Cars

Overview I’ve been inside more fourth-gen Ford Explorer drivetrains than I care to remember. Some were routine. Some were disasters. Most lived somewhere in the middle, the kind of vehicle that’ll behave just long enough to make you trust it, then punch you in the wallet. This covers the 2006–2010 Explorer sold in the US….

Overview I’ve worked on a lot of Ford Explorers. Too many, honestly. The 2002–2005 trucks come up again and again, and not because they’re lovable classics. This generation—U152, if you want the factory code—has a drivetrain personality. And once you’ve felt it, you don’t forget it. These trucks don’t usually grenade their transmissions out of…

Overview I’ve been wrenching on second-gen Explorers since they were still showing up under factory warranty. Same trucks. Same problems. Different owners. This write-up sticks to the driveline only—tranny, transfer case, diffs, shafts. No engine drama unless it actually kills the transmission. This platform sits right in the awkward teenage years of Ford truck engineering….

Overview The first-generation Ford Explorer, built from 1991 through 1994, is one of those vehicles every old shop has history with. Some good. Plenty bad. It launched an entire SUV category, sure, but underneath it was still early-’90s truck hardware pushed into family-duty service. I’ve worked on these since they were new. I’ve also worked…

Overview The fourth-gen Ford Expedition hit the ground in 2018 with a clean-sheet drivetrain decision. One transmission. One path. No alternatives. From a technician’s chair, that’s either great news or a nightmare. On this truck, it’s both. Every Expedition from 2018 onward runs the same basic transmission architecture. Same guts. Same habits. Same bad moods….

Overview I’ve worked on these trucks since they were new. Rental fleets, family haulers, tow pigs, daily drivers. The third-generation Ford Expedition, 2007 through 2017, is a big, honest SUV with a very specific transmission personality. Some years are fine. Some years are a ticking time bomb. This platform is old-school body-on-frame. Rear-wheel drive at…

Overview I’ve been around these trucks since they were new. Dealer bays, independents, driveway tear-downs. The second-gen Ford Expedition, 2003 through 2006, is old-school in the best and worst ways. Big body. Big weight. Old automatic. No tricks. No fancy gears. Just a long drivetrain doing hard work every day. The good news? The transmissions…

Overview I’ve been around these trucks since they were new. Brand-new keys. Plastic still on the seats. And I’ve watched a lot of first-gen Expeditions grow old the hard way. This drivetrain came straight out of the late-90s F-150 parts bin. That’s good and bad. The hard parts are stout. Gears don’t just snap for…

Overview I’ve had my hands inside a lot of Escapes over the years. Burned fluid, broken mounts, cooked PTUs. This fourth-generation one? Different animal. Ford hit the reset button in 2020. New platform. New transmissions. More stop-start junk. Hybrids everywhere. On paper it all looks efficient and modern. In the bay, it’s been a mixed…

Overview I’ve had these third-gen Escapes on my lift since they were still under factory warranty. Same body. Same badge. Same basic drivetrain over and over. Ford made it simple on paper. One tranny. One core design. And they let it ride from 2013 all the way through 2019. That simplicity cuts both ways. Easy…

Overview I’ve been turning wrenches on these Escapes since they were new. Back when people still trusted the window sticker. This 2008–2012 generation looks simple on the surface. It isn’t. Transmission-wise, it’s three different vehicles wearing the same sheet metal. Some of them age fine. Boring, even. Others slowly bleed themselves dry, cook internal parts,…

Overview The 1998–2011 Ford Ranger is old-school. Body-on-frame. Longitudinal engine. Real transfer case. No CVT nonsense. No dual-clutch experiments. Just gears, hydraulics, and heat. I’ve worked on these trucks for years. They come in with 80,000 miles. They come in with 280,000 miles. Some are tired. Some are still fighting. The difference almost always comes…

Overview The first-generation Ford Escape, 2001 through 2007, is one of those vehicles every tech remembers. Not fondly. Just clearly. I’ve seen dozens of these roll into the bay over the years. Same drivetrain. Same complaints. Same owner story about how the transmission was “just serviced” or “already rebuilt once.” This platform doesn’t surprise you….

Overview The second-generation Ford Edge, sold from 2015 through 2024, is one of those vehicles that looks simple until you actually live with it. On paper, the driveline is modern, efficient, and refined. In the bay, it’s busy. Sometimes clever. Sometimes cheap. I’ve worked on a lot of these. Fleet units. Family haulers. ST models…