How did i do for an /out/ vehicle 1997 mercury mountaineer 180 miles 5.0 v8 awd new tires has headers.
Pic related before i bought it. Paid 500 for it and put about 1k in it so far it runs great and interior is great everything works.
I also fixed the front bumper put a new bumper on it.
>>680560
You might wanna go to /o/ and ask them.
/Out/ can be.... weird with it's vehicles.
But yes, you did very well.
Try to stay below $3,000 with all the additions. That's the street price for a vehicle like this.
I would suggest a Ranch Hand (grill guard) and a winch. It'll allow you to clear some more brush, and if you get stuck wrap the winch around a tree and stand on the wire. You will be out in no time.
If 4x4 or even AWD i think you did great i have the same one its just a 1998 moutainer
It's a cheap vehicle, so I wouldn't go overboard on the mods.
Absolutely the best investment for /out/ activities is new all terrain tires. They will go a long ways to making it /out/ capable. I'm sure the tires that are new in it aren't good all terrain tires. They aren't that expensive even.
A brush guard and winch is not a bad idea, but the winch isn't really that necessary unless you're really planning in doing so offloading alone. A good tow strap works if you're going somewhere with friends.
A roof rack to store more gear would be good for camping and such.
Mud flaps to keep all the mud/dirt/rocks from flying up the sides of the vehicle.
Some inspiration...
>>680714
>>680715
>>680717
>>680719
>>680721
>>680708
Yeah its awd
>90s Mercury Mountaineer
>180k miles
Dont sink a lot in to mods. Expect major repairs in the next 20k miles. Pay special attention to front end, transmission and the electrical system.
Recovery points front and rear
yep what this anon said >>680922.
things are going to go wrong. if you care for it and are lucky enough to have a decently built one they can last a long time. my ford explorer has well over 365,000 miles on it. the odometer actually stopped working so I have no idea how many miles are on it...
>>681029
My friends have a 99 Explorer with about 260k on it, they took it in for a service and the guy at the shop said he'd only ever seen one other with that many miles that was still running.
>>681029
It runs great and is in great condition gotten alot of compliments inreally have it looks brand new now. Only thing wrong is it needs a new egr valve.
Check your tranny and motor oil for possible problems (white milky or burnt motor oil) (any dark thick color of tranny fluid)
If it's manual good buy if its auto tranny work will be needed at some point in its life time
Before my job at Nissan and meeting my current aut/o/ I drove a 99 explorer (same gen same car minus the trim) the tranny started to slip BAD at 220000 and the head gasket blew at 225000 just after my first Nissan paycheck
Preventative mantince is key to owning any American car let alone a 17 year old one
Make sure your timeing belt/tensioner s/oil changes/ tranny maintince/sparkplugs wires distributer cap /belts/radiator/and water pump are in good shape (read head gasket and tranny problems)
Also do NOT but any bull bar or brush guard any brush guard that isn't 1500 and dosent mount include an entire new bumper WILL CAUSE MUCH MORE DAMAGE in a collision your car would normally lol away from (this gen explorer / mercury equivalent had a bullet proof frame and bumper)
I off road all the time in my first gen xterra (2004 lifted cold air intake supercharged) and my biggest piece of advice is keep your foot out of it REMOVE mud flaps extra low to the ground trim and the step bar for extra clearance
>Nissan salesman formar Nissan tech
>off road inthusiest
>/o/ trip fag
>former 99 explorer owner
>>680564
Grill guards cause more damage unless you buy a $1000+ one with an integrated bumper there most for show and if you pay for roof lights or extra front lights you can only use then innawoods because they arnt street legal
Also roof racks are bitching but I'm only saying that because xterras come stock with fuckhuge ones and I've grown verry fond of it
>paid $500
>put another $1000 in
>It's in great condition!
>>682206
>If it's manual good buy
Hen's fucking teeth.
Buy it if you find one.
>>680560
Makes me miss my 1997 Explorer. First car I ever owned. Got it with 80k miles and drove it up to 170k with barely any problems besides the usual wear items. That thing was great (besides the 12mpg).
Had the selectable 4wd which worked well. Grand Cherokees and other Jeeps have a slightly more intense 4WD system, but the one on the Explorer got me out of anything I needed it for. I didn't offroad or anything besides driving up some sled hills and peoples yards like we did in high school.
Remove those running boards. They'll just get hung up on shit anyways.
That'll be great for dropping your kids off at soccer practice OP.
>>683588
>running boards on a car a few inches off the ground
I fucking hate this dumb trend.
>>683211
Guess there was no manual my bad. This means op is pluaged with a 17 year old auto trans and a unreliable one at that
97 5.0 has good heads. You can actually run headers without many problems on 96-97.
>>683820
Oh they exist.
When I find one, it will be mine.
>>684700
No, the Mountaineer was never offered with a manual transmission. The Explorer was, but it's hard to find one that hasn't been ground to shit.
So far you got a heck of a deal. That 5.0 is a good motor and it should have lots of life left in it if you keep up on oil changes and that sort of thing.
Shit that's probably broken because of the make/year:
Rear leaf spring mounts
Lower ball joints
Tie rods
If this is the case they're all relatively easy, inexpensive repairs.
>>685296
I should note that my assumptions on what's broken are based on a lifetime of shitty, salty Minnesota roads, might be different where you're from OP.
