known issues

[85ranger302]

i was wondering how many known issues are there with the first gen exploders?

 

[rusty70f100]

The heads tend to crack. That's what happened to mine. Unlike the old 2.9L crack that would crack between spring seats and leak into the oil, the 4.0 will crack into a combustion chamber and leak there. You'll notice white smoke, and a fouled plug. I understand that it's not a very common problem, but it happened to the original motor in the '92 Exploder I have.

The starter went out on mine once. A trip to the junkyard fixed that and saved me $50.

The exhaust manifold gasket blew once.

Other than that, they're fairly trouble free.

 

[94gexplorer]

the auto hubs are crap swap to manual and i dont like the auto trannys much ive blown 3 of em then swapped to manual everything else has been normal maintainance

 

[Little X]

The auto trans is much weaker then the manual. The auto hubs work great if the only time you use 4x4 is when there is a bit of snow on the ground. If you plan on wheeling it you'll want manual hubs. And they tend to rust in the rear dog leg. They do crack the heads fast if they over heat, so watch that gauge. That's pretty much it. They are good little trucks.

 

[4.0B2]

The "known issues" are few. Very few. I know they will crack heads but any car will. Be careful. Take care of it. The rust depends on where you are located I guess bc I don't have any rust issues here!! Lol. The first gen explorers are awesome. The motor is strong, the auto is a great auto. I have one in a 92 2 wheel drive, and one in my B2. I don't have problems with the trans. Treat it right it'll treat you right.