Looking to buy an explorer...

[Explorer_boy_00]

So I'm in the market for an explorer, I was gonna get an 03 XLT with 86k on it for 3500 but I wasn't quick enough sadly and the last sold it on me. But I found an explorer at a used car dealership with 77k on it and it is 5k. I was just wondering what you guys thought if 5 k was too steep or not. Input??

 

[Drewmcg]

What year? What trim? What motor? 4x or 2x drive?

There are at least two big $$$ items to look for--really for any 3rd or 4th gen 'ex between about 75k miles on up. First, with the 4.0 v-6 (called a 4.0L SOHC engine): the timing chains. ANY ticking at cold startup from the front left (driver side) or right rear (passenger side) in the first few minutes might indicate timing chain guides are worn. Louder "slapping" noises at higher rpms same (but worse). Lots of info here on the issue. Very expensive to have a shop repair, and the right/rear one requires an engine removal. With this being an interference engine, its foolish to keep driving without repair. And don't buy the "replace the tensioner" "solution." On 'ex's 2002 and later, the guides and tensioners were upgraded (but still fail)--so that won't do the trick. Have an independent mechanic who is familiar with the problem (i.e., has done the repair) check it out before you buy.

The second issue is the trans on both 4.0 and 4.6 v-8's. The worn servo bushings are the biggest problem, followed by some less expensive servo issues, etc. But my 5r55s trans is shifting silky smooth after 183k, so not all exploders have this problem prematurely (knock on wood).

I'd definitely run a carfax on any exploder I was thinking of buying. And then I'd go to the Ford dealership near the prior owner and have them run the VIN in their computer. That 77k/$5k model you're considering could either be a nightmare if a dealer warned the prior owner it needs new timing chains (or trans); or a great deal if a new trans or new chains had been put in.

Lots of other issues with these cars, but these are the main "deal breakers." Change the oil religiously @ 5k miles with Motocraft filters if the chains are okay and you should be good to go for a long while. And they're a great truck to drive! Good luck.

 

[Drewmcg]

P.S. I may draw some fire for this, but I'd stay away from 2nd gen exploders b/c of the rollover issue. My son was in one when it was rolled 3-4 times and he had to be airlifted by helicopter to the hospital. Thank god he was wearing his seat-belt and only cracked his hip. Ford changed the rear axle and widened the track 2" in the 3rd gens. 4th gens are even better with AdvanceTrack/rollover logic and side air bags.

 

[odinjunior]

You don't say where you are from! That will have an effect on the price. We have a 2002 Limited 4.0 that we bought new. It currently has 73,000 miles on it. It's an AZ car and looks New, with no rust on it. It is worth more than $5,000 to us.. And hopefully to anyone who would buy it..

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

I'm from Long Island, live in Suffolk county and sorry I forgot to list the details of the truck! The truck is a 4.0 04 XLT. Here is a link to the dealership ad for it. It was 5500 but I actually found an updated ad on craigslist for it listed at 5k..

http://www.romaxxtruxx.com/mobile/2...land-NYC-Queens-Suffolk/used_car/zwqyiMfCJYE=

If that link doesn't work the truck is on Romaxxtruxx.com since I'm on my phone I'm not too sure the link will work. Thanks!

 

[Drewmcg]

What are the highlights from the carmax report?

 

[Drewmcg]

Per edmunds.com, the dealer retail price of this car ("clean" condition; add-ons for leather seating and third row seat) is just under $4,800. If you consider the condition "outstanding," it would be more (not sure how much; you can check).

If your mechanic clears the timing chains, transmission (he should hook up ford/obdII reader and read codes and road test), and you can get it for $4,500-4,800, I'd say its a fair price. Slap some new tires on there (depending) and you'll love the 4wd Control Track in the snow this winter!

I'd say wait for a private party transaction and save $1,500, but its getting harder to find '04s with that few miles. Understand that you need to be prepared to spend another $3k if the transmission goes in 25-75k more miles, and more than that if the timing chains go (or scrap for $500). But if you drive 15k miles/year and get another 75k miles out of her, that's five years. $4,500 - $500 scrap value = $4,000, divided by 5 years= $800/year. That's cheap depreciation cost for transportation for such a nice ride! Of course, there will be plenty of other repairs along the way, but if you hang out here we'll help you DIY for a fraction of the cost . . . .

Too bad its grey (not my cup of tea).

