Please take a minute and help a newbie!

[m.g.spitler]

Hey all,

As a vehicle enthusiast who has been on many many of these-type sites, I am going to sincerely thank everyone who responds to this post in advance. I did search, and am just looking for some specific information I haven't been able to find via the search.

I'm thinking of buying an '02 Explorer equipped with the V8. It has 133,000 miles on it. I test drove it today and it drove very smoothly with no real noises/problems noticed other than a wheel bearing needing replaced (causing a "humming noise that increased with speed"). Tranny shifted flawlessly as far as I could tell, engine was smooth with no noises/smells. Does not appear to be leaking anything that I can see from under the vehicle.

One major question, however. The dealer is taking the vehicle to the body shop to get it fixed, but is it normal to have the rear door jam RUSTED OUT COMPLETELY in a small area, at approximately "11 o'clock" or so position to the rear wheel (driver side---on the passenger side, it would be the "2 o clock" position when looking at the passenger side rear wheel with the rear doors open of course)???? The dealer has told me that this area is a common problem for these model explorers, but I couldn't find too much information on it online. It's interesting because when crawling underneath the vehicle, the underbody is NOT that rusty at all....but the rear door jams both are rusted THROUGH in a small section....????

Also, I've read that 02's are just bad news in general. Has any permanent solution been found to the rear shock/mount problem on the 02's?? How can I tell if that specific problem has been addressed on this specific vehicle?

Or should I just avoid this year explorer all together? I'm assuming my cost is going to be around $3,500, and that is after the body repair and wheel bearing fix. (The vehicle was just inspected for another year, so everything is good in that area of concern...)

Thoughts? Thanks again for your replies. I greatly appreciate any and all info!

Matt

 

[Dwelves02XLT]

From what I've read as well on here and other sites is the 02' is/was plagued with problems seeing it's the first year production model of that generation; "crash dummy" if think you about it. I didn't find out about this until I came across this forum, years after purchasing the vehicle.

I have an 02' that I purchased from a Ford dealership back in 07' with only 75k at the time of sale and now has logged 181,000miles on it with original engine and transmission. It's really hit or miss with vehicles in general. I have no major issues with mine (knock on wood) other than preparing to replace the wheel bearings up front once again and doing the rear for the first time. Aside from that, it being a 11 year old vehicle (mine was built in 2001)things arent going to be perfect, but if you are confident that you can fix and deal with the issues that might arise, then go for it.

If not, recommend going for a newer model year to ease your mind.

 

[esclamada]

Depends on your luck, the '02 has the highest failure rate (carcomplaints.com and this forum)
I own my truck when I bought it at 15k, it has 125k now and majority of the issues here posted happened to my truck. If the previous owner has dealt with those issues and got it fixed properly then you're probably OK at that price.




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MY MOUNTY
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[Donystoy]

I have owned a 2002 8 cylinder Eddy Bauer for about eight years and have only 75,000 miles on it as it is primarely used for trailer towing and the ocasional use when we need a second vehicle. It frequently is towing close to its maximum rating and thus far have had no issues with it. As far as corrosion goes I am always inspecting it and keep it oiled so it is rust free. I have difficulty with folks who allow corrosion to take over a vehicle. If the cost of proper oil spray is considered too expensive at least buy a can of the spray and do critical areas such as wheel wells. We have a 2002 Nissan Maxima with almost 20,000 miles on it and has no rust. I have always washed out the wheel wells when washing the car and keep it oiled. I have seen others on the road with severe rust in this area.

 

[tower]

My 02 has only had normal wear problems other then the rear end, my 03 has had more but I got the 02 new and the 03 had 111k miles on it.

The 03 had rust in the rear door jam but not as bad as yours sounds. I don't know what rear shock/mount problem you are referring to but they do have a problem with the rear springs breaking the fix is to replace them.

 

[m.g.spitler]

Thanks for the responses. After reading them and doing a bit more research on carcomplaints.com (thanks for the suggestion), I decided to shy away from the Explorer I was looking to buy.

I instead bought a 01 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L 'quad' powertrain. The tranny was just rebuilt at 185K (current mileage) and the thing runs smooth and strong. Bought for less than what I was going to spend on the explorer, so I feel pretty good about the purchase.

Thanks again for the words!