Learn Me - 95-01 302 Exploder

Criteria: Sleep in back (6' from front seats to rear door). Easy to fix. Easy to find parts for. Handles well on/off road. 19+ MPG highway. Easily sourced skid plates.

I've been looking at 03+ Montero, but they are hard to find with the 3.8L, especially well taken care of, and most average between $4,000-$6,000 with reasonable miles. But luxury.

Cherokee is too small length-wise for me, I know this because I am well acquainted with them. Grand Cherokee would be familiar territory. Haven't ruled out a WJ yet.

AWD AstroSafari: almost bought one two weeks ago, but realized no easily available skid plates, tricky fuel pump replacement (which seems common) and I'd need a lift/tires right from the get go.

So I thought: what vehicle is relatively common, has a reliable and simple V8 with tons of aftermarket (mo' powa!), and is just long enough to sleep in the back?

The 95-01 V8 Explorer. They are incredibly plentiful. I can find them all day long with 125k for under $3,000. Engine can be easily modded for more power. Suspension options range from Pro-Touring to Rock Crawling and Pre-Runner. Easy to fix, no van shenanigans. Off-road ready from the factory.

So, anything else I need to know?

headers are expensive for them because the driverside has to do some weird stuff to get around the steering shaft. they have the some of the best, if not the best, flowing factory heads. the v8 explorers are AWD, not a true 4wd. Not sure how the AWD transfer case holds up to offroading, maybe swap to a real 4wd transfer case? that would also gain you some MPG. Also im pretty sure all the v8 models had the8.8 alxe with 3.73 LSD rear end which is a plus.

All Exploderzs have 8.8's, and the gears vary. The 90-93 have rear drums (awesome!) and the 94+ have rear discs (garbage! solid rotor, sliding screw-bore single piston caliper that freezes up and an integral drum parking brake anyway). The AWD cases like to go boom off-road but real 4x4 transfer cases with a low-range are an easy swap. 5.0/AOD is reliable as gravity and cheap to fix. They are NOT easy to work on! Prepare for frozen fasteners, oddball socket requirements, and cut up hands. Front suspension is wack and wears out fast.

The cure for the GM vortec injection/fuel pump is to get rid of the poppet valves with a new spider kit that puts the injectors where they belong. Then they run on normal fuel pressure not the poppet pressure that needs 58psi to start and 55 to run. Then your (bad) fuel pump that makes 55psi will be fine for ever.

Exploders are just soft and heavy, but they look good on paper. No low range kills it for me.

I've owned a 00 for 11 years, mine is the 4.0l ohv which is an engine I love.

I've replaced ball joints once all around during that time and I live on a horrible gravel road. I just replaced the stock end links a month ago.

Mine likes to throw a lean code once a year. I get 22mpg if I drive carefully.

My mom had a very similar one with the 4.0 sohc and it sucked balls. Never driven the 5.0 in an explorer but the aren't true 4wd

In the spirit of GRM, here is a non-exploder-related suggestion:

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/5545260755.html

I have a 97 and fit in the back on a sleeping platform I made. Parts aren't super easy to find but I don't really find myself breaking down much anyway.

I had a '97 Explorer sport 2wd with the 4.0 SOHC engine and it was great. Sold it to my brother ay 130K miles and he beat it into the ground till the tranny went kaboom at 200K. In the time I had it (80 thousand miles worth) I only changed the oil regularly, blender door once, and the plugs once. Otherwise nothing, literally drove 80K without needing brakes, tire rotations, alternator, AC work.....nothing.

If you can find one that has survived 20 years I'd really be surprised, people bought them by the metric trainload to use and use up.

I've had a '97 2wd 302 XLT for 16 years. It is the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. It has the 4R70W trans and towing package, and is rated to tow 6850 lbs. What they said about being awkward to work on is partly true - the engine compartment is TIGHT, but with patience most things are no worse than your average FWD car. Underneath, it's just a truck, easy peazy. Mine has 213k miles.

Lets see...common issues...

The HVAC blend door insie the dash unit gets flakey or brakes. It's kind of bitch to get to, but there are fix kits for it cheap. The 4R70W has a spring on the 1-2 shift selonoid that breaks and gives you hard 1-2 shifts, feels like a shift kit. Upgraded parts are available from Ford for about $30. The trans likes to stutter going into OD if it needs a fluid change or isn't running full synth Mercon V. Once those two items are done, it's a tough trans. If you see one with a blinking OD light, though, that means it needs a rebuild or will shortly. If you hear a chirping noise from the front top of the engine that sounds like serp belt slip, it could be the cam position sensor. It's easy to change but once they start chirping it's on it's way to a failure which can be bad. There are 2 sensors in the EGR system that like to fail - DPFE and something else - that will give you a CEL for the EGR function. A little awkward to change, but they'r right on top of the motor. One is $20 and one is $60 I think. The metal tube from the psg manifold up to the EGR likes to develop a hole and makes a sound like the engine tapping. New tube is about $90 and not bad to change. Ball joints are wear items and a mild PITA to change. The rear flat panel windows develop leaks that leave the carpet in the back wet, but the leaks are cured by simply tightening down the nuts on the window mount studs. It's only a problem if you let it go long enough to cause damage. Oh, cruise control buttons melt on trucks that have lived in hot climates. New replacements are $160/set, ebay used pieces are about $60/ set, and none exist in junkyards.

All in all, they're one of the best things Ford ever built in my opinion. If you wanted a 2wd I'd make you a deal on mine. It has some minor issues,but I'd tow our camper to Cali in it tomorrow.

