Tired of working on these 2nd generation

[curt1007]

Is anyone else tired of all the steady stream of problems with these, I'm about ready to get rid of mine. After 13 years, first the Explorer, witch my son still has, and i have to work on,and now the Mountaineer.

 

[deweyville65]

i have a 96 4.0 OHV Control Track 4x4 that has not had too many problems. I bought it 2 1/2 years ago with 143000, now has 160000. Only repairs of consequence were rocker arms and push rods on the left bank, needs right side done, but runs quite well. And a fuel pump a year ago. Needing attention besides rocker arms and push rods is a coolant leak and fouling #4 plug on occasion. Also the front wheels do not pull strong. If all 4 are off the ground, the fronts will turn in 4WD, but won't even try to pull if only the rears are off the ground. But, I am with you in that I don,t even want to think about working on it. I am giving it to my son in the next few months, and getting myself an OLDER truck. Something without all the electronics.

 

[bill06447]

If you let it, any vehicle can become a never-ending money pit and time-consumer. Pick and choose your battles; even new vehicles will need attention, whether from a shop or from you.

As someone once said, if you enjoy what you do, you never have to work a day in your life. This is how I feel about anything mechanical/electrical. Your mileage, however, may vary.

Bill

 

[1996BLKBauer]

Any Vehicle with the age of our Explorers will have problems, so unless you get something much newer, expect the same thing, honestly working on my truck every so often is cheaper then paying 2-4 hundred every month for a new vehicle. Not to mention, most of the work I do on my truck at least is because I am very picky, and OCD about perfection, the only things I can think of that I have had to replace due to failure, is the driver side Door lock actuator, and the Radiator, Not bad for a truck with almost 170,000 miles, that is driven every day.

 

[AP9]

I actually enjoy it. Now granted, I have yet to have any major problems (transmission failure, cracked heads, bad head gasket, etc.) . . .

 

[koda2000]

no. i get a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction when i diagnose and repair something on one of my trucks. my v8's have a combined total of over 1/2 million miles and are all in near perfect mechanical condition, other than fairly minor rear main seal oil leaks. 2 of them still look pretty good too. for me, they're the perfect vehicle (fuel mileage not withstanding). i have zero desire for anything newer and i sure like not having any car payments.

 

[Robman]

I love my explorers One developed a trans issue so it's in the giant scrap yard in the sky after being parted out. I have 2 more though. My 2000 Sport 4.0L OHV 5speed is tough as nails. All vehicles will need maintenance, once you know your way around your explorer it's all good. With vehicles of this age and older, still driven everyday I'm just happy there is still something to bolt new parts to, then again I live in Canada(SALT). I like how the explorers come with rear disc brakes that work properly, unlike some other brands.

At one point I had bought an explorer that had been sitting for 3 years in a business parking lot. It boosted and fired right up amazingly. I let it warm up and backed up 5 feet and blew every brake line, next I touched the gas pedal and the explorer stuck wide open for probably one of the longer minutes I have experienced. I put new brake lines/pads on the truck and a new battery/oil and proceeded to drive it not only in the bush(offroad) but 50 000 more kilometers on the road. It's been jumped
(literally) and abused. It now waits, parked still functioning just fine as a back up vehicle if anything should happen to my newer ex

 

[masospaghetti]

For it's age I think the 2nd gen is pretty well built, especially the V8 models. The SOHC models, not so much. But they are getting old and any vehicle of this age is going to have problems.

 

[delexploder]

Makes me feel old but " they just dont make em like that anymore " everything is a unibody car these days and im afraid its only gonna get worse, plastic, computor controlled, ugly, overpriced, garbage,

 

[sloop]

don't want to jinx myself, but mine does not need a lot of work - probably 180,000 miles - the more i learn about the explorer, the more amazed that the things are as reliable as they are

 

[curt1007]

Yes, it is great to drive, I hate payments too, and will not be getting rid of mine. I just get tired of the parts that should work better. I love the V8 and it is awesome, after 172,000 miles

 

[swshawaii]

Is anyone else tired of all the steady stream of problems with these, I'm about ready to get rid of mine. After 13 years, first the Explorer, witch my son still has, and i have to work on,and now the Mountaineer.

