The family has outgrown the minivan and I'm looking at buying a 2007-2008 Explorer. I will have the need to do some light towing with it, so I'm set on the V8.

I've scoured the forums here for a while and can't find anything specific for these model years.

My question is, does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of anything I should be looking for specific to the 07-08 models when I hit the lots looking at them?

Thanks in advance.

 

Really?
98 views and nothing?

Am I to believe there are no idiosyncrasies with these model years?

Have I been that jaded by my 6.0 that I figure every vehicle has hidden gremlins in some particular system that aren't discovered until the masses deal with them? haha

 

Not an Explorer owner but I have looked for them. If you get one with the 3 valve 4.6, I believe those had the spark plugs that stuck in the heads like the 3 valve 5.4. I believe they fixed them in 2009. The stuck plugs break off in the heads on removal; Ford used to replace heads, but now there are (expensive) procedures to pull the shells out. The V6 is a decent engine; I don't think there are any chronic problems with these but maybe do an internet search about the cam chains. (I think one is on the front of the engine and the other on the rear?)

A lot of these have really light, almost off white colored, interiors and if they have cloth seats, can look awfully dingy by now.

You should certainly look at the Consumer Reports trouble spots--they are not the ultimate authority but their charts break down areas where vehicles need repairs. I'm gonna guess electrical accessories could be a problem, body integrity aka rattles and squeaks. Brakes and shocks may be getting tired on a lot of these depending on miles.

I know the earlier ones had problems with paint sticking on the corners of aluminum hoods and tailgates. See if there is any bubbling under the paint inside and outside along the edges especially near the outer corners.

Good luck,
George

 

TinMan,


We replaced our minivan (Dodge Caravan) with a '04 Explorer and really missed the extra room the minivan provided. You may want to consider an Expedition over the Explorer. Leg room in the rear seats was the biggest issue. It was also nice to be able to remove the 3rd row if seats and put bikes in the back. Just my 2 cents!

 

Dan raises a good point. I did not read your first post well and think your basic premise is terribly flawed. An Explorer has 85 cubic feet of storage max behind the front seat and minivans have 130-150 cubic feet. My full size E150 has 250 cubic feet. My daily driver is a Subaru Forester which has 70 cubic feet and aside from the 3rd seat, the Explorer is hardly more useful than my Forester.

You need a van, maybe a big one.

Look at cubic foot measurements of storage when considering vehicle size. Larger minivans have more room inside than a stretch Expedition or a Suburban. And big SUV's and even the Explorer are gas hogs compared to minivans.

George

 

My wording may have been wrong. By outgrown I mean we no longer need the minivan for space. The van was originally purchased before we had children and was more of a convenience for our greyhounds to get in and out of (they don't do much jumping).
Now that we have children, and they have grown out of car seats, and our remaining grey is elderly and no longer going on car rides due to arthritis, the low deck of the van is no longer needed.
The Explorer would be my wife's daily driver...she likes 4WD and being elevated like the Excursion...but she needs something that can fit in the garage!

Thanks for the input though. Looked at an 09 EB - did the regular used-car lookover - got into an argument with the salesman over him trying to use the white lithium grease on my hind quarters without buying me dinner and had to walk out.

The search continues!!!

 

Good Luck, Tinman... What I said in my first post will hopefully help a bit; if you go with a V8, try to find one without the sticking spark plug issues, which I think would be 2009-2010. This is probably a bad time to be buying one because gas is cheap (for a minute) and winter is coming...

I've had full size vans continuously since 1986 (and an F100 before that), and next vehicle will be smaller, probably a minivan. Only 2 of us, but we still have bicycles and musical gear to tote around. No more Boy Scouts, no more son into bicycle racing, etc. But I still like my big van.

Good luck,
George

 

It looks like the only years for the Explorer that were possibly affected were 2002-2006.

-Rod

 

The Explorer had the 2 valve 4.6 from 2002 to 2005, which had the issue of shooting out plugs (although I believe the 2004-2005 heads were better and had more threads.)

The 3 valve 4.6 went into the Explorer with the 2006 redesign and had the same problem as the F150 and other 3 valve 5.4's (introduced in 2004 as the 5.4 3V) where the 2 piece plugs had a long sleeve that went into the cylinder head and would break off on removal.

I believe the 3 valve engines--both the 4.6 and 5.4--got new heads (with long threads on the plugs and no sleeve) circa 2008 or 2009.

So there were 2 different spark plug problems that are unrelated except that Ford's cylinder head designers from those years are hopefully working as greeters at Walmart. So either go with a 2005 Explorer if you want the 2 valve engine with better plug threads, and 2009-2010 if you want the 3 valve engine without the sticking/breaking sleeve.

George