A few issues...

[Murgatroy]

I recently picked up a `91 Explorer Sport. 2WD 5-Speed.

It has 111k on the ticker.

It has a few issues with it. Some might consider them major, I consider them minor. I am an experienced mechanic.

It currently has no brakes. The pedal requires pumping to get the vehicle to stop. I am going to do a complete brake makeover. Master cylinder, rear wheel cylinders, rotors, calipers, pads and shoes. Being as how I live in the south I don't think there should be rust effecting the brake hardlines. However if they do seem to be in bad shape I will replace them as well. I am aware that the problem might be solved by replacing fewer parts, but I figure I might as well do a thorough job once, instead of replacing many parts one at a time.

There is also an issue with an improperly installed throw out bearing. The transmission was recently replaced. It supposedly has a new clutch set in it. However the throw out bearing has a definite whine to it when the transmission in in neutral and the clutch is engaged. That is the only time it makes any noise. As this is a `91 model, I am correct in assuming that it has a separated slave cylinder and throw out bearing?

That ends the mechanical issues. The motor is strong, has no leaks and operates fine.

Next up is the interior. The Driver's seat is broken. The guy I purchased the truck from was a large guy, the seat is broken in the recline position. They are manual seats, no power to them. I am going to replace the seat itself with a junkyard donor.

Next are the doors. The interior is in pretty bad shape, nothing a lot of cleaning won't take care of, but the door panels are broken. The motors for the power windows have been removed. The windows still operate, you just have to manually slide them up and down. My solution is to replace the entire doors with donor parts from the junkyard. My question is, do Explorers come with manual crank windows? I am not a fan of power windows, however if I have to, I will swap back with those. The driver's door has some external damage, which is another reason to swap the doors themselves. Also, are the doors the same between the 2-door 4-door models? What about the Ranger? What options do I have to look for here, will only 2-door Explorer doors fit?

Finally are the gauges. From my initial observations, the fuel gauge and the tachometer don't work. Is this a common problem? Is it the cluster? Is it the sending units? Is the tach a mechanical tach or does it use an electronic speed sensor? If I am going to swap the gauge cluster, does it matter if I get a cluster from a 4x4 donor or an automatic? Other than the extra lights will there be any fitment issues?

That is about it as far as issues go. There are other things wrong with it to make it a great vehicle, the rear wiper arm is missing, the driver's fender is damaged, it has an exhaust leak and the stereo doesn't work. These however are minor problems that will be easy to fix. I am just curious about parts compatibility at this point.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Explodr94]

Sounds like you can buy another Exploder for the price of the parts. If you are going to do all that work my opinion: Make sure the calipers are metal not cereamic on the rebuilds. And I have replaced the sending unit on the fuel tank. I would recomment the whole unit, not just the sensor.

 

[Murgatroy]

Sounds like you can buy another Exploder for the price of the parts. If you are going to do all that work my opinion: Make sure the calipers are metal not cereamic on the rebuilds. And I have replaced the sending unit on the fuel tank. I would recomment the whole unit, not just the sensor.

Not exactly the type of help I am searching for, but thank you for your input.

The price of parts for the entire brake rebuild come to less than $100. That is a small price to pay for the peace of mind in knowing that I can stop this behemoth.

As for the price of the seats and doors, I am looking at a total cost of less than $200 at a junkyard.

That is what has impressed me the most with the Explorer, it has been a long time since I have worked on a domestic, having been tuning Imports for the last several years, parts are dirt cheap. A NOS fender runs less than $50 shipped.

If at any time you think parts are expensive for these trucks, go give your local parts shop a call and see how much they want for comparable parts for a Toyota.

As for it being cheaper to just buy another vehicle, that defeat the purpose, as it sits I have a perfectly running vehicle for a purchase price of a few hundred dollars. The way I figure it, if I put another few hundred dollars into it to get it top shape I can still sell if for almost double of purchase cost and repairs. That is if I don't decide to keep it for myself.

As for the sending units, it is just a pain to replace them if it is indeed the gauge cluster that is bad. The fact that I have more than one gauge inoperable would lead me to believe that it is the cluster, as opposed to the individual sending units.

