96 Explorer reliability

I'm looking at a new vehicle.  Currently driving an Olds Cutlass Supreme
with 193,000 miles and a computer problem.  While it is paid off, I've put
about $1200 into the olds over the summer fixing fuel pumps, egr valves,
starter, etc.  IMO, not worth the money to fix up, especially since I put on
about 25k miles per year.  So, I've been doing some looking and keep
noticing Explorers lying around at the dealerships.  Took one out for a test
drive and loved it, but I'm scared of taking the plunge.

I was wondering if anyone can give me some input on their opinions of a 96
Explorer.  I'm looking at three (all are 96's).  All are 4wd.  Two of the
three are four door (xlt's) and the other obviously a 2 door (not certain of
the xl/xlt/etc).  The 4wd is not an issue for me as I do 99% of my driving
on highway and city.  Definitely don't need the 2wd, but it just so happens
that all of the explorers I've seen around lately are 4wd versions.

The 4 dr versions are both automatic transmissions.  One has 93k miles
(asking 5900 for it in Nebraska) and the other has 135k miles (asking 4900).
Not certain what the engine is in either of these.  I've only seen these as
I drove by the lot and haven't actually stopped to look at them.

The 2 dr version is a manual transmission with the 4.0 ohc engine (I believe
it's the ohc).  This is the one I test drove and having not driven a stick
in awhile, it was fun to drive.  This one has 97k miles and the dealer is
asking about 5900 for it.  The prices on these are all below Kelly Blue Book
for this region of the country, but I think the reason is because of the
high gas prices right now and a reluctance by most to get something that
gets poor gas mileage.

Without getting into a debate on who's reviews (CR/CU/someone else) are
best, what can actual owners of THIS year of Explorer tell me about them?  I
have read that manual transmissions in the earlier 90's were from Mazda and
had a problem with them.  Was this corrected by the time the 96 version came
out?  I know the standard complaints on the 96's; bad seal on the heater
door, maf sensor, and egr sensor (per msn auto webpage).  What other types
of mechanical problems regularly occurred in the 96 versions.

How reliable are they?  As far as reliability goes, is there much difference
between the manual and automatic transmission versions for the same year?
How many miles are people seeing on them without having a major repair to
either transmissions or engine?  When you see one of these major repairs, do
you notice that you will all of a sudden get a series of repairs going on?
Has there been any recalls on this that I should be aware of?  From a
mechanical perspective are they easy for a do-it-yourselfer to work on?  I
would like to be able to change the brakes and do minor mechanical things
myself rather than paying a mechanic to do them.

What about cargo area between the 2 dr and 4 dr versions?  I realize that if
the rear seats are folded forward, the 4 door will have more space, but what
about with the seats in their normal position?  I've read that the 97's (?)
and newer have a problem with the display on the radio.  Is this a different
system than the 96's have or is this another problem I should look for?

I plan to take which ever I decide to consider to a mechanic to test, but
beyond these things, what should I be looking for?  I've read about pinging
problems and bad heads & gaskets on older versions, but have not read much
on the 96.

Thanks in advance for the input.

            Robert




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