POS Ford! Headlight fix!

[InkWax]

adding my $0.02

Well, I actually dont own my X yet.....but the 'rents let me drive it...hee hee so they still pay for repairs....

My father is a salesman and he puts on average 60-70k on any vehicle in a given year. Probably in total drives about 90-100k miles a year in all cars combined...

The last three vehicles he has owned have all been X's. Every single one of them last at least 200k miles. Based on the fact that he drives so much and usually carries around 1-3k lbs of cargo IN the X he hasnt had any "MAJOR" problems with any of his X's. Maybe he just finds the good ones?? The X I currently drive and soon will own is a 98 XLT V8 he puchased in like Nov. 98. Currently the X has 263k miles on it. Changing the oil every 3k miles, not to mention babying it to death (it is his LIFE so you think he is gonna beat it up????) nothing BIG has ever happened. Dont get me wrong. PLENTY of repairs have been done and some recalls. Each X needed the Tranny rebuilt but....isnt that kinda expected since he drives sooooo much with all the weight and strain on the tranny.....(he doesnt have a light foot to say the least...at slow acceleration is topping 3500rpm...and thats when fully loaded....he just likes to punch that 8-banger)

No motor ever dropped on him. Nothing "big" ever.

The current X lasted 220k on the tranny before needing a rebuild and our mechanic darn near paid 5k for this X last month when my father wanted to sell it. In the time that my father has owned this X I have been through 2 cars. My BABY....(god I miss her) the 88 Subaru RX Full-time 4WD let me drive her from 160k - 200k before blowing up the motor after 3 years.... (I'll own another one day to restore....yeah I know....psuedo-ricer....but really...I wanna make it an off road toy...the car could do anything and it was TURBO!!!)... My next one...she still purrs like a kitten...(but I wanted the X)... is an 88 Nissan Stanza.. bought her at 49k...in 2000.... love them old people .... and she now has 83k on her. Absolutely no problems at all with her...unless you consider a wire hitting the fan making noise a problem...although she does need front brakes and new front axels...(only cause the boots are ripped but not making any noise or causing problems)...

Oh yeah....did I forget to mention that only NOW are the STOCK SHOCKS being replaced on the X.....after 263k miles????...yeah he's nuts....and the leafs are flat...but I'm poor...

I can understand people thinking their cars/trucks/SUVs are POS' we have all been there

BUT....

Maybe you could make a seperate thread....and mark it...venting...???...Cause I know in the short time I have been here....these people on the boards LOVE LOVE LOVE their X's. Without this board.... I'd be a lost X owner without the help of amazing mechanics\home mechanics.

Just how I feel and my experiences....or my fathers if you will....

Kevin AKA InkWax.....

PS - how else would I be able to spend my money on frivolus (sp?) odds and ends for the X.... new shocks...

Coming soon -

new gauges....new tails....maybe clear corners... texas kleenex box ..... .....adding my Nissan's system to the X (that S**T gonna rock)....airdam/swaybars/hoodcowl/saleen style wing/and more from EE.... Dynamat (or something like it) all over the X.... custom plates.... and last but not least..... my Georgia Tech license plate cover

 

[Doug]

19,764 members can't all be wrong. I personally can attest to the stoutness of the explorer, I'm lifted with 35s and locked in the rear and with the exception of the crappy gearing i have with the 5spd I have been impressed with what the explorer can do. I'd list the parts I've had to replace but it's not really fair with all the large tires and all the 4wheeling i do.

 

[Carl D.]

Yes I too have replaced lots of parts in mine, but the first owner didn't take care of its all.

I bought mine 60,000 miles ago. I've put alot in to it, but woudn't give it up. (152000 miles now)

It's small and compact like a jeep, but has plenty of interior room, seats four comfortably and parts are fairly cheap. I've had mine in themud, on the rocks, buried in sand and on pavement and have loved every minute of it.

Every brand vehicle has its problems, we are just fimilar with Fords because were not afraid to use them the way they were designed to be used.

I get to wheel with some guys from this area several times a year and all brand vehicles are allowed. Personally I see more problems with the other brands than my Ford, but maybe that because I have upgraded mine to be used off road.

Anyway these are great vehicles and with a little care they will last forever.

Remember is you use it, it will eventually need to be repaired, that's the law of mechanics.

