ok, ford explorers, for and against

hi steve, yer i have heard that myself but not to long ago was talking to a bloke that has one and said has had it 3 years and loves it and it's better on fuel than his old one but didn't say what that was. so yer like you say everyone has there own opinion. but thanks for yours, in my opinion they all rust if they aren't washed regular.
Pete

thanks for that but rearly you are only buying a ticking bomb in anything you buy with a few ks and years on. and i have owned a toyota and wouldn't give you sixpence for one. worst 4by i ever owned. and it was a 93 ute with medium ks, but thanks for that timing chain info.
Pete

So you know the history of how the term exploder stuck?

Obviously not, or he wouldn't of typed that comment.

Yes you are correct Baz. I think it was you who told me about the tyres.

......but Baz is the person who taught the legendary exploder to swim, that they could nearly learn but fail it the real story of EO. Of course that is aside to the 2by Exploder real story. You better tell people in your own words Baz, and elaborate why a Landy is better.

"Once repaired the owner was offered $2000 as a trade in, on a new Falcon."

Now THERE'S an accurate way to get a feel for what your cars worth lol

Also remember that there is a hellofalot available in the used car market in 4x4s, especially in the large petrol guzzlers. Just do a search on ebay for 4x4 and see all the cars in your price bracket.

I am not surprised you had problems with your ute. These things are about the toughest on the market and as such they get used for the toughest jobs (mining, carrying 2tonnes of hay while towing the boom spray and the list gos on) tough or not it pays a toll and any tojo utes past history should be well examined as more often than not past history is an indication of future performance!

Hi Keepkampen et al,

Have you ever considered a Landrover DiscoTD5.

Now watch the comments fly LOL

I must admit to being a bit of a Landrover nut and enjoy stirring the pot a bit.

Cheers

Disco

Keepkampen ,have a look in the search function under ford and or explorer ,sorry that I dont have the available time right now to tell u of our ford explorer , cam chain problems ?? not until way over 2hundred thou kays ,exploders ?? was a USA tire company [firestone] caused problem ,, towing ?? min156kw ,gravel roads ?? did the simpson ,birdsville ect ect ,, bet a $ or 3 that if Baz /redback didnt drown his he would probably still have his , only ever got rid of ours because time was "right" to change to a diesel ,

Hmmm 4.5 -5 klm per lt , you forgot to mention ,TOWING A FULL SIZE and HIGHT 18.6ft CARAVAN .

also petrol vs diesal

ok ok, i wasn't the top of da class for spelling. or any fing else for dat matter. i must remember to use da spell check.

ops, that's ment to be diesil .

try this time , diesel. doing tomany things on here at once.. i'm a man and can't do more than two at a time.

Keepkampen , can say that personally I would never "go back" to having a petrol powered 4x4 , yes the petrol has "more" kw / horsepower and the quick getaway from the lights ,, but my turbo diesel will pass that same vehicle fueling up at the service station and just cruise on by ,, the old story of the tortise and the hare ,

Hi Keepkampen,

My missus wasn't that keen when I bought mine either.She loved "her" near new Subaru Forester that I traded in.
Guess who drives the Disco now?? (and it ain't me, except for the long trips & even then she keeps on at me for a drive)
I'm relegated to the diesel Courier dual cab for everything else.

Keep trying, eventually you may have a win

Cheers

Disco

yep it will all come good some day.. thanks Disco.
Pete

and thats all i need to hear. thank you. i will take you up on that offer as well.
Pete

Ok’ mate I will just go throe a pile of stuff and if you have any other questions just ask.

