Looking at a 2006. Any opinions on this one?

[D Hook]

Yes, hoping the 4.6 V-8 is a less-worrisome motor. And the 6-speed transmission should be better than the 5R55 (or whatever the number) that was in the earlier model year Explorer. I have the 4.6 in my Lincoln but it's 32 valve. It's been pretty good, never giving any trouble. I know I'm taking a bit of a chance buying one with as many miles as this one has. But you never know.....I bought my '02 4.0 with 144,000 miles on it and never had a lick of trouble with it. It was on its' third transmission when I bought it. Not sure how long the '02 would've lasted but didn't want to push my luck.

 

[hsquare]

Hmmm . . . and just after he bought it too!

I had a similar experience with a VW Golf. Bought it new in 2002 after everyone said "Mate, she'll be right - you'll see". It was a complete piece of fecal matter from day one. Had it sold before it turned 4 years old after changing just about everything including the gearbox and clutch (at most at my cost).
I'd rather have a dodgy Ford any day. Parts are easy to get hold of, service costs are half that of a European car (here anyway) and they generally just go and go. In fact one of my cars (the Territory) has the same engine as about 85% of all taxis in Australia - they do about 700k - 1 million kms on average.
You guys have such a huge range of these in the US, and some fairly decent rival manufacturers, that I think you may be a little spoilt for choice.

Good luck with it D Hook, it looks one hell of a car.

 

[Butch-Explorer]

I have had my 06 Ltd for just over a year and put 10,000 miles on it. Seems to be a pretty good vehicle. 2 coils went bad and the radiator has a small leak. Wheel hub will be my next fix.

 

[pzy3339]

I got my 2006 4.6 Limited 2 years ago with 124k miles on it. At the time I was not aware of the exhaust manifold issue, and lucked into it....ended up fixing it myself.

The radiator had a pinhole leak which I fixed with some liquid aluminum.

The thermostat was bad, replaced that.

Sometimes from 1st to 2nd gear is rough but I have learned how to drive it to prevent that most of the time.

Now closing in on 150k it still drives very nice and the only thing it may need this year is a new battery.

It is for sure an upgrade from my 1999 xlt I sold to a friend at 235k miles.

Good luck!

 

[Explorer_PL]

D Hook


Very nice one. I have an 06 EB, but always liked the Limited with the mono color scheme.
And as I always say in my posts, the v8 and the 6 speed combo is a very good combo. I have 193k miles and besides the exhaust manifolds, sparkplugs, and radiator at 150k it's been pretty good.
And mine works pretty hard pulling my trailers or plowing snow in the winter.
I change oil every 3-4 k miles, and do a complete fluid replacement in both differentials, transfer case, and tranny every 60k miles. The tranny shifts same way as I bought it 7 years ago. And the replacement parts are readily available and not that expensive.
Good luck with it.

 

[D Hook]

PL....thanks for the info. Didn't know you could plow snow with these. This will just be my daily driver, getting me back and forth to work mostly, an occasional trip out of town.

We have an 18 ft. boat that is usually pulled by my wife's Expedition but I'd like to use the Explorer to tow also.

I'm not certain if the diff, transfer case and transmission have ever been changed so I'm debating if I should do those. Might try to get the name of the previous owner and see if I can get a better history. I did request an Oasis report and it showed almost nothing. I always thought any work done at a dealer would show up on that.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Boomyal]

....We have an 18 ft. boat that is usually pulled by my wife's Expedition but I'd like to use the Explorer to tow also......

My 2006 V8 pulls my 20 ft, 3400 lb boat/trailer like a dream.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I pull either my personal enclosed trailer or my son's boys scout troop 6x12 trailer all the time and it does great.
I installed a small homeowner Fisher plow just to plow my driveway (and neighbors sometimes) and it also does the job within its limits - it's not commercial heavy duty truck/plow combo so I do not wait for 2 feet of snow, but try to plow every 6-8 inches if it's steady snow.

See my youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Jy9xn-VD4

 

[hmumm]

2006 Explorer

I bought a new 2006 Eddie Bauer Explorer here in Denver. Within 35000 miles I was replacing injectors I had "owned" 3 other Explorers as Company cars for HP, and so I went through all their transmission woes with the God Awful Puegeot transmission. The transmission was OK on the 2006 but still di its version of clunking when the car was slowing down I must have gotten 10 revs of the "BIOS" for the transmission to keep it shifting smoothly.

After the 4th injector we gave the dealership back their 2006 and we bought an identical 2008 Eddie Bauer. very few problems with this car. the ignition got loose and caused the front seat to move so don't put heavy stuff on the keychain,,,or like me, you will be replacing your ignition key cylinder. some quirky map light issues but nothing major....75K miles now...

On the 2008, and maybe earlier and later years, but Ford put a two part spark plug in the 4.6L V8. the manual says to wait until 105K to replace the plugs,,,if you wait that long the plug will seize in the block and then break when you try to take it out..if you go to a shop and ask how much to change the spark plubs in this car, they will quote you over $1000 True story 4 different shops wanted that much because of the liability when the two part spark plug snaps. go Google that little nightmare. There is a class action suit for that mess. I changed my sparks at 60K, put PB Blaster in the area of the plug let it sit and they came out nice and easy. replaced them with NGK high capacity sparks and gained almost a full mile per gallon...