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

I think I'll be waiting for another truck to come along... just ran the car history on it from this link

https://www.research.com/paging-vin-report-data/new-report.php?vin=1FMDU73K84UA30028



But this is the Craigslist ad that the dealership has it listed on claming it's a clean title..


https://longisland.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2004-ford-explorer-withmiles/6248096117.html

I guess the used car dealership is lying?? Or the site I used isn't quite accurate? (Find the second option hard to believe lol)

 

[lincolnshibuya]

the 4.0 v6 engine is junk, what I mean by junk is that there's a big chance you could get timing chain/guide issues early. That's why they are very cheap, it costs a lot to fix them too (remove engine)

i'd look for a 4.6 v8 with documented oil changes (or from private party) not really comfortable buying from a small used car lot (buy here pay here lots) they usually get their stuff from dealership auctions because the dealership don't want to sell them on their lots for some reason.

 

[IPcamper]

I will second the idea of trying to find a V8. How comfortable are you with doing your own repairs? Some of these can be in great condition, if they are maintained. however, if it wasn't well maintained, it may take a lot of work to get it back in good running shape. The 3rd generation explorers have some issues, just read through this site and you will get a good idea of the common problems. With a good set of tools, the explorers are reasonable easy to work on, but if you are paying a shop to do all the repairs, then an old explorer could get expensive really quick.

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

i do all my repairs my self with my father for the most part with general maintenance such as tune ups oil changes breaks and what ever really needs to be done. my dad is an electrician and a fairly handy man (ripped apart his fair share of engines and put them back together to teach him self when he was a kid) and im the same way as him i like to learn those things and do my own repairs so if the job isn't too big i can guarantee it'll be done by our selves

 

[Joe in NY]

I honestly wouldnt recommend a 3rd gen. period.

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

I honestly wouldnt recommend a 3rd gen. period.

care to share why? even if it was the v8?

 

[Joe in NY]

Transmission is ready to blow and far underrated for the ratings of the car and engine

Wiring was not done very well, especially the grounds, so things will be not working correctly electrically

the interior is SMALL, we have had a 1st gen, 2nd gen, and now my 3rd gen, and the 3rd gen has the smallest both physically and feeling wise interior

my explorer gets the SAME (exact same) gas mileage as our 2007 Suburban.......... That tells lots

I could on and on... But in reality.. I wouldnt recommend one.

Go look up Ford explorer on car complaints . com #1 worst car 2002 Ford Explorer, #2 worst car is 2003 Explorer

My uncle who is a DIE HARD ford fan, desperately wanted me to have a Chevy Trailblazer with the 4.2L I6 motor. (which also make more power than these 4.6L 2Vs) Those motors never die, my uncles services several with over 200K miles and they only ever need oil changes, and they have the full drive train from a suburban (including brakes) compared to the underrated drive-train of these explorers. (There is no way in hell that I'd trust my explorer to tow the rated 7,000lbs like I trust our suburban to tow its rated 7,000lbs) . So the trailblzers/envoys are a much better choice.

This is just real world input that I have been gathering up over the 3 years I've owned my car. I like it, it's name is Dora, I take good care of it, not even to 90K miles yet and I've put a lot of work into her myself, no way would I have been able to afford to pay someone for all the work I've done so far.

 

[Drewmcg]

That right/rear (passenger side) timing chain cassette on the 4.0 is trouble, since you need to remove engine (or trans) to replace it. But the front secondary (driver side) and primary (center) chains/guides can be replaced/timed with the engine in place. And lots of 4.6 owners have had to replace their timing chains (with engine in the truck) at 175k+ miles, it seems from posts on this site.

I'm impressed with the power of the 4.0 SOHC--both torque and acceleration--with 2wd. And when I dug into the lower end of one (removing pistons and rods to replace bearings, rings), I was impressed with how pristine the cast iron cylinders were. Next one I worked on I did not bother to mess with the bottom end. And while their are reports of blown head gaskets, these seem relatively rare on the 4.0, another mark of a good engine.

So--don't buy a high-mileage 4.0 SOHC with any noise in the rear passenger side head-area unless you and your dad are into a very involved project.

 

[Joe in NY]

Umm.. impressed with the HP and torque of a 4.0 isnt saying anything..

I have the 4.6 V8. And it has to rev to 3K rpm to go up slight inclines and to get up the steep hills to my house over 3,000 rpm... The suburban.. 2,000 rpm to climb hills...

Here:
Towing a 1989 Correct Craft Martinique on a Tandem trailer. Boat: 3,200lb dry, trailer: 1,000lbs.
4,200lbs + 300lbs of gear and water logged in the boat (all boats get water logged) so 4,500 lbs.
And as with 90% of boat trailers the hydraulic brakes havent worked in years...
+Family of 5 and luggage for all for a weekend.

