Posted: 4/3/2011 1:41:03 PM EDT
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I'm probably going to be getting a new used car here in a couple weeks. It's a 97 Ford Explorer and It was bought new by my aunt. It has got 101,000 miles and the car has pretty much been babied the past 14 years. Is there anything I should know about this car? Known parts breakages etc... probably should have added. It's the V6 4.0L model with four wheel drive, automatic trans. |
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The 4wd system is a good thing to check as lockedandloaded points out. Expensive repairs if it goes kaput. Get it greased up good and use it off and on.
Aside from the usual - drive train, 4wd, power stuff - windows, locks, electronics - look for oil leaks, antifreeze leaks,etc. Ask for any service records to see if there were any problems. Around 100K, start looking at alternators going out, water pumps failing, radiators leaking and brakes needing work. If its been serviced well and maintained, just listen/look to the engine for rattling, smoking, knocking, etc. Having a trusted mechanic look it over will be helpful. |
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Quoted: Front driveshaft has a cv joint on the transfer case side it usually goes at about 90-120k. Front ball joints, shocks, brake. and other normal wear item + if the car is from MI it is probably a rust bucket. Other than that they are pretty tuff rigs.  The car is actually very clean. There is only a tiny bit of rust on one of the rear fenders. This body and interior of the car were babied by my aunt...Thank god for old people. I'm just wondering how often she did regular maintenance to the engine, brakes, etc. Thanks for the help guys.
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We had one. It was my wife's daily driver. We sold it at 150k miles. The front hub/wheel assembly is gold plated. It'll cost a bunch to get them replaced when the bearings fail. 4.0L engine is noted for head gasket failure. Worse, it could develop a cracked head. Brake caliper slides have to be greased regularly. There is a sensor on the upper part of the air plenum (manifold) on the driver's side that can melt when driven at expressway speeds. Electric door lock switches fail. Other than all that  it was a reliable vehicle. The lady we sold it to loves it and now it has about 190k miles.
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96 exploder owner here
there a pretty good design, mostly reliable but theydo have their quirks They are; hard on front brakes, 40,000 miles and its time for new front pads, transmissions go after around 175-250 thousand miles, transfer case shifter needs to be exercised on a regular basis or they bind up and they need a good air filter to run decent. My current 96 has 245k on it and still on the original transmission, My past one was a 92 and it made it to 435k. If you change the oil every 5k or so, change the tranny fluid every 60k miles and flush the radiator every other year you should be good to go. If you have some mechanical aptitude you'll do fine with this vehicle Try going to the explorer forum, to get a full perspective on the vehicle. If the price is right for your pocket, go for it http://www.explorerforum.com/ |
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I've got a 96 right now, v6/4wd/auto with 180K miles on it. I bought it with 100K miles, but dealer records showed that it was very well maintained by the previous owner.
Ummm,,,,,,, The front suspension is definitely odd. When it starts to rumble a front tire has cupped and you must replace the tire (maybe both) as well as the shocks, as they'll be ruined too. Keeping the OEM inflation pressures helps, going higher makes the shocks/tires fail even faster. With mine it is always on the drivers side. The local quickie suspension-alignment shop said that this is because the suspension mount points were made of too-thin metal and get bent from regular use &age, and there's no way to fix it other than having the suspension mount points re-done. (I should point out here that mine is stock, I almost never drive off-road at all, and never drive it hard on- or off-road, ever) The temp gauge goes up and down a lot and the heater core hoses knock when the heater is in use, and there is no known way to fix it. The dealer came out with two different kits to fix this issue but neither worked well, so they're no longer available at all. THe second kit was a T-fitting that fit where the engine thermostat went, and another t-fitting that cut into the lower radiator hose, and a hose that connected the two extra outlets. If you can make the fittings, this is pretty easy to duplicate. The TSB number for this fluctuating/knocking issue is 99-7-2, it covers 1995-99 Explorers with the 4L engines. The radiators are terrible. Ford plastic-tank radiators have shitty tank seals that leak in cold weather (below freezing, and very bad below 10F°). Most of my problems have been low coolant due to invisible radiator leaks of BOTH dealer and aftermarket radiators. Nobody makes a brass or aluminum drop-in radiator that size. I am having an all-aluminum one built in a couple months to finally fix that problem permanently, as I still want to keep mine a couple more years. The dealer radiators are only $200 or so, and having aluminum tanks made will only cost ~$100 at the most. Also the emissions code/EGR valve clogs at least once a year, just shitty engine design by Ford. No real fix for that either. I only need to emissions-test it every two years, so when the [check engine] light comes on, I just verify it's the "insufficient EGR flow" code and keep driving it until a couple weeks before the next tailpipe smog test, when I take it to the shop and get it fixed so it will pass. |