Hello Ladies and Gentleman,
I have been seriously considering buying an Explorer. In my price range that would mean a 91-94 with 150-200,000 km's (approx). After talking to a couple of mechanic friends I have just about been talked out of it but I still like the looks and interior room of these trucks. They list problems like; automatic trannies (top of the list),front end (suspension, steering linkage, alignment, etc), poor fit and finish of interior and high price of parts. I can deal with the occassional problem but don't want a constant headache. Are these problems common to all or were the trucks my friends talked about out of the lemon bin? Also they didn't seem to have much experience with the 5spd trannies, is this because they are virtually trouble free or just because there's fewer around? Is one of the years listed above "better" than the rest and if so which one? Any help, thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated. I realize you guy's probably get asked similiar questions regularly and hope you don't mind answering one more.
Thanks.

P.S. I know that because human nature is what it is you will be more likely to tell me only about your bad experiences but if possible try to stay objective with the idea in mind that all vehicles break down, some just do it more than others. What I want to try and figure out is if this is one of those vehicles that breaks down more than most.

 

Trannies were worse on the 91's (Original year out). I have a 92 with the trailer towing package and trannie has not been a problem (at least not yet). Radius arm bushings have a tendency to wear out and front wheel bearings can become loose. Check for any popping in turns or front wheel wobble / bouncing when running between 55 to 70 miles per hour. Also the transfer case motor can become dirty and not shift into 4WD, so make sure you check that it engages when you try one out. If any of these problems are found, simply use it as part of the negotiations.

 

Automatic transmissions do seem to be a problem although I had a '91 (May '90 build date) that is still running strong with over 200,000 miles on the original transmission. Regular fluid changes and a cooler seem to help. The manual five speed is pretty rare and mostly came on base models. Other problems are probably no worse than any other 12 to 15 year old truck. Radius arm bushings do require periodic maintenance. They generally last at least 50,000 miles. Not sure where you live but parts for the Explorer in the States are pretty reasonable.

Mason

 

I agree with the above. My 92 has had no major problems, but "major" could be defined differently by different people. If you have any mechanical aptitude at all (and don't mind tinkering) these forums are a great help and you shouldn't have too many problems. Make no mistake...there will be a few issues that you will have to deal with that are common to the Explorer, but any vehicle will have it's own quirks. A lot will depend on the condition of the Explorer when you buy it, and as was mentioned, you can use your knowlege as a negotiating tool. Being an SUV, be careful not to buy something that's beat up.

Good luck.

 

i bought mine off of a friend who did little. So I ended up with all the headaches. basically have gone through the whole truck. To be honest, this truck is pretty simple to work on. I even re did the heads because the head gasket went. Tranny is still running good with 175,000 kms ballpark. Overall a good vehicle. I see you live in surrey, maybe I can sell you mine.
just do a good inspection

 

This is a simple truck to work on. I have a 91 (see user name) which I have modified over the years. But I would recommend getting a 93 or 94 with ABS as the RABS on the early ones is not the greatest and the new ones also have 4 wheel disks instead of Disk/Drum.

If you are mechanically inclined this truck will treat you well if not it will be _very_ expensive. i.e. repack front wheel bearings is about $100-$140 at most shops and it has 2.25 hours in the book you need to do this yearly to avoid the 'loose' wheel bearing problem which most of the time is caused by the shop not following the procedure. Which for reference is

1 - torque bearing retainer to 35/FtLb while turning rotor
2 - back off retainer 1/4 turn
3 - torque retainer to 16/InLb while turning rotor
4 - rotate retainer CW until slot aligns with slot in spindle
5 - insert retainer pin

If you just adjust the retainer until 'snug' the wheel bearings will loosen up.

 

By the way mine has 260,000 miles on it so in the long interval I have owned this truck I have been very happy with it and I have bought other X's in the intervening years (which I still have)