Should I buy a 1998 Exp Sport V6?

[geephunk]

Hello,

New to the board and new to the Ford World. I just graduated from college and am looking for an upgrade from my chevy s-10. There is a Ford Explorer Sport (V6) for sale in my town. It looks to be in good shape, all electric, 2 door, etc. It is a 1998 and has around 80,000 miles. It is going for about $7400. Does this sound like a good deal? Will this be a good car for me? Is there anything I need to be aware of (inherent problems with this model, etc.). I don't know if this is a good deal or not. Help please!

 

[flipped98x]

98 sport v6

There has been several recalls on this truck.
Biggest one is with the sohc v6,
I t has to do with the timing chain tensioner.
I had the recall done on mine and less than 3 months later it whent bad again and ended up blowing a hole in my valve cover.

 

[noli96]

Can you please provide some info on the timing chain tensioner recall? I also have a SOHC V6 (97 Sport) and have heard nothing about this recall. I'm also new to this board. Thanks!

 

[flipped98x]

timing chain

It is a part that keeps the timing in" line"
If you hear a ticking sound the tensioner is bad,and as I said before if you dont get it fixed you will cause some damage to your motor(blown hole in valve cover)
Call a ford dealer and ask them about the recall.
Bud

 

[geephunk]

How do you know if it is a SOHC V6?

Did Ford make V6 Exp Sport without the SOHC V6?

How do you know if that is the type of engine it has (look under the hood)?

Thanks for your input.

Other than the recall, are you happy with this make and model of the car?

 

[flipped98x]

v6 sport

yes they did make a diffrent v6
look under the hood and the piece that covers the intake will say sohc.
Yes I loved my x when I had It.
I have owned 2 of them,
I leased a 97 sport with the regular v6,and when my lease was up I bought a 98 sport with the sohc.
I rolled the 98 a week before I was going to get it lowered.

 

[Rob_B]

Re: How do you know if it is a SOHC V6?

Originally posted by geephunk
Did Ford make V6 Exp Sport without the SOHC V6?

How do you know if that is the type of engine it has (look under the hood)?

Thanks for your input.

Other than the recall, are you happy with this make and model of the car?

Yes, my 98 Sport has the OHC (Over Head Cam) engine. It makes less power but is bullet proof. The easiest way to tell is to look at the VIN #, if the 10th digit is an E it's the SOHC, if it's an X it's the OHC.

The other downfall to all V6 Explorer's is their automatic tranny, they aren't the most reliable, some last a very long time w/o problems, some are rebuilt a couple of times before 100,000 miles.

Good Luck

 

[Brandons]

how did you manage to roll it?

 

[geephunk]

Gas Mileage?

I heard the Sport get really poor gas mileage? Is that true, only about 20 miles to the gallon?

And also, how can I tell if the vehicle has had internal problems or anything like that? If I buy it from a used car lot, will/should it have a history?

 

[canada74]

if your buying an suv and a 4x4 dont worry about gas mileage. you can try carfax for a history on it, it costs a little but if your serious about buying it then its worth it.

 

[flipped98x]

rolled it

I was on the way home from jury duty In march (almost 2yrs ago)It was just starting to snow, As soon as I got on the expressway I hit a patch of ice started to spin so when I hit a dry patch of cement ,I hit the cement retaining wall my tire rode up it and flipped me ou the drivers side and slide for about 50 feet.
Totalled the truck, not a scratch on me.

 

[01 Daily Driver]

Re: Gas Mileage?

Originally posted by geephunk
I heard the Sport get really poor gas mileage? Is that true, only about 20 miles to the gallon?

I'd be overjoyed with 20 MPG. I'm getting 16.5 around town. My 4.0 L Cherokee with 170K miles got 18-20 in town.

