Which 5.0 Explorer To Buy?

[FastDriver]

When I come back to the states next year, I'll be in the market for a truck or SUV. I'd like to minimize purchase cost and at the same time find something in good shape and and reliable enough to take on trips. I think I'd like a V8 w/ 4WD, and enough towing capacity to pull a car or boat. Some of the trucks I have in mind include 351W F150s, 350 Chevy Suburbans, and now I'm thinking about an explorer. The interesting thing about an explorer would be modifying it to have a little fun. With that in mind, which years would be best? I don't think AWD came in '96. Are there any other considerations I should be aware of? Is modification pretty much identical to modifying the 5.0 in the mustang? It wouldn't be anything crazy. I'd probably keep the heads and intake, and do all the basic bolt-ons and a cam. I wouldn't be as inclined to modify the other trucks, honestly.

 

[stykthyn]

I will honestly say that you could get a used NBS tahoe/yukon for roughly the same money and it will have 300+ hp and will ride a chit t0n better. If you are dead set on a 5.0 I would get the mountaineer. It had the better trim packages available.
I'm all for a SBF but in something like this I think you are shooting yourself in the foot going ford. Chevy has had the SUV market cornered for a long time. You will get more vehicle for the same price.

 

[tca7291]

Yeah, my dad had a Chevy Taco, 1998 for a work truck. 212K on it when he sold it, and the only things that he ever had to replace was the water pump, alternator, fuel pump, and rear driveshaft u-joints. Trans never gave him a problem, engine never burned any oil, and he loved that truck. Just got rid of it because he was worried about reliability issues. I know the guy that bought it, and at roughly 250K, still no major issues, just battery cables and another fuel pump.

EDIT: I call it a taco because I believe it was built in Mexico.

 

[Boosted92LX]

+1 for tahoe. A comparable expedition is going to drink gas like a beast, and an explorer is a fricken ranger with a metal camper shell. Forget towing a car or a boat with one, TRUST ME on this. If you really want to be able to pull you need a full size truck/SUV. An explorer may be rated to tow the desired weight you want to, but they are just too unstable, and it's hard to panic stop a trailer with a small tow vehicle. Typically your load will drive you right into what you are trying to avoid hitting when pulling with a mid sized truck.

If you are going to pull on a regular basis I would recommend the full size Ford, as they just pull better. I love My truck, but If you aren't going to tow often, buy the Chevy. Your wallet will thank you, as I get 9 mpg pulling this boat. 12-14 just driving.

 

[stykthyn]

my chevy>your ford. My old dodge would out tow them both but I still think you get more truck for the money with a chevy.

I've owned a 5.4 expy, a 5.7 ram 1500, and I currently have a 5.3 tahoe. the ram had more grunt but the tahoe rides and stops better than the ram and has way more available power than the 5.4 could hope to put out in stockish trim. All three of these vehicles would eat a 5.0 for breakfast.

 

[88LX5.Oh]

Explorers suck. And everyone, he's thinking about 351's and 350's. So, modulars and the Chevy 5.3 shouldn't even be included in the discussion lol. And where'd the Dodge even come from??

In my line of work I've been able to drive and work on MANY trucks such as the ones you're thinking of getting. Both (350 Suburbans and 351 F150's) are nice vehicles and very reliable. But, why no 302 F150's? They're just as nice as the 351 equipped models and can still tow pretty good. I've got a 302 Bronco and it lugs around 35x12.50's with stock gearing just fine. And I even tow with it.

EDIT: I see where he said he just had those vehicles in mind. Not that those were the only ones he was looking at. My bad, ignore the first paragraph.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

my chevy>your ford. My old dodge would out tow them both but I still think you get more truck for the money with a chevy.

I've owned a 5.4 expy, a 5.7 ram 1500, and I currently have a 5.3 tahoe. the ram had more grunt but the tahoe rides and stops better than the ram and has way more available power than the 5.4 could hope to put out in stockish trim. All three of these vehicles would eat a 5.0 for breakfast.

my chevy>your ford. My old dodge would out tow them both but I still think you get more truck for the money with a chevy.

For my money, the '04-'08 5.4L F150 get's the used truck nod. The Chevy and Dodge die hards can hymn and haw about peak horsepower ratings all they'd like. The rest of the truck is junk. Torque (and more importantly torque in the lower ranges where a full size truck needs it most) is what sells trucks and none of them match the F150's payload and tow capacity. It's just that much more truck! My buddies can't believe how much easier my F150 pulls a load than their Dodge/Chevy's. Horsepower figures look good on paper, but the actual power curve is where the proof is at. Chevy and Dodges current trucks are still trying to compete with Ford last generation P/U's. That's how much better they are.

