Thank You so much for the tips!
- No belt or chain to worry about is music to my ears! (I'm a lifetime Studebaker guy and those cams are gear drive!)
- Fluids for sure. Hadn't thought of the brake fluid, but yes, definitely.
- Blend doors: yep, have encountered them especially in my 1969 C20 w/AC and really like the cutting hole in heater box!
That's the way I looked at it. I feel the same way about southern rust free vehicles. And I'm sure there is an Explorer fanbase - especially here in the rust belt. This is going to get the best, most thorough Fluid Film seam weld/cavity/internal application possible. Then the CRC Marine / Blaster Surface Shield on the outer surfaces.
I've see Escape rust outs (mine and many in junkyard). The wheel arches are horrific, the panels don't mate properly, the pinch welds pull them together at the weld while they bulge apart between welds and so rust out. The inner construction in the floor/frame at the dog leg is a complicated structure that even "triple construction" I don't think would characterize it.
I'm hoping this Gen 2 Explorer has "older school" unibody tech and is not as rust prone as the Escape. For one, the Explorer wheel arches are absolute perfection as far as fit. So there definitely is a superior build quality.