Is it worth breathing a little more life into a 2000 explorer 4x4?

[andyhough]

New guy from Texas here, probably too cheap for my own good. I acquired a free 2000 explorer XLT 4x4 with 220k miles on it. Fixed little stuff like the loose column shifter nuts that caused it to not start and be abandoned. fuses and an ac blower. Its interior is in good shape and seems to be a nice beater for the kids first car, and then we could go offroading and tear it up for a while after they outgrow their entities sensibilities and go buy themselves a tesla or lexus.

But the engine rattle is likely the timing tensioners in its 4.0l sohc.
It is common to hear the best way to repair this is to get some friends together and drive it into a lake or for a more spectacular solution over a cliff into a quarry. But surprisingly I tested the compression and got 150lbs on 4 easy to get to calendars, so the engine seems to be in great shape... besides the clatter, it runs great and has no codes.

Questions:
Is it really a losing battle to replace the timing cassettes in this engine?
If the back chain is the problem and I have to take the engine out:
- How much of a POA would it be to swap the engine, harness, trany, pcu, etc with a 5.0l
- how new of a 4.0l engine could I put into this truck and not be jacking with it forever?
- Any other good strategies that other people have done to breathe a little more life back into this car?

 

[C420sailor]

I used a long block from a 2010 Ranger.

5.0 swap is doable, but certainly more work than a normal engine swap.

Sometimes these trucks run forever with rattling chains. Sometimes they blow up quickly. Sounds like yours hasn’t jumped time yet. Drive it gently, and it might last. I put 80,000 on mine since first rattle. I changed the engine before it blew. Who knows how much longer it would’ve lasted.

Wouldn’t do any long road trips though.

 

[EB4X]

"the best way to repair this is to get some friends together and drive it into a lake or for a more spectacular solution over a cliff into a quarry"

 

[410Fortune]

you have a good running 4.0 SOHC with classic timing issues.
The engines are TOUGH
the timing components are not as tough
220K is good, the truck has given alot!!
Usually SOHC engines go to the crusher for timing issues, the bottom end and rotating assembly on these 4.0 is tough as nails. However it is an interference engine so if the timing lets go then the piston will strike the valves

Do you KNOW it is the rear cassette that is the issue?
Can you determine where the noise is?
Many sohc issues can be addressed through the timing cover

If you remove the oil cap and look in with flashlight you can get a decent look at the front cassette where the front tensioner hits it
The main tensioner, the balance shaft and the front cassette can all be fixed with the engine in the truck going through the timing cover.
If you can determine where the noise is coming from you MIGHT be able to put a little $$$ into this engine and buy another 50-100K miles
However the rest of the truck better be worth it!
To consider a 5.0 conversion again the truck better be deserving, the v8 uses a completely different transmission, transfer case, driveshafts, exhaust, etc etc

The SOHC engine was used for many years and is found under the hood of many fords. So finding a good low mile unit is pretty possible, you could always swap it out
BUT as we said before with 220K its a crap shoot. So many times I have seen SOHC engines replaced just to have the auto trans go out 500 miles later...... this happens OFTEN