I am just blowing off some steam....and maybe some advice from people would be good. I bought a 1992 ford explorer about 2 months ago and have had constant problems ever since. The first thing was the starter, I found out that the water pump was bad, then it started blowing off vac lines.. I had these problems fixed and then the bomb dropped.....the engine went Wednesday. This is the first newer car I have ever owned...all my other cars were good old detroit steel. 1979 Lincoln town coupe', 1978 Lincoln Mark V, 1967 Chrylser Newport. ALL GOOD OLD V8'S! I thought maybe with a V6 I might save some gas and pass our local vehicle emissions testing. I can't decide if I should fire up my old cars..Or if I should have this six banger rebuilt. Do these 4.0 engine last any length of time? My explorer only had 87k on it. The other cars I own have well over 100k or even 200k, and run strong!



Sean

 

Sound like you have already made up your mind on this one.
If you are never going to be happy with it, let it go and go back to what you are comfortable with.
I own a 91 Explorer with over 200K miles on the engine, and aside from an occasional oil drip from the rear main, it runs as good today as the day I bought it new. It was the first V-6 I ever owned and I was also hesitant to drop down from the old iron monster v-8's.
It has gone thru the expected repairs you mentioned (starter, waterpumps, alternator, transmission,ect)but I like it so much I refused to give it away on a trade in for a new truck. Wife thinks I am crazy, but I intend to rebuild the engine when it's time comes and drive till somebody totals it out.
I was so impressed with the Explorer engine, I bought a used 94 T-bird with 3.8 V-6 and was very happy with it also. That thing would cruise at 80 all day long and get 27 MPG doing it. Never had a minutes trouble with it. Finally traded it for my first front wheel drive car. This was another of my hangups. I got a new 99 Countour DOHC V-6 and that little rascal will will blow the doors off most things on the road.
So what I am saying is to learn about the newer developments in cars, find the weaknesses, learn to deal with them, see the strengths, embrace the change and go forward. In the long run you will see that things have really changed for the better. You may also find out that it is enjoyable to learn about the new systems and how to work on them.
Good Luck:
Dialtone

 

I have a 92 explorer too, but that one you got sounds like a basket case, go get a crate engine, a 4.0 ready to run from your local auto store, and replace, they have a good history around here, as for the normal time life of a explorer engine, I expect about 120k before you have to use your noodle to get some minor problems fixxed, and then ecpect a total life of 200K+ and if good oil changed as in <3000 miles then expect 300K miles!

hope this helps!