Whats your trucks story?

[gmanpaint]

94 XLT Dark Cranberry 4x4
Bought from Habitat for Humanity for $500 & 150 k on the tick
Had been T-boned and donated from Tennessee
Came with Broken Drivers seat, busted auto hub, bad brakes, un-usable rear drivers door,
ripped headliner, broken door handles, busted rear interior cargo panel, broken cargo lock, needed a tune up & fluid changes all around.

Repaired everything on it first off. Replaced the auto hubs to Warn Manuals. Installed F-150 coil spacers, and lift shackles in rear. Installed a set of 2nd gen alum tear drops with 31"x10.5" BFG T/A. Added a set of 130 w off road lights on front bumper. Installed new speakers. Installed 4 swaybar quick disconnects. Complete new brakes all around. Switched everything over to Mobil 1 synthetic fluids. Lund Window vent visors. Installed tow hooks front & class IV tow hitch. New shocks.

Just painted & installed new rear door. Repair of the door jamb is next on the list.

This thing runs like a champ and has served me well as my DD for work. It will wheel like crazy for what it is.

 

[corkey]

wheeled that one at SMORR last year, dependable as the day is long, and fun to drive too ,
but i think i scared Zukman in it on the way up Disturbed..

 

[gonzomama]

I got my 93' xlt in AUG 09. My husband who is a mechanic had found it for me. I have to admit I was not enthused right of the bat. The heads where blown and the interior was flat out scary.But it had a sunroof and the mechanics where simple for a starter being me.
So $100. later she was mine. Spent about a month pulling her apart cleaning the interior,replacing the brakes, and rebuilding the motor with my husband(that was an experience)lol The front window motors and back shocks shortly after that and recently the radiator,water pump, and A/C compressor. Still have a list of things to do but all in all it's in good shape I drive it 80 miles a day with no problems other than the occasional abs hiccup. From what we can tell I am the 4th owner it's a 4.0 2wd automatic with sunroof factory color mocha frost tan interior and 308,000 miles on it.

 

[BrianDye]

Here goes my damn autobiography LOL

1992 Eddie Bauer:
I had a 97 Taurus, which was really my grammas still, but she couldnt drive at the time, so let me drive it to school, friends, etc. Then she decided she was gonna start driving again, so she wanted it back, and I was vehicle-less for about 2 months, and my mom told me she had some extra money she had been saving that she would be willing to help me to buy something, NOTHING special, unless I paid the majority of it, but I didnt have a job at the time, and I have always, since I was about 5 loved 1st gens, didnt care for 2nd gens for some reason (Maybe cus 98% of the 2nd gens around here are TRASHED and I mean TRASHED), so I found this Eddie Bauer (92) on CL, guy was asking like 1600$ for it, and we talked and talked and talked, and finally got talked down to 700$ (Might have been 800$), so my mom bought it for me, when I first started working, I did pay her about 1/3rd of that back. I had that for about a year, and thats when my gramma knew she wasnt gonna be able to drive anymore, so she signed the 97 Taurus back over to me.

Last pic I ever took of her

Taurus:

I put the Taurus up for sale within a few days, theyre not bad cars, I just hated that bodystyle, let alone the fact that it was gold and tan :

I eventually traded that Taurus, for a 95' 4 Door Explorer

I loved that thing, gutted almost the whole interior, painting it black, and alot of the grey/chrome parts on the outside, and fixing minor odds and ends like burnt out bulbs, loose wires, etc. When I was finally done, ready to drive it, realized it had a bad PS pump, radiator was leaking into the trans, the starter wires were shot, etc so on and so fourth, so I replaced the radiator, and got it in good running order, and it just still had problem after problem, so I put that up for sale, continued to drive my 92.

I eventually found a guy who wanted to trade me a 2001 Taurus SES Flex Fuel, in mint condition almost, and he even threw in 300$, so I did it.

This was a pic I shot with the LS rims on the back


I had that car for 2 weeks, and after the first snow we had, I said F this (The 92 was outta commision due to rusty brake lines). I needed an Explorer again, that car just wasnt me.

Traded it to a dealership for my current ride, 95' Sport.
In GREAT condition, minimal rust, runs great, drives great, not sure about its past, but they had to live down a gravel/dirt road or something, the thing was SO dusty, on the engine, in the crevices, etc. But its still my dd, and I love it to death, besides only having 2 doors, but I manage LOL.

1st night I had it:

Now: (Well, about 2 months ago.)

