New Member + Researching Gen 1 vs Gen 2 Explorer 4x4

[Lonnie-S]

Yes, I'm another new member. After looking at 4x4's as diverse as the Land Rover Discovery to older (and newer) Broncos and Blazers, I've decided the smart fit for my purposes is the Explorer 4x4. It looks to be the most affordable and versatile, and I can do most needed work on it myself, which is a consideration.

I'll be operating primarily in the Southern California mountains year round, but adjacent to the deserts in Riverside and San Diego Counties too, where I would also like to go off-road with the Explorer. However, primarily, I'll be at or above 5,000 feet, going up jeep trails, U.S. Forestry Service roads, fording small streams, crossing gullies, climbing unimproved grades and making steep descents, and operating in winter snow. I don't plan any really extreme activities like those associated with "rock climbing" or the Rubicon Trail. A better analogy would be off-roading associated with various 4x4 treks.

Based on budget and 4x4 capabilities, I'm going to buy a Gen 1 or Gen 2 Explorer and I'm actively looking right now. I'm still doing my research, so I'm open-minded and flexible. It looks like the Gen 1 4x4's will work for me. The big disadvantage for 91-94 seems to be the A4LD automatic. I don't know if it would really be an issue for my intended uses and they tend to be $1,000 cheaper than Gen 2 with the same equipment.

Gen 2 Explorers have more engine choices and a heavier duty automatic, but are heavier themselves and more complex. I'm not sure a V8 would even be desirable in my case since I'm not looking for big horsepower and think I could get another 50-75 HP out of the older V6s with things I can do myself.

I'll be looking around this site heavily for tech and other information to guide me in making a buying decision.

Cheers,

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum!

 

[colintrax]

If it's just an offroad rig, get a first gen with a stick shift. Good luck getting 50-75 more hp out of the v6 for cheap

 

[briwayjones]

From what it sounds like you'll be doing I would suggest a 1st gen would be the best. Like colin said get one with a manual trans. And for your purposes there's really only one engine choice in a 2nd gen and that's the OHV engine like the 1st gens have. The SOHC 4.0L in the 2nd gens had timing chain issues and are not the most reliable. And the V8s 5.0L in the 2nd gens only came in AWD, not 4WD, so that probably wouldn't suit your usage as well.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Lonnie-S]

Thank you, gentlemen. It is nice to hear conformation of the Gen 1 hypothesis. For my straight-forward needs, it made the most sense to me.

A 5-speed would work for me too and I appreciate the information and understand where you're coming from. However, my wife wants to be able to operate the vehicle should an emergency arise, and she is not a stick-shift person. That's a compromise I'll have to make. I know there are way to beef up the automatic. We'll have to see if that becomes necessary.

Cheers,

 

[Joe Dirt]

What are the 50-75hp mods?!?

 

[Lonnie-S]

I don't plan on doing anything unless it proves necessary. Mostly, I'm thinking about HP loss at altitude as a motivator, but don't know that's a real concern at this point. If it proves to be an issue the (totally free and completely labor-less, mental) plan is:

1) Camshaft/lifters ~20
2) Aftermarket ECU/EFI chip ~10
3) 50-state headers/exhaust system ~20

So, that might get you 50 on a good day, but it would be expensive. It probably would be cheaper to buy a later model year, which already has more HP to start with and responds better to changes altitude, temperature and air density due to better engine control electronics. But that wouldn't be any fun and besides, then I'd end up with time on my hands and have to watch more reality TV shows.

Hey, maybe the guys at Ford could dream up a retro swap kit to install a new EcoBoost V6 in a Gen 1 truck?

Cheers,

 

[Lonnie-S]

Well, here she is. At least here is a URL to photos of what we actually bought. It's a Gen-2 rig, a 1997, purchased from the original owner. I finally got around to taking some decent photos and placing them in an album viewable on the Internet.

I'm waiting for the Haynes and Chilton repair manuals to arrive. Yes, I bought both hoping each would have some information not in the other. It's in very good shape, but there are some minor things that need doing.

Thanks to all who offered information while I was doing my research and looking around.

Cheers,

97 XLT, 4DR, 4x4 ==> https://picasaweb.google.com/107833...key=Gv1sRgCJyloYyRp-qNoQE#5786973134130078370

 

[briwayjones]

Congrats! It looks pretty clean. The first thing I'm going to put on your list to do is to paint the door pillars.

 

[WormsExplorer]

She looks VERY Clean WOW. And I agree with briwayjones. Paint the door Pillars.