 

[CodePoet]

I understand the occasional frustration but I think my explorer is one of the best vehicles i've had. My first was an 84 Ranger, with a 4-banger in it, I called it the stupidest truck ever...it didn't know it should be dead so it just kept going, I miss that little thing so much sometimes I even had a Sparkomatic stero system in it bumped !hahaha. Second was an s-10...not terrible but a pain in the butt to work on, but quite reliable for me...still runs like a sewing maching even after my deliquent brother thrashed her. Now I have my explorer. I have done quite a few smaller repairs, headlight switch...fixing a result of my fist directed towards the 4x4 switch (stupid but free), tracking down an intermittent electrical problem, bondoing/herculiner ing my rockers, and fixing the ground on my fog lights. THe only big thing I've had to have done was to replace the entire clutch system (master, slave cly, disk, pressure plate, bearings) after 120000 miles. Yeah that really sucked as it cost 1000 bucks...could have done it myself with my fathers help but he's getting up there in age and is loosing his desire to crawl around under a truck dropping a tranny. But I consider that one of those things that will have to be done anyway just becase of the nature of the parts. Anyway all in all I have to say even after all repairs I've never been so knowledgeable about a vehicle I've owned...and i'm going to be keeping her for a long long time to come (i gots big plans! hehe)

Later
CP

 

[Majisto]

I had to pull my lock button out to clean the contacts points because I dropped food in there and the lock button wouldn't work. OMG was that a hassle! I am selling this 110K mile piece of junk and get back my old Buick which cost 2X it was worth in repairs, and didn't even last to 6 digit mileage!

:exp:

 

[LOGJOCKY]

In my opinion Ford is the only auto maker of the big three(Ford, Chev, Dodge) that is truly offroad capable from the factory. Jeeps are pretty good but try to fit a 50 pound goalie bag in one. The '04 F-150 is a prime example of great enginearing. I test drove one and it is quite amazing form the factory. I cant wait till I see a lifted one. The Explorer has been best selling in its class for like 11 years. All those people cant be wrong. Just my opinion.

 

[zavetsky]

I think all 3 have some good ones...

My Dodge Dakota goes like a raped ape off road.....she hasnt done much lately, though...she is my pretty little garage queen....



I think" the Explorer is number one in its class" has nothing to do with offroad capability and more to do with "itll carry the family and all your crap and still be reasonably sized"....

Chevy only had the blazer (smaller) and yukon/suburbans to compete......Dodge had nothing at the time....Jeep had Cherokee (smaller)....

The Explorer is a perfect size.....I see more soccer moms driving them than anyone to be honest....I was slightly offended when my brother in law made that observation but after I watched a while, I noticed he is right....

Dont get me wrong..the Explorer is VERY capable offroad...but I dont think that had much to do with its ranking.....Honestly, the market that drives those surveys is based on family , and price and conveniences...

DZ

Originally posted by LOGJOCKY
In my opinion Ford is the only auto maker of the big three(Ford, Chev, Dodge) that is truly offroad capable from the factory. Jeeps are pretty good but try to fit a 50 pound goalie bag in one. The '04 F-150 is a prime example of great enginearing. I test drove one and it is quite amazing form the factory. I cant wait till I see a lifted one. The Explorer has been best selling in its class for like 11 years. All those people cant be wrong. Just my opinion.

 

[BensBud]

I'll bite. I'm on my second X. The first was a '93 that I bought used in '95 with ~60k on it. Drove it to just over 190k - and it worked it's butt off. I took it off road (not "wheeling" like the nut-jobs here , but off road nonetheless), it's hauled trailers many hundreds of miles, sheetrock overloading the roof-rack, family trips, pushed it hard in rain and snow, yadda, yadda. I sold it to a friend last spring for $1. She's still driving her twins around town in it - it'll go for a while as an around-town hauler. It had heads at 130k and a tranny rebuild at 170k. I won't complain about those. I drove the begeezers out of it and it served well. It did have the 55mpg drive-train vibration, but I learned to live with it, rather than paying for the damper kit.

My "new" X is a '98 that I bought just over a year ago at 56k. It's got ~89k on it now with no serious problems. This one will probably work harder than the old one (until I can work the F250 PSD) - it hauls the horse-trailer. I'll need bearings, bushings, breaks, and other stuff. That's part of owning any vehicle...

BTW: My father in-law was a GM mechanic for many years. When I met my wife I was a VW guy (now impractical for my life). My wife was driving a Chevy Spectrum and he was driving a Caprice. When I first drove into his driveway with a Ford (gasp) I got some pretty serious looks and a laugh or two. When he rode with me a few times accellerating hard into traffic while pulling the cannon trailer (it's a 4.0 6liter), I got raised eyebrows. He drives a Marquis now - LOL!

 

[X~FACTOR]

Originally posted by wired_af
with 47k on mine, the worst i had to replace was a thermostat.

Same here at 60k. Can't complain.

 

[LOGJOCKY]

I will agree that they are for soccer moms too but compared to a Blazer the 'X'would whoop!!Plus Jeeps are ugly to look at, and so are Blazers for that matter.