Since this pic, ive repainted the pillars, gotten the backseat windows tinted, and alot of minor odds and ends.

BTW, I finally sold the 92, during this past winter, for $1200

So thats my life...LOL.

 

[bats]

A year ago today (4/20 ) I was driving back to school with my gf at the time and got into a head on accident with some girl who blew a red light. My car just had some minor front end damage, her car was totaled. I could have driven it home no right headlight/blinker, blah blah blah. I had high hopes of finding a donor car to fix her but over a month later, no dice. I sucked it up and decided to look for a new car.

Not wanting a full size van, I ended up checking out Explorers. I stumbled upon one on a '94 XLT that looked pretty damn clean on Craigslist. Warily I went and checked it out and it seemed to be solid. Aside from some cosmetic things like ripped ceiling, slightly worn leather seats it seemed pretty legit. I asked about the 4WD and heard the motor come on and assumed it was good. So I bought it for $1800. On the way home I go to fill her up, gas gauge doesn't work. Stereo won't take cassettes. Over time I found a few other minor things (Auto hubs not working. See my sob story here. ->http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=272967)

Regardless, I grew to love my new, special needs child and the rest as they say, is history.

 

[BrianDye]

Thats quite an improvement over the wagon :

 

[92exp4x4]

I fell in love with these vehicles at age 10 when the Jurrasic Park movie came out in 93. I remember looking at them new with my dad when they first came out. He bought an Aerostar instead, we could not afford the Explorer.

When my best friend got his dads 91 Eddie in high school, I thought I have to get one of too. My first Explorer was bought back in 2001. It is a 92 dark blue 2 door XL 5 speed. I worked all summer to save the $3200 it cost me to get it. I bought the truck from a guy in Illinois. My dad and I drove up to Schaumberg to get it.

When I test drove the truck and tried out the four wheel drive, I noticed it already had Warn manuals. I found out the reason the dude was selling it right then. He complained that it did not perform in the snow as he expected the previous winter. It was his first 4X4. When I explained that the hubs must be locked manually, he kinda got a sick look on his face. He had also rebuilt the trans a month before. I gave him a second chance to keep it but he felt bad that we had driven all that way (from Cincinnati area) and we made the deal. I blame this truck for starting the sickness I have. I now have 5 and as this is written I am in the works of aquiring my 6th and hopefully last first gen, but the illness, i'm sure, will win over good sence in time.

 

[Equnoxe]

Well here is my story..


I was working almost full time hours on top of school and I bought this truck just before my 16th birthday, (I paid 4000$ for it with 180000km). (my parents don't buy me things, for which I am actually very grateful) this is exactly what mine looked like when i bought it, except mine is black. totally stock.


I screwed around with it for 8 months till I could drive it, then got insurance. and Ive been driving it every day ever since. Ive been tearing it apart and putting it back together. tinkering and learning.

its the only vehicle I've had, and i honestly don't really want to buy a new car/truck. I don't really know why either but i love explorers lol. I've bought one other ex, which i stripped for parts, and believe me, it won't be the last.

I'm 20 now, and now with 260000KM this is what she has become. if you look in the SIG you will see the majority of the MODS. I'm starting to plan for SAS/SOA and then i would really like to do a diesel swap. I'm also looking for a 2door that i want to make into a street truck.

(lost photos)

 

[mehedgec]

'93 XLT automatic, towing package (never been used for towing) so 3.73 gears and tranny cooler.

My parents bought it for me for college in 2005 from my aunt with about 165,000 on itfor $1500. My aunt bought it new. It now has 203,000 miles and has only left me stranded twice(because I left the headlights on and drained the battery) Still has all original motor and transmission.

All i've fixed on it were:

brake master cylinder about 3 months after I got it.
A/C compressor clutch (bearing was all ground up)
3 window motor bushing sets and auto down relay
hoses
MAF

I love my 'sploder

 

[YBCold]

i got mine in 07 and still havent been able to drive it coz i cant get a license. im delinquent with dmv. its 97% stock. only mods are a subwoofer and , HU, and police siren. i was actually looking for a isuzu Rodeo coz i like the boxy look but then i saw my explorer hiding under a tree and it said buy me. so we did. drove it for about a year then it became delinquent and started to have problems and now im fixing it and hopefully ill haven enough money to pay my dues and get on the road legally!!!

