How do you tell....

[4x4FunBox]

...which V6 you have? I have a 1997 X XLT Electric 4WD.

How can I tell visually which of the V6s I have?

 

[shortstack]

just by doing VERY VERY little searching (on the front/main page) theirs allready a thread about this http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=209037

if you look inside the hood you might see something that says SOHC?

 

[Charlie]

X = Ohv
E = Sohc

By design, the SOHC is more advanced and has a little bit more power -- but the design of multiple timing units makes the engine a bit more complicated. The OHV was deprecated a few years ago and the SOHC continued on in the 3rd gen Explorers.

In the words of IZwack..

 

[4x4FunBox]

Maybe I'm missing something ...

X = OHV
E = SOHC

What does the X and E stand for >_<

 

[JohnJ]

Maybe I'm missing something ...

X = OHV
E = SOHC

What does the X and E stand for >_<

It is the engine code: 8th digit of the VIN. The VIN is the unique series of alphanumeric characters stamped into a plate at the lower left corner of your front windshield which uniquely identifies your truck. No other vehicle anywhere in the world should have the same VIN.

 

[4x4FunBox]

Well I went and looked. An I'm sad. I have and X.

 

[JohnJ]

Don't be sad, be aware. There are differences between the 4.0s and now that you know which one you have you know what to expect.

You know that you haven't got as much power output as the OHC engines pump out and you'll probably be burning a bit more gas than they do. On the up side, you can't possibly have been expecting to sip gas or win races when you chose to buy an Explorer so you shouldn't bee too disappointed.

It also means that you won't have to worry about intake gaskets and maybe can have fewer issues with electronics, cats, and will almost certainly have no non-obvious problems that ever make the truck fail to start.

When you consider the whole package, neither 4.0L is really better than the other. They are just a little different.

 

[ZBlackBeast]

^^ Well put. IMHO the SOHC is better if you can afford to fix the timing issue...

 

[ThePhoenix]

timing issue?