 

[bentley]

I've had my 98 sport for about 5 1/2 years now. I have 106,000 miles on it and no major problems. I had the tensioner thing fixed under fords recall. Other than that, no other problems other than a few minor things here and there. It still runs as strong as the day i bought it but if you think 20 mpg is bad......
i average 14 -15 mpg

 

[karl_burns]

I had an S-10 in high school and college

Picked up a 1998 Explorer Sport 4.0 OHV in March 2000 and love it. Mine's a 5speed, so no tranny issues. Got bigger tires, but I'm about to re-gear after losing all that low-end torque. Love the truck. Glad to know the market retail of mine is about $7,400. I have 73K miles on it. Get about 15-16 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway.
See my signature for mods.
Best of luck,
Karl

 

[sk1er17]

I LOVE my 98 Sport SOHC V6.
.... the things a beast. I have 120K + miles on it. No major problems and i beat the hell outta it for over a year when i first got it. Its been off-roading countless times, i sunk the engine once= and if you got in it and drove it today you wouldnt think it has more than 30K miles. also, with all my mods ive done and bigger tires i still get 14-15mpg, tow a 21ft boat with ease, beat ricers off the line, and climb steep hills without a problem offroading.

Id say go for it, if it has 80K miles and runs good it'll probably stay that way if you take care of it.

 

[Nate1]

Yes, the sports are fun trucks that have plenty of potential and look good. I think you will like it alot....

 

[Magicfan25]

its an SOHC or an OHV just to clarify... SOHC and OHC would be the same thing. OHV denotes a pushrod engine and is the less powerful of the two

 

[FHfirefighter]

I heard the Sport get really poor gas mileage?

the sport is just a slightly smaller (and spruced up here and there) version of a regular explorer so there will be no difference in gas millage from a similar 4-door to a sport. with 100% perfect conditions you may eek out 20mpg, but don't count on it for normal driving...
to add my 2 cents, it's a great truck. fast, decent offroadability, ditto on what everybody else said... sometimes i miss the extra doors, so make sure you can live with only 2.
i paid 9,500 for my '97 4x4 with 73,000mi on it so 7400 sounds good. good luck!

 

[RAZOR]

The engine in my '98 Sport SOHC V6 had to be replaced by Ford at 67,000 mi. Luckily it was covered under the cassette timing chain extended warranty(100,000 mi.) so I only had to pay for new hoses, sparkplug wires and a new serpentine belt. No sense putting an old belt, hoses and wires on a new engine. The planetary gear in my 5 speed automatic transmission self-destructed and ruined the transmission. Mucho $$$, (not covered at 70,000 mi.) I still love my truck but I'd have second thoughts about purchasing another Explorer with that eng./trans./4.10 gear combination. GOOD lUCK, RAZOR

 

[Majisto]

Don't listen to the people having problems. I have a 4-door SOHC with 4.10 gears. It's a 2000 model and it has 105K miles on it. It gets driven all the time, and it gets very abused. The truck pulls very hard. I think it is a factory freak. I have had sub 7 second 0-60s when it is cooler outside. Usually it's about 8. The engine never pings, smokes, or burns any oil. I've gone 115 MPH, and off-roaded it a few times. They hold up to abuse incredibly well.

Now the only thing I have against the Sport, is that they use "mono-leafs" so that all Sports will sag in the rear. The Explorer uses these long curved bars called leaf springs to hold up the back instead of using coil springs in the front. With a Sport you can just add an extra leaf like a 4-door has, and the sag will be gone. Grease the ends of the springs every once in a while too to keep them from squeaking.

Good luck in the Explorer search, and let us know if that 4.0 is a SOHC or OHV. If it's an OHV, it sucks.

Oh, and my 4-door got 25 MPG on a highway trip down to the coast. It gets mid to high teens in the city, but I have 4.10 gears. Don't expect over 20 in the city with 4WD. That doesn't happen with a SUV unless you buy one of those dinky crucks like the CRV, Santa Fe, or any of those yuppie SUVs that don't even have frames.