What should I look out for? About to buy an '05

[NightTrain]

Fellas,

I'm about to buy an '05 real soon. It's the XLT model with the usual features...running board, 3rd row seat, 4 liter V6, power seats, CD player, etc.etc.

Are there anythings I should be aware of? Any unresolved issues with that model? I know just about nothing about the Explorer and am eager to find out what I need to be on the lookout for.

Also thinking of immediatlely upgrading wheels and tires to something in the 20 inch size range. Any pics of your modded wheels/tires?

One more question...it has no sunroof. Any of you have one installed? How does it look? Any leaks or other concerns?

TIA

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! The transmission should be thoroughly checked out as well as the transfer case. Mismatching the correct tire size front, and rear could create driveability problems with the transfer case. I read another thread here about somebody that couldn't go more than 30 MPH because his tires were mismatched in the front, and back. The mismatched turns of the front, and back axles caused the transfer case to keep locking up, and slow it down. It was like telling the computer that the front is going 30MPH, and the rear is going 50 MPH, or vice versa. You would have to reprogram your computer if you change your tire size. The older vehicles just required a different speedometer gear, but this is not the case on a 2005.