BrianV
Active Member
- Joined
- November 28, 2005
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Austin, TX
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Mounty 5.0L
Ok, you may all remember my last thread about that 96 V8 Ford, well I finally test drove this V8 Mountaineer (1998) that was actually going for less money and had less miles.
I need some advice about a few of the issues I noticed:
First, let me talk about it in comparison to the 96 I tested earlier:
-The car just had new spark plugs and rotor put in and it seemed way more powerful than the 96 that hadn't had anything done in 50k miles. I took the engine to redline and it didn't hesitate. I was impressed actually, unlike the 96 that seemed a little weak.
-The car was white with grey trim and grey leather, which to me is better than the brownish leather in the 96.
-The interior was dirtier with some stains on the carpet (no biggy since I'll likely replace them with rubber mats since this is a utility/bad weater car)
-The exterior was in good shape, but the lady had a bug defelector on it which has 4-5 clips that are drilled through the hood. The deflector cracked and is now off the truck, but the 5 clips are still there. Taking them off would leave small holes in the hood and scratches around where it was. I could put another deflector on, but I've never really liked deflectors. I could get it bondo'd and resprayed but it's prolly not worth the $.
I think I prefer this 98 since A) it's newer B) the colors are better for me C) it runs better and the owner has done regular maint on it.
My concerns are the following, please help me determine how hard these are to fix, etc.:
1) The display on the radio doesn't work. The stereo works great, but there's no display. This isn't a huge deal to me since I use XM 99% of the time and will use that display for switching channels, but it's still nice to have a working display. Is there an easy fix for this, or do I need to find a new head unit?
2) The rear windshield wiper doesn't work. I tried to get it to work but it won't move. When you press the fluid button fluid comes out of the rear wiper, but it doesn't actually move (could be bad motor or something). I'd like to have this working, but it's not critical. The front wipers work great.
3) The transmission shifts hard and crisp (like the 96), but I noticed sometimes when going from coasting to 1/4 or 1/2 throttle that sometimes there's a little bit of a shudder feeling. I don't know when the tranny fluid was last replaced, but would that resolve this shudder? The tranny shifted smooth, but not as nicely as the 96 did.
4) When you lock or unlock the doors, this buzzing sound comes from the trunk locking mechanism, as if the motor is working an extra 1-2 seconds when you unlock/lock the doors. The trunk still locks/unlocks it just makes a buzzing/spinning sound for an extra second when you do it. I think a new lock motor might fix this. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
Those are really the only concerns, the car has 110k miles on it and the lady told me her mechanic said it should get a radiator flush in the next few months. She seemed like a good owner who is only getting rid of it because her father gave her his old 2001 Chevy Tahoe.
She's asking $4,500, but I'll probably offer around $4,000 for it. So, $4,000 for a 98 Mountaineer V8 (2wd) with leather. That to me is better than the $4,900 115k miled V8 2wd 96 Explorer with leather and sunroof.
Any advice is appreciated.
I need some advice about a few of the issues I noticed:
First, let me talk about it in comparison to the 96 I tested earlier:
-The car just had new spark plugs and rotor put in and it seemed way more powerful than the 96 that hadn't had anything done in 50k miles. I took the engine to redline and it didn't hesitate. I was impressed actually, unlike the 96 that seemed a little weak.
-The car was white with grey trim and grey leather, which to me is better than the brownish leather in the 96.
-The interior was dirtier with some stains on the carpet (no biggy since I'll likely replace them with rubber mats since this is a utility/bad weater car)
-The exterior was in good shape, but the lady had a bug defelector on it which has 4-5 clips that are drilled through the hood. The deflector cracked and is now off the truck, but the 5 clips are still there. Taking them off would leave small holes in the hood and scratches around where it was. I could put another deflector on, but I've never really liked deflectors. I could get it bondo'd and resprayed but it's prolly not worth the $.
I think I prefer this 98 since A) it's newer B) the colors are better for me C) it runs better and the owner has done regular maint on it.
My concerns are the following, please help me determine how hard these are to fix, etc.:
1) The display on the radio doesn't work. The stereo works great, but there's no display. This isn't a huge deal to me since I use XM 99% of the time and will use that display for switching channels, but it's still nice to have a working display. Is there an easy fix for this, or do I need to find a new head unit?
2) The rear windshield wiper doesn't work. I tried to get it to work but it won't move. When you press the fluid button fluid comes out of the rear wiper, but it doesn't actually move (could be bad motor or something). I'd like to have this working, but it's not critical. The front wipers work great.
3) The transmission shifts hard and crisp (like the 96), but I noticed sometimes when going from coasting to 1/4 or 1/2 throttle that sometimes there's a little bit of a shudder feeling. I don't know when the tranny fluid was last replaced, but would that resolve this shudder? The tranny shifted smooth, but not as nicely as the 96 did.
4) When you lock or unlock the doors, this buzzing sound comes from the trunk locking mechanism, as if the motor is working an extra 1-2 seconds when you unlock/lock the doors. The trunk still locks/unlocks it just makes a buzzing/spinning sound for an extra second when you do it. I think a new lock motor might fix this. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
Those are really the only concerns, the car has 110k miles on it and the lady told me her mechanic said it should get a radiator flush in the next few months. She seemed like a good owner who is only getting rid of it because her father gave her his old 2001 Chevy Tahoe.
She's asking $4,500, but I'll probably offer around $4,000 for it. So, $4,000 for a 98 Mountaineer V8 (2wd) with leather. That to me is better than the $4,900 115k miled V8 2wd 96 Explorer with leather and sunroof.
Any advice is appreciated.