 

[dogfriend]

Murgatroy...Heavens to Murgatroy.....Nice call name.

Anyway regarding the power vs. manual windows:

I haven't seen an Explorer that didn't have power windows, but I used to own a 89 Ford Ranger that did have manual crank windows. So if you are shopping at the boneyard, you might look into whether you could adapt the Ranger mechanism. I believe the door structure is very similar between the 1st gen Ex (91-94) and the Rangers of the same years.

Good luck.

 

[quicklook2]

they did come with manual windows.

i have never seen one but the owners manual shows them.

it sounds like a lot of time and money to put into a $200 2wd 91 explorer, but it is your time and money.

so go for it if you want too.

good luck.

 

[mikeinri]

Welcome to the forum Murgatroy!

111k (AND NO LEAKS!!!) is a great find. Too bad it isn't 4x4, but then again, you're avoiding issues there if you don't need it anyway.

I believe the Chiltons or Haynes books cover the rebuid of the manual tranny, that would answer your throwout question.

Yes, they were available with manual crank windows. Very rare, but they exist. You probably need to spend some time wandering through junk yards to see what your options will be. I believe the 4-door doors may be different than the 2-door doors, from looking at pictures. You might be able to swap in the door panels and motors from a junker, or find these parts on ebay. Finding two good complete power doors in a junkyard might be tough, as Sports are also rare.

Do a search on this forum for the fuel gauge. Extremely common problem, usually the float, sometimes the sender, either way, you need to drop the tank (or cut an access hole in the cargo bay, which may be hazardous). I, like many others, just use the trip odometer.

As for the tach, I would think that's also covered in Chiltons or Haynes.

Replacing gauges in the dash requires removal of the dash, which takes a good amount of time.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[quicklook2]

it looks to me like the 4 and 2 doors are the same driver and passenger doors.

it would not make sense for ford to have made them different.

 

[FROADER]

The doors are different, just like any other 4dr vs. 2dr vehicle.

 

[Murgatroy]

The general consensus seems to be it is not worth it to pour a few hundred into this truck?

That baffles me.

KBB for a `91 Sport 2WD is ~$1000 in fair condition, ~$1600 in excellent shape. I fail to see how having a total cost of half of that in a vehicle is 'not worth it.'

Sure it might take a little bit of work to make the truck reliable and operable as the factory intended, but I am not adverse to getting a little dirty. Especially when you consider the fact that I picked this thing up for the cost of a couple tanks of fuel.

As for having a 4x4, that would have been nice, but there is a whole 'nother bag of worms. Currently living in the city I have no need for 4WD. The decreased fuel economy and increased maintenance is not worth it to have a mechanism that I might use a total of 3 times a year.

I guess I come from a different school of thought. Sure it is easier to buy a vehicle that needs no work and can do what you need it too when you buy it, but why pay that much for one? If you can pick one up for pennies, drop the purchase cost back into it and still have less than half the value invested for a reliable sound vehicle, why not?

Honestly, how many of you out there buy a used vehicle and don't install new brakes, change the oil and tune the engine up the moment you buy it? That is textbook IMO. You rarely know what the vehicle has been through, regardless of how 'honest' the seller was.

Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I consider these issues minor. Sure, there are more than most people would be comfortable tackling in a newly purchased used vehicle, but how else can I sell it if i don't fix it? How else am I going to feel comfortable putting my family in it and driving it?

 

[dogfriend]

The general consensus seems to be it is not worth it to pour a few hundred into this truck?

I don't agree. As long as you know what you're getting into, its probably worth it to fix up the truck. There are a lot of them on the road, so getting replacement parts should not be a problem. Also, many Ranger parts will also work and there are a lot of Rangers also.

Like you said, parts are relatively cheap. In comparison, I had a cracked head on the 93 Toyota truck that we used to own (sold it last June). By the time I replaced the head and timing chain, I had over $1k in parts.

 

[quicklook2]

The doors are different, just like any other 4dr vs. 2dr vehicle.

if you say so.

 

[Murgatroy]

Okay, now with that out of the way.

