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How long do you think my 2010 Ford Explorer will last?

2010 Eddie Bauer

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City, State
Olathe, Ks
Year, Model & Trim Level
2010, Explorer Eddie B.
I am curious what life you all think my 2010 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer has left in it. It has the 4.0 V6 and is four wheel drive. I have replaced all of the fluids, including the rear diff fluid, front diff fluid, transfer case fluid, coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, etc. I have only had it for a couple of years; I bought it used with 88,000 miles for my first car. I now have approximately 100,000 miles on it. I consistently change the oil every 3,000 miles with mobil one 5w-30 synthetic oil. I did have to replace the transmission at 90,000 miles with a remanufactured unit. Apparently, the transmission fluid had never been changed, and it started slipping shortly after I bought it. The engine does not make any knocking noises, and there are currently no leaks underneath. When I shine a light through the opening for the oil cap, I cannot see any sludge present. I only drive between 5,000 and 10,000 miles per year. How many years/miles do you think I could drive this vehicle without major repairs? I can do minor mechanical work myself.
 



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My first piece of advice is to install a pre-oiler since you have the SOHC V6. Especially since you don't know the maintenance history, and the transmission fluid was never changed, it might mean the engine was not maintained well. This is your best way to avoid the dreaded, and expensive, timing chain and guide failure with this engine. Then drop the transmission pan and refill every 30k-40k miles. There isn't a whole lot of other preventive maintenance to do for the next 50k-60k miles since you have done a fairly complete fluid swap recently. You will likely have the typical repair items like wheel bearings, U-joints, rotors, thermostat housing etc. The biggest enemy of keeping an aging SOHC V6 Explorer on the road is the timing chain/guides failing. The cost of this repair is often worth more than the vehicle and negates doing it. More times than not this repair sends a high mileage Explorer to the scrap yard. Since you are at 100k miles I think the cost of installing a pre-oiler is very justified. They aren't all that costly. I am sure someone will chime in here that has one installed on their vehicle.
 






I am at 154k miles on my 2010 and it still runs good it does have some issues with a little rattle on startup when its under 30°f but none when warmed up. I have not been the best with maintaince except oil changes done when the car told me till i hit 75k then 5k intervals since.

Nobody can tell you exactly how long yours will last but with only 100k on it, no timing chain rattle, and a reman trans yours should outlast mine. I dont have a pre oiler but its not a bad idea.
 






My first piece of advice is to install a pre-oiler since you have the SOHC V6. Especially since you don't know the maintenance history, and the transmission fluid was never changed, it might mean the engine was not maintained well. This is your best way to avoid the dreaded, and expensive, timing chain and guide failure with this engine. Then drop the transmission pan and refill every 30k-40k miles. There isn't a whole lot of other preventive maintenance to do for the next 50k-60k miles since you have done a fairly complete fluid swap recently. You will likely have the typical repair items like wheel bearings, U-joints, rotors, thermostat housing etc. The biggest enemy of keeping an aging SOHC V6 Explorer on the road is the timing chain/guides failing. The cost of this repair is often worth more than the vehicle and negates doing it. More times than not this repair sends a high mileage Explorer to the scrap yard. Since you are at 100k miles I think the cost of installing a pre-oiler is very justified. They aren't all that costly. I am sure someone will chime in here that has one installed on their vehicle.
Thanks for the replies so far. What all is involved with installing a pre oiler and where is the best place to buy the kit? Assuming I continue my maintenance routine and install a pre oiler, is reaching between 200-300k realisitc?
 






I too am interested in hearing from others on advice with installing a pre-oiler on the 4.0L engines.
 






Thanks for the replies so far. What all is involved with installing a pre oiler and where is the best place to buy the kit? Assuming I continue my maintenance routine and install a pre oiler, is reaching between 200-300k realisitc?

There are no guarantees but a pre-oiler greatly increases the odds you will not have to do a timing chain/guide repair up to 200k miles and likely beyond. It looks like you can buy a decent kit for $200-$300 and install it yourself. Nearly all the wear an engine sees is in the few seconds after startup due to oil starvation. The 4.0L SOHC timing gear is very suseptible to this type of wear.
 






