Offroad Projects

96-01 V8 AWD to 4WD By Darren Stadstad (stadx2) Have you ever wondered why Ford put an AWD transfer case in the Explorer with the V8 option? I myself have heard many reasons. Frankly, I don’t really care what they are, I just don’t like the AWD; aside from having no low range, it robs power and reduces gas mileage. Others like myself had pondered the feasibility of a conversion to a part-time transfer case with low range. Well, I’ve put the pondering to rest, because I’ve done it. First of all, there are two ways to do this swap. One is to install an Atlas II t-case, which from what I was told can be configured to bolt right up. This is the easiest way, but the most expensive. This t-case will run you around...

what do you guys think about my 1990 bronco 2 mountain states edition? I plan on making it into a car i can daily and go wheeling in but it need lots of TLC first. Btw i got it for only $250

SO I guess the time has came early for my 5.3L LS swap on The Black Pearl!! LET THE HATE BEGIN!!! I have a buddy that is a drag-racer but started working for a ****ty speed shop in the area and now he is burnt out from engines and all that; He is getting into guns and i have built a few ARs. We did some talking the other weekend and we figured that one of my ARs is worth about the same as his 400-450 horse Gen3 LM7 (706 heads, Gen4 internals. Titanium valve springs, retainers and guides) Currently the piston rings are gaped and it has a cam setup for spray but he just hadn't gotten around to get nitro setup in the car yet. This is in a late 80s Monte Carlo BTW. This are some pictures i loaded on my SAS build thread so i will post...

Its been five long years but it is now lifted. Parts List: James Duff stage 3 5.5" lift Rough Stuff SOA 8.8 spring perches G2 4.88 gears 8.8 Detroit Locker 35x12.5xr15 Goodyear MTRs All new MOOG ball joints/pivot bushings

Okay, the time has come to start this swap. While everyone was off goofing around in Moab over the weekend, I pulled my old 4.0L and 5spd from my sport. Here are the details: The patient - 1994 Explorer Sport 4.0L ohv 5spd manual 151K miles The donor - 2004 Ranger 4.0L sohc 5spd manual 7K miles My plan is to use as much of the original 94 electronics as possible. Yes, I could wire in the 04 electronics and computer, but I just don't want to. I'm trying to keep this swap simple so it "could" be done in a weekend. Other details to sort out are: Oil pan AC Front Dress Fuel Line Vaccum lines Electrical Pictures will follow shortly as I take them. If anyone has done this before and can share their expience...

What’s up everyone? I’ve recently hit a deer with my Explorer. It’s at the body shop and they’re just about done with it, BUT they can’t find a front grille for this thing. Ford has it on back order with no eta. I’ve only had the vehicle a month so this is driving me nuts. We’ve checked all over. The part number is JB5Z-8200-BD. Can anyone help with any suggestions? Thanks Joe

Hello my Ford peeps, I was wondering if I could get some advice about lockers. Here's my scenario: I have an '05 ST Adrenalin. It will be my non-daily driver offroad rig build. I will install a 3" torsion key lift for the front and a 2" add a leaf in the rear. I'm gonna run 265/75r16 AT's (most likely Falken Wildpeaks) on stock wheels. I live in Vegas and will camp/overland in this rig. I will also road trip to Utah and Arizona. I will occasionally tow a tear drop trailer. And my wife and child will be with me. It's sort of a budget build. I'd like it to be an efficient and safe rig at a lower cost. I am undecided on an automatic locker vs a selectable locker. My main concern with automatic lockers is the stories of...

I started building my second RBV, a Bronco ii. This thread is to post about and document the work done to the car, so it can help others that are building a b2 or ranger based vehicle. This is actually my second build thread about this rig, the first one was accidentally deleted. I picked up this 1990 bronco ii in august of 2016. It's an automatic, 4x4, Eddie Bauer edition, that was already spray painted green when I bought it. But it had what I wanted, cruise control, factory a/c, electric Windows and locks, (although none that stuff worked, it was there for the fixin') and it was a fair price for a b2 with decent interior..... Almost none of the other ones on Craigslist had a good interior, or they wanted way too much money. So...

