Going to be joining the family soon, got questions

[shadowless127]

Well in the next couple months I will be joining the family, going to purchase either an Explorer or Mountaineer, between 99-03. Since this is the third gen forum i'll limit my questions to the 3rd gens.

I'm going to be going with the V8, because I'm a firm believer that a true kicka** SUV needs a v8 (grew up around an 87 K1500 Blazer and a 96 full size Bronco). So that being said here are my questions

Any major difference between the mounty and the Explorer besides the name and features?

What's the difference between AWD and 4WD as far as performance, ride comfort, drivability, towing/hauling, maintainence expenses, fuel economy and longevity?

Are there any issues with the Automatic climate control system? I will hopefully be able to snag an eddie, limited or a mounty with this and want to make sure i'm not better off sticking to the manual climate control

How many miles do you think I can get out of it before it becomes a money pit, assuming it was well taken care of prior to me?

What are common issues for the 02's and 03's?

I'm sure there's more questions, but these are the ones I can think of at the moment.

Appreciate the help!

 

[jrford]

I’ll try and answer a few questions:

The are mostly the same except for the skin. With the Mounty your more likely get AWD/V8 options or so i have seen around here.

AWD/4wd your preference, the 4wd has some quirks but is solid. My wife really likes the AWD as she doesn’t have to shift it. With the jeep she was always calling me is ok to use it 4wd.

99-03, Id try and widen your range to ’04 so far they seem the least problematic of the early 3rd gens. ’02 was a bad year for some, ’03 a little better, ’04 very very good year for most so far. I never owned a 2nd Gen, but compared to the jeep, the 3rd gen is worlds apart. So much better, no body roll in turns, tows great, I really don't think there is a better truck in the price range. Also parts are getting more plentiful.

There is a lot of them, you can tell when you go out in the parking lot (Especially around Ford MoCo) and you see several same color as yours and you try to jamming your key in the door before you look inside, oops.
Jim

 

[shadowless127]

I’ll try and answer a few questions:

The are mostly the same except for the skin. With the Mounty your more likely get AWD/V8 options or so i have seen around here.

AWD/4wd your preference, the 4wd has some quirks but is solid. My wife really likes the AWD as she doesn’t have to shift it. With the jeep she was always calling me is ok to use it 4wd.

99-03, Id try and widen your range to ’04 so far they seem the least problematic of the early 3rd gens. ’02 was a bad year for some, ’03 a little better, ’04 very very good year for most so far. I never owned a 2nd Gen, but compared to the jeep, the 3rd gen is worlds apart. So much better, no body roll in turns, tows great, I really don't think there is a better truck in the price range. Also parts are getting more plentiful.

There is a lot of them, you can tell when you go out in the parking lot (Especially around Ford MoCo) and you see several same color as yours and you try to jamming your key in the door before you look inside, oops.
Jim

ty for the help. 04 is pushing it as far as money is concerned, since I will be doing this on a college student budget.

 

[seeyalater]

I have an 2002 XLT V8. So, far the thing has been awesome. The only problem I have had was the rear panel where the ford emblem is, cracked. This is a common problem. Getting it fixed is gonna cost me about $250. Other then that i haven't had any problems with it. I too am on a college student budget. $12,200 out the door with a Ford warrenty. Don't be afraid to look around. I drove and hour to get mine, because it had everything I wanted and was cheaper then everyone else around. Mine came fully loaded too, leather, moon roof, cd player, fog lights, power driver seat, and a rear cargo liner.

Just my .02

 

[shadowless127]

I have an 2002 XLT V8. So, far the thing has been awesome. The only problem I have had was the rear panel where the ford emblem is, cracked. This is a common problem. Getting it fixed is gonna cost me about $250. Other then that i haven't had any problems with it. I too am on a college student budget. $12,200 out the door with a Ford warrenty. Don't be afraid to look around. I drove and hour to get mine, because it had everything I wanted and was cheaper then everyone else around. Mine came fully loaded too, leather, moon roof, cd player, fog lights, power driver seat, and a rear cargo liner.

