The Auto Hubs shelled out twice, but I replaced them with "Warn" Manual Hubs at $200 which is half the price of the crappy $400 Auto Hubs. This has worked great. at 178,000 miles. At the same time I replaced the 4x4 motor for $80.
I replaced the front ball joints at 160,000 when I had the front end serviced and aligned
Normal service oil changes, plug wires and transmission service every 60,000.
This is a very very reliable vehicle. and the limited package has great comfort. The mileage is par for an SUV 17/22 mpg. I have seen a couple 1993 selling with over 200,000 and 340,000 miles on them and I have had people stop me and say they had friends that had the 93 explorer and it just ran and ran with over 200,000 miles.
One reason I chose the Explorer over any other SUV of this size was the room. I'm over 6 foot tall and was over
370 pounds and the Explorer fit me great. If you're a big guy don't even bother trying to fit in a Jeep, Blazer or Bravado, Just get an Explorer.
Purchased a '93 Limited in '03 for my wife. Aside from the cruise control and low range push button 4x4 that don't work, overall an excellent vehicle. We get our fair share of snow here in the Midwest-the Limited never let us down. Gas mileage isn't the best in the world, but the v-6 has plenty of punch to run with the big dogs (Expeditions, Suburbans). Awesome Lil' Suv. Had over 140k miles on her when we got her. Changed the oil once in the year that we've had her. No rattles or squeaks. We travel about 150 miles 'round trip every weekend to get away. Only expense I've incurred was a broken belt pulley and belt-about $25.00 spent on repairs to date. Can't beat that with a stick...
I too have a 1993 ford explorer limited and I love it. It is my first can and I first started driving it when it had 148,000 and now it has 162,000 and it is still running like a brand new car. This car is one of the most reliable cars I have ever seen. The only things I've had to do to it were replacing the front pins and ball joints at about 156,000, replace the rear base subwoffer at 161,000, and regular fluid changes. This is definitely a comfortable car for larger guys and the JBL audio system that I have pumps out some nice sound as well. I would definitly recommend this car to anyone looking for an older SUV.
My explorer gets 10 mpg, it's a 93, any suggestions?
I too have a 93 explorer -- Eddie Bauer. The truck has 291,000 miles on it and is all original -- same engine drive train, etc. right down to the u-joints, if you can believe it. A/C does not work, but I don't care because I'm planning to R/R and upgrade to r134a. The sound system is also messed up, but it's time for the upgrade to a CD player anyway. The truck is a "daily driver" -- you can get in it any time you want and drive wherever with confidence. To say we've gotten the good from this vehicle is a huge understatement, but so help me I'll be offended if we don't get to 500K! Thanks for reading.