Possibly buying 1994

[MadCow]

So Ive been looking for an older SUV to drive in the winter and have found a couple near me. The first is a 1994 4 door 4 wheel drive. New tires, Converted to Manual Warn Hubs. brake work is newer. pretty basic interior, doesnt seem to be any cancer on the body, there is surface rust. He is asking $1000. For some reason I think he said the millage is 250k Kilometers The owner thinks it will pass a safety the way it sits now. He did say the transmission may slip a bit. Now I havent driven it yet however I plan to, what sort of things should I be looking for when I am driving it, and is there anything I can do that tell me how bad the transmission might be and if it might be one of the more simple fixes listed on here or a more serious problem? It seems like a really good deal and pretty much exactly what I want but I dont want to sink the cash and find out I have to spend thousands on fixing it.

here are the photos that he sent to me
http://www.mandrews.ca/winter/4line/94explorer.html , and the comments are after I went and did a walk around on it.

The other is a 92, no mention on tranny concerns but 4x4 needs work, could be just a switch to manual hubs, and to pass a safety needs an ebrake cable and maybe some body work, he is asking 750. I have my dad going to look at that one as its in a different city where he lives. anyways any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[bam_bam1ca]

For $1,000.00 it looks like a pretty good winter beater. However the 250K on that transmission is a LOT. Be prepared to sink some serious $$$$ into the tranny to keep it going, or find a low mileage one in the wreckers.

Get a hold of Glacier or Brooklynbay in the transmission forum, I'm sure they will give you accurate info on what to expect in the tranny with that kind of mileage. They really know these trucks and could give some valuable info.

 

[93explorer4life]

well, the tranny, i havent a clue, it could be a simple band adjustment, or it could be thetranny is just plumb shot, or mor tranny fluid, its hard to tell unless you either drive it, machanic checks it, or he tells you exactly what its doing, and when!
and on checking if its a good truck all around, stop, put in 4x4 turn wheels and give it a bit of gas, see if theres any cv joint popping, like my truck has, see if engine is knocking, listin under the truck, to really tell, you might here a lill ticking, usually your lifters, nothing to bother about, its a typicly noise the 4.0 puts out

and as for the other, it could be a symple 4x4 problem, hubs went bad, switch has burnt out, or it could be the t-case has went out, t-case motor has gone bad! if you get the one with the bad 4x4, and you get a diagnose on what it is, let me know on what you need, i ahve two exploders sittin around! both 4x4, ones not working right now! i will fix that tho, i think its the t-case motor!

 

[MadCow]

So I talked to the guy some more and asked about the slipping and if he could tell me more about what was going on, and I got this

"it seemed fine in the summer and then as soon as winter hit it started then
got more and more often I'm not exactly sure what the problem is though"

So it made it through the winter as is but is it dying? as the winter is what I want if for, or is it still too hard to tell

 

[DeRocha]

So I talked to the guy some more and asked about the slipping and if he could tell me more about what was going on, and I got this

"it seemed fine in the summer and then as soon as winter hit it started then
got more and more often I'm not exactly sure what the problem is though"

So it made it through the winter as is but is it dying? as the winter is what I want if for, or is it still too hard to tell

As mentioned you'd need to have a shop check the tranny.. There are too many variable in play, but the 1st gen (91-94) were noted to be weaker than later models. A rebuilt tranny could set you back 2-2.5k depending on the quality of the rebuild..

 

[MadCow]

yeah thats what Im afraid of. Thanks for the replys

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! The 94 A4LD is more updated than the 92, so you are ahead as far as this. Now for the problems. I assume you were referring to kilometers, and not miles on the vehicle's mileage. Check the vacuum line of the modulator for signs of ATF which could have come from a defective modulator. What was the maintenance history of the transmission? How often were the fluid, and filter replaced? Does the fluid look red or is it dark? Does it have a burned smell? Were the bands ever adjusted? Here is an ATF fluid color chart to compare the color of your ATF to:

 

[marragtop]

Don't forget to check the radius arm bushings. Hopefully, with that many miles they have already been replaced which means the rivets have already been ground out.

 

[mikeinri]

If the truck was a cream puff, no rust, etc., it would be worth the money to buy it and deal with the tranny. Since it's not in that condition, I would stay away from it, unless you're capable of rebuilding or replacing the tranny yourself.

It could be as simple as the tranny fluid is too low because of a bad vacuum modulator, but you would need to own it and drive it awhile before you could know for sure that replacing the modulator really solved the slipping problems.

Mike

 

[MadCow]

Well Ive decided to stay away from the truck and I am probably going to by the one with the non working 4x4 this weekend. The transmission seems to run a lot better. Negative side is its not as pretty on the outside, it needs bodywork, and an ebrake cable to pass a safety. Ill probably just band aid it for now to get it on the road and then go from there after. He is asking 750 for it and Ill see if I can shave a few bucks off if he is willing

 

[rustbucketMI]

I'd go with the truck with the tranny problem. In the winter my trans seems a little slow and not right. As soon as the fluid warms up it runs fine and has no problems.

a 4x4 issue can cost a lot of money and headache. New hubs alone can be $250+ i new t case or diff can be even more.

Drive both trucks and listen for any unusual noise. make sure both are cold, temperature outside, and not already warmed up. those trucks tend to run a lot smoother once they get up to temperature so if anything is wrong you should know pretty quickly.