Just my .02

Yeah, i'm not afraid to drive around, i'm willing to make the hour and a half treck to NJ if need be.

But I know i'm going to have to sacrifice some features (Driver's seat memory, htd seats, DATC) to get into my price range.

 

[jeffescortlx]

Wt are common issues for the 02's and 03's?

I'm in the same boat as you, maybe I can help.

Noisy rear diffs & leaky seals.
Rear springs break.
4x4 modual defective. ($150 to fix your self).
Transfer case shift motor ($180 to replace your self, free to rebuild).
Wheel bearings.
Tranny? Seen some valve body problems, broken 3rd gear bands, and the factory ECU settings are a bit too sloppy I guess. But over all chances of a tranny failer can happen, but it's slim.

But the 4.6 V8 seems to very good, have'nt really seen any common problems at all.

But what do I know, I'm just a noob.

 

[shadowless127]

I'm in the same boat as you, maybe I can help.

Noisy rear diffs & leaky seals.
Rear springs break.
4x4 modual defective. ($150 to fix your self).
Transfer case shift motor ($180 to replace your self, free to rebuild).
Wheel bearings.
Tranny? Seen some valve body problems, broken 3rd gear bands, and the factory ECU settings are a bit too sloppy I guess. But over all chances of a tranny failer can happen, but it's slim.

But the 4.6 V8 seems to very good, have'nt really seen any common problems at all.

But what do I know, I'm just a noob.

The noisy rear diffs and leaky seals are common to both 2002 X's and 2000-2002 Expeditions so I'm aware of that. My mom's bf just had to have a seal replaced on his 02 Expedition's rear diff cuz it was leaking pretty bad.

Rears springs aren't a terrible worry because i'm most likely going to get new springs shocks and sway bars anyway.

And as far as the tranny; I hate to be bias based on the "old ford" but pre-2004 fords I automatically assume a transmission can go and I can live with that because if it breaks i'll just go million dollar man on it. "We can make it better; stronger" lol

How is the electrical system? I.e. power mirrors, door locks, seats, moon roof, etc.

 

[jeffescortlx]

How is the electrical system? I.e. power mirrors, door locks, seats, moon roof, etc.

I'll take another stab at it, I've seen a few people complaining about heater vent control actuators for both front and back climate controls. Only thing else I can throw in is my drivers door power lock buttons only work with the key on, but the passengers side works no matter what. And I think my spare keyless remote needs to be programmed in, only one of the 2 work.

It would be nice if some one thats been around the block with these could chime in, I've only been researching explorers now for 2 days.

The rear springs on my escort have been broken for as long as I can remember.

 

[rzimmerl]

I've had my '03 XLT V8 AWD for just over a year now, and love it. Just turned 50k on the odometer, bought it with 34k. I did get the chatter from the rear diff, but after changing the fluid with Amsoil and some friction modifier it hasn't come back since. I have since changed all fluids to Amsoil. I have done routine maintenance, plugs, fuel filter, tires, brakes, battery and thats it.

The AWD you don't really notice a difference in driving, it digs good in the snow. As far as fuel mileage figure about 15 city 19 highway, thats the best I was able to get which is a little less than my parents V6. But hey its got the V8 i'll suck up the gas bill to know the power is there.

My parents have an '02 Mountaneer with just over 100k and they just had a wheel bearing go out and broken rear springs. The rear diff was replaced under the extended warranty they got when the bought it. Other than that they have just done routine maintenance and have no plans of getting rid of it soon.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

It's an apple & orange difference between the second gen & third gen.

I own a '97 Mountaineer so I am biased. I don't care for the third gen looks. I hate that the third gens are 4 wheel independent susupension.

What are your plans? Off raoding, stock daily driver, lowered etc? This will play a mojor roll in going with a 99-01 or an 02-03.

 

[briwayjones]

I would stay away from '02s they had a lot of bugs in them.

 

[shadowless127]

It's an apple & orange difference between the second gen & third gen.

I own a '97 Mountaineer so I am biased. I don't care for the third gen looks. I hate that the third gens are 4 wheel independent susupension.