So I have built a 92 ranger sas a 91 explorer and now came a cross a 98 explorer. Thanks to everyone here I have figured out the t case, and the vss issue.. but one thing I don't really see much depth on, is the steering box.. the threads talk about it and then go wayyy off topic. So I read a gen 1 box will work. I know I have to move relocate the oil filter. But I don't see any clear pictures to get any ideas. I see A lot of broken links. Or I see a few ifs toy boxes which I'm not opposed to just trying to use parts I have. So any ideas or pictures would be much appreciated!!

I have a disease where I can’t leave my truck alone and I always want to modify it.. it’s an expensive curse, but I’m a broke man. The long run plan for my 2005 Sport Trac is to do the 4x4 long travel suspension with a 5.0L swap prerunner. But until I can afford all that business, I do mods that will eventually need to be done but also I can afford to do. I know I’m sticking with a Ford 8.8 rear axle so I decided to truss it. I did research for a couple weeks on “to buy or to build”. I found a prerunner Sport Trac with a “boxed in” rear axle truss that I liked and can only be built. The options to purchase, I didn’t like. So my decision landed on buying a sheet of steel, some metal shears, (I already owned the grinder and welder), and...

I just wanted to post a journal of my upgrades to my new 98 Explorer XLT 4x4 OHV as I upgraded it to be a cheap but functional trail rig on the weekends. It was bone stock when I got it and had just over 160k miles. Ive purchased Rancho RS5000 front shocks, Monroe Sensa Trac rear adjuactable struts, Warrior 153 Shackles, Torsion Twist, 31x10.50xR15 Achilles Desert Hawk XMT's, 15x8 American Racing Black Steel Wheels, and a roof rack. Painted the Grill, Removed the running boards and mudflaps, and Ive also done the plugs and wires and most fluids.

Hello Explorer Fans. I have been on the forums for some time and have extensively read many threads. I have enjoyed the forums so far. Now I have a question of opinion for you all. I currently own 97' V6 SOHC Sport and I love it. I was going to SAS it, but Id rather do it to a V8 Explorer, plus, manual TC's are readily available for the swap. To get to the point, I'm looking at a 97' 5.0 AWD Explorer (166,000 miles) (for a few hundred bucks). It's a solid vehicle, straight but its flashing a few codes. I looked up the codes here on the forums and it appears to be a "simple" fix. It idles well, but has an obvious 'lumpiness' to it. When you accelerate under load, you can sort of hear and feel it. The codes I got were P1132 -...

Normally I go all out for offroad, rock crawling, usually trailer rigs. That said.. I'm going a different route. I bought a 2000 Eddie Bauer V8 a couple years ago as a one owner from AZ, with around 55,000 miles and no Midwest Rust!! Currently it has around 88,x.. miles, so still a baby. During that time, I have added a front skid plate, welded on rock sliders, 1 in body lift, 4406 manual t-case, TT, rear ad a leaf. gas tank skid and transfercase skid. I was running 31s, but had short stint of sold it to my brother, but bought it back with no tires which worked well for future plans. New mods planned and ordered: ARB rear locker On board air Smitty Built roof rack DIY parts for rear tire carrier bumper Heavy duty rear diff cover 5-...

So before I trash the whole truck, I've been fighting an axle seal leak on my 76 f150 d44 in my ranger. The right inner axle seal refuses to seal. I've put three seals in and a new inner shaft, still leaks gear oil. My axle had national #5131 seals in it when I got it(it's been rebuilt and wheeled with). The other style (#2300 on broncograveyard) does not fit my axle. Are there any other options to try and seal this thing up??

This is becoming a pretty popular topic. I thought it would be time to make some resources available to those who really need to see what it takes. I'm not going to get into why you should go solid axle vs. the TTB nor will I get into the debate of leaf springs vs. coils. Also I will not tell you that this is the absolutely best solution to a solid axle swap but to the likes of myself, Froader, Stic-o, KirbyN, JTX, Diff Whack Daddy, Mudd*****, and others there is proof out there this is a good solution that will put your Explorer or Ranger in Big Dog category and I believe I will be able to show you every part you need to get there in a bolt-on application. What this topic will discuss is essentially a "Bolt On Solid Axle...