How is your explorer holding up

I got a guy that's wanting to sell me a 97 Ford Explorer w/ 108k for around $1,700.

I've seen it and it appears (physically) in tip-top shape. He's selling b/c he's moving cross country to a new job and has 4 other cars only needs 1.

I did notice that it had a power steering leak but looked easy to repair.

But I'm trying to find out how these going on 10 year, higher mileage explorer's are holding up for you all and to find out about any maitence tips or potential problems that I should be aware of.

[QUOTE='[iV]Kermit']I got a guy that's wanting to sell me a 97 Ford Explorer w/ 108k for around $1,700.
QUOTE]

Are you kidding? There are 500 1997 Explorers on Autotrader. Here is the price info:

Highest price: $14988
Average price: $8419

$1700 is a steal IMO. I would be aware that the trannies usually go in these vehicles and you might have to shell out the cash to replace it. Even if that is the case, you are still ahead of the game with a price like that. Good luck.

I made a mistake it's a 90' with 90k and in perfect condition (exterior).

The Explorer was introduced in 1991, may have a 90 mfg date though?????

Gen ones also tended to rust pretty good on the rocker arms in front of and behind the tires esp...I would look for patch work.

I would also expect the tranny to go!

i have a 94 with 125,000 miles and have had numerous transmissions car was bought by my father in 94 i got it in 2002 with 96k miles on it since then ive had a rebuild and thinking its about to need to be replaced with something better (custom) work maybe? breaks go fast but i am hard on them and i live in nyc so the truck takes a pretty good beating with the ocasional problem but i love it so the $$ i dont care about if u live outside the city then u might be ok

I hope you didn't buy this car. Your a fool if you did. Search some of the forums on transmissions in Fords. They suck. Not the forums, the transmissions. One of the few joys my Ford gives me is the ability to get on internet forums and talk bad about it. Oh yeah, I also like to do some mechanical work and my Ford has given me plenty of opportunities.

My 96 Explorer has 190000 miles. It has a few bugs but not many. Sometimes I have to coach it into 4 wheel drive. I can't find the electrical problem with the rear wiper yet and I can't find the circuit for the dome and door light. Other than that, It has been a very good truck. I have had Mobile 1 in it form conception. The road repairs are limited to tie rod ends and tires. I do believe you can't operate this machine like a truck, it does require some babying.

My explorer has 127,000 and the transmission has been pretty good except for a modulator. Keep up with the maintainence and it should be fine with under 100k still. Good Luck

i have a 94 explorer 4x4, 4.0 ltr . automatic. 386k. swamped twice in salt water, have no rocker panels to speak of, replaced front axle u-joints because they seized up. (probably the salt water) replaced two tires in the last year and a half. (frt ones) So far so good, oh yeah my fuel pump has been running at half pressure since last fall.(19psi).
Doesn,t use oil, very reliable. guess i got lucky.

Where should I begin? Let's see, my wife bought the Explorer in 1999 when it was only a year old, (1998 Explorer XLT 2WD). At the time, she wasn't my wife....we had been dating for about two weeks. When she bought the vehicle, she paid full MSRP, didn't haggle or nothing! Just paid what the sticker asked! $26000!! I was with her in the dealers office as she's signing this paperwork and I'm thinking to myself, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WOMAN?!"

The Explorer had about 32000 miles on it and it ran great....at first. Than small things started going wrong: First thing was the rear windshield wiper wouldn't actually wipe the windshield. It would move when you turned it on however it only got about 30% of it's wiping capability and didn't touch the rest of the windshield. Than, it stopped working all together. Than, the stereo display starting going out. It would come back on occasionally but go back out again. (It's our permanently now.) The stereo works, I can listen to the radio, cassette, or CD however, I don't know what station, or song I'm on and I have to guess when selecting either. Also, when we would play a CD it would sometimes stop playing. We would eject it, put it back in, and than it would play again. The bonus part is when I would eject the CD, the CD itself was actually hot to the touch! My fingers didn't catch fire or anything however I thought it was odd that the CD was actually hot when it was ejected after playing for sometime. The stereo also makes a high pitch whirring noise if there is no CD in the CD player. So, I just leave a CD in it to prevent it.