Suburban in tow/haul: rev to 3,000 rpm for getting onto highway and maintain 75 mph with tow/haul in OD at 2,100 rpm and down shift 3rd at 3,000 rpm for hills, brakes keep up no problem when stopping.

Explorer: Rev to over 4,000 rpm to just get onto highway, can barely maintain 65mph with OD OFF (wish Ford would learn what tow/haul is...) and frequent down shifts into 3rd (over 4,000 rpm) for the slightest inclines and hills. Stopping, holy crap are there even brakes on this thing???? oh yeah.. NON VENTED REAR ROTORS and tiny fronts...

Yet both cars are rated to tow 7,000lbs no problem.. Both cars have the tow packages. Suburban is configured for 14,000 lb GCVWR with 4x4, 3.73 rear end, and 5.3L engine. Explorer is rated for 12,000lbs GCVWR with 4x4, 3.73 rear end, and 4.6L engine. The explorer is not ready to properly handle that 12,000lb GCVWR.

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

i currently drive a 2000 explorer, definetly a slug but its just about falling apart lol when i put it in park it rolls backwards, doesnt go into park all the way, me and my dad put it on our lift and messed with it and temporarly fixed it while im looking for a new car, but my friend had a 02 ex and wasnt to small for me since im only 5'8. and also im going to look at a 02 4.6l tommorrow and hopfully that works out. ill put the link right here so ylou guys can check it out

https://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/d/2002-ford-explorer-xlt-7pass/6232500005.html

any tips when i go to look out for like the timing chains?

 

[Joe in NY]

make sure its stone cold when you look at it. you WANT to listen for timing chain rattle at start up. Also really pay attention to the transmission when cold and hot. Mine was meh cold and worse hot during the winter... (By cold I mean after a 5 to 10 minute warm up, dont just start and drive.. that means short engine & trans life)

We've had to do used car shopping lately for my brother and dad. Each one got a surbaru. But several cars we looked at the owner/dealer would so conveniently have it warmed up and ready to go... Well timing chain rattle is most prominent at cold start ups. And for Subaru, the boxer motors puff blue smoke from burning oil at cold start up when the engines have been driven hard / neglected / worn out from miles... The ones we ended up buying we got to cold start, listen, watch, and smell everything as is. Each one we got started up beautifully cold and still do now in our possession. (That wasn't the only factor but a big one)

 

[Joe in NY]

i currently drive a 2000 explorer, definetly a slug but its just about falling apart lol when i put it in park it rolls backwards, doesnt go into park all the way, me and my dad put it on our lift and messed with it and temporarly fixed it while im looking for a new car, but my friend had a 02 ex and wasnt to small for me since im only 5'8. and also im going to look at a 02 4.6l tommorrow and hopfully that works out. ill put the link right here so ylou guys can check it out

https://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/d/2002-ford-explorer-xlt-7pass/6232500005.html

any tips when i go to look out for like the timing chains?

So far:

Original wheels - Good
No tow package and small hitch with no aftermarket hitch installed - Good (means it hasn't been abused through towing)
Driver seat in good shape - Good (looks like a highway car. Very little in and out so seat wear stays minimal)
Rear Panel not cracked - Good (when cracked everything inside rusts and wreaks havoc.. )

 

[Explorer_boy_00]

thanks guys!!

Sorry I dont have a d cam or computer knowledge to put up a pic. There is a thread going around about pics of 31s and no lift, try a search for that. If you have stock size tires and go to 31s with a 3.73, you will probably get better milage on the highway. Mine went up a little from my old 30' tires. You wont really have to lift for 31s,
but some need a little extra room. You could do shackels and coil spacers, its cheaper and easier than body or other suspension lifts. Good luck
David

make sure its stone cold when you look at it. you WANT to listen for timing chain rattle at start up. Also really pay attention to the transmission when cold and hot. Mine was meh cold and worse hot during the winter... (By cold I mean after a 5 to 10 minute warm up, dont just start and drive.. that means short engine & trans life)

We've had to do used car shopping lately for my brother and dad. Each one got a surbaru. But several cars we looked at the owner/dealer would so conveniently have it warmed up and ready to go... Well timing chain rattle is most prominent at cold start ups. And for Subaru, the boxer motors puff blue smoke from burning oil at cold start up when the engines have been driven hard / neglected / worn out from miles... The ones we ended up buying we got to cold start, listen, watch, and smell everything as is. Each one we got started up beautifully cold and still do now in our possession. (That was the only factor but a big one)

and timing chains are the front left and back right correct? and listen foe ticking or weird noises. got it....