I am still driving me 1996 Explorer Sport although time is coming to replace with something newer. (Maybe a late 00's ranger ext. cab). I have learned at least with my Fords that almost every issue I have had has less to do with miles and more to do with rubber components drying out with age. The exploder has 165,000 miles on it now. Over the last year I have done balljoint, tie rods, and it seems that damn near every gasket in the motor in starting to leak. My lower intake loses a little coolant, I top it off biweekly. my rear seal leaks oil but not enough to actually drip it slowly sticks to the oil pan. Im thinking its safe to assume that the head gasket will join these other gaskets soon and cause some chocolate milk in the oil
. However I been thinking that for a year and this thing don't seem to want to die just yet. Also the tranny is a little slow to shift nowadays. Been a good truck but at 17 years old it's just at the end of the road. Now, my brother has a 2007 Ranger 3.0 with 150K miles. It runs like brand new all the way around. So not that mileage isn't and important thing to consider, but I think physical age creates the most issues.