I've found a couple used suv's i'm interested in. both are 99, one is a mountaineer, the other is an explorer eddie bauer. both have the V8 AWD. I like the explorer better, but it has 159,000 miles while the mountaineer has 108,000. I have not driven either of these as i've just found them but i'm looking to move up from my 93 ranger.

My question is how good are these awd v8 fords? should the high mileage keep me away or not worry about it. I have a focus with 200,000 and my ranger has 147,000 so i know if taken care of you can get a lot of miles out of a car.

Do these have transmission issues? i've heard that certain years of the explorers with the 4.0 v6 has trans problems.

I like both of these, but i'm leaning towards the explorer.

Any opinions on these drivetrains?

 

302 bullet proof
4R70W bullet resistant
AWD system bullet deflecting

At these miles, the maintenance record, condition, and treatment are the deciding factors. I like less miles of course, and since the Mercury is an orphan, you might drive a harder bargain.

Expect ball joints, wheel bearings, possibly axle bearings. Usually by now the axle bearings have been replaced if they were the poor ones.

 

thanks for the reply! so will the AWD go through snow like my ranger does? i have no problem going through 8" of snow with my ranger. I would hope that an AWD would basically be the same?

also, how to tell if the AWD system is working? i'd hate to buy this and end up having a bum transfer case.

 

Also, the rear parking brake shoes have a tendency to disintegrate. If either of these vehicles happen to have leaking rear axle seals, it will be easy to replace the parking brake shoes at the same time as the bearings and seals.

The AWD in these is less of a transfer case and more of a viscous coupling unit (VCU) so if the vehicle moves forward, backward, and doesn't make a lot of banging doing so, the VCU is probably just fine. Consider changing the fluid a maintenance item to perform if you end up purchasing it though.

-Rod

 

I ended up buying a 98 eddie bauer with the 5.0 and AWD from the original owner! Been working on it a bit. The CEL was on and it was a B1 S1 O2 sensor. That ended up going in to the shop to get done. I just could not do it. I spent days on it, heating, pb blaster. would not budge. the shop said it took almost 4 hours as the threads of the sensor stayed in the exhaust and they had to re-tap the bung. Also the EGR tube needed replaced, new rear spring shackles, sway bar links, chasing a p0455 code now. already replaced the vapor canister purge valve. I may replace the vapor canister vent solenoid to see if that helps.

Really like it though. nice to have V8 again.

 

Sure looks nice from the outside. Glad to hear you're getting it all fixed up, and I suspect it will make for a pretty reliable vehicle for you once you get these few issues worked out. Congratulations on the new ride!

-Rod

 

I know this is replying to an older thread, but I had an Evap issue when we bought our 96 Explorer...the underside was clean..like steam cleaned clean. But I pulled off the sensor by the back tire ( purge valve or...I don't remember exactly ). Point is, as clean as it was, the truck had spent many a day down dirt roads and that thing was filthy. I cleaned it up and reinstalled it and never had another EVAP code pop up. Great truck, shouldn't have gotten rid of it.

 

to follow up, my P0455 code "EVAP system large leak detected". was just that. a large leak! One of My vapor canisters had the corner broken off. I put on a new one and that took care of the problem. I Really like driving this truck (should i call it a truck? it drives like one with the V8). My son has been driving it too as i sold my old focus he was driving. He said yeah, i see why people like driving these. My wife likes it because you can see all around and she said its surprisingly easy to park. With the V8 i've been getting around 16. sometimes lower sometimes higher, but not much. I did hit 18 if i baby it before it got cold. but whats the point of having a v8 if you are not going to get on it? Its definitely not fast, but the torque is great. Hoping to get me through until the Bronco comes out!

 

My son has a 2004, with 230.000, still runs great. limited issues, just maintain it , and keep tranny from over heating, I expect he will get another 100.000 out of it? great ,comfortable rig, locking hubs added, snow tires with studs, it goes thru the snow great, I live in UT, at 8.000 elevation ,, get plenty of snow up here, in 4 wheel every day from oct to sometimes may, my boy is 17 and a good driver learned how to drive on these dirt roads, I don't worry about him too much,,, haven't had to pull him out yet, yes it will happen to the best driver or rig . a matter of time,,thanks

 

Mine has been flawless approaching 203k.
A couple of small things are hard to get to in the engine bay like the pcv valve and plugs but overall a great engine.
I have a 99 Bauer and love it.

 

I have a '98 that's fixing to get a '52 F1 body

 

I picked up a low mileage (83000 miles) '00 Mountaineer with the 5.0L V8, 4R70W, and AWD. It did have a few issues, but they were easy and cheap fixes. Definitely a very capable and reliable vehicle. Only thing I am planning to change with it is the cooling fan situation. Mine has lots of cracks in the plastic fan unit, so rather than replacing it with another unit that does the same thing I'll retrofit it with a Contour fan assembly.