 

[95limited]

It is never a good ideal to come to an Explorer forum and start bad mouthing Fords. That would be like walking into a biker bar and start calling HD's POSs.

I love my Explorer. My first Explorer was a 97 and the only repair in two years was a bad termostat I replaced myself. I bought it at 92k and it was totaled at 118K when a little old lady readended me at about 45 MPH.

I replaced it with a 95 Limited I fell in love with. I've been driving the Limited for three months and the only problem has been the Lamp Outage Module, that also had a cold solder joint. It was causing my left low beam not to work. I resoldered it myself and it is still working fine.

My next vehicle with be another Explorer Limited.

 

[zavetsky]

"POS" --- perspective (long)

<grin> ALthough, like I said, I wouldnt quite call my Explorer a POS yet, with all the repairs *I* have had I am getting close...

Folks need to be not quite so sensitive and understand that everyone doesnt enjoy wrenching every weekend or spending money every time something breaks....everyone doesnt have a paid-in-full truck where it doesnt matter if it breaks, cause there is no monthly payment to contend with PLUS the repairs....If my truck were paid for at this point, I would feel much differently, too, I suppose....

Some of you have had apparantly GREAT results....I have my doubts when folks say "I have 250k on mine with NO problems and still going strong"......MUCH different than the Explorer that is in MY driveway, for sure....

Mine has left me stranded on vacation TWICE in 4 years and has had TONS of other things go wrong in UNDER 100k miles....all between 70k and 99k....much more than the other cars/trucks I have owned, which ALL had their problems, for sure....

Like I also said, I bought my Explorer AFTER reading all the "success" stories here......unfortunately, I think I must have gottne one that isnt quite as stout as the others seem to have gotten. Ok, maybe its my own dumb luck.

I think, too, it depends on your perspective as to what is a "little" thing....

To some, maybe a bad FPR is little...maybe a bad AC condensor is "little" becuase it is considered a luxuryto others, maybe a tranny going out is "little" because it is "expected"....I tend to disagree...ALL of these things are pricey to have repaired and not even that cheap when wrenching yourself....

Like I said, I really do still like my X...from a looks standpoint and overall capability, she rocks....

But between the CRUMMY gas mileage, the relatively low power (for the mileage I mean), the constant need for "little" repairs" and the hidden corrosion problems (every car will have SOME rust after 10 years, but mine is rusting in WEIRD and inconvenient places), and the problems I have yet to experience but have been pretty much assured by my reading on this forum that I WILL have sooner or later, I am getting worried about still making a payment on this car for 18 more months.....

AGain, there is a where being "in love" with a vehcile so much that common sense finances get lost is just...well, silly.

No, mine isnt a POS...but it isnt the best car I have ever owned either....

I think it is ok for someone to express his/her angst over a vheicle , even on that vehicle's enthusiast board...

true, that guy shouldnt have opend it up by saying "My truck is a POS"...but then, I feel his pain...I really do.

I dunno, just my $.02 (again, I know)...

DZ

Originally posted by 95limited
It is never a good ideal to come to an Explorer forum and start bad mouthing Fords. That would be like walking into a biker bar and start calling HD's POSs.

I love my Explorer. My first Explorer was a 97 and the only repair in two years was a bad termostat I replaced myself. I bought it at 92k and it was totaled at 118K when a little old lady readended me at about 45 MPH.

I replaced it with a 95 Limited I fell in love with. I've been driving the Limited for three months and the only problem has been the Lamp Outage Module, that also had a cold solder joint. It was causing my left low beam not to work. I resoldered it myself and it is still working fine.

My next vehicle with be another Explorer Limited.

 

[95limited]

If I had your problems, I would have replaced the Explorer long ago. You can get a lemon in any make vehicle. Even if I did have major problems, I would never go to a forum like this and start calling my Explorer a POS.

 

[White92Sport]

I have owned my 92' Sport for just over a year and I truly do like the truck. It is my first car and it has treated me well. When I bought it it had 126k and now it has 138k. I put alot of mile on the truck but I treat it well and it returns the favor usually. I have done some repairs and the usual maintenance. When I first got it I had to replace the driver side rocker panel, and after the winter we had the passenger side was just replaced. I guess I got lucky because just before I got it the tranny was rebuilt although not to well because it leaks from around where the shifter goes in to the tranny. Add a little fluid everytime I change the oil and I'm good. It doesn't eat a drop of oil and despite not the greatest gas mileage it is great. All of the ball joints were done before I bought it too. I had to do 1 radius arm bushing and the brakes twice(I drive kinda hard, I have since laid off a little). With the winter we had last year it was great to have with the 4WD I had to pull most of my friends cars out of the parking lot at school when it snowed. It being my first car and what I paid for it($2800) I really can't ask anymore from it.