Newbie questions starting with engines.

[bogart219]

Hello. Newbie here.Great forum for info. Need some clarification on a few things if you don't mind. Just bought a 2004 Ford explorer XLT Sport AWD, 4.0 V6. with 130K miles. Just had the thermostat housing replaced along with both upper and lower ball joints.
My first question is this: I also have a 2004 Ford Ranger Edge 4x4 with a 4.0 V6. I was expecting the explorer's
4.0 V6 to look like my Ranger's 4.0 V6 but they are different. Why would ford make two different engines in the same year like that?
Another question is the brakes. Four wheel disc. Are the front rotors and pad's larger and different than the rear's? I see that the front pads cost more than the rears.
Thanks for any info!

 

[mbrando1994]

Front brakes are generally larger than the rear because the front is where most stopping power is required as the weight shifts there when braking. The fronts are also vented, the rears are not. Front calipers are larger with two pistons each and rears with only one each. As far as the engines go, I'm not sure why they would do that. I do know 2003 was sort of an experimental year for them.

 

[extra-medium]

Pretty sure they are the same engines, just possibly different intake manifolds. It would be so much more expensive to make two different 4.0 v6 engines.

 

[imp]

There were two 4.0L V-6 engines, the first being an Overhead Valve engine and the second being an Overhead Camshaft engine. Not sure which year Explorer first came with OHC, but my '99 was OHV. Possible Rangers used OHV still in 2004, whereas Exp had OHC? imp

 

[bogart219]

Hello. Both engines say SOHC.

 

[extra-medium]

2nd gen explorers had the OHV (1995-2000) and SOHC (1997-2001) engines but in 2002 they switched to the SOHC engine exclusively for the V-6 option. Rangers were "upgraded" to the SOHC V-6 in 2001.

 

[imp]

2nd gen explorers had the OHV (1995-2000) and SOHC (1997-2001) engines but in 2002 they switched to the SOHC engine exclusively for the V-6 option. Rangers were "upgraded" to the SOHC V-6 in 2001.

Thanks for that!