Anyone in the Detroit area want to do me a favor?

[I bleed Ford Blue]

There is this 2010 explorer limited I'm thinking about buying and I'm wondering if some one could go take a couple of pics of the frame and floor for me. I'm more concerned about how solid it is and fairly rust free. Mechanical stuff I don't care about, I plan on godzilla swapping it anyway, I want a solid vehicle that will last me quit a few years. The price is a few K cheaper than comparable explorers from that era, so I'm thinking it might be too good to be true. It spent 14 years in Connecticut before it ended up in Detroit on a used car lot, and CT uses salt in the winter just like Ohio does. So if its a rust bucket underneath, I'll pass.

https://www.topgearz.com/vdp/222445...orer-Limited-AWD-for-sale-in-Detroit-MI-48212

 

[Josh P]

Around Phoenix, AZ you can get a rust free 4th gen needing engine work for under $2,000. I see one on Facebook Marketplace for $1,200. You could buy the car and with shipping be well under $2,500 total.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

Thanks, but Phoenix is a little too far away. Also, what I'm looking for is very specific, it has to be an 09 or 10 with the 4.6 v8. All 4th gens with a v-8 got a 6 speed auto, the 06-7-08's got the 6R60 trans code X, the 09-10's got the stronger 6R80, trans code 6. The older 3rd gens all got the 5R55 trans and the 4th gen with a v-6 got it too.

I called the lot where the EX is located and he sent me a few pics from underneath, from what I can see, it looks solid with little surface rust. I'm going on a mini road trip Saturday, and if it looks good in person, I'll bring it home.

 

[94Eddie]

Thanks, but Phoenix is a little too far away. Also, what I'm looking for is very specific, it has to be an 09 or 10 with the 4.6 v8. All 4th gens with a v-8 got a 6 speed auto, the 06-7-08's got the 6R60 trans code X, the 09-10's got the stronger 6R80, trans code 6. The older 3rd gens all got the 5R55 trans and the 4th gen with a v-6 got it too.

I called the lot where the EX is located and he sent me a few pics from underneath, from what I can see, it looks solid with little surface rust. I'm going on a mini road trip Saturday, and if it looks good in person, I'll bring it home.

That vehicle has one of the best maintenance records I have seen on a Carfax Report. All the work was done by a Ford dealer. If it isn't a rust bucket it would be one I would buy as as daily driver even with the higher mileage. It looks to be the same spec as my 2010 Mountaineer excluding the 4x4, Hi/Low options. My guess is that you can talk them down close to around $4k. If all the options works and it runs/drives well it would be worth paying a little extra to not have to replace/repair anything. Check the wiring for deterioration. If there is evidence of insulation deterioration then I would pass on it. If the 4.6L 3v runs good, you might be able to sell it for a decent price and recoup some money. Are you keeping the 6R80 transmission for the swap?

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

Thanks for the insight on the wiring. Yes, I'm keeping the 6R80, that's why I'm being specific on the year. I may take the trans down to Gearstar transmissions and get it rebuilt and upgraded to handle more power because I'm looking at around 600 hp N/A. And yes, Gearstar is just down in Akron, summit racing is just outside of Akron in Tallmadge, Stainless works is in Streetsboro- halfway between Cleveland and Akron, and Corsa along with Ultimate headers are both around the corner from me in Berea Ohio.

Now I'm debating between a godzilla or fully built supercharged coyote, but if I go with the S/C yote I'm going to need to upgrade the rear diff to 31 spline and have custom rear axles made to handle the power and have 31 spline inners.

 

[94Eddie]

Thanks for the insight on the wiring. Yes, I'm keeping the 6R80, that's why I'm being specific on the year. I may take the trans down to Gearstar transmissions and get it rebuilt and upgraded to handle more power because I'm looking at around 600 hp N/A. And yes, Gearstar is just down in Akron, summit racing is just outside of Akron in Tallmadge, Stainless works is in Streetsboro- halfway between Cleveland and Akron, and Corsa along with Ultimate headers are both around the corner from me in Berea Ohio.

Now I'm debating between a godzilla or fully built supercharged coyote, but if I go with the S/C yote I'm going to need to upgrade the rear diff to 31 spline and have custom rear axles made to handle the power and have 31 spline inners.

I have seen some twin screw supercharged 4.6L 3v engines make close to 475 rwhp. With a forged rebuild they can easily make 600 rwhp. I ran a Kenne Bell 2.2L twin screw at 16 psi with Blowzilla/Flowzilla manifolds on a stock 5.0L short block and it made 440 rwhp and 462 rwtq. It made well over 400 rwtq from 2000 rpm to around 5600 rpm. It felt just like a built 460 as far as power delivery. It could have made more power but I was getting close to the limit for a stock 5.0L block. You could get the same, or more, putting a twin screw on an otherwise stock 4.6L 3V long block. The stock 4.6L blocks are a good bit stronger than the 5.0L's. I think going this route could give you around 500 rwhp, a lot of torque and for less money, time and effort than doing an engine swap.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

I thought about that, but why spend 6,7,8K on an engine with 180K miles when I could get a low mileage godzilla for 4K, put in a cam and an intake for another 2K and be making around 600 hp. And if I throw a whipple on it, I could make 900-1000 all day and twice on Sunday.
The 3v's are intriguing but they were short lived. They've been out of production for 15 years. They only ran from 05-10 in the mustang, 06-10 in the explorer, 07-10 in the explorer sport trac, and 09-10 in the F150. Once they stopped building them, aftermarket support pretty much dried up.

