whoof, terrible. Feeling sorry for you! I can almost guarantee, it is not worth throwing money at the Ford. An '01 explorer with 178k on it is a 'fully depreciated asset' - which is a nice way to say 'scrap'.
I may get face-punched for this, but my advice to folks who:
-make decent money
-actually need a car
-are totally non-mechanically minded
Is to buy a new, cheap, decent car.
This means Nissan versa, chevy spark, ford fiesta, etc.
Reason for this:
- qualify for the cheapest loan (normally 0%)
- build credit
- dead reliable
- there's a zillion Versa, sparks, Fiests etc out there, so service is cheap too.
You might be a candidate for a Nissan leaf? electric car. Plug it in. Almost maintenance free.
Good luck!!