does awd have to be 5.0?

[zmoffster]

Hello friends, I'm a few short days away from becoming part of the owner club. I am purchasing a 2000 Explorer from my boss. Mostly sight unseen. I have seen a few pics but I don't know anything about it and he is out of town. Here is what I know. It's a 2000, super clean, 40k miles, and it's awd.

The question I have is, since it is AWD, does that mean it has the 5.0? From the pictures it looks like a Fleet (LT) model but I haven't been able to find a Fleet with AWD or 5.0 so I'm at a loss. Just based off of the info provided does that mean I'm about to get the score of the century? Or should I wait to get my hopes up? Thank you much and a pleasure to meet you all!

Please forgive me if this is posted elsewhere, I believe I have done my due diligence before posting.

 

[zmoffster]

Here is a picture of what it looks like. This isn't the one I'll be purchasing but it's the same dash, just different color.

 

[SWIGIN]

That's not 5.0.

I wouldn't even call that AWD since the 5.0 AWD is AWD only and always. That has 4low 4high and auto.

 

[zmoffster]

Good point. I didn't even think about the awd being more traditional like we see these days. the 4x4 auto threw me off and got me really excited. I'm still going to pick up the rig if everything checks out. Thanks for the tip!

 

[1998Exp]

It's probably the dreaded 4.0L SOHC engine (could be the more reliable 4.0L OHV - check the VIN to be sure). But if it truly has only 40K miles, likely to be good for another 50K or so before it runs into the well documented timing chain and transmission trouble. And, by the way, I have never heard of an LT trim - the choices were XLS, XLT, EB, and Limited. Judging by the manual climate controls it's XLS or XLT.

 

[zmoffster]

It's probably the dreaded 4.0L SOHC engine (could be the more reliable 4.0L OHV - check the VIN to be sure). But if it truly has only 40K miles, likely to be good for another 50K or so before it runs into the well documented timing chain and transmission trouble. And, by the way, I have never heard of an LT trim - the choices were XLS, XLT, EB, and Limited. Judging by the manual climate controls it's XLS or XLT.

I think I was mistaken. It's XL, which is the Fleet vehicle (in 2000) and was generally unavailable to the public. Am I looking for an "E" at the eighth digit of the VIN to confirm the engine? I guess if I have access to the VIN I can just look at the motor at that point. But either way for 2000 bucks I figure if it lasts more than a year without any major issues I'll be coming out ahead. I'd like to get a few years out of it though, the thing looks pretty cherry in pictures, with the exception of a tiny bit of bumper rust.

 

[Turdle]

More pictures are needed. Radio looks good but that won't get you to work.

The ,mileage is very low. Make sure the odometer works. Some don't even with a working speedometer. I'm not saying it isn't actual mileage but it is very low. 40 k miles on a 18 year use truck is suspicious. Check the wear on the gas and brake pedals for evidence of higher miles. Heck, for that matter someone in the know can just swap out a instrument cluster with higher mileage than the title states-and this would look good.

Maybe it doesn't perform well and they don't trust it to drive it.

Have the vehicle checked by a mechanic. Make sure the check engine light and OD off lights work.

 

[zmoffster]

More pictures are needed. Radio looks good but that won't get you to work.

The ,mileage is very low. Make sure the odometer works. Some don't even with a working speedometer. I'm not saying it isn't actual mileage but it is very low. 40 k miles on a 18 year use truck is suspicious. Check the wear on the gas and brake pedals for evidence of higher miles. Heck, for that matter someone in the know can just swap out a instrument cluster with higher mileage than the title states-and this would look good.

Maybe it doesn't perform well and they don't trust it to drive it.

Have the vehicle checked by a mechanic. Make sure the check engine light and OD off lights work.

I'm going to take it for a full check and also have them do safety and emissions which are both mandatory in UT. So it's my bosses car. He travels a lot and only drives it about one week out of the month. It does do some sitting, but at that interval I feel it's a pretty safe bet. It's a safe bet that the miles are accurate. I do worry about an older vehicle that hasn't been driven much but he does have a regular routine, I just need to wait for him to get back into town so I can ask more questions about regular maintenance, age of tires, fluids, etc.