What are your plans? Off raoding, stock daily driver, lowered etc? This will play a mojor roll in going with a 99-01 or an 02-03.

I have a few things i'd like to accomplish

First and for most, it will be my daily driver but i'm not leaving it stock.

I want to be able to do off roading. My aunt and uncle have a place up in the mountains that requires 4WD or AWD to tackle during the winter (Very snowy/icy and their driveway is probably about a 45 degree incline that I need to be able to tackle during the winter, which means i'll be upgrading the springs, shocks and sway bars; I like the kit ExplorerExpress has for both 2nd and 3rd gen X's.

I also want to have maximum performance, which means, intake, exhaust, etc. What fun is a V8 if u can't lay some rubber .

Also, what's the difference between 4-wheel independent suspension and the way the 2nd gen's are setup?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Second gens have IFS with a solid rear axle. Much better for off roading, can be lifted if you decide you want to. 5.0 engine as opposed to a modular 4.6

I have 207k on mine with no major problems at all. The 5.0 is a proven engine. The 4.6 Early ones have had several issues.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

No matter what engine you decide to get, or how many mods you do to it, laying rubber isn't going to happen. In the words of one of my techs here at work, they'll just "s**t and get". Only unless you got a A4x4 2nd gen and did the brown wire mod so it had a true 2WD setting, would you be able to really burn some rubber.

I'd look at either a '99-'01, or a '04+. The '02 and '03 had their share of issues. The 3rd gen rides a lot better, has a optional 3rd row seat, and is a bit bigger and more comfy. The 2nd gen tended to be a bit more rugged, but the tradeoff being a rougher ride. I also like the fact that the 2nd gen had a 5.0 V8 option. The aftermarket is just huge for these, and pretty much anything that could be done to a 5.0 Mustang can be done to these. The 4.6 is mod-able, but not quite as much as the 5.0, and not as easy either.

 

[briwayjones]

If you want to do any more off-roading than driving on pavement with snow on it I would go with a second gen up to 2001. The 3rd gens with the full four wheel independent suspension can't be lifted and is terrible off road. The 2nd gens are much more mod-able. Personally I think the 5.0L engines are better than the 4.6L ones also and much more mods available for them like E.B. mentioned.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

congrads

 

[shadowless127]

ok 2nd gen it is. The rougher ride doesn't really bother me, every X i've been around has been a 1st or 2nd gen (family, and gf) so I'm fine with that.

I kind've figured the 5.0 was going to wind up being better then the 4.6. Always been a big 5.0 fan myself

The only thing i like about the third gens compared to the secon gens is the dual zone climate control, the third row seat, and the fact that there are A LOT of 02s 03s around me w/v8 and 4WD. Almost all of the second gens around me have the 5.0 w/AWD instead of 4WD

 

[Kyle0614]

the only 3rd gen i would buy is a 4.6 v8 that has already had it's transmission serviced...they seem get a tranny recall problem around 50k-75k so i've heard/read other than that the 4 wheel irs is about as smart as the idea of a 03 cobra supercharged with irs also not that bright of ford if you askme. Why is everyone doing away with the solid rear...makes no f---ing since...some cry baby probably requested IRS for a smoother ride BIG DEAL it's a freaking SUV not a Cadillac if you want a smooth ride go get a Cadillac as stated ...

 

[shadowless127]

the only 3rd gen i would buy is a 4.6 v8 that has already had it's transmission serviced...they seem get a tranny recall problem around 50k-75k so i've heard/read other than that the 4 wheel irs is about as smart as the idea of a 03 cobra supercharged with irs also not that bright of ford if you askme. Why is everyone doing away with the solid rear...makes no f---ing since...some cry baby probably requested IRS for a smoother ride BIG DEAL it's a freaking SUV not a Cadillac if you want a smooth ride go get a Cadillac as stated ...

the IRS is for everyone who bought an explorer/mounty to get the kids from school and sports, and to haul groceries in. They have no intent of using it for what it was originally intended for.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

All the 2nd gen V8s are AWD. You had to get a V6 to get 4x4.