Need advice!!....Fix it or get rid of it???

[pineo61186]

My 2001 sport has 185,x.. miles on it. It needs some work and i've been debating on whether to fix it or get rid of it. i'm pretty sure the previous owner beat the crap out of it...Anyone's opinion would be much appreciated.........

needs to be fixed:

check engine light is on
air bag light is on
heater / ac (blend door)
exhaust pipe hangers just broke
2 ball joints
2 tie rods
tranny feels sluggish in 1st and 2nd gear
rattling coming from engine (no idea what it is)
front drive shaft is missing
new tires

 

[renzAy34134]

it all depends, how attached are you to it?

If it was my X i would throw all my money at it... But thats just me.

Do you have the money to fix it? It all depends where you get parts if your a DIY kinda person or not. Honestly if you can do the work yourself keep it.

What other vehicles have you been looking at since you are asking this question Im betting you already have an idea of what else you want.

 

[pineo61186]

Not so much the I'm attached to it, just don't really wanna spend the money on a new car, the high mileage makes me nervous though. I do have the money and am able to fix it without going to a mechanic

 

[steadyhand]

What engine does it have? If it were a SOHC I'd get rid of it in a heartbeat. I'll never own another one. The 99 I have now is a 5.0 and it has almost 230k miles and still going strong. Within a year I am going to rebuild the engine and tranny and tried to get another 200k out of it if the body will hold up.

 

[Steeda90GT]

My 2001 sport has 185,x.. miles on it. It needs some work and i've been debating on whether to fix it or get rid of it. i'm pretty sure the previous owner beat the crap out of it...Anyone's opinion would be much appreciated.........

needs to be fixed:

check engine light is on
air bag light is on
heater / ac (blend door)
exhaust pipe hangers just broke
2 ball joints
2 tie rods
tranny feels sluggish in 1st and 2nd gear
rattling coming from engine (no idea what it is)
front drive shaft is missing
new tires

My take on this:

check engine light is on (Get code read for free at Autozone. If it's a cheap, easy sensor then fix it)

air bag light is on (Research on here. My airbag light fix was very easy for my Ford Mustang. There was a wire that you jump to reset it)

heater / ac (blend door) (Are you a DIY guy? If so, then jump on in...or just perform the blend door fix that is in the sticky)

exhaust pipe hangers just broke (Easy fix. Exhaust shop can weld for a couple of bucks, or you could buy your own hangers at Autozone)

2ball joints (Depending on how bad they are, I would fix them. If they are just squeeky, then you can get a needle attachment for your grease gun and shoot them with some grease by poking the boot)

2 tie rods (If you decide to change the balljoints, do these. Very easy once you're in there)

tranny feels sluggish in 1st and 2nd gear (Not sure. Check fluid level. Make sure it's at the right level. Might want to consider a fluid change...just dont flush)

rattling coming from engine (no idea what it is) (This is probably the timing chain/tensioners/cassettes. Big issue. Try some STP oil treatment to quiet it down. It's not a fix though, you might want to tackle the 00M12 repair)

front drive shaft is missing (Huh?)

new tires (Only get if you decide to change the balljoints, and tie rod ends)


It sounds like you could squeeze some more life out of it. I would still be saving up for a new vehicle in the meantime though..

 

[chapsdeva]

It sounds like you have some pretty big issues...specifically the engine rattle and tranny. The other stuff is not major and if you are a DIY kind of guy most could be fixed in a weekend for not that much money. However, the SOHC death rattle is a big problem. Your engine can grenade at any minute or go many thousands of miles with it. Mine has had the rattle for almost 140K of the 180k on the truck now...started around 40K (I thought it was just spark knock at first...wrong). It definitely is worse in colder weather. Also, that transmission sluggishness could be another big problem or an easy fix. If it were me, I think I would start saving up for something else...not necessarily new, but something with less problems. Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[GunnerSchenck]

wait, did you say your front driveshaft is missing?

 

[pineo61186]

yeah, there was a problem with the front drive shaft and it had to be taken out, so right now it can only drive in 2wd

 

[alohamonte]

I would get rid it and buy another explorer with half the miles for about the same as the cost of getting those repairs done

 

[rabbit91]

Sell it, Buy a 5L

 

[shadowless127]

Sell it, Buy a 5L

This.

I keep toying with the idea of getting away from 5.0 Explorers, but everytime I research getting something else I run into reliability questions and after watching/dealing with my gf's Jeep ZJ issues I just see no other options but to upgrade the Explorer.

 

[rabbit91]

I'm sure you already know shadow but for pineo
Strong reliable engine
Proven transmission
Awd is simple and tough
I got better mileage on the highway with 150,000 miles on the truck than my dad did with his brand new 2001 sohc