With the doors, I guess I will just measure the dimensions of the door and see if the front doors off a 4-door will fit. What about `89-`90 Bronco II? They were the same from the doors forward, including the same dash as well, the doors might be the same too. I am still leaning towards changing the entire door assembly as opposed to just swapping the guts. I have done the power to manual swap many times before, and honestly it is just a pain in the ass. Since I am needing the door anyways to replace the damaged Driver's side door, it just makes more sense, plus if I am buying a set and some seats it gives me some leverage when haggling at a junkyard.

With the gauges, I am still leaning towards and issue with the cluster since I have the tach out as well as the fuel gauge. I guess it is a matter of checking resistance in the wires to trace that one down. I hate dropping tanks and figure swapping a cluster would be easier.

I will try and post pictures of the truck later this week. I work 80 hour weeks, so time is something I am short on, but it is in really great shape considering what I gave for it. The seller was asking $1000 for it, he had it up for sale for a couple of months. I wasn't interested in it. I finally wound up low balling him to get it out of my parking lot (I am the Supervisor) since it had been there for a while. After I test drove it I realized what work it needed and I offered him quite a bit less than half of what he wanted. He took it. I drove it home.

Anyways, thanks for everyone's help so far. I will keep you all updated.

 

[410Fortune]

111K miles on the 91 4.0L is nothing
its a 5 speed and clutch issues are not too hard or expensive to resolve if you are dropping your own transmission.

The brake issues can be simple:
replace booster with a junk yard donor from a late model
replace master cylinder or rebuild it
remove the crappy 1991 RABS if trucks equipped
replace wheel cylinder and service rear drums
replace front calipers ($12), soft lines, slide pins, etc service front hub assembly and bearings

Sounds like a weekend of work a bit more for the clutch to have this thing running great.
91 sport is a cool truck IMO, Gen I parts are CHEAP

the slave cylinder is plastic as is the TO bearing that snaps onto it.
It may just need a good bleed they can be difficult to bleed.
When I do a clutch on an explorer I replace the master cyl, slave cyl, and clutch because its alot of work to drop the trans over and over to fix it...I had mine down 4 times in one summer...yikes!
Then I converted to an automatic.....

the Mazda 5 speed is a good trans, the internal slave cylinder design SUCKS, but when installed properly it will last a long long time

2 door Explorer's doors are way longer then the 4 doors, panels will not work, glass is different, etc
the sports have heavy doors, try a search for sagging doors and you'll see the 2 doors need hinge pins alot more often

 

[dogfriend]

2 door Explorer's doors are way longer then the 4 doors, panels will not work, glass is different, etc
the sports have heavy doors, try a search for sagging doors and you'll see the 2 doors need hinge pins alot more often

Are the BII and Ranger doors different or the same as 2 door Sport? I was pretty sure that the 2 door and 4 doors are different.

 

[Murgatroy]

A guy couple of guys at work have some 4-door Explorers, after looking at the doors, I don't think the dimensions are the same. The panels and windows might be, as well as the internals, but the door itself is not. The 4-door has a concave on the back where it meets with the back doors, this is not present on the 2-door models.

This is a pain in the ass, I was hoping to be able to just swap the doors straight out. Now I have to search a little harder to find an actual 2-door to get donor doors off of. I have seen the motors on eBay for ~$30 shipped, bit with the panels being damages, as well the door itself on the driver's side having damage, I would just prefer plug and play doors. Manual would have been much better, but I guess if all I can find is power, I will swap them in. I am just looking to get another reliable vehicle up and running. The Celicas are too small for the entire family to fit into.

What about the gauge cluster issue? Is the general feeling that it is the actual fuel sending unit? Even though I am having issues with a dead tach as well? The speedo works, but I haven't driven the truck enough to see if everything else is operable. So far beyond a test drive around the block I just drove it 5 miles home. Until the brake issue is resolved I am not going to attempt driving it. Pulling the dash to replace a gauge cluster isn't a serious issue, I used to be a pro car audio installer.

Basically everything I need to do to get the truck up and running is a walk in the park for me. Until I start going with custom modifications (it is a matter of when, not if, just ask me about the 3SGTE swap going into one of my Celicas) everything is just cake. I am not overly familiar with the truck's design and mechanicals yet, but give me a few hours of tinkering with it and I will be close to fluent.