What a difference ONE day makes. :scratch:

Yes, it is great to drive, I hate payments too, and will not be getting rid of mine. I just get tired of the parts that should work better. I love the V8 and it is awesome, after 172,000 miles

 

[bill06447]

Yes, it is great to drive, I hate payments too, and will not be getting rid of mine. I just get tired of the parts that should work better. I love the V8 and it is awesome, after 172,000 miles

After 172k, I'd say the parts worked extremely well!

Bill

 

[nugrapeman2]

Mine is a little over 313,000 miles and i love it. It's my daily driver and I wouldn't have anything else..

 

[1992fordgreen]

I Hate Ford. Explorers are the exception. But I still am not really fond of them. Swapped the trans and it kicked my butt.

 

[bill06447]

I Hate Ford. Explorers are the exception. But I still am not really fond of them. Swapped the trans and it kicked my butt.[/QUOTE

In my experience, on the plus side, Fords, as well used and/or older units, are cheap to own and run, seem to keep going and going forever even in the face of rust, worn out components, water and collision damage, etc. Back in the day they were my demolition derby vehicle of choice lol. But compared to Mopar and GM products their fuel economy is dismal in relation to their power output, and they are not very mechanic-friendly without a service manual and specialized tools. That said, I've never backed down from a challenge, and own two Fords at present (along with a 28 year old GM product) I've given up on Mopar products, you'd think after 40+ years they'd learn how to build a transmission that will last 100k, and develop paint that sticks to the car at least until the warranty runs out.

Bill

 

[alohamonte]

Yes they take a lot of work. I have 180k on mine.

I paid 3500 in 2007 for it with 138k on the clock... and have put about 6000 into it.

Front end rebuilt, hubs, brakes, trans rebuilt, shocks, tires, upper intake gaskets, alternator, 2 batteries, nearly all the emissions components, MAF, IAC, TPS, 2thermostats, idler pulley and tensioner, injector 0-rings, ignition coil, brake light switch, multi function switch... just off the top of my head

Trans still isn't right. I can feel a slight misfire.

Insurance is cheap, I like not having a payment, and parts are very easy to find. Good enough for now.

 

[PashRoot]

Eh, I can't complain a lot about mine. Bought it for $500 with a badly cracked windshield, missing driver window, rough idle, bad relays, leaking radiator, faulty bearings, broken t'stat, bad tag lights, bad tires.. the list goes on.

Granted I've fixed a lot of these problems on my own but replacing the driver window and hunting down that freeze plug leak REALLY kicked my butt. I'm just not that good with tools.

I've also got some slight wheel wobble at random from the rear to fix and no a/c, but other than that everything else is good. I only really drive it to work anyway.

It's grown on me but I check my oil and radiator fluid almost every week out of paranoia of something going wrong when I least expect it.

The best part though is that the engine is really quiet and smooth, especially at 218k miles.

 

[4rd Xplora]

Can't complain. Bought it for a deal($2,500.00, the owner had no idea what it was really worth) with about 135K showing back in 01'-02'. Since then I've put somewhere north of 175K on it, a real daily driver. Major problems: radiator, a/c compressor(twice), fuel pump and needs ball joints now. Minor problems: window motor, radio on/off switch, arm rest recovered, the cursed a/c vent vacuum leak, odometer gear, transmission mount, the rear sub woofer, the 02 sensors and dash dimmer switch(twice) are the repairs that come to mind. Still looks like a 50K mile car. Have maybe 30-40 hours of my time in repairs and about a $1300 in cash over the years. If she died tomorrow she would still be one of the best I've ever owned.

 

[white_shadow]

i love my exploder. but its also at that age where stuff is wearing out, right now im shopping for new front cats. still cheaper than a payment. but a new screw f150 looks damn nice!