explorer sport

[kil roy]

i have been looking for an explorer sport for my son,I think i found one

for a pretty good price and before i pull the trigger wanted to ask how

it compares to my former 2001 sport trac



it is a 1998 sport with 127XXX miles on it

second owner but in the same family, uncle passed away

and left it to his niece who has driven it for about 7 years.

all new ball joints, new exhaust, fairly new tires and brakes.





i have already looked at it but not driven it yet, body is really nice

interior isnt bad at all except for a hole in the headliner where a dvd system

used to be, was that an option on them?



any other things i should be aware of?



i know i should probably ask this on the explorer site but with Todd over

here i thought this would be the best place to start.:banana:

 

[Les]

As long as it is mechanically sound, the price is right, & it passes your driving inspection, I would do it. Headliners are not very expensive to replace. This is a great first car, not over-powered, big enough for safety, but not a gas hog. Caymen would tell you this vehicle has plenty of life left...

 

[scott degroot]

Les,,



big enough for safety,

Size has nothing to do with the safety aspect of it. The Insurance Institue for Highway Safey only gives the Explorer a rating of acceptable in a frontal crash.

 

[Dan Long]

They were very similar to our ST's. Front suspension and rear suspension is basically identical, although I think the brakes are slightly smaller up front, but it has rear disks. If it has the SOHC motor (I think OHV was still an option in 98) it should be just like a Job 1 2001 ST. There was no factory DVD option that I'm aware of back then, but aftermarkets are pretty common. Take it to an upholstery shop (or do it yourself) and have them make up a small panel to cover the hole and put it in place with x-mas tree style push plugs.



The only concern I would have about the truck for you son (assuming he's young) is the short wheelbase and high center of gravity. This will make it much more prone to rolling over in a loss of control situation. I would definitely consider lowering the truck a bit, adding the EE rear sway bar, good shocks and front links, and maybe even spacing the wheels out for extra track width. GOOD tires will also be a must!

 

[scott degroot]

THe rear sway bar and lowering it is almost a necessity on these years...the improvement in handling and ride is drastically improved

 

[Les C]

I had a 1993 2dr Explorer Sport that I order, we drove it 13 years, put 266k miles on it.

 

[scott degroot]

LES



I had the exact same vehicle with over 300,000 miles on it. I finally sold it about a year ago to my nieces boyfriend who is still driving it...problem free I might add

 

[Dan Long]

I also had a 93 Sport, sold it to my sister-in-law's brother and I think he still has it.

 

[Les C]

Scott,



I'd given it to our son in 2004 when my wife got her new Maxima,then he drove it daily to Columbia State [120 miles roundtrip daily for 2 yrs.] then in July 07 it needed 2 new Michelin front tires, front brake job & 2 new front rotors [approx. $750 worth of repairs totally]. So he bought a 2005 ST XLT w/52k miles for $19k out the door & then I asked the Ford dealer to give us $750 for the 93 2 dr. Sport, which they did & we let them have it. He now has 148k on his 05 ST. I have 131k on my 2001 [bought new]. Some days I wish we still had it.

 

[scott degroot]

^^^



What I miss the most about my old Explorer Sport is actually the gas mileage. I used to get 17 mpg in town, with my o8 ST I get 14.5 and the ac is nowhere near as cold :angry: