MTiz
New Member
- Joined
- April 4, 2020
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Maryland
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Explorer XLT (OHV)
Hey everyone, this introduction is six months late but here it is 
A little bit of background on me is that I am a senior at UMBC here in Maryland. Back in October I landed an internship across town and needed a car that could get me from campus to work reliably. I tried to get a 5-speed Corolla but the guy selling the Explorer responded first and I ended up with it. I test drove it and it had an unbelievable amount of body roll, and 180k miles, but I bought it for $1k.
After getting the truck, it failed inspection (naturally). It needed new brakes and rotors, windshield wipers, had an exhaust leak, multiple stripped wheel studs, and both the rear doors would only open occasionally. The sway bar links were also destroyed which is why the body roll was so atrocious. This was a lot of work to me but my dad is an avid DIY mechanic and helped me get everything situated for a lot less money than what the mechanics were charging me. A few hundred bucks in tools and parts later and I had a very nice truck to beat on. I've attached a bunch of pics below. She still has a few issues to sort out eventually-- the drivers side door unlock button doesn't work, the keys don't unlock the front doors (we just went keyless to fix this), and I'm pretty sure I either have a bad wheel bearing or my differential is grinding because it makes a nasty grind noise on turns (even worse when the truck is cold). I love her though!
The day I bought the truck, tucked away in my campus' parking garage
Parked next to my dad's 2018 Explorer Limited that he bought brand new. I definitely didn't mean to buy the same truck as him but "like father like son" I guess lol
Enjoying those winter sunset's
And here is how she sits as of a week ago. I managed to get one last drive through our national park before Maryland got hit with the stay-at-home order. I really love this Truck and I hate how she's just sitting now.
A little bit of background on me is that I am a senior at UMBC here in Maryland. Back in October I landed an internship across town and needed a car that could get me from campus to work reliably. I tried to get a 5-speed Corolla but the guy selling the Explorer responded first and I ended up with it. I test drove it and it had an unbelievable amount of body roll, and 180k miles, but I bought it for $1k.
After getting the truck, it failed inspection (naturally). It needed new brakes and rotors, windshield wipers, had an exhaust leak, multiple stripped wheel studs, and both the rear doors would only open occasionally. The sway bar links were also destroyed which is why the body roll was so atrocious. This was a lot of work to me but my dad is an avid DIY mechanic and helped me get everything situated for a lot less money than what the mechanics were charging me. A few hundred bucks in tools and parts later and I had a very nice truck to beat on. I've attached a bunch of pics below. She still has a few issues to sort out eventually-- the drivers side door unlock button doesn't work, the keys don't unlock the front doors (we just went keyless to fix this), and I'm pretty sure I either have a bad wheel bearing or my differential is grinding because it makes a nasty grind noise on turns (even worse when the truck is cold). I love her though!
The day I bought the truck, tucked away in my campus' parking garage
Parked next to my dad's 2018 Explorer Limited that he bought brand new. I definitely didn't mean to buy the same truck as him but "like father like son" I guess lol
Enjoying those winter sunset's
And here is how she sits as of a week ago. I managed to get one last drive through our national park before Maryland got hit with the stay-at-home order. I really love this Truck and I hate how she's just sitting now.
