I have a loaded 1996 Explorer XLT 4X4 with 105,000 miles. It has every available factory option but does not have the V8, just the weak V6. Last week the oil pressure indicator kept indicating a drop in oil pressure down to nothing and then back up again. I thought it was the sensor going and although I was worried, I didn't take it right in like I should have.

Then it started making noise and had it towed to the dealer. They told me something went in the motor and I'm better off getting a lower mileage salvage motor put in. What do you guys think? Is it worth fixing or should I just take the loss and sell it as is?

I have a bunch of money in it from the past two years. It needed a new A/C compressor and evaporator, front end rebuilt, and a new ring and pinion.

Any ideas what the vehicle is worth with and without the engine?

Should I look into upgrading to the V8 or would that be a costly fit.

Thanks in advance.

 

Then it started making noise and had it towed to the dealer. They told me something went in the motor and I'm better off getting a lower mileage salvage motor put in. What do you guys think? Is it worth fixing or should I just take the loss and sell it as is?

Selling it without an engine isn't the easiest thing in the world, and it's really hard to get any decent money out of it. If you did stuff as motor in it, would you keep it a few more years?

 

We were planning on keeping it at a weekend property before it broke. So if I would get it fixed, we would keep it there.

The dealer said the only engine he could locate was an 86,000 mile engine. The bill would be $3,000. So it's looking more and more like a junker.

Again, it's a shame since I have so much into it, but I guess you have to cut your loss at some point.

 

Take a look at www.jasperengines.com for pricing. I just took a quick look and they are selling reman'd engines for your truck for about $2500.... and that's with a 3 year/75,000 mile warranty. The only thing is the installation cost that would need to be added. That would be better then trying to find a salvage motor with a lot of miles on it.

 

You can have an entire engine rebuild for around 1600 if you do all the work. You could buy a 400 dollar engine and rebuilt it, still it will be cheaper than one with 80000 miles

 

Just spoke to a friend that is a mechanic and he told me to look into Jasper also. Any idea what installation would cost?

 

Unfortunatly I don't know what the cost would be....

 

A Quick Note on Ford Oil Pressure Gauges. They are not a gauge. They have two positions, none and normal. As long as the pressure is above a threshold value they read normal. If it is not above this value they read none. The fact that it was going up and down, would mean you were close to the threshold value. They stopped putting gauges to avoid service calls for oil pressure in the low normal range.

Did they tell you what was wrong with the engine, because a rebuild would not be that expensive, unless there is damage to the block or the head itself. I have rebuilt 2 myself, and though it was 10 years ago I don't remember it costing me more than $500 to do either one.

David
Want a Free IPOD?
http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=9181869

 

My 94 V6 has a similar issue, but my gauge floats between Normal-low and normal -med. It gets worse the faster I run. Any thoughts? I have changed the oil switch.

 

I just did a rebuild on my 91 engine earlier this year. Prices reanged from a low of 1675 at a local machine shop to 2500 from Ford on a remanufactured crate engine.
Of course, these prices do not include R&R, but even if I had chosen FORD the total price was 3000 (500 for the R&R which was the lowest labor price I was quoted)
Anyway, all and all, I chose the local machine shop and the total bill was 2375 out the door.
If yours is SOHC motor, I am sure the price will be higher.

EDIT: Go down to your local school district bus department and see where they take their busses to get engine work done. Most likely they have a local machine shop that does all their work and you can bet the price will be more reasonable that a dealer, and better quality than some smaller operators. That is where I got my references.

Dialtone

 

Shadowe - not sure where you get you info. Well - it's not correct. My 93 oil pressure gauge fluctuates with engine RPM and the obvious deltas between when it is cold and warmed up.

Now back the the orignial poster - find out what is wrong with it first then make a decision. The fricking dealers are the last place you want to bring a car - OK maybe someone in the great 50 state union had a good experience once - I'm not tlaking about that. Think about it - would you trust anyone who wanted to not troubleshoot a problem and then charge you $3K for uase motor? I can by a complete car for that in great shape.

OK - so 4.0's are prone to sludge build up around the oil pump intake. This is for those who don't regularly change their oil. You could be running along OK one day and then bam - no pressure. Shut it off and the little piece of crap that plug the last opening falls away. Start it up and you have pressure again. Then one day you are SOL.

It sounds like you might have had this problem but now the the motor is making noise...who knows what you could have done to it. Mayne the noise is the motor saying give me oil or maybe it's saying you killed me.

I would drop the oil pan and inspect. If you're going to trash it as a shell anyway - you have nothing to loose. If you find a bunch of crap, clean it out, put in a new oil pump, seal it all up and dont forget to put the oil back in. Fire it off and see if your $3,000 noise hase gone away for ~$50-$75.

 

Here is a good write-up on how to convert your dummy gauge, to a real oil gauge:

http://rogueperformance.com/oilsw.html

It is for the Ranger, but it applies to all Fords.

 

try here www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com

 

http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...53105598019.1e

 

Hey thanks for the Article 93nighthawk, It appears that maybe someone else in this forum should do some research before accusing another poster of being wrong. Just my humble opinion.

David
Want a Free IPOD?
http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=9181869