This is off topic but does anyone know anything about the newer explorers around 04, problems things to look for, I know with the older ones it was the trannys

 

im not a hundred% shure but i think that the 04s still had tranny problems

 

I have an '04. The main thing with them is you HAVE TO stay up on the maintanence. Alot of people have tranny problems. I have found that if you change the tranny fluid about every 10-12k, it shifts fine. Mine now has 125k on it, I bought it when it had 19k on it and the most serious thing that I have had to do was front hubs and lower ball joints. You can find more info at seriousexplorations.com

 

Generation 3 Explorers have complaints of transmission problems (AT-5 speeds), back panel under the window glass of cracking (body flex but not a big problem other than the look of a vertical crack), weak brakes requiring pad replacement often, rear or ft wheel bearings going out and general wear and tear. If you think about it, Ford was selling hundreds of thousands of these during the 4 years of this Gen model, so you are going to have some failures in those amounts of time. Looks at Chrysler Corp transmission problems, looks at GM's transmissions, they all have a million problems. Doesn't matter the manufacturer, AT's are prone to failure over time.

I like the 02 we own. It's comfortable, dependable, and best of all, it has the blue oval on the hood. JMO as an owner and Ford person.

 

Ok well my wife want a 01 escape, it test drove good but from a stop makes a slight grinding almost metal rubbing noise in the front but you can barely hear it so its hard to tell what it sounds like, the 4wd goes in fine no noises or anything, any ideas its got 63000 on it hes selling it for 9000 so its a good deal what do you guys think

 

It could be just the breaks draging

 

I had to have my clutch pack repalced on my 03 Explorer NBX @ around 16,000 miles. That is why I am not crazy about Ford's automatic 4 wheel drive. Every time I made a turn it sounded like I was dragging cinder blocks. They also had a problem with the plastic trim piece below the rear liftgate window cracking. Ford was not covering it. This trim piece did not like cold weather- it became brittle and would crack just by shutting the liftgate.

 

Most plastic dosent like the cold weather