Looking at Ford Explorer

[Tristicus]

Found a 93' Ford Explorer XLT for $1650 listed. 4WD, 5-speed, 4.0 V6. Cloth, power windows/locks, shows 52k miles. Called and said it was 152k since there is no sixth digit on these cars...odd, but whatever.

Only thing is that it is from a small car lot instead of a private seller or dealer. They've been in business for at least a year, but is there anything I should look out for at the dealership? Also, what are reoccurring problems with these vehicles?

 

[dug777]

They roll 😉

Aside from that, they're ugly as sin, they get awful mileage, and they break. A lot.

Actually, I made much of that up (well, the last bit anyway), but google threw up this page for starters:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ford-explorer2.htm

Googling 93 ford explorer problems is a tad unfair of course, but there's plenty of material on the subject 😉

EDIT: I started looking at 2nd hand exploders here and am amazed at how cheap they are, particularly as they were reasonably expensive to buy new here at least.

 

[c3p0]

The only thing I dislike about that vintage Explorer is they tend to be a little under powered and the get crappy gas mileage. Not much different from any other SUV.

hatchet

 

[jlee]

My mother has a... '99, I think? It's terribly dull to drive and about as fast as a turtle. It's been very good to her, though..I don't think it has broken down yet (she's had it for a few years now). Hers is auto, though.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Honestly, they're pretty reliable vehicles. Any car built in 1993 is going to have its share of maintenance issue; old stuff is old stuff and there's nothing that can be done about it. My father used to have a '91 Explorer and the only reason he got rid of it was because of his general policy of selling his vehicles when they hit 200,000 miles. He didn't run into any abnormal maintenance issues.

The old pushrod 4.0 V6 isn't going to set the world aflame with its acceleration, but by the time it was used in the Explorer it was a solid engine. And even though it only has 155 or 160 hp (depending on the year), it puts out a respectable 225 ft-lbs of torque and we didn't have any issue towing an 18-foot inboard/outboard boat with it.

Overall, while they're not anything like being the greatest vehicle ever made, they're solid, reliable, and inexpensive to maintain, which is a good combination for someone who wants a reasonably comfortable workhorse vehicle.

ZV

 

[Bignate603]

Personally, I would wonder about it's reliability as a daily driver as would almost any vehicle from '93 with that kind of mileage but as an occasional use vehicle (camping, dragging home stuff from home depot, light towing, etc) you'll probably get years out it.

 

[Tristicus]

Well if I'm averaging about 8mpg with my Jeep, I'm going to need something a bit better. 15mpg is good to me.

I'm planning to use it until at least March of next year, maybe longer, if I did get it, but that would depend on how it runs through then. I could possibly get rid of it around then if I decided to for a small loss if that.

I plan to obviously check the frame and all that. What are some of the best ways to check a transmission though? I realize if it grinds in gear and such that I wouldn't get it. I also won't even consider it if I'm not allowed a test drive.

 

[NutBucket]

As long as it shifts fairly smoothly and the clutch doesn't seem to slip then it should be fine.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Well if I'm averaging about 8mpg with my Jeep, I'm going to need something a bit better. 15mpg is good to me.

I'm planning to use it until at least March of next year, maybe longer, if I did get it, but that would depend on how it runs through then. I could possibly get rid of it around then if I decided to for a small loss if that.

I plan to obviously check the frame and all that. What are some of the best ways to check a transmission though? I realize if it grinds in gear and such that I wouldn't get it. I also won't even consider it if I'm not allowed a test drive.

IIRC my father used to get 19-21 mpg with his, but he lives in a rural area and almost all of his driving is steady-state cruising at 45-65 mph.

Unless something's seriously wrong, the basic mechanicals should get you through March easily. These are simple vehicles; live axle rear end, Ford's time-honored Twin Traction Beam front end, and with the manual transmission not much to go wrong. Check the general things for a manual, smooth engagement and clutch strength and feel and you should be OK.

ZV

 

[Tristicus]

So I went to take a look at it, just being Sunday and I knew it wasn't open, but figured I'd give it a look over. Paint was peeling a bit, and looked a little banged around...but the thing is I really didn't feel comfortable about the place so I decided just to skip it.

Oh well.

 

[Sluggo]

Prepare yourself for the onslaught of idiots continually making Exploder jokes until you congratulate them on their sly wit.

 

[boomhower]

Their decent trucks. There have been several in my family and many of my friends have had them of that vintage. No major problems.

 

[Occ]

The explorerforum has a ton of info on, um, explorers. I would almost say exhaustive. Don't know about the '93 generation, but 96-01 gen tends to have leaking gasket issues with the v6 engine. Pretty easy to check, simply drive around, pop the hood, ascertain if smell of burning coolant is present. The v8 engine is supposed to be bulletproof, however.

I've (still) got a 97 explorer, it's been in the family since new, never had anything done to it aside from routine maintenance until recently (at 150k), where it was ascertained that the engine gasket was leaking coolant. I think it's a bit unfair to call it roll-over prone, because I learned to drive with it and I'm pretty sure if that was the case I would have rolled it by now. Whenever people ride with me and I hit a corner they do tend to grab the handles, though.