Saying goodbye to my 03 XLT

[da2962]

After going through the process of timing chain repairs on my 03 XLT once it was done and back to together about 2 weeks later started making way too much noise. After another trip back to the mechanic, turned out the tensioner wasn't getting enough oil pressure even though the pressure to the engine was fine. After going around and around with Ford the solution was to pull the heads and clean the ports, which was more than I wanted to spend on an 11 year old vehicle with high miles. So yesterday I went to the dealer to see about a trade in on something newer. Wasn't able to find another Explorer so looks like I am ending up with an 07 GMC Envoy Denali with around 50,000 miles on it. I've had nothing but Fords for quite a long time now but decided it was a deal I couldn't pass up. Have to take it to my mechanic tomorrow to have it checked over but the reviews for the most part look good and if he gives it the ok will drive off with it before the weekend.

Had a lot of fun in my explorers over the years and got a lot of good info and help from this site. If I ever get back into another explorer in the future I'll definitely be back on here reading everyone's posts.

Good luck to all.

 

[Kesp4.0]

Good luck with the GMC, dude. I am thinking of selling my 03 XLT to Carmax or something. I love it, but just like you, I know it is going to start to nickel and dime me to death

 

[Joe in NY]

Oh a great thing about envoys/trailblazer is the 4.2L I6. They run for ever! And kick the crap out of fords 4.6L. My unlce who is a huge ford nut wanted me to get a trailblazer over an explorer because of the 4.2L I6. He says they go 300,000 miles + before they start to show wear... Also will run much smoother than a v6/V8. A I6 is perfectly balanced by nature.

 

[rocket22]

sorry to see you go, I would prefer the GMC Envoy as they are tanks and bulletproof engine. I have had three explorers and the main reason is they are cheap to acquire and cheap to fix with Junkyard parts. My latest is a 2002 xlt with 190K for $1700. It know is at 163 since I replaced the instrument panel. I had to buy a wheel and a rim, but if it craps out, it will be sold for parts and recoup about $1000 or so.

 

[da2962]

Well, got the Envoy I was looking at. As I mentioned, its the Denali package with all the bells and whistles with the 5.3 V8. It has the tow package, and all kinds of goodies including adjustable air ride, heated leather seats and mirrors for those cold New England winters, built in Navigation. So far I really like it. I will say though, trying to find a forum for it has been a challenge. Seems like most of them when a repair question is asked the majority of answers are "take it to the dealer" unlike on here where people aren't afraid to dive in and make the repairs then explain how they did it. I'll pop in here from time to time just to read about how the exploders are running.