Engine> SOHC V6
Know problem as already stated Cam Chain tensioners, There is one on the front Right head and one on the back left in the Valley under the Intake manifold> Ford charge around $700 to replace them with the updated ones witch are Bigger

Timing chains and guides> this engine has 4 Chains (2 cam) one of which is on the back. It is not unheard of for the Timing Chain tentioner and the chain guides to wear out (Poor design) this was supposedly fixed around mid 2000-2001, the problem is if you get a issue with the rear Cam Chain Cassette as the engine needs to be pulled to fix it, I could harp on all day about this so I will rap it up buy saying this. >

It is a know problem It’s around a $4000 Job to replace all the Timing gear on the engine (Ford Price). At 153,000 Mine is still running sweet I did my Cam tentioners at 115,000 after driving with bugged ones for 10,000k, I know of 3 Explorers that have had the rear cam chain let go both had over 215,000k on them and all were pre September 2000, I hear of more Nissan ZD30 going bang with a chit load less K’s on em and people still buy those. You can pick up a NEW crate Motor for $4500 from an engine importer in NSW I think it is (Just so you know)

That is basically the only problem with the engine apart from that it a good motor, It’s built on race technology so it can Rev when you want it to and has good power Peak toque at 3000Rpm , as I said mine has gone parts 6000Rpm (The numbers stop a 6000 too) a few times and the engine didn’t struggle to get there, I have hit 180Km/h once and the bloody thing was still pulling!!! , It uses no Oil between changers and at 155,000K there is no sludge build up in the engine, it is still shiny inside.

Gearbox and T/case, Manuals are not common and I wouldn’t buy one ether as the auto is king and it gets the better engine behind it too.

It’s the 5R55E (5Speed auto) a good unit really as long as you look after it, This means Oil and Filter changers at 100,000K and re toqueing the valve body bolt’s wile you have the pan off. If doing a lot of towing in hot conditions drop that down to 80,000K IMO. Use only Mercron V Fluid in it (Penrite Synthetic ATF Also meats the standards and is cheaper and better) the gearbox will not of been serviced unless the owner had asked for it as it’s not on the service schedule (it’s a ford thing) dropping the pan is 4ltres and full oil change is around 10 litres.

Transfer case is a Borg Waner 44-05 Electronic shift, 2 know problems 1, The Chain in it can stretch 200,000K+ before such an issue might happen and No. 2 the shift fork that locks in low range can break 240,000k+ so both High mileage issues and for your sort of use unlikely. Oil change interval for the T/Case is 40,000K and it takes the same oil as the transmission

Also the shift motor that controls Low range engagement can suffer Internal electrical contact failure but will not affect 4WD HI. It's A Known problem more common in 1997and early 1998, Mine went a few months ago, a new one $800 from ford Aust $600 from the states or aftermarket from the states $200, I got a second hand one for $250.

Rear Axle> Ford 8.8 and is solid as, It will probably come with the Trac-Loc LSD 3.73gear ratio which is a good unit but will be very average for off-road use buy 120-130,000k (Still better than a Toyota LSD when new but LMAO) but still woks fine on gravel and the black top, the new clutch packs are $100US and just involves the normal LSD repack procedure, Not hard just time consuming and a job you rely need to be motivated for (I haven’t found the motivation yet LOL)> Oil change interval is at 150,000 thou I did mine at 120,000 and used slightly heaver LSD gear oil for better protection you need to pop the diff cover plate to drain the oil as there is no drain plug.

Look mate we might make this a 2-part instalment, as it is getting a bit long.

I will put the rest up tomorrow arvo WA time, or latter tonight

Any questions on the above feel free to ask.

Cheers.

Cheers.

cheers exploder, thanks very much for all that , you know it's only on here people are bagging them as everyone else i talked to love them. but it is good to here what others have to say about different things. well i am going to save all your info now . thanks again.
Pete

Part 2

Front Axle> is a DANA 35 made for the front of the Explorers no other Standard DANA 35 stuff will fit the unit. I have had no problems with mine aside from needing to replace the Pinion seal at 105,000K, not uncommon for a DANA diff; Seal was about $35 from memory. It’s all IFS up front and once agene the CV’s haven’t given me any problems even with running a 2-inch lift on the front.

