Looking at a 98 Sport, need assessment

[CzyKats44]

Hey All,

Been a while since I've been an Explorer owner but have been looking at a 98 Sport and was looking for some opinions on underbody images.

I'm not familiar with the Sports and its been over a decade since I owned a 2nd Gen.
Also if there are any additional areas I should look at, please advise.

Please take a look over and let me know what pops out at you. Thanks!!



My observations, surface rust is is ok, there are no holes I can see. I plan on tapping around to see if anything is soft all the way through. generally it looks like there's plenty of solid metal under the surface. Bolt heads and nuts look good, threads appear to be viable.

Pic 1, What is that vertical plate with the bolt at the bottom (just to the right of the parking brake cable sheath clip)?

Pic 2, looks like a sawsall or hacksaw cut in the tube, What is the line under it? parking brake cable?

Pic 3, I think a scraper, wire brush or wheel would clean that up and then get a coat of inhibitor on it.

As a disclaimer, I live in the Northeast and am used to dealing with rust. Some of you in the SE and SW might cringe.

 

[Rick]

It looks like rust is starting at the body mounts on the floor sheetmetal. I would take a good look at that because that could be a real problem. I'm not sure what the bracket is for.

 

[Jason94sport]

Remove the rear hatch carpet if you can. See if the floor is rusted, or water damaged. The side windows on sports leak when the butyl tape that seals the windows rots out. All the sports I had, needed both windows resealed.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

sohc or ohhv just curious

 

[RangerX]

Could pic 1 (and possibly pic 2) be leftovers from a plow mount?

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’d pass on it, unless you are looking for a vehicle for the next year or two. The cab mounts are starting to rust, and are a real pain to fix properly, assuming there’s enough surrounding metal to even fix it.

My plow mounted on the frame right where the mounts for the sway bar were, but that might have been backup support for a larger plow. Since it’s a v6 if you suspect it was a plow vehicle, I’d pass.

 

[joney]

Hey All,

Been a while since I've been an Explorer owner but have been looking at a 98 Sport and was looking for some opinions on underbody images.

I'm not familiar with the Sports and its been over a decade since I owned a 2nd Gen.
Also if there are any additional areas I should look at, please advise.

Please take a look over and let me know what pops out at you. Thanks!!

View attachment 432248 View attachment 432249 View attachment 432250

My observations, surface rust is is ok, there are no holes I can see. I plan on tapping around to see if anything is soft all the way through. generally it looks like there's plenty of solid metal under the surface. Bolt heads and nuts look good, threads appear to be viable.

Pic 1, What is that vertical plate with the bolt at the bottom (just to the right of the parking brake cable sheath clip)?

Pic 2, looks like a sawsall or hacksaw cut in the tube, What is the line under it? parking brake cable?

Pic 3, I think a scraper, wire brush or wheel would clean that up and then get a coat of inhibitor on it.

As a disclaimer, I live in the Northeast and am used to dealing with rust. Some of you in the SE and SW might cringe.

Being from IL and mostly WI, thinking that rust is just at the serious point-gotta get rid of it and stop it as far as possible. Mine's not yet to that point, have been using that lanolin stuff to soak it in the fall...the name escapes me put lots of us use it..Have used 'rust converter' other places and am NOT satisfied with the results. Best wishes, as Neil Young said, "Rust never sleeps"!

 

[swshawaii]

Mine's not yet to that point, have been using that lanolin stuff to soak it in the fall...the name escapes me put lots of us use it.

FLUID FILM | Powerful Corrosion Protection & Lubrication

FLUID FILM® is Eureka’s own unique lanolin-based brand of corrosion preventive and lubricant, used worldwide in a multitude of industries and applications.

www.fluid-film.com

 

[joney]

FLUID FILM | Powerful Corrosion Protection & Lubrication

FLUID FILM® is Eureka’s own unique lanolin-based brand of corrosion preventive and lubricant, used worldwide in a multitude of industries and applications.

www.fluid-film.com

Right, that stuff!