Jack's 1993 Explorer build thread

Heres a quick rundown of my 1993 Ford Explorer Sport

4.0L OHV
A4LD auto trans
4.88s
narrowed hp 44 with spartan lunchbox
8.8 with powertrax no-slip
roughly 6" of overall lift
trans temp guage
rear tube bumper
custom front winch bumper
Rugged Ridge 10.5lb winch
38.5x14.50r15 TSL SXs on DIY TMI beadlocks
internal roll cage
corbeau reclining seats
no glass
dents
scrapes
good times

winter project: extended radius arms with ballistic joints

My 93 2dr was the first vehicle I bought and paid for myself which is one of the reasons I still have it today. The other reason.. do I need to explain? We all know why we have our trucks. I got the vehicle when I was 19 as a daily driver to school and work. This is the oldest picture I can find of the truck, and I already had started putting money into it.

I wasnt a big fan of the deerprints so I had a set of 5 spoke steelies from an old BII of ours powdercoated black and put on a set of 30x9.50 TA K/Os. Winter was coming and I had had other explorers with auto hubs fail on me when I needed them so off they came and on went a set of Warns. The truck looked great with the wheel/tire combo and the factory black trim, cant find a pic though.

When I got the truck it had 85K miles on the odometer, a few years and 45K miles later the engine finally gave out. The truck sat for a year or so but I couldnt get rid of it. A friend from work helped me get ahold of a 90K mile 4.0L and $600 later (including install and other parts) the truck was back on the road.

Found another good deal through a friend on some 31x10.50 BFG Long Trails mounted on American Racing 15x8 Outlaw IIs...

But I had a very slight rub at full lock.. so I had to lift it a little, right? RoughCountry leveling springs and Warrior shackles were on it the next week.

Those springs were stiff.. I took it for an alignment and they said I needed drop brackets before they could align it. Dissappointed I drove home, with horrible camber. Thats when it hit me.. If I need to buy drop brackets I might as well buy a 4" lift, and some shocks, and a pitman arm, and some AALs and get some 4dr leaf packs from the salvage yard and.. well you get the idea.

As you can see.. everything held together during the first 'test run' of the new suspension.

I dont drive my 93 every day.. gas is too much for the 50 mile round trip drive to work. That doesnt mean it sits at home though. Ive taken it on a few trips this summer and take it out on the weekends to have some fun.

I have been a member of this site for some time now and I felt it was time for me to jump up to Elite and make a contribution after all the help, advice, feedback and knowledge I have gained from the other members. It wasnt till I found this site that I thought I would be able to do this kind of work myself, and with everyones help I have. I'll keep this updated as changes are made.

- Jack

 

[Four0Sport]

More pictures..

First some pictures of the rear bumper and d-rings

I truck bedlined the bottoms of my doors in prep for sliders.. I know ive been talking about them forever but a friend is doing it and I gotta wait for a free weekend.

'95+ mirrors compared to the originals

The new and very neck/ghetto battery hold down. I couldnt stand thinking about the battery getting bounched around and hitting the hood.

And finally.. one of the better things I've done.. I added a second trans cooler. The cooler came off of a 2nd gen from a yard and was fairly simple to drop in. I had to bend part of the mount bracket, then used a speed nut clip and bolt I had laying around from the accident and bolted it to the side of the support. The temp stays steadier around the 150-170 degree mark while driving, doesnt jump up and down quickly like before. I can deffinetly tell that it is helping.

 

[Willard]

So, did the electronics in the mirrors hook up like normal? I'm assuming you have power mirrors, it appears you do.

 

[Four0Sport]

They use the same plug harnesses. I was expecting to have to cut and splice, luckily I didnt have to.

 

[black91EB]

What kind of bedliner did you use, and how was it applied? I really like how it looks.

 

[Four0Sport]

i just used duplicolor rattle can bedliner. the roll on stuff is too expensive.. although it goes on thicker and has more texture. 2 cans of aero bedliner did my rear bumper inside and out with 3 coats, all three of my wiper arms, the bottoms of my doors.. it goes a long way.

 

[black91EB]

i just used duplicolor rattle can bedliner. the roll on stuff is too expensive.. although it goes on thicker and has more texture. 2 cans of aero bedliner did my rear bumper inside and out with 3 coats, all three of my wiper arms, the bottoms of my doors.. it goes a long way.

Definitely going to have to look into that. Of course, mine's black, so it won't show as good a contrast, but it would provide some good protection, and when I build that front bumper, it would be great for that.

 

[Four0Sport]

I picked up everything for a trans filter change at work the other day and woke up to no rain and dry ground so I figured I might as well get it over with. The trans was shifting fine, no problems, just really brown stinky fluid! I picked up Max-Life fluid and a Pro-King filter and a drain plug kit to add to the bottom of the pan.

