70,000 on '03 Mountaineer

The Explorer should be good for close to 200,000 miles with good maintenance. We have a '99 in the family with about 180,000 now. It may be due for new hoses and belt though.

Do you mean that YOUR 180,000 mile Explorer needs new hoses/belts or that I should do it for my (mere!) 70,000 Mountaineer?

Big Shoe wrote:

Don't know about Pittsburgh, but my '98 Expy with 120K miles is as good as new. Just replaced the serpentine belt for the first time, because it finally stretched a bit. All hoses are still nice and pliable. Not a drop of oil consumption for that ancient 5.0L V8. Just minor things like a bad cc servo or wiper motor failed. The damn thing will probably outlive me.

hoses and belt though.

Drive it till the wheels fall off! I drive an old '94 explorer and smile all the way to the bank. People spend way too much money on new cars every few years, there's no need for a new car if you're happy with your present car unless repair costs exceed it's value. Then buy a good used one. You'll save 10s of thousands of dollars.

Sorry, I just read my reply and realized that I didn't really say what I meant. Yes, I would consider changing the belt and hoses on your Mountaineer.

I am surprised you needed new bearings and springs considering the age and mileage of the truck. But now that you've fixed it, you should have no problem keeping your truck for the long term.

Thanks. I'll probably do it all.

Big Shoe wrote:

We lived in Pittsburgh about 30 years ago. Our cars always rusted through because of the salt they put on the road in the winter. Do they still use salt to keep ice & snow off of the road? Tom

Yeah, big time. But the cars don't rust anymore as they are all better built. Nevertheless the winters and hills and potholes still take a toll on vehicles, esp brakes and tires.

Tom from WI wrote: