bummer. That's why I have full coverage, even on my POS Astro. Up here you see dead deer on the side of the road about every 5 miles from fall through winter. Wife has tangled with 2 of them ( fortunately no damage ) and a friend of hers has totaled 2 cars. Seems like when there's one, there's another behind it ( unless you got that one )...

Yeah, it kinda sucks. I've got full coverage as well...and this happened not too long ago to my girlfriend's mother...she hit a deer, and it didn't do nearly as much damage as mine...she saw the deer and slowed down enough to where it just broke the headlight and the fender around the headlight was creased. Didn't seem like a whole lot of damage from the outside but when the shop was taking it apart to assess further, they found more damage and ended up totaling the vehicle. And that was a 2004 Rodeo.

So I'm concerned that this may end up totaling mine as well since there is significantly more damage. The bright side is I only paid $1000 for it. But it's got a new battery in it, new tires, and a new radio. Wish I could take all that with me!

Looks like insurance is going to total it out. The adjuster went to look at it and in just assessing what was visible, that was already $2500 which apparently hit the 75% threshold. He couldn't open the hood due to the damage so he couldn't see what was wrong in there (I know at least the radiator would need replacement) so it seems there would be more damage on top of the $2500. And the value range is $3000-$3500 for it.

Well...maybe I can pick up another cheap deal on a 3rd gen...get a bit of an upgrade perhaps. We'll see. I gotta finalize this settlement first and then I'll worry about the next one.

Out of curiosity, if you paid a grand for it, and they total it out, what did they put in your pocket to purchase another vehicle with? We've got gap protection on our Sport Trac and as much as I love the truck, hitting a deer and totaling it out ( as long as there were no injuries ) would actually end up being very beneficial...not that I am asking for anything to happen of course.

I'm gonna end up with $2700 after my $500 deductible. The truck had 334,000 miles on it, 1-year-old tires, and a dent in the tailgate. Otherwise it was in good shape overall. No rust to speak of, was mechanically sound, interior was intact though there was some fading on the plastic parts of the interior panels.

It was a very well-kept vehicle and I couldn't believe the deal I got out of it. I truly don't think I'll ever come across a deal like that again.

I did get to keep the stereo...I made sure of that at least. Also the side window visors...they were WeatherTech pieces and custom-fit for a 3rd gen.

Maybe you'll end up with the $2000 version of it?

That's what I'm hoping for! :-X22 Lower mileage, maybe a V8, overall good shape...I think I'll be able to pull something off.

I've been perusing the area Craigslist ads and have seen quite a few 3rd gens in seemingly good shape for under $3K.

You would have probably loved our 96 V8. Very little rust ( back end of the rockers ) Needed 02 sensors and possibly head gaskets ( never confirmed as she used very little coolant and no visible signs ) leather, moon roof ( remote start )..awesome truck. Sold it for $600 because the dealer was only going to give us 500...to an idiot that ended up in a high speed chase and hit 3 cars with it.....ugh. Broke my wife's heart to hear of its demise. We only sold it because we were hoping to find a similar type vehicle that got better mileage than the 5.0 and settled on the 05 Santa Fe that did better on the highway, but miserably in town...we gained little other than a car payment. So, thus concludes the story as to how we got back into an Explorer, albeit a Sport trac this time ( and freshly gassed up and washed today! )

Threw a new oil pan gasket on the 04. It was a simple process with the only bolt being the slightest bit harder to reach being the one right over the pumpkin on the front diff. I should have replaced it when I put the engine in. I made the mistake of thinking the gasket was fine when I pulled the pan off to check the engine for timing component failure and slapped it back on. It made quite the leak after a while. Glad I am back to one drop per drive now instead of a puddle.

I replaced the thermostat on the Mountaineer last night. Not a hard process but a little bit of a PITA to get to the bolts. Two hours start to finish, blows HOT now!

IF it stops raining, I'm going to see if the old class 3 hitch will work on Sport trac. From what I could see in photos, the older explorer had an extra bolt holding it in place ( 3 per side instead of the 2 the newer ones use. If not, I found a CL hitch for $75 that I'll pick up if he still has it.

New wiper blades and filled washer fluid.

On the replacement '03 Explorer I bought, I've drenched the differential in brake cleaner to see if there really is any leaking fluid. After getting the pumpkin cleaned down to the bare metal and driving it around for a while, I don't see any evidence of leakage. I think I may be in the clear for the inspection on that aspect, but still have a few other items to address for inspection.

That's pretty bad on brakes, I have run my SD Dually nearly 60k miles same brakes since I bought used and towing many trailers heavy loads and coming up and down Mts. Also going from California to NY and back no problems. You got some braking issues for sure and might want to get that checked out :)

Nope, no issues, nice clear even wear and the pistons move easily. We just drive it more like a nascar then what it is. The gas and brake are more of a on/off switch with nothing much in the middle. Combine that with city traffic and you get a lot of brake wear and a crazy amount of dust.

This goes for all of the 95-01 Explorer/Mountaineers myself and my Father have had, we just like to use'em:-jammin

I also only get about 20-30K out of a set of summer tires...hehe


BTW the '99 Limited is at about 43K miles now.