Considerations for long term use | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums

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Considerations for long term use

Right now everything is fine with the XLT. But six months, a year or so...can't say. Don't know what else to do besides have a mech evaluate it. Even then, who knows how in depth they're going with their eval
 



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1,500 seems mighty high for a stereo replacement. Evaluating the guides would be quite a job, and the valve covers would have to be pulled, among other things.
 






Got a 2001 sport with a 4.0. 202000 miles on it. Transmission went out at 180000. I have the chain noise at start up. I just take it easy until it warms up. Hoping to get 250000 out of the engine. Cheaper to keep her then a new vehicle.
I'm looking to get a 1st or 2nd gen I think. Cheap, reliable, good potential. Seen them from $1200-$2500 in good shape.

Second Gen V8. They came in RWD and AWD. Personally i'd look for a 1999-2001 RWD, as I never off-road and don't need to be on the road on the rare occasion we get snow in GA. The AWD is quite capable, but adds weight and complexity (plus dealing with the tires needing to be worn very evenly is a PITA and can get expensive if you need one or two and you end up needing to buy 4. The V8's can easily go 300-400 miles if maintained. I just saw a super clean, loaded 2000 V8 AWD Eddie Bauer in my area for $2300. It'll sell quick.

The OHV V6 engine is fairly reliable, but tends to suffer from cracked heads as they get older. Don't even consider the SOHC V6 if you looking for reliability. Both V6's use the same less-than-stellar auto transmissions, though there are manuals out there and both were available with RWD or 4WD in 2-doors and 4-doors.
 






It's the touch screen Bluetooth navigation assembly. This is also a dealership quote. It flickers off and starts up when driving, but still works. Gonna try replacing the corroded battery terminal as both battery and alternator are good.

As far as the explorer, idk about how to get it evaluated without ripping it apart
 






How's the V8 AWD tranny? Mine was solid, don't know if that's typical
 






Oh and for a 1st Gen (straight front axle means easier to lift eventually), any good or bad setups to look for, or is it the same , go with a V8 AWD?
 






Your best evaluation of the health of the engine is to do a compression test and a leak-down test. That will tell you if the piston rings and valves are sealing. More than likely they are okay. If the timing chains aren't making noise at start-up and/or when driving there's not much else to be said about their condition.

A Story:
A had a woman that worked for me in the 90's. She had an 10 year old+ Honda Civic (I don't recall the miles on it, but i'm sure it was up around 100k). The car had been sitting outside for 2 years unused, but she decided that she wanted to start driving it again and to sell the car she was driving. She took the Honda to a mechanic to have it checked out and to do whatever maintenance/repairs that it needed, assuming it was worth resurrecting. The guy checked what he could and replaced the typical wear items. He told her the car checked out okay.

She started driving the Civic as her daily-driver and sold her other car. She was happy with the Civic. A few weeks later the engine popped the head off a valve and screwed up the engine. She said she wanted to take the mechanic to court, because he had pronounced it "okay". I told her she didn't have a chance in hell of getting her money back.

The moral? An old car is an old car. It can be perfect one day and have a serious breakdown tomorrow. You just never know. Every part would need to be examined with the precision normally reserved to evaluate jet planes (if you've watched the news lately, even this process can miss problems). There are no guaranties. Maintain it, drive it gently and deal with it if it breaks down. It will still be cheaper than buying a new vehicle and a newer used vehicle will probably have it's own problems. I choose to drive older vehicles, but I keep a spare vehicle on hand just in case I have a breakdown I can't fix in a day or two.
 






Worth sharing! Thanks for that! Good point. I guess at this point I'll have it evaluated best I can, get that bump stop thing figured out, and make a call from there.
 






Second Gen V8. They came in RWD and AWD. Personally i'd look for a 1999-2001 RWD, as I never off-road and don't need to be on the road on the rare occasion we get snow in GA. The AWD is quite capable, but adds weight and complexity (plus dealing with the tires needing to be worn very evenly is a PITA and can get expensive if you need one or two and you end up needing to buy 4. The V8's can easily go 300-400 miles if maintained. I just saw a super clean, loaded 2000 V8 AWD Eddie Bauer in my area for $2300. It'll sell quick.

The OHV V6 engine is fairly reliable, but tends to suffer from cracked heads as they get older. Don't even consider the SOHC V6 if you looking for reliability. Both V6's use the same less-than-stellar auto transmissions, though there are manuals out there and both were available with RWD or 4WD in 2-doors and 4-doors.

Here's the CL ad for the $2300 AWD EB. If it was a RWD I'd be temped to buy it. It happens to be y favorite color green/tan.

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Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Fully loaded an clean cold ac
 






Thats sharp. I'd want the 4x4 as I'm gonna use it as an overland rig. Inwonder about mileage. Or, being able to lift it a couple inches.
 






How's the V8 AWD tranny? Mine was solid, don't know if that's typical

Basically same trans as in the 2WD, 4R70W (which is a very reliable unit). The t-case is fairly reliable too, but you have to be very careful about tire size or you will fry the viscous coupling.

Many here have lifted their AWD's so it can be done. The front axle is the same as the one used in the 4WD model.
 






Thats sharp. I'd want the 4x4 as I'm gonna use it as an overland rig. Inwonder about mileage. Or, being able to lift it a couple inches.

IDK about the mileage, but being as clean as it is inside and out, it can't be too high. My 2001 5.0L EB is in abut the same condition with a little under 200k.

The fuel economy on the AWD is around 2 MPG less than the 2WD. Our old 2000 Mountaineer 5.0L AWD never gave us any trouble in the 5 years we owned it.
 






Gotcha. Thank you. Would upgrading the rear getting help offset that added stress?
 






Gotcha. Thank you. Would upgrading the rear getting help offset that added stress?

Not sure what "added stress" you're referring to, but you'd have to change the front and rear gear sets if you wanted to change the gear ratio from 3:73's to say 4:10's. I don't think that's needed. Most all of the AWD's came with 3:73's.
 






I can't seem to remember what I was talking about. Go figure with 30 right around the corner..ha.

Yea if I recall correctly, it's got 3.73. I think I was referring to larger tires adding stress to the tranny...maybe.
 






Although it sends very well maintained, y'all are making me a bit concerned. I may not end up keeping it. As of now, it runs great. Good time to sell it if I do. That being said, what Gen/engine and tranny set up would be best for a moderate off road/overland rig that's still reliable?
I have a 2001 xlt it now has 181k on it and I have not had any problems with the trans. or motor.
SOME folks buy one and think they are buying a tank and treat it like one, they are not tanks.
 






The transmissions behind both RWD and AWD V8s is the 4r70w, and is light years better than what came with the v6s.
 






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