Electrical problems> The GEM Module (Controls the 4WD system) can sometimes pack it in NOT VERRY COMMON thou, a new one is around $1000> The Only electrical problem I have had on mine is the battery leaked and spilt acid over a wiring harness a stuffed the wiring, that resulted in damaged airbag Crash sensor wiring, Horn not working, Cruse control only worked occasionally and 4WD Low not being able to engage. Hardly the car’s fault!!!

Part’s> Buying Parts in Australia can be expensive; buying parts from the U.S is a lot Cheaper, the way I work is anything I can’t buy hear or I can’t get for a reasonable price I order it from the U.S.A

www.summitracing.com > If it’s American and it aftermarket these guy’s probably have it, and they are easy to deal with and happily ship to Australia.

http://www.fastpartsnetwork.com/> These guys can order any Ford part direct and sell it cheaper than U.S Ford dealers do and a lot cheaper then Aus Ford dealers> I.E the front wheel bearings are a sealed unit and are a N/S item and should last a long time, If you need to replace them ford AUS charges $700 each, these guys will get them for $290 Australian Each + shipping.

Generally they are fairly reliable, Mine has never let me down, the biggest issue I have had is the Cam chain tensioners and that took a Saturday to swap them over, The longest on going issue was my 4WD Low engagement due to the damaged wiring from the leaking battery, that took 8 hours of me digging around and 2 visits to ford, It should of taken one visit and a day if the Workshop technicians put 2 and 2 together pulled out there wiring diagram and realised Horn, airbag 4WD and cruse control wiring all run to the same harness that was next to the leaking battery that they spotted up on the first visit.

If you don’t mind getting the hand dirty once in a wile you can do most services yourself, if you are mechanically minded and have some decent tools and don’t mind getting in and having a go you can do most thing’s on the truck, the Haynes Manuel number is 36024

One last thing, for anything you need a hand figuring out or advice on www.explorerforum.com >American site full of mechanics, enthusiasts, Ford employees and everyday Explorer owners, there are a few Australian owners who frequent it as well., very helpful site.

A bit about My Explorer> 1997 Fully optioned XLT 5 Speed Auto 4.0L SOHC 4WD, lifted 2.5-Inch rear/ 2-inch at the front (Custom HD Lovell’s sprigs) Moog Control arms and bull Joints, RANCHO Shocks, TJM Bull bar, CIBIE spot light’s, Uniden UHF, Custom exhaust, 31-Inch Cooper ST’s and a few other bit’s and pieces. It’s been all over the place with a solid amount of work off-road, I have even had a few Nissan and Toyota owners ask me about it along the way.

I. Hope I have been able to give you a fair run down on what to expect, Check out that other forum for some more Info on them and ask some questions of other owners before making up your mind, As I said before if I had my time agene I would still of brought my explorer.

Cheers.

thanks again exploder, i will go into that other site and you have been more than helpful.
Pete

OK Donks,

I'll bite

Why?????

Disco

Another person who has no idea, disco.

Another thing about the exploding TYRE incident that was NOT widely publicised was that other vehicles as well as the Explorer were having the Firestone tyres explode on the highways at speed, but because Explorers are so popular in the USA, they got the most attention.

They also have 2 engines the popular SOHC 4.0l with 152Kw fitted to an auto box.

And the OHV 4.0l with 119Kw fitted with a manual gearbox, with the crap Borg Warner 1401 transfer case.

Baz.

One more thing the Explorer was first introduced in Aust in 1996, the models before this 91 to 95 had the strong gear in them and live axle front diff not IFS, and are the most popular Explorer in the USA for offroading because of this.

Baz.

The 5R55E, though mechanically identical to the 4-speed 4R55E, is a five-speed transmission, the first produced by an American Auto maker. The ability to produce five forward gears is by improved software control. The 5R55E introduced adaptive shift control and sophisticated friction to friction shift ability. The 5R55E introduced Directional high energy frictions and eliminated all but one thrust washer with high-capacity thrust bearings. It was designed for the high-torque 4.0Ltre SOHC.