Looking to purchase a 2nd gen with V8 and 4wd and have some questions.

[tom0826]

Hi. I've been a looking at purchasing a 2nd gen Explorer as a recreational vehicle to take camping, run some 4x4 trails, take to the snow, and haul a 3000 lb travel trailer. I need a sanity check from you guys, and would appreciate your thoughts.

I live in California, and because 2000 and newer vehicles require a simpler smog test (no dyno, only OBD port and visual) in this state, I'm concentrating my search on 2000 and 2001 model years, not to mention they are the newest of the 2nd generation.

Since I will be towing, I thought the V8 would be better suited with a bit more torque than the SOHC V6. Please let me know if there are any disadvantages with the V8 aside from a bit less MPG.

The Explorer I'm searching for must have 4 wheel drive, but I'm not sure what kind of 4 wheel drive systems came on the 2000 and 2001 V8 models. It seems that all the V8 models were equipped with full time AWD which I'm not a fan of. Did they come equipped with Hi/Low transfer case 4 wheel drive systems?

Thanks for reading and helping me search for the right rig.

 

[sehaare]

Hi. I've been a looking at purchasing a 2nd gen Explorer as a recreational vehicle to take camping, run some 4x4 trails, take to the snow, and haul a 3000 lb travel trailer. I need a sanity check from you guys, and would appreciate your thoughts.

I live in California, and because 2000 and newer vehicles require a simpler smog test (no dyno, only OBD port and visual) in this state, I'm concentrating my search on 2000 and 2001 model years, not to mention they are the newest of the 2nd generation.

Since I will be towing, I thought the V8 would be better suited with a bit more torque than the SOHC V6. Please let me know if there are any disadvantages with the V8 aside from a bit less MPG.

The Explorer I'm searching for must have 4 wheel drive, but I'm not sure what kind of 4 wheel drive systems came on the 2000 and 2001 V8 models. It seems that all the V8 models were equipped with full time AWD which I'm not a fan of. Did they come equipped with Hi/Low transfer case 4 wheel drive systems?

Thanks for reading and helping me search for the right rig.

The V6 SOHC has known timing chain issues. I consider my 1998 SOHC, that I bought new before these issue were known, a ticking time bomb and would sleep much better if I had bought the V8. I don't think that anyone here would recommend buying a SOHC

 

[Mbrooks420]

All second gen V8s are RWD or single speed full time AWD. For light trails it’s fine, and it’s excellent in the snow. They can be swapped to a manual 2 speed 4wd setup using all factory parts.

 

[koda2000]

Do yourself a favor and stay away from the SOHC V6's. The 5.0L V8's are the only way to go and the 2000 & 2001 are the best of the best. We had an AWD, though we bought it thinking it was RWD (I don't need AWD where I live, or for off-roading) but never had a real problems with it in the 5 years we owned it. I found the AWD got slightly worse fuel mileage than our RWD 5.0's due to the extra weight. Other than that my biggest issue was needing to keep the tire wear even (often tire rotations and having to buy tires in sets of 4).

With regular maintenance you should have no problems seeing 300K + out of the 5.0L's and the transmissions are quite strong. Only issues I had with the AWD were seals and needing to rebuild the front driveshaft CV joint, which wasn't that hard to do. As with all Gen II's, fuel pumps, ball joints and suspension parts should be replaced when they get over 150K, but otherwise ours have been fairly bullet proof. As with any older vehicle you need to be a DIY'er to keep the repair costs down, but parts are readily available and inexpensive.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I've had 2 V8s, a 2WD and a AWD, and the AWD system never really disappointed me, I couldn't tell much difference between that and 4WD in a SOHC truck. I have a V8 that's nearing 271K miles and the motor roars dead ahead, nothing seems to phase it. I love it, I also have a SOHC truck (Don't walk away from a SOHC, RUN), truck is perfect, that's presently getting V8 swapped as I have time, if that's any indication. They're really good vehicles given good attention, again, just avoid a SOHC

 

[tom0826]

Thanks for all the replies and clarifying what's out there and what I need to search for. The V8 2nd gens with AWD seem to be a bargain these days. I think I can pick one up for under 3K with less than 160K miles if I'm patient. I'm a pretty good shade tree mechanic so I'm not afraid to tackle most jobs. I'll let you guys know as soon as I find one.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Make sure to check the cab mounts. Not a super common issue, but I’ve seen them rotten on fairly clean vehicles. Expect to replace a passenger manifold if it’s a 97-98. If the motor ticks very noticeably on a cold start and goes away in a few minutes, it’s a cracked manifold.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

^that, I have a parts 99 Mountaineer that the body is rotted off the frame in three places, truck only has 124K miles, 5.0 V8 too, shame. Cracked manifolds are also common as said, I have a 2000 with a cracked cast iron one, I have the replacement, only issues are I've been to busy for six months to take the new one off the shelf and I've yet to figure out removing the EGR tube.