Surprisingly everything went great with the change, no hang ups besides the plate on the pass side that clips around the pan, that thing was a PITA. Is it just a heat shield? I dont have it clipped back on the pan, its hard to maneuver around the cat. I did not find any metal shavings in the pan, or the dipstick plug. Maybe the trans was serviced by the previous owner afterall.

I put 4qts of fluid in, let it idle to temp then took it for a driver around the neighborhood. Shifts are smooth, all gears engage when they should, no slipping. You dont know how much of a relief that was to me. All I've ever heard were horror stories about changing filter/fluid in auto trans. I know I have only replaced about half of the fluid, which is why I added the drain plug. I can go back later and drain the fluid, and add fresh fluid to it again. Hopefully by that time I have a remote filter installed, If I can ever find one at a reasonable price!

Thanks to the site for all the useful info that helped me do another job myself!

 

[Tbars4]

...How was the oil bath???..

...The tranny plug should have came stock but, it will now be a lot easier for future work...

 

[Four0Sport]

you know.. i drilled a small hole in the bottom of the pan while it was still on the truck and let 'most' of the fluid drain b4 i dropped the pan. When I did drop the pan most of it actually landed in the drain pan, and the ground i was working on. later when i was reinstalling the pan i laid the back of my head in a pool of old fluid. my hair should be shiny for months!

 

[Four0Sport]

 

[Four0Sport]

I finally decided to remove the warrior shackles and get rid of the rake.. I'm happy with how it turned out.

..and a gratuitous flex shot from a run this week

 

[Four0Sport]

Went out and replaced the rear bumpstops with longer ones, looked at the front and found something everyone with a lift dreads.. my drivers drop bracket has rubbed agaisnt my front diff. Very slight groove in the housing, little bur on the bracket. I fought with the factory bumpstop for over an hour.. eff those things. On my way now to pick up some more Energy bumpstops and FINALLY get this thing right. I didnt enjoy taking the coil spring off to get at the bumpstop, so the passenger side is gonna have to wait.

I forgot to mention.. I completely ditched the front sway bar. I was tired of fighting with clevis pins to get the links unhooked and have been driving around for over a week w/out them connected and feel comfortable enough to not need it anymore. We'll see how long that lasts.

 

[Four0Sport]

Ballistic Fab u-bolt spring plates were painted and installed this morning. The bulky factory ones are no more. Meeting with a guy I met on another board about building my rear bumper/tire swingout tomorrow. He does great work and the price was too reasonable to pass up. Will get pics as things happen.

 

[97sprt4x4]

have you tried pulling with the d rings yet? i'm thinking of doing that if it works, i'm just kinda skeptical of the bumper bending horrifically if any force is applied.

Thanks,
justin

 

[Four0Sport]

i havnt pulled anything as heavy as another vehicle.. and i havnt gotten stuck yet and needed pulled out. but if you place the mounts on the insides of the frame rails and reinforce theback with a plate you should be fine.

 

[97sprt4x4]

thanks, i think i may do this over the winter provided nothing breaks between now and then. you're truck is quite impressive, all the little things you've done to it make it very different from anything on here. keep up the good work.

Justin

 

[Four0Sport]

thanks for the compliments!

 

[Four0Sport]

Went and picked up my new receiver bumper/tire swingout from a friend I met on a local Jeep Forum this past Saturday night. The design was a combination of the builders concerns with having the swingout on top of the bumper and clearance with the hatch handle and rear wiper and my idea of having the hinge on the front face of the bumper to ensure a tight fit and less stress on the swingout hinge. I got the idea from looking at lots of pictures of bumpers members on this site have built and bumpers made for various models of Jeeps.

Needless to say I am very happy with the way it all turned out. Main tube of the bumper is 1/4" thick square tubing, swingout pieces are 3/16" square tubing, d-ring mounts are solid bar welded through the bumper on both ends, swingout is gusseted by the tire mount for more strength. Im considering trimming the quarters flush with the bottom of the hatch for a cleaner look.

 

[black91EB]

Went and picked up my new receiver bumper/tire swingout from a friend I met on a local Jeep Forum this past Saturday night. The design was a combination of the builders concerns with having the swingout on top of the bumper and clearance with the hatch handle and rear wiper and my idea of having the hinge on the front face of the bumper to ensure a tight fit and less stress on the swingout hinge. I got the idea from looking at lots of pictures of bumpers members on this site have built and bumpers made for various models of Jeeps.

Needless to say I am very happy with the way it all turned out. Main tube of the bumper is 1/4" thick square tubing, swingout pieces are 3/16" square tubing, d-ring mounts are solid bar welded through the bumper on both ends, swingout is gusseted by the tire mount for more strength. Im considering trimming the quarters flush with the bottom of the hatch for a cleaner look.

That looks very nice. I like the simple design that does nothing extraneous. (big word for the day ) What is that thing on your driver's side taillight?

 

[Four0Sport]

tag light for the license plate.. mounted on a bracket cut out of an old charcoal grille stand. how much more 'redneck engineered' could it get? lol