I know, not an f150 question - but definately in the Ford family.
My son has his learners permit. He'll be 17 in a few months. Our "family vehicles" are an 03 Expedition and a 98 E350 V10 Superwagon. Neither of which are well suited for a new driver (especially my babied Expy). But I digress...

Happen to see a 2000 Explorer XLS at a local gas station - being sold for one of their customers. 4x4, 113K miles, 4.0l (6 cyl). power doors/locks, cd player. The vehicle is very clean - no marks inside or out. Engine bay is very clean. Didn't have a chance to fire it up - may do that pending your feedback.

Just wondering what feedback you might have regarding repairs on this vehicle and its reliability. Autos.msn.com has some detailed ratings showing problems with engine, tranny, brakes. Kelly Blue Book doesn't have repair histories like that, but they have a ton of user ratings that are 4/5 and then some.

I want to get my son somethign that is solid and safe, 4x4 in snow is nice too, and has some room for carrying some guitar equipment and maybe a few friends from church. Trying to find something safe and reliable and something a novice driver can handle.

Your suggestions as always, are greatly appreciated.

 

2000 models do not have independent rear susp. , which means ... It ain't no secret

Edmunds dot com, find used vehicles, find owner reviews.. for a few hints.
Look for Explorer problems google it.

I have seen quite a few that eat heater cores, and have cooling sys. issues, some kind of tough to trace.

So much for the bad, now the good, Explorers are good vehicles that can become personalities like a good pet... if you wind up with a good one you will love it.

 

The 2000 had both the old pushrod 4.0 and the new OHC 4.0. The pushrod motor was very reliable but somewhat coarse running if you try to wind it out, and a bit underpowered in a 4x4 4 door Explorer. It's pretty easy to work on. I don't have any experience with the OHC.

My nephew has a 1999 Explorer Sport (2 door) 4x2 with a pushrod 4.0 and a 5 speed stick - and it has 3.27 gears. It runs well, has adequate power, and gets close to 20 mpg commuting. He bought it a year ago with about 60k on it and it hasn't given him a speck of trouble.

 

yeah I forgot to mention that, I was not sure if it did in 2000. I had a 93 Sport 5 speed pushrod motor, very Ford-like sounding engine.. I loved it. Easy to work on, and not all the head problems as OHC.
I wish I still had it, it was fun to drive.

 

The earlier 4.0 liter SOHC engines sucked. They didn't really get squared away until 2002 or so, IMO. The 4.0 pushrod engine is about bomb proof though, nothing that you can't fix with some ordinary hand tools and a free afternoon in your driveway.

 

We still have one at work with a 5.0 V8., cannot kill the thing......