Hi my partner and i are looking at explorers to buy but would like to know more about them first we we have heard nothign but bad things about them

engine
gear box
fuel
electrical

and so on

would love to hear from anyone who has owned or knows lots about them ....thanks

Carmen
quazaaknls@bigpond.com

I was looking at getting one, but my mate whose a mechanic said at their work they refer to them as 'exploders'.

which model you looking at?

im not sure were looking at around a $5k price range so whatever that buys ..92-96 models i think roughly

I would mainly like to hear peopels experiences with owning them or as a mechanic what they have encountered working on them.

Baring in mind the model we would look to buy (92 - 96 ish) would if they had broken down, had some of the major problems fixed.

has anyone had experience owning them fixed a major fault and had no troubles then onwards?

i really like the look of them and would like to keep owning fords but with so many bad reports id like to not get stuck with something that will cost alot to fix and maintain

thanks

they are typical american crap, bits fall of they leak oil etc etc etc, the V6 engines are a definite weak point though the OHC ones have a timing chain at the front AND back of the engine so its engine out to do the change so people dont bother and then BANG! every one if seen at my uncles workshop has had engine failure. they are pretty cheap for what you get though - get a V8 one if you can find one

thank you to everyone who has replied so far, its a shame they seem to be a peice of crap as they are a nice looking car and our only other options for what we want are toyota's and mitsubishi's and would have loved to have continued on with a ford have looked at the ford radier but my other half doesnt like them

For $5,000 you could pick up a Landrover Discovery in very good condition with reasonably low km's but there drawback is they are very heavy on fuel unless you buy one on gas. Everybody bags them but I owned one and never had any dramas with it except for the 18 litres per 100km's fuel bill as mine wasn't on gas.

find a tdi or td5 diesel. tdi's easily do 9 - 10 l/100k. td5s are a bit thirstier but still good.
Steer clear of old or indeed any explorers. they are badly built. ugly and aren't good off road.

Ill make one thing clear the nickname "EXPLODERS" came from USA when Ford fitted Xploras with Firestone tyres and if under inflated would burst/explode. I own a '00 XLT and so far to date have not had a single problem with it, mind you Explorers do have there faults. Transmission faults are mainly due to negligence of service and abused as a 4 wheel drive, if properly and regularly serviced it will give you years of trouble free motoring. Timing chains are one thing that will eventually need replacing due to Ford putting in cheap a** plastic guides, if car has had timing chains replaced make sure it is original Ford part as the plastic guides have been upgraded, when viewing a Xplora listen to the engine when cold and rev it to between 2300 and 2500rpm if the engine sounds like a diesel then the chains are on there way out. OHV engines are more reliable than the SOHC but do suck more juice for less power. They are thirsty on the fuel averaging around 11-15 litres/100km. Electricals are fine there are no known issues there. Personally get one with a V8 less trouble in the service department. You can pick Xploras up pretty cheap at the moment as due to recent bad publicity, owners/dealers are having troubles selling them so do some serious price slashing. Overall im more than pleased with mine and always look forward into taking her out.

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Thank you for those tips. We are keen on their look apposed to other car makes we have looked at.

I have always wondered that seeings as the cars we are looking to buy are a good 10 - 15 years old surely they would have had their faults fixed and running smoothly.

However i was interested to know that if peopel did own them and fixed the problems if they re occured then there was obviously something wrong but if they were fine after it was clearly jsut a building fault and once fixed were ok .

Thanks again for your response your clearly happy with yours....here in Adelaide you see them ALL Over the place.