FOr more than you ever wanted to know, particularly about the 4x4 mod possibilities, check out explorerforum.com

If you have any other questions, I've spent a lot of time with them, just ask.

EDIT: I read reread your post - I've slept in mine once and it was okay. with the rear seat folded flat you have exactly 72" from the back of the driver's seat (all the way back) to the inside of the liftgate. I'm 6'2" so I ran the psgr seat all the way forward and it was okay. Interior height wasn't quite enough to sit bolt upright but wasn't bad. I made an interior bike rack with a flat board and some fork traps, but ceiling height is low enough I have to pull the saddle/seat post to get my bikes in (58cm road bike, lg dual sus mtb.) The wife's bike fit fine without. You can easily lay a single bike in the back with the seats down and still have room for some other gear - a duffel, small tent, folding chairs, and a cooler.

Mine has always done well on gravel and minor off-highway use, but it's mostly a pavement animal.

If I'm cross shopping the AWD AstroSafari against the AWD Explorer then they come out about even. Any Montero will be a beast offroad, but I'd rather spend the cost differential on good shocks and springs and tires.

The lack of low-range doesn't bother me because I haven't used it much at all on my Tacoma. I wouldn't be doing very much rock crawling, nor would I be going to huge tires, though a tall aggressive 31" would be cool.

Transmission reliability would be a concern. I'm ok with losing 4x4 or 4WD while out in the sticks, but losing a trans is a different story.

Suspension work doesn't bother me none.

If I'm gonna spend $4000+ on a Montero I'd like to get the 3.8l. Although that example in Prescott looks nice.

Javelin wrote: All Exploderzs have 8.8's, and the gears vary. The 90-93 have rear drums (awesome!) and the 94+ have rear discs (garbage! solid rotor, sliding screw-bore single piston caliper that freezes up and an integral drum parking brake anyway). The AWD cases like to go boom off-road but real 4x4 transfer cases with a low-range are an easy swap. 5.0/AOD is reliable as gravity and cheap to fix. They are NOT easy to work on! Prepare for frozen fasteners, oddball socket requirements, and cut up hands. Front suspension is wack and wears out *fast*.

My 94 XLT had rear drum. Loved that truck by the way. Yes the front ends ware out but really REALLY simple to work on and parts were cheap and easy to get. I was putting between 30 & 40K a year on my Explorer and every fall I just did a front end inspection and replaced what ever parts were needed.

Also the '96-97.5 MY 'Sploders have 3 bar GT40 heads, no funky manifolds/headers needed. The '98-'01 got the 4 bar GT40P heads and the spark plugs are at a different angle that will interfere with a header that has anything more than a 1 1/2" primary tube diameter. I guess that's irrelevant because you'll be leaving the Exploder heads on the Exploder lol.

The cam for those years is a hydraulic roller and I believe the specs are(with 1.6:1 rockers):

Intake = .422" lift, 256 duration (186 @ .050)

Exhaust = .448" lift, 266 duration (197 @ .050")

116* LSA

A 2005 to 2000 legacy wagon and outback can do well in light/mif offroad. Im 5'10" and sleep comfortably in mine. Skid plates and lift kits are wasy to find. Get a h6 or turbo for easy power boost. If a real 4wd is needed with low range then its not good for you

Get an Allroad.

All set for as much off-roading as any Explorer, more fun to drive and easy to fix when things break.

We had a '99 Limited Explorer for a few years. The Limited came w/ the full-time AWD, but I think( don't quote me ) that some of the years of the XLT came w/ some version of 4wd. I agree w/ everything that people have already said about it. We used it as a commuter b4 kids and got 18-19mpg on the highway doing 70-75 mph. I have gotten as high as 20-21mpg on long trips using the cruise control. Explorerforum was my goto site for info. My only complaints were rear cargo storage w/ the seats up and the fact that I could never rent a trailer from U-Haul( if that matters to you). The most we took it off-roading was around the yard, and the 2 times that we took it to our mountains. Even though we stayed on semi-maintained dirt roads, we needed lower ball joints after both mountain trips. I do miss it sometimes though.

When did the DIS ignition start? I'm partial to that.

I always thought for offroading a Chev Blazer XR2 would work better than a V8 Exploder

Troopers have plenty of room for sleeping.

Will wrote: When did the DIS ignition start? I'm partial to that.

I believe that started in '98.

I almost started an identical thread about a week ago, I started writing it, then got distracted by work.

SWMBO wants an Explorer, and the only engine that they ever had that I like is the 5.0

I just did a local craigs list search and found that the most expensive 96 Explorer with a v8 was $1700. I had no idea that they were so cheap now days.

My '97 V8 is DIS, not sure when they started on the V6s.

They are cheap, which means I won't get what mine's really worth even with new Michelins, new radiator, cold AC, good interior, no rust, power everything, and Mobil1 level maintenance. If it would tow a little more or were 4wd I'd probably just keep it.

Seriously, if anyone is interested I'm selling mine at the end of the month. I'll make a GRM level deal on it, below challenge price. And if one of you guys is building a trail rig I have a custom built full-length safari rack I won't need either.

In reply to ultraclyde:

PM sent.

I haven't seen any PMs show up - maybe there's a system problem? Anyway, email me at "the(period)ultraclyde -at- gmaildotcom"

Why haven't you bought a Suburban?

ultraclyde wrote: I haven't seen any PMs show up - maybe there's a system problem? Anyway, email me at "the(period)ultraclyde -at- gmaildotcom"

Email sent