I've got an 03 explorer I'm looking at buying. The dealer let me have it for the weekend. The price is right and this thing is almost spotless. However, it has a whine under acceleration or cruise but it goes away completely during deceleration. From my quick search online it appears that one of the diffs may just be a little low on lube. So long as I'm not looking at a trans or transfercase or some other big dollar repair I'd like to buy this thing. Anyone familiar with explorers?
For reference it's an 03, 75k miles, 4.6 v8, 4x4, with tow package.
How much would I cost to just put a little lube in the diffs to find out? Is the fluid Ford only and eleventy billion dollars?
depends on whether or not they're LSD diffs. but i do know that the previous stick axle 8.8 used only synthetic and in a sortof odd vis of something like 75-140 which was only available in M1 for about 7 bucks a quart. ymmv
Never mind guys. Wife decided it's too big, she doesn't like it.
For future reference, all of the bearings in the rear end on these things are suspect. Shoddy quality control during assembly leads to the pinion and ring gear tolerances opening up a bit. There is a rebuild kit available from ford and other suppliers with updated (and hopefully higher quality) parts.
The internet is awesome.
I just saw an exploder on it's back tonight, it rolllllled over and over and over.......
I used to own a 1st gen explorer, and I know that each sucsessive genereation had tremendous improvments, but I think that there are better suvs to be had for the money.
unless you need the towing capacity, go look at a subaru forester
(i say that and i have a 2000 exploder, i kinda wish we hadn't gotten it)
Apexcarver wrote:
unless you need the towing capacity, go look at a subaru forester
(i say that and i have a 2000 exploder, i kinda wish we hadn't gotten it)
Outback > Forester.
Better handling, better fuel economy, better engine options.
i would argee with that, i just remember looking at foresters a bit more because it seemed easier for my grandmother to get in and out of (of course we got the exploder that she cant climb in and out of)
Buying a car would be such a fun experience if it weren't for car salesman. I took it back this morning and made them an offer with the rear end problem in mind. After playing dumb and making me take the salesman for a ride so he could verify the howl it has at speed, they told me they already knew about the problem and it was priced accordingly. I nicely asked when they were going to tell me about the rear end had I not discovered the problem on my own. And then I left.
I liked my parents' old 1994 Limited. It was comfy and we used to take it from southern PA to Hilton Head. Like 680 miles. Yeah. We even drove through hurricane Bertha! (Apparently, some guys wrote a song about the hurricane that we heard twice that night).
The only trouble we ever had with it was the dealer who told us that it was pulling to the right because of an alignment issue when in fact, a tire had just gone a bit low.
What was the asking price skruffy?
$10,650. I offered $9k.
edit: They offered me $10,150. The truck is probably worth that (aside from a few dings and scratches it looks brand new. Interior is spotless), but it's not really what we wanted. I'd buy it for 9 though just because I like the thing.
double edit: We're looking at MDXs and RX300s in the same price range. They get better mileage and have nicer interiors. And I won't have to spend a weekend under either one putting a rear end in.