So check what spark plugs are in the 2006

So, I didn't care for the 2006, but still really like my 2008..Eddie Bauer.

 

[D Hook]

I asked the dealer to replace the spark plugs before I pick it up. Hopefully I won't have to worry about them until.....never.

 

[Explorer_PL]

If you let them sit there for a while (over 50k), you may end up with same problem. I do about 23k miles a year, so every summer, I just loosen them up to break the carbon and clean them and re-install them. This way I have a piece of mind.

 

[D Hook]

Good to know!

 

[Explorer_PL]

D Hook -

Now questions to you
Now, since you had the 06 Explorer for few days, how does it compare to the Expedition ? I see that you have EL so room wise there is no comparison really. I am considering upgrading to an Expedition (short version) since I see with the kids getting bigger, hauling them and their friends is getting tight. What I like about Explorer is that it just fits everywhere and it's easy to drive. I'll need to test an Expedition one day. Does it have a good turning radius ?

PS: Those 98 LSC's were great in their days, big and comfy. I had a Thunderbird which was very similar, and had my eyes on the 97-98 LSC's for a while, but then the kids showed up

 

[mes882]

I have a 07 mountaineer awd with the 4.6 and 6 speed. There was an update on the computer for the transmission and how it shifts. After I bought mine 3 years ago I thought the 1 to 2nd shift was weird some times. had the computer flashed with the update and it is was better.

 

[D Hook]

Priced the radiator today and boy, they sure don't give those away. I guess they have to disconnect the A/C to remove the condensor to get the radiator out, then recharge the A/C so the labor and ancillary costs bring it up a bit over $800. But gotta' do it so.....

I'm okay with the whole purchase. Can't say enough good things about Jennifer, Scott, Jay and Fred at Lexus of Omaha. Very good experience buying there.

 

[D Hook]

D Hook -

Now questions to you
Now, since you had the 06 Explorer for few days, how does it compare to the Expedition ? I see that you have EL so room wise there is no comparison really. I am considering upgrading to an Expedition (short version) since I see with the kids getting bigger, hauling them and their friends is getting tight. What I like about Explorer is that it just fits everywhere and it's easy to drive. I'll need to test an Expedition one day. Does it have a good turning radius ?

PS: Those 98 LSC's were great in their days, big and comfy. I had a Thunderbird which was very similar, and had my eyes on the 97-98 LSC's for a while, but then the kids showed up

Definetly roomier inside but so much bigger to drive than the Expedition. Turning radius isn't much different to me but I'm thinking the Explorer might be a little tighter just because of it's size. Expedition is a little tougher to park for sure. My wife is still getting the hang of that, though I don't think I'd ever tell her that. Her Limited has the retracting running boards and the motorized folding mirrors which, for her, is a good thing. She peeled off a couple mirrors on her Tahoe years back when backing out of the garage.

With the kids, I guess I'd still stick w/the Explorer. Assuming they're not all over 6' and 200lbs, the extra interior space may not be worth the extra $$$.

 

[steve6534]

Priced the radiator today and boy, they sure don't give those away. I guess they have to disconnect the A/C to remove the condensor to get the radiator out, then recharge the A/C so the labor and ancillary costs bring it up a bit over $800. But gotta' do it so.....

I'm okay with the whole purchase. Can't say enough good things about Jennifer, Scott, Jay and Fred at Lexus of Omaha. Very good experience buying there.

This is definitely not true. I've replaced mine and the ford procedure doesn't involve disconnecting and removing the condenser - it simply leans out of the way. See this post for more info - 2006 Radiator

 

[Explorer_PL]

$ 800 is a typical price for radiator at an independent shop - unfortunately but Ford charges $ 1200.
You can get them for $ 190 if you have about 4 hours and do not mind getting dirty and frustrated
Mine went at 150k, took me half a day to replace it, but next time will be faster. All I had to disconnect was tranny cooler lines.

 

[D Hook]

Going to make a couple more phone calls. I watched that video and it doesn't look like the A/C lines need to be disconnected, as Steve6534 said. I would rather not have the A/C broken into, if not needed so I'm going to see if the first shop I went to can do it without doing that. The first shop offers a lifetime warranty. The second shop offers a limited warranty, providing I have the system flushed every two years.

When I was watching the vid, everything looked pretty simple except for getting the fan blade off and the special tool for the transmission line disconnect. I used to do all my own repairs so I'm not worried about getting my hands dirty but nowadays, a stripped bolt or misplaced component can really cost some $$$.

 

[Tech By Trade]

I can confirm the lines don't need to be removed. I also didn't pull the fan and never had an issue. its a pretty simple job. Hardest part is burping the system. Careful of the jobber rads though, the transmission cooler lines are garbage on some. Hold on to your old rad in case you run into problems. I ended up swapping out the keepers and the O rings off my old oem rad to end the cooler leaks.