 

[94Eddie]

I thought about that, but why spend 6,7,8K on an engine with 180K miles when I could get a low mileage godzilla for 4K, put in a cam and an intake for another 2K and be making around 600 hp. And if I throw a whipple on it, I could make 900-1000 all day and twice on Sunday.
The 3v's are intriguing but they were short lived. They've been out of production for 15 years. They only ran from 05-10 in the mustang, 06-10 in the explorer, 07-10 in the explorer sport trac, and 09-10 in the F150. Once they stopped building them, aftermarket support pretty much dried up.

You might find interesting what the guy linked below has done with a 4.6L 3V. His goal is to supercharge it and goes through his build process to support a large amount of horsepower. He has a series of videos detailing his upgrades. The video below is the culmination where he installs the supercharger. He was able to make over 600 rwhp on 10 psi of boost and will likely get quite a bit more when an intercooler is added and is retuned.

 

[Trainmaster]

I have a 2010 V-8 Explorer in New York. Look closely at the top of the right shock tower. That's where I surprisingly have the worst rust on mine. The tee on the front/rear heat hose leaks on them for twenty years. Otherwise even with the New York salt and living 500 feet from the ocean, mine's pretty rust free. They are good little trucks.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

It's funny you mention the heater hose leak. When I talked to them they said someone test drove it last Saturday and brought it back with a coolant leak, and he told me it was down low by the frame on the passenger side, so I'm thinking it a heater hose failed.

 

[Trainmaster]

They have a plastic tee molded into the hose from the heater core,right next to the manifold. It splits water to the rear heater. They all leak and are usually replaced with a metal tee and hose clamps. Then the hoses crush and the clamps leak too... No big deal really, but I was surprised at the damage done to the shock tower top... Didn't expect that.

The shocks get pretty rusted too, from road salt and I've changed them, but really the frame looks great with 175,000 New York miles.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

Yeah, the one I'm looking at came from CT, it spent 14 years there and racked up 180K miles. From the pics he sent me the frame is solid and rust free, it still has the factory coating and is cleary visible. I'm mostly looking for a solid rust free body and frame, the mechanical stuff is easy for me.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

Well it's mine. It's sitting in my garage right now. The ST towed it no problem, but boy did it suck the gas, I used a half a tank to travel 160 miles home, so about 10 gallons to go 160 miles.

Anyone know where I can find the original code for the door keypad? The card with the code was not with it and I have no idea where to find it. On F150's from the same era it was on a sticker on the body control module, so my guess is it's the same with the explorers, I just have to find the module. So far everything I tried still works, the sunroof, both power seats, the power fold third row, all 4 power windows. I paid $3900 out the door.

 

[Trainmaster]

Good luck with the truck. It must truly be rust free, as those 20" wheels had a clear coat on them that was so poor Ford replaced many of them with a recall. Yours look great. That's a rare one. It took me forever to find my metallic white V-8 Limited. I did the timing chain and guides on mine at 170,000. They were making noise since 40,000. You'll love this guy!

 

[Flounder]

I dig the Adrenalin rims on it. Nice find!

Oh, and the two wheelers behind your Explorers seem like a friendly bunch!

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

It's definitely a 30 footer, you get up close and the wheels are in bad shape.

The rocker on the drivers side rear door has a hole about 8" long, but its hidden when the door is closed, and the paint is in bad shape. What little I got to drive it the timing chains and cam phasers are quiet. I wasn't too concerned about color, but I did want a black interior. Also, it had to be an 09 or a 10, ford revised the heads on the 3v engine in midyear of 08 to fix the spark plug getting stuck in the head and the also switched to the stronger 6R80 transmission. The 06 thru part of 08 had the weaker 6R60.

For now I'm going to fix the heater hose and clean it up the best I can. I think I'll wait until later this year and change the plugs and do a compression check and see if the engine is good enough to modify. The tires have plenty of tread so I'm just going run them as is, when its time to replace them I may put on my 22's (they need tires too) I can run a 285/35/22 and they are a 30" tall tire just like the stock 20's. I think it would look killer with a 2"F/3"R drop sittin on some blacked out 22's. Here's my 22" wheels, they're from a 2014 Edge sport that have been powder coated black.

 

[94Eddie]

When you replace the heater hose, it is a good time to replace the exhaust heat shield on the passenger side if it is rusted out. The heat shield keeps the plastic Y of the heater hose from being heat soaked and reducing it lifespan. Also, don't buy the Dorman heater hose. It is basically junk and doesn't last long.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

The Dorman is the only one I can find.

 

[94Eddie]

The Dorman is the only one I can find.

The part number is 6L2Z-18C553-C. A Google search, or calling Ford dealers, should find an OEM part. It looks like Amazon has them available. I paid around $200 for mine pre COVID.

https://www.amazon.com/Ford-6L2Z-18C553-C-HOSE-ASY/dp/B000NTXPUU

 

[Trainmaster]

And don't junk those wheels. They're worth some money.