 

[burgundy1994xlt]

I bought ol' Ruby in the summer of 2006. 94 xlt 4x4 towing package with 158,000 on her for 2000 bucks off of Craigslist. Didn't need a thing at the time. Think we are the 3rd or 4th owner. A friend bought the same rig, different color just a few months later off of Craigs after he heard what I had. Both trucks still doing great.

Over time I've replaced/added: brakes all around, radiator, fan/fan clutch, thermostat, battery, alternator, fuel filter, lighter guts, aftermarket stereo with amp and sub and 4 new door speakers, upper/lower rad hoses, temp sensor and sender, spark plugs/wires, shocks, few bulbs all around, trailer wiring with a 8 pin round jack with custom bracket, blower motor resistor (blower still works at random), tranny fluid/filter, radius arm bushings, auto hubs cleaned, disassembled and painted roof racks and wiper arms, replaced front axle fluid and probably more stuff i'll never remember.

Still have the spun ignition cylinder which i'll get to "one of these days" plus a few other minor details. I'd love to paint the pillars and parts between the doors to freshen them up. Also need to see what it would take to get the passenger side front seatbelt to retract smoothly. I put silicone spray on the rewinder but now its way harder to retract than before.

Been a great truck. Few days ago here we saw a pristine 95 with leather interior with 98k original miles from the original owner with all receipts for 3500. No dough, bummer, and it's gone of course.

 

[1834kc]

The only thing available

I bought my 1991 Explorer 4x4 XLT from the original owner last year. My back was against the wall, and this truck was the only thing that worked out price and payment wise. They had all the paper work from the day they bought it with all the milage documented repairs etc. It had 163,000 on it, and they had only put 10,000 of that on it over a 7yr period. Original motor, rebuilt transmission, regular tune ups and oil changes. I paid 1600.00 for it and put 20,000 miles on it this year. Its a hard working work truck and is loaded to the max right now for another day tomorrow. I've done the oil changes, replaced the brake booster grommet and just 4 days ago, replaced front rotors, bearings, pads and one caliper. It uses no oil what so ever, and drives like a dream. I've owned alot of different pickup trucks, of all sizes and makes, and none of them can come close to the versatility of the Explorer. Turns out, the only choice I had, was the best one. Now, if I could only get the a/c to work all the time............

 

[deamon3]

We had a 1991 explorer on our farm back in maybe 2002. I was 11 or 12 and my mom would just let me and my friends drive the heck out of it and really beat it up.

In 2008 I bought my 94 eb from a dealer for only 800$ and it had only 127,000 miles. It even had a working moon roof that pulls back like a limo. hardly anything was wrong with it. Been pretty good ever since.

 

[92exp4x4]

Thats an interesting look; with the limited bumper cover, fog lights and the Navajo grill. I like it. Its uncommonly different. Nice truck.

 

[hoss_hanna]

my 91ex 93ex 01mountie and 96 taurus

got the 91 sport 3 yrs ago for $400 from a good friend of mine who was in the market for a smaller car, got the 93 4 door last yr from my old boss when he had no place to store it anymore (needed head gaskets), bought the 01 for my wife, and own a 96 Taurus that i bought from a friend who really needed $500. ps the 93 has now died (engine toast at 135k) and is being parted out, let me know if u need anything


91 and 93 last summer


the 91 sport now
(dead links)

need to get photos of the other 2, but i suffer from laziness if it does not have to do with my 4x4

 

[92exp4x4]

hoss-hanna,


PMed ya!

 

[Tony H]

No big story here: started in '03
My drives an '85 Chevy Pickup, we are original owners. After many miles and many winters the body was due for a fix'n. I was looking for a short term Beater so I can get the truck off the road for a few weeks.
My brother's friend who is mechanically inept had this '91 that was killing him with small mechanical issues. At the Mechanics rate of $100 an hour, he was in the market for a new vehicle. This '91 had 183K miles on it, the trade in value was $450. He said give me the $450 and it's yours. So that's what I did. Being the guy I am, I ended up shampooing the rugs, taking the lolipop gacky crap out of the Window switches and basically cleaning the crap out of this neglected, never waxed vehicle. On a hunch I replaced the Fuel Pump Relay and I guess that was it 'cause the car has never mysteriously stalled.
Here we are 7 years later and the car has 334K miles on it, Many more Wax jobs then it has ever seen from it's previous owner. Yes it has needed attention in these years but I do all my own work so the RABS, the Ball joints, Manual Hub swap Intake manifold yadda yadda has not been a big expense.
The Truck has long been refurbished but my wife chooses the 'X'. Mileage is better, it is more manuverable and honestly, I'd cry if the truck got all full of door dings that working in a shopping center brings.
The only real expense that hurts is the crappy Transmissions in these vehicles. Three rebuilds on a vehicle that is used as a daily driver without towing, without pulling stumps without any stress is just a shame.
Even with the 300K + miles, It is the long trip vehicle...me, my wife and my two kids with luggage, works perfect.
No Lifter tick, no clue that it is ready for retirement. But then again I have multiple vehicles with 300K + miles that I would not hesitate and drive cross country.
Not bad for $450
After saying all this, I am pondering selling it. I just inherited a 1999 Honda CRV with less then 20K miles on it ( I know.. TRAITOR!). But listen...It has never been out in bad weather, not even rain, it was Grandmas and it is absolutely spotless in and out ....So I don't need two SUV's.

