I am thinking about purchasing a a/m f/m cd and cassette radio out of a 2000 explorer. Will it be a perfect fit for my 1996. My '96 has am fm cassette right now.

I did this in my '95. Fits perfectly physically but the harness is different. Stereo shop sold me a connector to fit the radio plus one to plug into the harness, used them to make a jumper between harness and unit so I didn't have to cut the wiring, works fine.