V8 owners -> Input pls!

[BHop]

Hi guys,

Considering the purchase of a 96 V8. Here's what I know (taken from the add):

5 liter v8 automatic all wheel drive 267000km / 166875 miles. Runs great electric everything.

New tires,rad, heater fan and water pump.

Are there any other quesitons I should ask aside from the obvious (like routine maintenance?)

Any input would be appreciated!

 

[bill06447]

Make sure the all wheel drive actually works

Bill

 

[koda2000]

that's rather high mileage. i'd check to make sure the front drive shaft is still in it. unless it appears to be in good shape and well taken care of, i'd work away from a '96 with that many miles. how long are you expecting it to last? the v8's a reliable engine and the v8 trans is pretty strong. the AWD system can be problematic. where you live (BC) rust would be a major concern.

 

[h0und10]

any new front end replacement parts? tie rods ball joints and stuff seem to fail on these vehicles and also check underneath to make sure the front drive shaft is installed.. we have heard tons of stories about people buying an awd explorer that has had problems so someone along the way took out the front drive shaft.. these things are pretty durable though.. how much is the guy asking?

 

[h0und10]

dang.. both you guys beat me to it lol

 

[vroomzoomboom]

make sure that it will blow hot air, and cold air if you can. sometimes the motor that operates the door for your heater (blend door actuator) goes bad, and you have to pull the dash to fix it.
i would also ask how old the ball joints, sway bar end links, and front sway bar bushings are. those always wear fast, even under normal use. also, rust. if you look at it, reach under the rocker panel infront of the rear tires. it should be solid, and no holes. make sure the cruise works, and the drivers seat goes fully forward and backward in its track. thats all i can think of off the top of my head.

 

[CDW6212R]

Check out the torsion bar keys for wear on the Kevlar wear pads, for any 95-97 model. Those go bad and you have metal on metal wearing of the torsion bar key/frame, and it clunks from that. 1998-2001's do not have that poor design, they have a replaceable isolator pad, thus never buy a 95-97.

 

[koda2000]

dang.. both you guys beat me to it lol

yep. you gotta type faster... lol

 

[BHop]

He is only asking $1000.00

I live in Victoria BC, so little to no snow and thus little to no road salts. All the same, it may have come from somewhere else. It pans out to about 15000km 9400 miles a year which isn't that bad.

Many of the questions seem to pertain to the front end suspension components and all wheel drive system. I also want to ask about reg maintenance like oil changes, oil leaks/fluid leaks. Yes, sway bar bushings and link bushings wear out pretty quick as I own a 4.0L.

At that price, I guess it's relatively low risk, it's just that I am unfamilar with AWD on these things, the 5.0 and the related trans. I never had any front suspension issues on my 4.0 and it's a 1997 with about 120 miles/200000km except the front sway bar links.

A front end rebuild with ball joints and new bushings all round could be an arm and a leg though...

Anything eles?

 

[CDW6212R]

The 302 and V8 trans are nearly bullet proof. Only poor maintenance causes issues, but those can go for ages otherwise, unlike the SOHC V6 or any V6 trans. Those are poor in all conditions.

The suspension is no big deal, as you know, they all wear out normally and can easily be rebuilt. Parts are easy to come by, and the engine trans parts too, any one can work on them.

The AWD is very reliable, except that when the TC does go out, like many it's not cheap to buy one. The low mileage units are not out there any longer, so plan to get a rebuilt unit if needed. I gather that's $650-$1k depending on brands etc. The main cause of issues is excessive use of the internal viscous coupler, from improper sized tires or serious off roading. The tires must be the same diameter front to back, always.

My AWD is coming up on 200k miles now, and the only issue I've had are two front drive shafts. It went bad right after I bought the truck at 98,500 miles, and the used one I put in just now has a torn CV boot. I gather that the CV can be rebuilt, I'm getting a $75 Dorman kit for it from Amazon this week.

Worry about the obsolete parts, the interior and all of the rubber exterior items like window trim and seals. You can fix the mechanical stuff, but those obsolete items you have to take care of. Regards,

 

[vroomzoomboom]

fellow canuck. it wouldnt surprise me if it did need front end parts. a good majority of the explorers and rangers i have owned needed them, with e brake cables as well.
front end parts from rock auto are pretty reasonable (all four ball joints, sway bar bushings and end links should be around 250-300 or less shipped to your door, and that moogs).
i would offer him 600 for it, and see if he takes it.
and for what don just said, if you do need some harder to find parts, bluka on our forum lives in SK. contact him. he has enough parts to probably build 3 trucks and have leftovers

 

[BHop]

Good stuff, thank you guys!

 

[masospaghetti]

I just bought a 96 V8 XLT in august 2013 with 150,000 miles.

Everyone thus far has been spot on, I had to rebuild the front and rear suspension, replace the heater blend door, and the kevlar torsion key pads. BTW, I haven't gotten much noise out of mine, even though the pads are worn away, not sure how big of a deal it really is.

I had to replace both exhaust manifolds because the old ones had huge cracks and had obvious exhaust leaks. You can replace the old style ones with the newer cast iron ones, they are much cheaper, you will need to relocate your oil dipstick though.

I had to replace the timing cover gasket due to a broken water pump stud which seems common on these. It's a fairly big job that involves removing the radiator, water pump, timing cover, and dropping the oil pan (which is not easy because the front differential is in the way). When you replace the water pump, some of the bolts are shared with the timing cover, and when these bolts are loosened for the first time, the timing cover gasket fails and needs replacement.

The rear 3rd brake light is a flourescent bulb with a ballast which often fails. Ford replaced this with a LED design in 1998 which is more reliable. Dorman makes a LED drop in replacement for about $80, or you can try your luck like I did in the junkyard, but I went through 4 ballasts before I found one that still worked.

Check the odometer and make sure it still works. The worm gear in there is a common failure point. Obviously, if its broken, you won't know what the true mileage is.

I rebuilt my transfer case because it was bad and making noise. The chain was bad. If you know what you're doing, you can replace the chain, bearings, and seals for around $150. A new viscous coupler is about $200, if you need it. It's a relatively easy unit to rebuild, although I messed mine up a few times before I got it right (this being my first TC I tried to rebuild).

Overall, it was a lot of work and my rig needed a lot more work done on it than I expected when I bought it, mostly because I wasn't careful in inspecting it. Now I think its working pretty well and I love driving it, I love the V8 sound

 

[masospaghetti]

Oh and regarding the parts that are no longer made - I haven't had much problem with most of these. The junkyards around here regularly have 40-50 Explorers that are stuffed with parts, for cheap. One plus of having a common vehicle!

 

[SoNic67]

He is only asking $1000.00

Seriously, at this price there is no question to be asked!
Somebody else might snatch it before you decide.