, and even at that price... this truck is worth every dime.

Mind if I ask how many miles it had and how long ago you purchased it?

I have someone buying an 86 Monte Carlo from me on Thursday so I think ill try offering them a little less that way I can afford a mig welder to fix the rocker panels!

 

[Stang8URMPRT]

It had about 110K on it at the time... Probably 7-8 months ago.

 

[Driveway2fast]

I bought my 97 mounty with 141,000 miles on it. Bought it for my back up vehicle and long road trips w/ the kids.
Interior and exterior was in excellent condition. put less than $100.00 into it (blend door repair, new battery, few inst panel bulbs) lubed the door and hatch (glass wouldnt pop open) locking components.
I am very happy w/ purchase. No it has ended up being my daily driver lol
only thing I need to fix is the egr. Gonna trouble shoot and repair when weather is bit nicer.

I say go for it, you can probably get the cost down too.

 

[Turdle]

I'm going to jump in and say check the rust out better--

Body rust usually means poor maintenance-

check the undercarriage well--especially the rear leaf spring shackles-shocks and other components for rust
Be sure to check the stock jack out--look at the area where it sits on the truck for corrosion-
while there--
lower the spare tire and look in the spare tire storage area-


Drive the truck on a quiet lot-
Move in reverse for about 10 feet, the forward, several times listening for a "clunking" under your feet-

Drive it for a few miles. Go to autozone and have the codes pulled--
I'm looking for a p1000 code indicating the pcm has been reset--

also-
switch the key on, notice if the check engine light glows steady, then switches off when the truck is started.

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

Definately well worth it. Ive had my 5.0 explorer since brand new in 98 and ive put 233,000 miles on it and its still running like a beast. Good buy.

 

[Turdle]

Hmmm,
3k for that-or

6k for this

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233057

I know it is twice the money-but it shows that you need to keep looking.

 

[sixtyfive]

Hmmm,
3k for that-or

6k for this

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233057

I know it is twice the money-but it shows that you need to keep looking.

I am basically just looking for a winter beater right now that is reliable, last 2 winters have been hell and my 2wd S-10 is not cutting it. I have someone willing to buy my s-10 for $1500 and I dont really want to spend more than $2000 over what I get from the s-10. I found an IMMACULATE 99 Explorer for 4,000 but I just kind of think I would be better off saving the $ difference.



ALSO I will be sure to check the things you mentioned in the previous post tonight.
Thanks

 

[ericautopart]

My 98 was 300 bucks and I put about 2k into it. Considering you didn't need to add a whole lot of money into it..wellll maybe. It's a good truck and all of the money I had to put into it was because the original owner didn't take care of it. Had they kept up w/ the truck over the years it wouldn't have needed anything. I've basically rebuilt the front end, tires, and bearings in the rear diff. Solid truck..I really like it.

 

[sixtyfive]

I'm going to jump in and say check the rust out better--

Body rust usually means poor maintenance-

check the undercarriage well--especially the rear leaf spring shackles-shocks and other components for rust
Be sure to check the stock jack out--look at the area where it sits on the truck for corrosion-
while there--
lower the spare tire and look in the spare tire storage area-


Drive the truck on a quiet lot-
Move in reverse for about 10 feet, the forward, several times listening for a "clunking" under your feet-

Drive it for a few miles. Go to autozone and have the codes pulled--
I'm looking for a p1000 code indicating the pcm has been reset--

also-
switch the key on, notice if the check engine light glows steady, then switches off when the truck is started.

Ok so I just took it for a spin and here is what I found

The bad
- Once I hit 60 mph on the highway the check engine light came on. I went to O Reillys and pulled the code, what it gave me was P0133 O2 sensor circuit slow response (Bank 1 sensor 1)
-Felt like the rotors were slightly warped, which led the brake pedal to kind of rough.
- Rear hatch glass does not open
-underbody of the vehicle is very rusty, but is mostly surface rust.
-There is no spare tire, but the thing above the spare was real rusty.
- Carpet in the back hatch area seems to be oily. I stuck my finger under the carpet by the tie down hook and did not feel any rust but there were small black oily chunks under the carpet.
- Suspension parts all are old and rusty (including shocks)

The good

-Transmission shifted fine when switching between reverse for 10 feet and drive for 10 feet, no clunking
-Suspension took the bumps much better than my 90 s-10 and my girlfriends 02 lifted liberty
-Engine accelerated smoothly and I could not hear any exhaust leaks
-AWD works like a champ on my icy alley way


I went in and talked to the dealer and told him what I found, asked him how flexable on price he was. He said that he would take 2,200 for it. I will likely go take a look at it in a couple days, the vehicle was dirty and it would be nice to look it over when it is clean! I forgot to check the jack storage area for rust, but other than that what else should I look over when I go look at the vehicle again?