 

[Vargas]

My wife's DD was a Volvo 245 until late 2003 when it was hit while she was driving home from work. Between her injuries and the Volvo getting totaled, she wanted something "bigger" and the SUV idea was probably seeded by the fact the insurance rental was a Trailblazer. She drives less than less than 5K miles per year and we didn't have much to spend to replace it. I saw lots of Explorers on the used market but didn't know much about them other than bad rumors. A friend (who owns several automotive business including a NAPA store) has owned a '91 EB since new. I figured, if he had kept it for 250K+ miles, he ought to the person to know the nitty gritty of Explorers. He steered me through the potential problems to detect and avoid. I ended up finding a one owner '93 XLT 4dr auto 4x4 (Mocha Frost) that my wife was very happy to drive.

About a year later (end of 2004), I decided to find one for myself. I was camping and hiking more often and concluded that I was better off getting my own SUV than borrowing hers on the weekends and bringing it home "dirty". I was shopping for a 2nd gen, but ended up buying a '94 EB 4dr auto 4x4 (Dk Cranberry & Tan) because it was a bargain. Local dealer (not Ford) had a '98 XLT with a little under a 100K on it, priced a bit under $10K. At the time, in this area, I could have gotten that rig for about $8K on a dealer lot. The '93 I had purchased a year earlier was $4K from a private seller, and it has 115K miles at the time.

Sitting next to the '98 was this '94 EB, looking a little bit ragged and priced at $5995. I had seen the listing for the '94 and ignored it because the price was out of line and I was focused on 2nd gens anyway. The salesman showing me the '98 mentioned that they had another one, a bit older, but marked down because it had been sitting on the lot for a while and they wanted to move it. Long story, but the punchline is that I got them to fix the non-working temperature gauge and put in a new windshield, and only paid $3500 - for a very nice 10yr old EB with only 83K miles.

Yes, it needed a small amount of work that was making it hard to sell, but I took care of it myself in about 2 hours time. It had an aftermarket alarm system that was malfunctioning. The siren had been disconnected, but system would randomly blink the parking lights and trip the power locks. It was draining the battery, too. It took a few minutes to find the relay that had crapped out. The cosmetic issue was that both front fenders were bowed out away from the front doors. Why they made no attempt to correct this, I can't imagine. It caused by someone either driving off a set of tire ramps, or failing to use the correct location when using the jack. All I had to do was slide under the side of the truck and grab the body flanges with a couple pair of vise grips. When I pulled the flanges straight, the fenders tucked in flush to the door seams where they belonged.

The '93 XLT served us well until 2008 when the A4LD failed in multiple ways. Up until that time the only non-routine maintenance it needed was was a single issue, albeit expensive, when the gasket behind the timing chain cover blew out. The original owner had the timing chain replaced and most likely the surfaces were not properly cleaned when the cover gasket was replaced. I had no place to work on it myself and was pressed for time to get it back into use, so it was jobbed out to a local shop. That is a labor intensive repair... That aside, we had the A4LD rebuilt in 2008.

It began having a host of other problems, none so bad by itself, but adding up to a major expense if jobbed out, or a large amount of time out of use if I did the work in my spare time. In 2009 we sidelined her '93 and I found an almost showroom condition 2000 XLT 4dr auto SOHC 4WD (Oxford White w/Dk Platinum lowers). I would have liked to have paid less than $6K for it, but time was of the essence and frankly I would never have found another one as cherry. She loves it - that's what counts.

In the almost six years she drove the '93, it went less than 26K miles.

