Michigan Newbie-wannabee Explorer owner.

[Clintonracer]

Hello all. Just joined up. I'm looking into purchasing a used Explorer to hopefully tow with occasionally, (a small pop-up), and hopefully get some decent gas mileage with. I used to work as a tech at a local Lincoln/Mercury dealer as well. I remember the recalls for the timing chain tensioners but can't recall, (no pun intended), which years Ford had the bad tensioners. I've heard they fixed the problems in the 2000+newer SOHC 4.0's but don't know for sure. I'd even settle for an older 5.0 Explorer as well if it was in good-enough shape.


Glad to be part of the forum.

Dave

fordwhupper@hotmail.com

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome clinton

 

[steventadams]

Welcome aboard

The tensioner issue was more or less resolved by 2001 on the SOHC. As for the 5.0s, they will run forever if you take care of them. If you're towing I would go with the 5.0 though because the mpg difference is 1-2 so its pretty negligible and you get a lot more low end grunt to get yourself moving with a load.

 

[Joe Dirt]

^ That's good advice right there ^

Nuttin' to add to that! Welcome Clinton, form the west side of the mitten!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! How many years were you a technician, what is your specialty, and what do you do now?

 

[Dopler174]

Welcome to Explorer Forum! Check our "For Sale" section.

 

[Glen4X4]

Welcome To The Forum! Most people that has a 97 or newer ex with the SOHC have had the tensioner recall fixed. But if you plan on towing heavy, you'd maybe be better off with a 5.0 Explorer most of them I believe came with a tow package plus the transmission is stronger than those that were put in the 4.0's.

 

[Clintonracer]

Newbie continued.

Yeah, the 5.0's do have a lot better tow rating when you look at that one specs page for towing capacities. I think that pop-up I have only weighs about 2200 pounds but by the time I load the bikes, food, camping equipment, etc. you know the weight goes up. It's cool to know that there's only 1-2 MPG difference between the 4.0's and 5.0's. What was the last year you could get a 5.0 in an Explorer?

And Joe Dirt?? You have to be kidding me. That has to be one of the best movies of all time! (Although my wife surely does not agree..). And the west side of Michigan is a blast. Silver Lake dunes, Lake Michigan, Sleeping Bear up to the north, surely an awesome part of the state. Looking forward to getting out there as soon as the weather breaks.

Dave

 

[Clintonracer]

Newbie continue #2...

Yeah, I used to be a tech but a bunch of stuff contributed to my downfall.. Ford, (and a lot of the other companies from what I hear), whacked the hell out of the warranty times we used to get back around 2000-2001 so we lost a bunch of income there. Then 9-11 hit and we still didn't do to bad but then a year or so later the repair market fell on its butt here in Michigan. People quit buying cars as much, the cars I feel got better quality-wise, and lastly people leased a lot more so the amount of repair work went down too. It wasn't only the dealers taking a hit too, the independent repair shops are way down on business too.

I do time studies for Ford now. We time how long it takes to do warranty repairs. (So basically my old dealership buddies hate my guts now! LOL!). It's a living until I try to figure out where and how to get a real job. Michigan's economy is sooo bad right now, it's unbelievable. 7%+ unemployment, housing market's been bad for like 4-5 years now, stuff like that. In the Detroit area alone the average home value went down 15-23% in ONE YEAR!

I'm certified in engine tune, repair, heating and A/C systems, brakes, front end, electrical, and I think that's it. I liked electrical best. I liked digging out those gremlins when the gravy-fed guys in the shop would give up on them after a whole half hour. Oh well, enough rambling for now.

Dave