A tale of two Eddie Bauers

[Andy94SC]

I've pretty much decided I want to pick up an Explorer for a winter vehicle to replace the Thunderbird I've been using. We picked up a '99 Mountaineer last year for my wife, and it's been great, she doesn't want to give it up, so I need my own.

I want something cheap ~$2k or less. I know that means high miles, and less than prime condition. So I decided I should likely gort for a 5.0L powered version. I think that engine is more durable than the V6s.

So what i have found near me are two Eddie Bauers that I need to choose between.

#1 is a 1997 Very nice interior, slight body damage, needs a headlight and fender work, not much rust. Non working A/C and a bad front prop shaft that limits speed. Tires are kind of worn. I may find more problems once I get the prop shaft fixed and can drive it more. It seems to be loaded, Ride control, 6 disc changer brush gaurds etc. Price is around $2k, but they seem very flexible...

#2 is a 1996 slight body damage, a lot more rust in the rocker panels. I didn't get to test drive it yet because the dealer was closed when I went to see it. It looks very clean under the hood. The biggest issues I saw was that the interior looks a lot messier, not damaged, just like someone had spilled a lot of drinks or something in it. It had a mismathced set of tires, and no spare. Also all of the door latches are screwed up except for the passenger door. If you play around you can get the drivers door open. The rear doors don't open from the inside or outside, and the rear hatch is open and will not latch closed. It only has a cassette radio, but has a built in cell phone option? Not that I will ever use it... They are asking $1200.

I am pretty well mechanically inclined and can probably fix anything mechanically wrong. I am more concerned with cost. Both have about the same miles ~ 145k. Neither seems to be leaking any major fluids.

The local junkyard just got a very nice 2000 Limited in that I could get parts from , IF they would work on those earlier vehicles... Are there any major differences between a 1996 and a 1997? Any opinions on which I should persue assuming the 2nd one runs OK? Currently I am thinking the 1997 because it is a year newer, and has a nicer interior...

 

[jad2411]

buy both, use the parts from one to fix the other one then part out the rest

 

[Cobraguy]

Both are going to require at least a grand to make them usable aren't they? Maybe you should raise your limit a bit and see if you can get something a little nicer shape. But my order of importance when buying is body first. I can't paint ****! My body work skills suck beyond belief. So I always go for the best body I can find. Of course, being here in AZ, rust is never an issue. You couldn't sell a car here with a rust spot the size of a dime. That would be in horrible shape here. I see 40 year old cars here all the time that are still rust free in every way. Next, I look for the nicest interior. That can be very expensive to make right. I just stole a 99 V8 EB that needed a lot of interior work. Most of it was nothing more than removing, scrubbing, and installing. But I did replace the carpet and a few other small things. I put a grand into the interior without batting an eye. It's easy to do. Last thing I worry about is the mechanical end of things. That is where I am best at both purchasing and repairing. So let your skills guide you as to where you want to spend your money. A $1000 goes a lot further if you aren't having to pay labor for someone else to do the work.

 

[Andy94SC]

I am not overly concerned about appearance, body wise. This is only going to be a winter vehicle, so it will see daily use from November through about March, then sit for the rest of the year.

What I am after is reliability, I don't want to have to fix something every week when it is 10 Degt outside.

I am wondering if there were major changes to things like the transmission, brakes, etc.

 

[IAmTodd]

I'd get the '97. You already said you found a parts truck, pull the necessary parts and replace. If you're not concerned about appearance, don't paint or paint yourself. Driveshaft and tires would be the most expensive. Be careful of the ride control, it WILL give out and is expensive to properly repair, or can be ditched all together for much cheaper.

 

[Andy94SC]

If the ride control gives out does it sit very low? Because that one is very low to the ground... What does that system do exactly? Airbags to change ride height only?

 

[IAmTodd]

It has air adjustable shocks. There is a switch in the jack compartment to turn the system on and off. It should maintain a normal ride height. If you go to look at it again, do a system check on the message center and see if it reports any errors.

 

[Andy94SC]

I saw a switch on the I/P near the radio that could select "Off-road" or "Norm" I think.

Is there a problem with just driving with it low if the system is leaking?

 

[IAmTodd]

The off-road setting will slightly raise the suspension.

It will have a terrible ride and you alignment will be out of spec.

 

[techieman33]

I would go for the 97, the mismatched tires on the 96 have probably done some damage to the transfer case

 

[Andy94SC]

I bought the '97 for $1500. It seems to run nice except for the front prop shaft. Hopefully it will be all better with that replaced, and not have many further issues with the drivetrain.

The inside edge of the rear tires is pretty worn, I assume they were likely on the front since the front tires look great.

So with the ride control non functional does it ride lower than normal? Or is it just stuck in the low position? It seems to ride and handle good as is, similar to the wifes Mountaineer which has no problems. If I could get it aligned as it sits now to keep the tires from wearing, I'd be happy. It is sitting about an inch lower than the Mountaineer in the front. The system check gave me a service ride control message, and I don't hear the compressor kick on when switching to "Off Road."

As a bonus I found the original window sticker in the glove box. $38k when new.


I still think the '96 was a good deal too. I should have been clearer about the tires. They are the same size tires, but different models of Goodyears, on different rim styles so it looks goofy is all. I drove it before buying the '97. It ran OK, but felt like it had a slight torque converter shudder a couple of times, and when I got back and looked under the hood the something on the passenger side exhause was smoking a bit. Still pretty good for a $1200 truck, better than some I looked at that people were asking $2 - $3k for...

 

[Andy94SC]

Here are some pics of it from the Autotrader ad.

'97 Eddie Bauer

I looked under it today, someone long ago replaced the ARC shocks with standard ones. The air lines were just dangling near each shock, and the electrical connectors were all cut off too.

I found out it had no low beam headlights, but found the smoked lamp out module and repaired it. I think it burned up because someone tapped into the low beams, probably to add fog lights or something. I took the splices off and repaired that wiring.

I'm still waiting on the front shaft and a front turn signal, plus I still need to look at the A/C and the exhaust leak on the passenger manifold.

It's shaping up a lot better than I expected for $1500.

 

[bluexpy]

Looks good. Need some polishin', that's for sure.

Wow, I like the interior...it has more woodgrain trim than my '00 Limited does!

 

[Andy94SC]

The woodgrain was just thin plastic stuck on with 2 sided tape. It coming loose in places, so I took it all off.

 

[jls1znv9999]

1997 - 2001 are for the most parts combatible with other each other. This also includes drive train, suspension, transmission, etc. The only thing that EB is just cosmetic and maybe a few extra options.

Given prices i would suggest the 97, you get what you pay for. I might also suggest you look further out from were you live. Given price of gas there is a chance that if you have time you could actually get transportation to a place that actually has it better, newer and cheaper. Just make sure that you price routine parts that may need replaced (general and others). The things that are usually going out are on these forums. I think most have realized that bad drive train, brakes, rotors, bearings, and windows.

 

[josh1095]

this is an old thread but my 2cents: i oned a 97 EB 4.0 that had 200k on it when i sold. NO probs at all. thing was awesome.