Since I would occasionally drive her '00, I was getting some 2nd gen envy. In early 2010 my '94 was at about 165K (82K in five years) and I began looking for a '99-'01 to replace it. Within a few weeks, I found a prize. I had to go look at a white '00 XLT that had only 65K miles. It had my top choice of interiors (cloth seats, in the rare Dark Graphite aka dark gray) and was in very good condition. Price was within reason and it had full maintenance records from day one, though more than one owner. However, I had another to checkout nearby and didn't want to make a decision just yet.

The next one hooked me. One owner, 83K miles, every record for everything done to the vehicle, dealer ordered with optional 16" wheels, TractionLoc rear-end, Sport Group package (color matched grille, gray painted bumpers with matching fender flares and and step bars) and no hitch. This was a family grocery getter that private seller was replacing because they needed something that could handle three child seats. It had the lighter gray, excuse me, Medium Dark Graphite cloth interior (huh? Come on Ford, you had two gray interiors and either could be had with cloth or leather seats. Could have called them Light and Dark or even Medium and Dark, but you chose the two names [seriously] Medium Dark Graphite and Dark Graphite. Confusion much? Goes hand in glove with the painted bumpers, which are Medium Dark Platinum Metallic.) I've digressed.

It was an unusually clean vehicle with a very attractive set of options. In this region, I can expect to find nice later 2nd gen rigs for 4-5K in private sale. Yes, there are cheaper ones out there. I'm shopping for nice ones. They were asking $5200 and listed it about 5pm on a Friday. I was at their house looking at it at 1pm on Saturday (and they live in an out of the way place). It needed tires soon, had a few scratches in the paint, and the stitching was starting to pull out on one of the seat back pockets. I told them I had no reason haggle over price given that it was in overall nice condition and they had other people who wanted to come look at it. I pointed out a crack in one taillight that they had not noticed and they offered to knock the price down $100.

Given where they were located and that I had driven out there alone, I asked if they would assist in shuttling the vehicle to its new home. They agreed and I bought it for $5100. More than I might have liked to pay, but just a week earlier I had been on the verge of buying a '99 in lesser condition with 120+K miles for $4500, so I don't feel bad. My new DD is a 2000 XLT 4dr auto SOHC 4WD (Amazon Green w/Sport Group). I bought mid-February. Since then it has gotten new tires, a new head unit, HID projector headlights, projector foglights, a few modifications to the wiring for the lights to keep low beams and fogs lights on when high beams are activated, and most recently I replaced the original shocks. Nothing too fancy on the shocks, but I chose rears that have a coilover helper spring for a tiny bit of lift.

For a short time, we owned four Explorers. I had been tinkering with the '93 on and off since last Fall and sold it a week after buying the green '00. The first person to look at the '93 took it at asking price. Haven't made a decision on the '94, yet. I am fixing the things that it needs as spare time allows. It may get sold if the right offer comes along. In the meantime it is our spare vehicle when one of the newer ones needs service or those occasions when I want to haul something that I would rather not carry in the "new" ones.

 

[safn1949]

I bought mine for $3200 from a friend with a small used car lot in WV.The owner had died and the truck had 119,000 on it in Oct 07.The truck came from a used car lot in MD and was in mint shape.It's still stock and as you see in my sig,I went to Moab for 5 days and did a bunch of crazy trails in it.Look up Elephant Hill and you will see what I mean.I went up that,dead stock with 235/75/15's....standard tread tires and no lift.

It now has a rust spot you can see in the photo that is getting fixed soon,for some reason it only rusted there.It will get a 2" lift and some better tires in the end.

Update:I have had the rust fixed as you can see and have replaced the steering box,power steering hoses,radiator and hoses,muffler and tailpipe,plugs and wires,front brakes,front wheel bearings,1 axle joint and installed a KKM filter.It now has 139,000 on it and has never run better.
Everything I have replaced except for the plugs has been OEM from 1994 when it was built.This is the last summer it will be my daily driver.Moab truck soon.Also put a Kenwood stereo and new speakers in it.

 

[metallica1283]

i got my 93 xlt a few months back with minor body damage and some rust in the typical areas. the door jambs and the rockers for $270 . the guy who owned it before me hit a wall offroading and i needed to replace the left side of the front clip. front bumper and tire. so about 250 bucks later and a few months i was finished with a few other odds and ends i got it road ready and drove it for the first time yesterday. =D i love my first gen

pics soon