There are no guarantees but a pre-oiler greatly increases the odds you will not have to do a timing chain/guide repair up to 200k miles and likely beyond. It looks like you can buy a decent kit for $200-$300 and install it yourself. Nearly all the wear an engine sees is in the few seconds after startup due to oil starvation. The 4.0L SOHC timing gear is very suseptible to this type of wear.
Thanks for the reply. Is there any brand for pre oiler kits that is superior to the others?
 












pre oiler for $200-$300.... how about hold the gas pedal to the floor crank the engine for 3 seconds and let off gas now it starts with fresh oil primed
 






pre oiler for $200-$300.... how about hold the gas pedal to the floor crank the engine for 3 seconds and let off gas now it starts with fresh oil primed
Will that prematurely wear out the starter?
 






Will that prematurely wear out the starter?

Would this dump gas into the crankcase via the cylinder walls? Or does the computer prevent the injectors from spraying too much fuel.
 






Would this dump gas into the crankcase via the cylinder walls? Or does the computer prevent the injectors from spraying too much fuel.
No. If the pedal is floored on startup it cuts the injectors. It will add wear to the starter, but who cares? Replace a starter early, or lunch a motor? I’d rather replace a starter.
 






Install a pre oiler holding your pedal to the floor works but do you want to crank and crank your engine every time you start your truck I tried this trick on my 99 and the engine redlines every time
But this method works 99% of the time just seems annoying to IMO tons

 






If the truck is redlining, instead of cutting the injectors your throttle position sensor isn’t reporting WOT. Check your pedal for the typical cable slack, and if none you can “tune”’the TPS.
 






No. If the pedal is floored on startup it cuts the injectors. It will add wear to the starter, but who cares? Replace a starter early, or lunch a motor? I’d rather replace a starter.

I would rather spend the money up front on a pre-oiler and avoid the inconvenience of extended cranking. Plus, my wife wouldn't care for doing this at all and likely would not do it. Another thing I would be worried about is eventually damaging the teeth on the flywheel. Cranking for three seconds at every startup greatly increases the wear on them over time. If the flywheel ever needs replaced then the pre-oiler is quite a bargain.
 






If the truck is redlining, instead of cutting the injectors your throttle position sensor isn’t reporting WOT. Check your pedal for the typical cable slack, and if none you can “tune”’the TPS.
Thanks MR. Brooks
Come to think about it when I installed my supercharger I had to change the throttle body and sensor to a 2005 ranger throttle body so that problem is solved now
But I didn't think about tuning it good info there
I'll have to try it now ....I'm curious lol...
 






I would rather spend the money up front on a pre-oiler and avoid the inconvenience of extended cranking. Plus, my wife wouldn't care for doing this at all and likely would not do it. Another thing I would be worried about is eventually damaging the teeth on the flywheel. Cranking for three seconds at every startup greatly increases the wear on them over time. If the flywheel ever needs replaced then the pre-oiler is quite a bargain.
I have ordered an accusump pre oiler kit and will update once I get it installed.
 






I would rather spend the money up front on a pre-oiler and avoid the inconvenience of extended cranking. Plus, my wife wouldn't care for doing this at all and likely would not do it. Another thing I would be worried about is eventually damaging the teeth on the flywheel. Cranking for three seconds at every startup greatly increases the wear on them over time. If the flywheel ever needs replaced then the pre-oiler is quite a bargain.
It’s obviously a better solution. Most people are cheap.

Although, that damage is fairly unlikely. I had a few year condition where my Mounty was very hard to start if it wasn’t either fully warmed, or stone cold (coolant temperature sensor) After 3 long no-starts the computer realizes there’s an issue and starts on canned values. Never had a flywheel or starter issue when I parked it with well over 200,000.
 






I finally got a pre-oiler installed. Here are some pictures that were taken part way through the installation. There is now a metal plate in front of the accumulator to protect it.
 

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@2010EddieBauer: Did you install this yourself or have a shop do it? Also, can you list out the parts you purchased?
 






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