Help With New Explorer

[BlindFaith429]

Hello all!

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Nick, and I live in Connecticut. I am 25 years old, and currently drive a stock 2009 Ford Escape Sport. I also have a 1980 Ford Pinto that was my fathers, which I take to shows and out for rides when the weather is nice. My father is a mechanic, and I learned to wrench on cars at a very early age. Together, we have rebuilt his 1964 Falcon from the ground up, and my 1980 Pinto.

In April of 2015, my fiance's lease on her CRV is up. We are currently planning / saving for a wedding, so we decided to get a beater for me to drive to work to cut down on vehicle expenses. She will be driving my Escape and I will be driving the beater.

I recently found a white 1999 Explorer Sport locally, and purchased it. It has the 4.0 liter V6 and a 5-speed stick (I am no stranger to stick, my Pinto is a 5-speed). It has 157k on it. It runs and drives smooth and shifts perfect. No grinding or any other weird noises.

The interior needs a good cleaning, which I am capable of doing, and the shocks are shot. I have a set of Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks on the way. From what I have read online, they seem to be a good balance of firmness, price, and quality. The outside has a little rust on the bottom of the body, between the rear tire and the doors. I don't really care about it as it is cosmetic and I just need it to run strong for daily driving.

My question is this. What else should I look for / look at when going over the vehicle to make sure it is in good running shape? What areas do I need to look at more specifically that may be problem areas or have notoriously been bad on these SUV's?

I was thinking about doing plugs and wires just for good measure. The oil in it is clean, was changed about 1,000 miles ago according to the previous owners records.

My intent is to keep it pretty much stock and upgrade little bits as I need to. I am not going all out and adding roof-racks, brush guards, lift kits, big tires etc.

Oh, and before I had my Escape, I drove a 2000 Ranger for 5 years, so I am no stranger to the platform.

Thanks so much!

EDIT: Forgot to put that the Explorer is RWD

 

[my98nnj]

Which 4.0 is in the truck?

If your both no strangers to a wrench and have previously restored vehicles, then you are more then capable of going through the entire truck to make sure it's up to par

If you have the stronger SHOC motor, beware of the timing chain issues which are well documented on here.

 

[BlindFaith429]

Which 4.0 is in the truck?

If your both no strangers to a wrench and have previously restored vehicles, then you are more then capable of going through the entire truck to make sure it's up to par

If you have the stronger SHOC motor, beware of the timing chain issues which are well documented on here.

Yes, you are correct, I am able to go through it and fix anything that needs attention. It is the things that need "additional" attention that I was looking for.

It is the single overhead cam motor if I recall correctly. I will do a little research on the timing chain issues you mentioned. Thanks

 

[BlindFaith429]

Well, I was wrong. Turns out I have the OHV motor. Checked it out when I got home tonight.

 

[J_C]

A lot of us like the KYB Gas-a-just shocks more than the Sensatrac which seem okay when new but soon become sloppy on an explorer due to the suspension, though being 2wd with coil springs and less weight in front yours will be a "little" tamer than the 4wd version.

Most common failure points like sway bar links, hood struts, door latch spring failure, thermostat housing cracking and leaking, etc are fairly obvious to pinpoint when they fail. Some things less obvious are when wires in the door hinge loom break and the locks or windows won't work.

 

[Convict1997]

I'd check the front suspension components while you're in there doing the shocks. Almost every high mileage 2nd gen explorer I've come across has needed new upper and lower ball joints.

 

[BlindFaith429]

Thanks for the tips. I order a set of sway bar links, easy and cheap enough to replace as preventative maintenance.

The only other minor issue I know of right now is that the temperature gauge doesn't work. I haven't really dug into that yet, but I will this weekend when I start cleaning the interior. I am hoping it is something easy like the wire came off the sensor, or that the sensor itself is bad. Easy enough to replace.

And as to the shocks, I went with the Sensa-Tracs because I found some decent reviews on them, and i got a discount on them through work. I tried to look up the KYB's, but I did not get any discount I did read that the KYB's are nice shocks though and if I could get them discounted, I would've gone with them.

 

[koda2000]

A lot of us like the KYB Gas-a-just shocks more than the Sensatrac which seem okay when new but soon become sloppy on an explorer due to the suspension, though being 2wd with coil springs and less weight in front yours will be a "little" tamer than the 4wd version.

Most common failure points like sway bar links, hood struts, door latch spring failure, thermostat housing cracking and leaking, etc are fairly obvious to pinpoint when they fail. Some things less obvious are when wires in the door hinge loom break and the locks or windows won't work.

I don't think a '99 Sport would have coil springs. My '97 Sport 2WD has T-bars, as due all my 2WD and 4WD trucks.

The things I check on any new-to-me truck are: control arms/ball joints, end-links, tie rod ends, tires, brakes, wheel bearings, lug nuts, shocks, belts, hoses, fluids/filters - anything safety related. As far as your temp gauge, if the wire is connected to the sender, ground the wire and see if the gauge pegs on HOT. If it does the gauge and wiring is good. It might be the sender is bad or the thermostat is stuck OPEN.

Consider yourself lucky that you have the OHV 4.0L engine. A bit less HP than the SOHC, but far fewer problems.