Well...on a whim, my mother saw a 98 Explorer she liked...so she got it. She just called me all excited. I played the supportive, excited role, but I don't have a damn clue about any info on these rigs...and I doubt my father does either. So can you guys disclose some problem areas and issues with this rig?



It sounds like she went off half-cocked with this purchase...all she knows is it's white, pretty and has 120k...and apparently the price was right...which worries me considering it was such a good deal that my mother impulsively bought it.

5.0 or no? if its not, itll be the 4.0 V6. either way they are pretty solid rigs and can be beat on and beat on and beat on. if its the 5.0 it will have the GT40P heads and a really good intake for that truck, cant be much more done to the engine to improve it, other than extremes, other than a better cam.

Alright...that's good to know.


What about tranny problems?

Electrical issues?

Any other typical problem areas with this rig?

Good SUV they can take abuse.
If it is a 4.0 she will get approx 18 MPG
The bad is they rust by the gas filler. The push button 4 wheel drive sucks breaks when you need it most, that is the same as all push button.
Changing the plugs is a PITA the passenger side is hard to get at.

UTfball68 said:

Alright...that's good to know.


What about tranny problems?

Electrical issues?

Any other typical problem areas with this rig?

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i know people have HAD issues with the transmissions, if im not mistake there was a TSB on it. cant remember where i saw it.

beyond that im not real sure, i dont think there were any other issues.

the only one i can think of, if it is non distributor. like if it runs off of coil packs, (PROBABLY DOES, since its a LATE 5.0) the coil packs are EXPENSIVE.

Basically everything listed above plus the leaf spring shackles rust a lot and break, at least up here.

why dont you get me the vin?

Well I just took it for a drive, it needs an alignment and there's a slight tick coming from the intake. The story goes the PO scraped one of those cement barriers around the bottom of a light in a parking lot, but the affected door and quarter panel have been replaced...needs to be realigned IMO. Regardless, Mom is happy and only paid $1350 for it. Oh...and it is a 5.0.

73F100Shortbed said:

Basically everything listed above plus the leaf spring shackles rust a lot and break, at least up here.

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Appreciate the info...I'll have a look at em later.

blacksnapon said:

why dont you get me the vin?

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Thanks for the offer Vince, the vin is coming your way in less than 5 minutes.

Sounds like you got it for a good price if it is in driveable condition.

are you sure its not valve train clatter? my brothers 98 5.0L was pretty clackity clackity...

No trans issues here, the V8's got the 4R70W.

I seem to remember rear wheel bearings being in issue, maybe?

Also, the SOHC 4.0's usually have some timing chain issues, but if it's the 5.0 then it should be fairly reliable.

Sounds like she got a decent deal if nothing major turns up.

offroadkarter said:

are you sure its not valve train clatter? my brothers 98 5.0L was pretty clackity clackity...

No trans issues here, the V8's got the 4R70W.

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To be honest, I'm not really sure of anything...I've had my ear to it for maybe 5 minutes.

Captain p4 said:

I seem to remember rear wheel bearings being in issue, maybe?

Also, the SOHC 4.0's usually have some timing chain issues, but if it's the 5.0 then it should be fairly reliable.

Sounds like she got a decent deal if nothing major turns up.

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It is in fact the 5.0...and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

UTfball68 said:

It is in fact the 5.0...and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

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Even if it required a rebuild it wouldn't be that much and still a good deal at 1350. As you say most used cars need about 100 bucks of random crap.

They had a few issues- 95's and '96's were more reliable (4.0's), but the new bodystyle style sucked until they got some major items resolved.

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1998&make=Ford&model=Explorer