 

[96eb96]

THe 02 sensor is no biggie. Rotors are not a big deal, go with Ford or Brembo from tire rack. Clean off any rust on the hub. Check for leaks or weeps at the rear hard brake lines over the rear axle and near the frame and the front power steering rack tubes. If the brake lines look very rusty I would not hesitate to change them after purchase. I had one give way.

Look at the shackles, I bet they are swiss cheese. It is a difficult job to remove the lower shackle bolt because of rust. I would have them do that for the price.

Check the parking brake (it will haunt you if you have inspections). Make sure it holds under light acceleration. If it has to be completely overhauled due to rust its a messy job. They may have to repair that because its a safety issue. Make sure you test it thoroughly even after they repair it. If they just slap shoes on it may not cut it.
I would buy that truck for 2 grand, especially with the V8 and that trans.
Good luck.

Ok so I just took it for a spin and here is what I found

The bad
- Once I hit 60 mph on the highway the check engine light came on. I went to O Reillys and pulled the code, what it gave me was P0133 O2 sensor circuit slow response (Bank 1 sensor 1)
-Felt like the rotors were slightly warped, which led the brake pedal to kind of rough.
- Rear hatch glass does not open
-underbody of the vehicle is very rusty, but is mostly surface rust.
-There is no spare tire, but the thing above the spare was real rusty.
- Carpet in the back hatch area seems to be oily. I stuck my finger under the carpet by the tie down hook and did not feel any rust but there were small black oily chunks under the carpet.
- Suspension parts all are old and rusty (including shocks)

The good

-Transmission shifted fine when switching between reverse for 10 feet and drive for 10 feet, no clunking
-Suspension took the bumps much better than my 90 s-10 and my girlfriends 02 lifted liberty
-Engine accelerated smoothly and I could not hear any exhaust leaks
-AWD works like a champ on my icy alley way


I went in and talked to the dealer and told him what I found, asked him how flexable on price he was. He said that he would take 2,200 for it. I will likely go take a look at it in a couple days, the vehicle was dirty and it would be nice to look it over when it is clean! I forgot to check the jack storage area for rust, but other than that what else should I look over when I go look at the vehicle again?

 

[Noel249]

Went and looked at a 97 Mountaineer today, it has the 5.0L with 119,000 miles. The dealer is asking $2,995($2,200 now) for it. What do you think its worth?

Thanks for the advice!

I bought mine in 2000 with 30,000 miles on it from a Saturn dealer for around $17,000. It now has 106,000 on it and it has been a champ. It's needed stuff along the way, most notably manifold repairs. But I drive it hard.

Now that the dealer is down to $2,200, it sounds like a steal. But you have to love it, I guess.

I have found it to be the most comfortable fitting car I've ever driven, just wish the suspension was less truck-like (or my wife does ...).

If you change the oil religiously (and I just had the transmission fluid changed, which actually helped make it smoother) and watch the standard stuff, it's a great, easy-to-take care of car. It's basically a luxury Explorer, so you can service it anywhere and know it won't get screwed up.

If it was me, I'd go for it.

P.S. AWD is different from (and superior to) 4WD which is basically front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive coupled (hope I don't get hate mail...). AWD delivers power to all four wheels all the time. So it handles better, but may mean poorer mileage than you're used to.

 

[ronniew]

I am on my second explorer, the first I got needed lots of work, ball joints, hubs, brakes, glass. i paid 500 for it put almost 1200 into it and 3 yrs later still running good. my other on is the awd 5.0 the 5.0 lasts forever if you take care of it, i had 4 cars with it over the yrs, the tranny and body went before the motor.
if it was me I would go with cash in hand and say lets make a deal! cash talks B S walks.