Looking at a 2000 Explorer | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Looking at a 2000 Explorer

Those are probably the same people ( no offense) that think you'll get stuck with ifs or break something for sure,solid axles or nothing(because a dana 30 is so much better),god made jeep,ford sucks,Chevy's never break,leave it at getting grocieries otherwise get a jeep yada yada yada ....iv heard it all and these are people that speak from opinion and not experience..I'll admit the explorer wasn't the best vehicle ever designed for offroad in its stock form but its more than capable especially with a few simple mods and tires.most capability comes from driver experience and skill anyway, they shut up once I got them out on the trail .iv have seen first hand on the capabilities had and abuse 1st and 2nd gen exploers can take in various terrain and most of them weren't lifted.unless your going rock crawling you'll be happy with awd and some good all terrains or mud terrains, preferable 31" because there just too easy to fit not to....BTW I know there are some v8 awd mudding video's you could check out on YouTube.
 



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I have had my 99 5.0 AWD Mountaineer on some pretty wet boggy dirt roads around some cattle ranches I was working on and it amazed me. I am used to 4x4 Jeeps with lockers and mud tires but I think the Mountaineer handled it as well as the jeep would have. I have crappy Wrangler street tires and no mods at all.
 






If that's the case, this may be the route I take. Thanks for the reply. Anybody else?
 












One thing I will say is momentum is your friend when you get in the mud. These vehicles are light so they can float more than a truck or large 4x4 as long as you keep making forward progress.
 






He has a point with newer vehicles you trade simplicity and reliability for convenience. My dad is a Chevy guy now not so much since the rear end blew at 100kk on his 08 Tahoe that he got after his 01 blew a head gasket around the same mileage and my 22 y/o ford is still going strong and iv actuallt beat on it lol he always asks me how my "Ford" is running and my father in law wouldn't be caught dead in anything newer than a 1980 says everything new is a throwaway car.but yet he works on his old cars more than he drives them. Everybody has there preference I think you'll be if happy with the 5.0
 






OK I'll give you my story ....I went to the beach with a guy that was driving a stock awd mountianeer didn't let any air out and was flying up down the beach no problem even drove off camber all over the sides of the dunes lol in hind sight that was highly illegal :rolleyes:
 















Check this out.
 






I know this isn't related to the topic much, but I've put my 2WD Explorer through more than any sensible person would and its held its own. It definitely has its shortcomings, being 2WD, but as bigred mentioned, if a 2WD has potential, an AWD in fully functioning order should be totally fine. I wouldn't hesitate a bit on that.
 






Well, thanks for all the replies. I'm actually a 5.0 guy, as I have one in my F150, but it was the AWD part that had me questioning it. It would more than likely get 31X10.50 all terrian tires, or mud tires. I don't want to do anything it wouldn't be able to handle.
 






The only thing stopping you in that truck is clearance.
 






This is true. I probably need to get over that, I'm not going to rock crawl or something crazy.
 






You'll gain some milage mayb but i doubt it with awd and you wont have 4 low but the 5.0 kinda makes up for that lol you'll be happy with it I promise just make sure everything works.plus my 4wd 4405 tcase isn't exactly awesome (its on its second unit) iv been considering a manual 1354 swap in the future
 






the 4.0 sohc does have the issue of cam timing chains, cassettes, however, if you can listen to the front and back and sounds ok, why toss those vehicles with that engine to the side?

I have had mine 2000 4.0 sohc for 9 years as a second owner.... i changed out both cam chain tensioners at around 144k. the back left one is easy, the front right is slightly involved.

you should try to understand the maintenance history of the 4.0 sohc vehicles that you are looking at. if the oil change history is really good, than you're in a better situation.

the vehicle configuration with 4.0 sohc has nice features... option of rear end 4.10 ratio for more towing capacity, 5940 lbs with weight distributing hitch and frame mounted hitch.

these motors for 2000 can and will top 200k +
 






The sohc cam is garbage as noted above. Most people think V6 explorers are AWD due to the '4 auto' setting. My AWD V8 always felt just as capable off road as my V6 explorer. I ran several sets of 31 inch mud tires on my last Mounty (probably 140k of oversized mud tires). It went through mud just fine, and was great in the snow. I used it for years and years as a plow truck, and it was never a disappointment.

A V8 will off road just fine. Mileage sucks though. If you drive a lot, I'd consider another vehicle.
 






I had a 2000 AWD and I drove the hell out of it in Minnesota, mud,snow didn't matter . it was a beast.
 






I have a 2001 Jeep Wrangler - lifted and custom, but I also have 2 Explorers (V6/V8).

My Daily V6 Sport AWD/4Hi/4Lo was free because of an 'engine fire'. It had a rebuilt engine in it. Took a $5 repair of a new battery cable that shorted to frame. I have $200 in cosmetic upgrades and it looks and drives good as new. Just picked up a V8 AWD for a few hundred bucks...broken doors/bad window regulators and other misc issues...I'm going to do a Manual TC swap and SAS/SOA conversion ... going to be fun!

Jeep parts are expensive new and used. Its tough to upgrade on a budget.

If you like to wrench - Explorers can be found everywhere in your local pick-n-pull - bolt on upgrades are easily had and your going to spend pennies on the dollar. What I like the most is there are lots of inter-vehicle swaps you can do to customize it to your needs.

BTW: ... Jeep is up for sale :popcorn:
 






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