So far my basic plan involves getting it back into good shape and using it as a family hauler/daily driver until I decide to sell it or keep it.

The more and more I see how easy it is to work on it, the more and more I think about digging that old 302 roller motor out of my barn and dropping it in there for some giggles.

 

[mikeinri]

Don't get discouraged. While there are some folks here who wouldn't undertake that project, there are others that would. Your project seems entrirely do-able, and lots of us would kill for a vehicle with only 111k and especially with no leaks.

The main hurdle you face (as you're figuring out right about now) is that you have/want a rare combination of features on this Explorer. None of the features are bad, they just weren't popular when these trucks were sold. The overwhelming majority of Explorers sold were 4x4, automatic, 4-door and well-equipped (XLT, etc. with lots of power toys). This is going to make your used replacement parts difficult to find. You might try an online used parts company.

Most (never say never) vehicles that offer 2-door and 4-door models have different doors, with the 2-door version being longer. If that is true for the Explorers, don't expect the windows or trim panels to fit. It might be quicker in your case to spend some time at a dealership asking for part numbers to see if they're interchangeable.

If you really want the manual windows and can live with the existing doors as-is for a while, I would concentrate on everything else and wait for the doors to come along. Keep checking online, at junkyards, etc.

Yes, the gauges on Gen 1s were an Achilles heel, but they all went for different reasons. I haven't heard of any one problem that causes them all to fail. The fuel gauge goes because of the sender/float in 99.99999% of the cases. I had a bad voltage gauge that was actually the gauge (the pin would stick and I had to hit the dash to get it to move). The temp and oil gauges are usually fine, occasionally the sender units go bad. The speedos are another problem, usually it's the cable.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Murgatroy]

I wasn't thinking it was that hard of a project, I was just getting a little bothered that a was getting replies telling me it wasn't worth the time to fix. I would expect that from another community, but not from an Explorer based site.

The truck is in decent shape, it just hasn't been that well cared for. That seems to be a problem with non car folks. The door was hyper-extended, thus leading to the damage to the door and fender. It is still operable, but as my plan involves the classic buy low sell high, there is no way I am going to reach a target value I want with body damage. I am not looking to rip someone off, but I am convinced the truck is worth at least $1200 once I fix the issues with it.

I come from a hotrodding background, having owned many Camaros and Mustangs, as well as some more desirable GM A and G bodies and a couple of nice Mopars. One of the mantras I picked up from there is the manual windows. Manual windows are more reliable and weigh less than power. I am aware that weight it not really an issue when you consider that this is an SUV, but reliability is key. I don't want to fix it to only have issues further down the road.

On another note, how difficult is it to remove the ABS from the rear? What are the common problems with it? As I suspect there are issues since it is being suggested to remove it?

The throw-out bearing was mentioned earlier, but the question was never answered clearly, does the `91 have the conjoined throw out bearing or the separated throw out bearing and slave cylinder? The guy I got the truck from swears he changed the clutch set when he put the newer transmission into it, but there are still minor issues with changing gears. I experienced nothing driving it that was described to me by others that test drove it, the whining throw out bearing was it. A couple other guys that drove it complained that it was hard to shift into gear. I drive tractor trailers, so understand how to shift anything, however it didn't offer me any problems other than not wanting to shift into second after a hard burn-out. Yeah, I had to, I can't buy a vehicle unless I abuse it, you should have seen the salesman sitting in the floor board crying when I bought one of my Mustangs a few years ago. I am wondering if maybe the clutch just needs to be bled out? Would that explain the whining throw-out bearing? I am not adverse to pulling the tranny, it is a 45 minute job in an out, but again, I am not a big fan of doing extra work if the problem can be solved elsewhere.

After I get the brakes done this weekend I will drive it some more and get a good idea of where the issues sit with the tranny and cluster. The seat is higher on the priority list to be honest, I don't quite care for the whole 'gansta lean' thing that comes from having my seat reclined into the backseat. I might just cheat and throw a spare tire back there to prevent it from having any backward movement until I find a replacement. At least I am certain the seat will swap from 4-doors.

 

[FROADER]

if you say so.

Yes, yes I did.