Saw my neighbor's old Explorer in Pull-A-Part...

[01rangerxl]

I had an odd moment in Pull-A-Part today when I was looking for windshield moulding for my truck. I saw my neighbor's old 1996 Explorer Sport in the yard. It made me a little sad as a Ranger/Explorer fan because I saw the truck's slow death and it was rust free. It was driven daily, then I think the trans started acting up because I saw them pulling out one day and it didn't want to do reverse. They kept driving it for a while, then one day it was gone. I figured the worst.

I recognized it by the pry marks around the windows, the bent trailer hitch, the totally bald tires, and the inch of dust on the dashboard. Definitely the same truck.

What sucks is I always thought "man, if I still had my old Explorer, I'd buy that one and swap everything over." Mine was a mechanically great, but completely rotted out 4x4. This one was a totally rust free Southern 2WD, but badly neglected. My truck had the perfect mechanicals, this one a nearly perfect body and frame. Oh well.

 

[Merkava_4]

Just think if you were to buy that Explorer out of the yard and restore it.

You'd really be showing your neighbors up then.

 

[FordTrucks71]

Explorers were nice rides..I had a 99 XLT pretty loaded out 4wd..sunroof..trailer package etc Ran it 90k mis and sold it..very solid trouble free SUV.

 

[demarpaint]

I like the old Explorers. I don't like what it evolved into, and that's coming from a life long Ford lover.

 

[TFB1]

I owned a '00 Sport, just about long enough to resell it... Rode like the proverbial buckboard... I like firm but choppy/harsh isn't for me, and this is coming from a life long Ford owner(at least one for 47 yr)...

 

[SteveSRT8]

We owned an Exploder, my middle daughter drove it the most. It wasn't a bad vehicle, but I certainly would not buy one again.

It had that unique suspension tuning mentioned above, alignment issues constantly, tons of trim and bits fell off. There's more but I can't remember it all and don't want to.

Personally I cannot imagine why anyone would buy another. But they must be fair for most as we still see them chugging around, although usually with one wacky front wheel...

 

[Barkleymut]

Loved my 2000 Explorer. Just like every American car I have owned it was very reliable. The ONLY repair EVER made in 10 years and 140k was to replace the thermostat at 37k miles(1k outside of warranty) and guess what, the local dealer who wasn't even the selling dealer replaced it free.

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I saw my neighbor's old 1996 Explorer Sport in the yard.


A friend of mine had a Bronco II. He spent lavishly on various expensive repairs (new trans, new rear end, fuel pump died on vacation far from home, and many more I've long since forgotten). It burned oil bad enough it looked like it was fogging for mosquitoes. He eventually traded it in but as if to "rub it in", someone local bought it and kept it for quite a few more years. My friend and I used to see it driving around from time to time (the custom rims were the giveaway and I once got a close look at it in a parking lot - it was indeed the same truck). I suppose by the time my friend had spent his way into the poorhouse fixing the thing - just in time to trade it in - it had become a reliable vehicle.

 

[Whimsey]

When I met my wife she was driving a 1996 Explorer Sport that she purchased new. It was "Barney" purple

but it ran fantastic, no problems in 155,000 miles. I will say the ride was harsh and jolting. I even replaced the shocks but it didn't make any difference. She sold it for a new 2002 Explorer with the 4.0 that was nothing but problems. Traded that in when we found out the timing chain cassettes were bad and would cost a fortune to repair. She got a new 2005 EB Explorer with the 4.6. With a 145,000 miles it's been a great vehicle.

Whimsey

 

[EA82]

I really like the newer explorers, 2011+, they are just out of my price range right now.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
We owned an Exploder, my middle daughter drove it the most. It wasn't a bad vehicle, but I certainly would not buy one again.

It had that unique suspension tuning mentioned above, alignment issues constantly, tons of trim and bits fell off. There's more but I can't remember it all and don't want to.

Personally I cannot imagine why anyone would buy another. But they must be fair for most as we still see them chugging around, although usually with one wacky front wheel...



Same here.

I have driven a couple and they were well maintained, but were still problematic junk. My folks 2005 Ford Five Hundred hasn't been a terrible vehicle but the AC compressor failed at just
72k miles the repair cost is VERY expensive. Fords are not on my short list of cars to buy.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
We owned an Exploder, my middle daughter drove it the most. It wasn't a bad vehicle, but I certainly would not buy one again.

It had that unique suspension tuning mentioned above, alignment issues constantly, tons of trim and bits fell off. There's more but I can't remember it all and don't want to.

Personally I cannot imagine why anyone would buy another. But they must be fair for most as we still see them chugging around, although usually with one wacky front wheel...


Mine had none of those issues...well, it did lose some trim, but that was due to off roading it.

If it weren't for the rust, I never would have sold mine. The rust ruined an otherwise great truck. Even the power windows and seats still worked perfectly, the body was just literally separating from the floor/frame and itself.

Most of the ones I see in Pull-A-Part are well over 200K and its obvious nobody took care of them for a long time. Mismatched wrong size bald tires, scary brake rotors, etc. They can survive a long time with very poor maintenance. I didn't see the mileage on my neighbor's old truck since the interior had already been gone through and the gauge cluster was gone, but it was driven daily with nothing more than gas put in the tank up until a couple months ago.

 

[DavidZ28]

Same situation different vehicle. I saw one of my tech school instructors '84 Z28 at a Pull-A-Part 13 years later. I verified it by the VIN.

 

[Lyman]

I owned a 98 Explorer and it was good to me. It had the 5.0 and ran great. I bought it at 70k and sold it at 160k. Only repairs were fuel pump. I think I changed the plugs once. Kept the oil changed and it was happy.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
We owned an Exploder, my middle daughter drove it the most. It wasn't a bad vehicle, but I certainly would not buy one again.

It had that unique suspension tuning mentioned above, alignment issues constantly, tons of trim and bits fell off. There's more but I can't remember it all and don't want to.

Personally I cannot imagine why anyone would buy another. But they must be fair for most as we still see them chugging around, although usually with one wacky front wheel...



Same here.

I have driven a couple and they were well maintained, but were still problematic junk. My folks 2005 Ford Five Hundred hasn't been a terrible vehicle but the AC compressor failed at just
72k miles the repair cost is VERY expensive. Fords are not on my short list of cars to buy.


My dad just replaced his '05 Freestyle (wagon version of the five hundred) with a '12 Explorer(base model, w/ >7,000mi)
gave the freestyle to my sister(well, "sold" it to her & the hubby, for $5k, with the instruction "just pay me before i die")
just before off loading the freestyle,(and after writing the check for the explorer), he took it in to the ford dealer for an OC, and to replace the front brakes.
while it was up on the lift they found, and showed him where one of the motor mounts was bad, and the a/c compressor was toast.(~90k mi) cost him $1800 to fix the lot.
to be honest he did think the a/c wasn't cooling the way it used to, just thought it was low on charge...