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Reliablity of AWD V8?

the brands of gas do actually make a difference. i know in illinois (if you have a truck) the stations to stay away from unless your gas light came on are thorntons, clark, citgo and speedway. my 88 blazer got horrible gas mileage from putting citgo/thorntons it and almost like a type of rock growing on the spark plugs when i did my tune ups that averaged around 16 combined (that engine also had 275,000 on it and the body was falling apart increasing wind resistance.). My '99 sohc xlt got ****ty gas mileage until i fixed my intake seals and now i average 20 combined. my dad's 2006 averages about 19 combined and he has the monster xlt 3rd row with a 4.6. In all of them we have never ran a higher octane cause it was never needed. although we do use the recommend by ford fuel BP :D oh and i run lt235/75/15 bf goodrich rugged trail t/a's. the blazer ran same size wranglers and 06 runs the stock 17 bf goodrich rugged trail t/a's (passenger model)
 



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John,
Are you getting 27mpg highway on a stock 96 AWD Explorer?
I'm no where near that.. maybe 15 in the city. Any suggestions?
It has 123000, nothing but stock. I bought it at 119k, still need to get around to doing a plug/wire change, weather here in CO hasn't been conducive to that just yet. But, I can' t imagine plugs and wires would make that much of a drastic change in MPG
 






As far as the reliability of an awd v8 explorer there is no comparison, I own a 96 5.0 with 104,000 miles on it and no major repairs since I bought the truck used 5years ago, just regular maintanence, tires ect, my fuel milage is fantastic 27 hwy at 69 miles an hour. 18 city regardless of speed , yes it is an expensive truck to maintain for me ,plugs are $65.00 dollars for all eight , brake pads are 210.00 but the reliability is worth it. great in the snow, as far as only being offered in awd or 2 wd that info is wrong you can find them in the xlt models that are 4wd and with stick they are rare but out there. my buddy owns a 2000 xlt 4wd with 5.0 stick nice ride.
John,
Are you getting 27mpg highway on a stock 96 AWD Explorer?
I'm no where near that.. maybe 15 in the city. Any suggestions?
It has 123000, nothing but stock. I bought it at 119k, still need to get around to doing a plug/wire change, weather here in CO hasn't been conducive to that just yet. But, I can' t imagine plugs and wires would make that much of a drastic change in MPG
 






My 20 year old son is looking at an AWD 2001 V8 Eddie Baurer Explorer. I don't know much about the AWD. How reliable is it? What are the typical problems and what to look for on a used truck? Can/should it be lifted a little? It only has 77,000 miles and is a one owner. Can you get a standard 4x4 in the 98 to 2001 V8's instead of AWD? If so should we look for that instead. I currently have a 98 2wd V8 with mods and we also have a 2004 limited with the 4x4 auto select. It seems to work fine and have not had any issues. The 2001 is super clean and I would hate to pass it up if the AWD is good to go.

I have a 97 Ex with a 5.0 and AWD. VERY VERY reliable if well taken care of. The most expensive thing I have ever had to do waas front end wok and tires. Water pumps are usual after 100,000 miles. I now have 195,000 on it and still strong. Only burns 1 quart of oil every 6,000 miles. I hear of guys getting 225,000-250,000 out of those 5.0's. My dad has the ControlTrac and I hate it. He almost wound up in a ditch because of it. It is constantly kicking on and off in snow. AWD is by far the best in my opinion, unless he will hard core off road it. As far as lifting... well thats up to each individual person, because you go through half shafts and ball joints and such faster.
 






locked at 60-65 with a favorable light wind high tire pressure (45psi) and waxed, I was getting 21mpg at the peak... now I get 16MPG with a good mix

as far as reliability, CANT BE BEAT

and I recently did the 4406 swap. If you're that concerned about the AWD then buy the truck, test it out, and research a manual shift 4406. for a 2001 explorer the swap is even simpler because you dont have to worry about the speed sensor (but I would still get a 99+ F150 transfercase to get the tone ring in case you decide to swap the axle to one without the tone ring)
 






Okay now do your self a favor if your tires call for 50 psi max run them at 44 , run the 87 octane out of your tank put 89 in it. try it just for one tank, my friend suggested this to me years ago and I did not believe him but you see an instant increase that 26psi sticker was meant for those that did not check their tire pressure on a regular basis and rolled their explorer over thus the lawsuits began. and this is for the gentlemen that says I am wasting money putting octane boost and 89 octane in my truck well that were designed to run on 87 all to true but so are 90 % of the cars on the road that is a suggested rating unless stated otherwise. If I was wasting money. could have fooled me with my mileage. research this site , try the suggestions, then comment.

You sound like a salesman.
 


















215,000 and rollin, lol
 






OK, here is the skinny. I got mine with 68k miles 4.5 years ago. It now has 102k. The only thing I have had to do was replace the Cam Position Sensor on top of the motor....see the sticky on it. I also was lucky enough to find a manifold bolt that fell out before any damage occurred. But, this vehicle has been nothing more than a highway cruiser. If you son wants to go off roading, I would look elsewhere. The real problems with these SUVs is repairing the suspension. Not easy and the parts are stupidly expensive. Also, there is little I can do with the engine. It takes up so much room I can barely get my hand in there. Do a search function and type in 5.0 AWD. You will find the stuff that goes wrong. But again, it was been very reliable for a boring middleaged woman who has never had it on so much as a dirt road. Good luck.
 






Yeah, go for it. I've had my 98 AWD 5.0 for several years now, and my wife drove it for 4 years before that until she bought a new exlporer. In that 7 or so years its had a tune up and a starter solenoid. Getting ready to put new ball joints and wheels bearings in but not too uncommon for that year, especially with 130k. By far the lowest cost maintenance vehicle i have ever had!
 






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