Re: Need Advice Before Buying Explorer


<carbide@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1124309084.448713.143420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I need a vehicle for occasional trips on rough dirt/gravel roads and
> dealing with some mud and maybe fording less than a foot of water. I'm
> not going to be doing any off-road stuff, just dusty washboard/potholes
> and rocks on rough roads, and trying not to get stuck in soft spots. I
> won't be putting a lot of miles on it, it'll be a secondary vehicle.
>
> I'm a big, tall guy, so the Explorer seemed like a good choice, and
> lots of them are for sale locally, I guess due to the surge in gas
> prices.
>
> Does the Explorer seem like a good choice for this kind of use?
>
> What years, '98 and earlier should I look at or avoid? Is the 4.0 SOHC
> engine a lot better than the older one? I don't need a lot of power,
> but I do want reliability and fuel economy. How about the
> transmissions, any recomendations?
>
> I'd appreciate any Explorer-specific buying tips.
> -Paul
>

My wife and I do that kind of driving in '91 and '92 Explorers. There have
been times when we were just about the only people who made it down the
road, passing multitudes of stuck vehicles. There was one guy with a new
F250 4WD that also made it easily. My wife managed to get stuck once but
she would have made it if she's just been going a bit faster. I easily
pulled her out with my '91. The only time my '91 got stuck was when I was
driving along a deep rut and the ground collapsed beneath me and all 4
wheels were off the ground. As long as 3 wheels can get traction it'll go
just about anywhere.

The original (91-94) Explorers have a high rate of automatic transmission
failure around 175K miles or so and the autohubs fail too. If you decide to
get one I suggest you find one that has already had the transmission
replaced/rebuilt and has Warn manual locking hubs. The 4WD servo motors
have a tendancy to get stuck and the front differential won't engage but
it's only been a matter of fiddleing around with it to get it to work again
(for me anyway).

The 4.0 V6 that's in both of them has been a very good engine with few
problems. I'm not sure what the letter designation is for it but it might
be OHC. Right now it's looking like the '92's engine may be wore out at
280K miles. My '91 has about 198K miles and it still runs great.


.

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