Don't get me wrong, my buddies late-2000's Dodge/Chevy's are nice trucks, but they're pavement princess's. Powerplants aside, they're rickety, springy and not very sure footed. Just not a "solid" truck. Buy one if you don't plan on doing anything more than hauling around a lawnmower out back, a few bags of potting soil, or a couple of sheets of drywall on occasion. If you plan on doing any serious hauling, or towing however, the F150's your choice!

 

[88LX5.Oh]

Since you said something about towing, I'm gonna post about transmissions.

If you get a Ford and plan to haul some serious loads, depending on what year truck, try to get one with the E4Od, 4R100, or 5R110W. Those are the big transmissions Ford offers. The 4R70W and 4R75W's are great transmissions, don't get me wrong. But the heavy duty transmissions are a beast of their own. They're essentially an electronically controlled C6 with over drive.


GM. Their heavy duty trans of choice in the vehicles you might be looking at is the 4L80E. Great transmissions. Essentially a Turbo 400 with overdrive and electronics. They're usually behind the 6.0, though. So if you get something with a 350, 4.8, or 5.3, you'll be getting a 4L60E or a 4L65E depending on year. Basically a junky as* 700R4 electronically controlled. The electronics make it a much better trans. It's about in the same league as the 4R70W on reliability and strength but I usually see the 4R's go a little bit longer.


Dodges. I don't know much about their new transmissions, but I do know that the 46RE and 48RE are good transmissions (48RE is good enough to be behind a Cummins if that says anything). Dodges downfall is their torque converters. They're the killer of the transmission. When they come apart, where do you think the metal goes? Inside the trans which burns it up.


And I'm with Brian. The new F150's are awesome at towing. Yes the 5.3 will out run a 5.4 (I've driven many 5.3 and 5.4 trucks so I'd know), but it will not out tow one. I don't care who you are.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

And I'm with Brian. The new F150's are awesome at towing. Yes the 5.3 will out run a 5.4 (I've driven many 5.3 and 5.4 trucks so I'd know), but it will not out tow one. I don't care who you are.

I gotta say to be fair, as far as acceleration is concerned, the Chevy and Ford are so close to one and other, it's really not a rasonable assumption to call one a clear winner. I've lined up beside two friends very recently. One with a 2007 Silverado of them same era as my F150 and the other with a 2011 Silverado, of the new Generation GM trucks. Both are 5.3L powered, with minor horsepower differences. Between the three trucks, there's all of 15-20hp difference. All of these trucks weigh over 5,500lbs. On every attempt, we were all within a vehicle length of one and other from standing starts until our nerve shut down, trading victories each time. The only truck out of our group that's consistently faster is my other buddies Hemi Powered '09 Sport.

Hate all you want on the Dodges people (I know some do). They may be pretty light duty across the board compared to the others, but those Hemi's move pretty good when you put your foot into it. I drove both trucks back to back and the approximate 70-80hp difference between his and mine was instantly noticeable under all conditions. Light throttle, heavy throttle, cruise....you knew there was something more going on under the hood.

That all went out the window when we hooked a trailer behind each of them though. Their torque production shortcomings were made instantly noticeable when the weight piled up and they were no longer running around with empty payloads.

 

[tca7291]

Then the dodge dropped it's transmission.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Then the dodge dropped it's transmission.

He's only got 70,000km on it thus far. The heaviest thing he plans on carrying in it is his snowmobile. Time will tell I supose.

 

[FastDriver]

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I originally just wanted a truck and was thinking along the lines of a suburban.

The explorer could be a fun project, though. After my initial post, I started daydreaming about doing the basics and then slapping on a turbo kit on an explorer. It would be fun to figure out a way to have an AWD 12 second explorer, or if the transfer and auto can't take that kind of power, I could swap in my TKO from the stang once I put a 6-speed in it and make it a manual 5.0 explorer, which wasn't produced. It would apparently be pretty unique for an explorer since I could only find 1 turbo 5.0 explorer on the net, and it had only a little bity holset rear-mounted turbo. I'd go with a front mounted 60-ish mm turbo for a quick spool and push 10-12 psi for 450+ rwhp. Would be fun.

That said, after all of the comments here, I'll probably end up going with the more sensible Yukon/Suburban route. And no, I'm not opposed to any V8 engine combo. So 5.3s and 302 F150s are not outside of the realm of possibility.

 

[tca7291]

That would be a very neat exploder! If it was me though, I would probably try to mate a SM465 with a NP205 T-case to it with a turbo 5.0. Both cast iron casing and very, very durable!

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Not a turbo.....but Kenny Brown built a performance Explorer in the mid-90's if you recal?

 

[FastDriver]

Cool vid, Brian. If 295 is accurate, that 15 flat is pretty impressive. Add another 200 hp and it'll have the power to run into the 12s. It's a cool idea. I'm not sure if it'll be the truck I need, but maybe it'd be fun.