The touchpad on the drivers door that unlocks the doors works....but for some reason, it unlocks all of the doors EXCEPT the drivers door! I punch in my code and the drivers door attempts to unlock but the knob stays down. I press the extra code that unlocks all the doors and sure enough, they all unlock except the drivers door. So, I have to open up the back door and reach from behind the drivers seat to pull the handle to open the drivers door. (Thank God I have long arms.) Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I've gotten into the habit of speaking to the Explorer nicely before I get in her now...thinking that she's like any wife, temperamental and moody. Some times it works, some times it doesn't. (Freaky how the Explorer is so much like my wife!)

The cruise control lights on the steering wheel no longer light up when I turn on the headlights.

The handle on the drivers side seat that reclines the seat actually broke off in my hand as I was adjusting it. Fortunately, the seat was set where I wanted it before it broke.

The drivers seat is actually loose, it rocks back and forth a bit. Not too bad but it gets annoying when you stop and accelerate.

The "check engine" light stays on all the time and although my mechanic will reset it for me, it comes back on in about a week. My mechanic and Ford can't figure out why it keeps coming on.

When you turn the A/C on, a foul odor (smells like cat pee) comes out of the vents initially but then it goes away when the A/C's cold air kicks in. Lasts about 5 to 10 seconds. (Thank God it's currently winter time.)

On cold days like we're having now, when you start the Explorer after it's been sitting for awhile, it will idle so low that it stalls. I have to rev it up a few times to keep it going or, press on the gas a bit to keep the vehicle from stalling until it warms up and can hold its own.

Did I mention it's been recalled by Ford FOUR times?!

I've never had any problems with engine though, *knocking on wood* and I have to say that it is reliable when it comes to driving it. Considering the amount of miles that are on the Explorer now, 165,000....I'd have to say it's been pretty reliable. It's the small annoying things that bother me about it.

It's like owning a computer I would say. You know how sometimes you get those errors that pop-up when you initially start up your PC? You don't know where they are coming from or why they are coming up. The PC itself runs great however you wonder if something really bad is coming down the line because of these small things that are happening now.

Well, I guess I've rambled on enough about my wife's Explorer, just thought I would share with you my experiences and let you know, "I feel your pain my brothers!"

Shepherd

i have a 94 explorer 4x4, 4.0 ltr . automatic. 386k. swamped twice in salt water, have no rocker panels to speak of, replaced front axle u-joints because they seized up. (probably the salt water) replaced two tires in the last year and a half. (frt ones) So far so good, oh yeah my fuel pump has been running at half pressure since last fall.(19psi).
Doesn,t use oil, very reliable. guess i got lucky.

I have to say our experience with the 99 Explorer has been yuck. There have been numerous recalls, the most famous.... firestone tires. The radio display went out, luckily it was still covered under warranty. The airbag light wouldn't go off and luckily that was covered too. They replaced the whole bag! Now the light is on AGAIN... only 2 yrs later. No longer covered and they won't replace it under warranty. What's the average life of an airbag? Geezz... let's see what else. I just would say, for $1700, that's not a bad deal... even for a Ford. But in the future, no more Fords for us. Been there, done that. No thank you.

i have a 94 explorer 4x4, 4.0 ltr . automatic. 386k. swamped twice in salt water, have no rocker panels to speak of, replaced front axle u-joints because they seized up. (probably the salt water) replaced two tires in the last year and a half. (frt ones) So far so good, oh yeah my fuel pump has been running at half pressure since last fall.(19psi).
Doesn,t use oil, very reliable. guess i got lucky.


386k ??? OMG... My 94 is at 137,800 with no problems. I hope mine can get past 200,000

I have a 94 XLT 4x4 with 129K miles that has run really well for me. No tranny problems, engine problems, or electrical problems. The only serious issue that I've had is the transfer case problem, but that was my fault for not running the motor often enough (18 months of inactivity = bad news for the xfer case). I've owned 12 cars over the years, including five Fords, three of which I have currently, and the Fords have given me no more trouble than the Hondas, Nissan/Datsuns, or Toyota that I've owned.