Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread | Page 50 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread

The new turd mobile. 2000 Mountaineer v8 awd.



The bad:

Was living it's prior life on a dusty road. Must tear out interior and deep clean.
Driver window off track "or something" and will not roll down. It tries but the rear part wants to stay up.

3 out of 4 door handles have issues. I have 4 new outer handles on order.
Cracked passenger side tail light housing. ( Ebay for some cool tail lights)

Compass-Thermometer thingy lit up and went out--idunno bout that yet

Door locks seem sticky, probably has to do with the handles.
It has a funky purple color trim with red metallic ( you'll have that every now and then) :(

The good
Gas tank was full
109k miles
I am the 2nd owner!!
Is from the local area, which means no salt!
The undercarriage is fairly clean
No dents to underside panels
Good rubber
Camber shims already installed
Looks like good service records, all recalls were completed.
Clean carfax believe it or not.

The "maybe" bad

The original owner, told the dealership it had a bad "heater core" however I have run it for several cycles, over an hour each idling in the driveay and see no leaks.
However, there was evidence of a windshield leak or the like,I saw condensation on the inside of the windows this AM. The moisture smell is that of water only-no anti freeze smell. I am thinking it could also be a cowl drain which is clogged???? but she did say the passenger carpet got wet.

I tried to get heat, however it is an auto climate control. Being 90 degrees outside, I doubt it would have given me heat.The heater core hoses were hot, and the coolant bypass valve does operate. AC blows Ice cold.

Maybe she meant to say "heater door"???

Anyway--here are the pics.



My intent is to drive this and use it as a tow rig for a light weight off road toy. Mods will be minimal. Edit: This plan did not work out so on to plan "b"

Current visual status

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Progress pictures
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Now, let's clean it up a little


Herculine'rd rocker panels. Rock sliders installed

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BW 4406 True 4x4 Manual transfer case ( AKA Mouse entry point) installed 8-27-2012
Installed newer Tcase from a 2003 11-14-15

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Saw a rainbow in Colorado so yeah, time for a picture
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And here she is, on top of the highest pass road in North America. Careful tire placement a must!!!
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2-2-2013

Changed "color scheme" of the Dick Cepek DC1 wheels. New Falken Wildpeak AT 31x1050x15

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Then I decided Maroon washer on the wheels would look better

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Update 6-6-2013

New bumpers, winch and Pro LED light . Front Bumper from RLC, Skid plate from RCI, rear bumper from Kert307


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Rear anti sway disconnects

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Update 9-2-2014
A cracked radiator at 70mph led to engine failure. Replaced with a freshened up a bit 80k mile engine starting on page 23

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Found another rainbow in Kansas.

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With the 12" coils, you have to use 12" shocks. The coil overs I run now are 12", and adjustable for ride stiffness. This is the max size your going to be able to fit using a stock upper tower.

I am searching for another set of 12" 2.0 shocks but with reservoirs. With the resi, it gives better rebound, and faster stroke recovery, which means I can go faster over those rough Mtn passes. :D

These are a different type of shock altogether. I more then likely will get new coils to match these, and the 750 lb coils will be available too.

All this rests on being able to find a 12" overall 2.0" set tho. So far most I found are 10" or 14". I'm still on the hunt tho. If I can't locate what I want, there is the possibility of doing custom upper buckets using Ruffstuff towers. Still on the fence about that tho.

If you can't wait for my wishy washy undecided self, the QA1's are about $200/ea, and the Eibach's are about $80/ea.

Sorry to hear about the after effects of the adventure. Time for new seats! ;)
 



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There you go, get semi seats with air cushioning built into them.

The two row radiator is still available, it's just finding the source or part number. I have one of each for my trucks, the dual is a Visteon, the original maker.

See if you can get the coolant temps down too, run a 180 which makes plenty of heat for Winter. I can go to a 160, but I'll wait until I'm able to alter the tune, to let me run it in the 160 range.

Find a Super Duty trans cooler, the shorter one should fit at the bottom in place of the small stock one. I have both sizes, the tall one I'll put in my mail truck, cutting the center support as needed. I want the trans temps to never get over 150, and a thermostatic adapter can do that.
 
























The two row radiator is still available, it's just finding the source or part number. I have one of each for my trucks, the dual is a Visteon, the original maker.

You have to look it up under a 97 or 98 V8 Explorer/Mountaineer. For some reason all aftermarket list 99-01 as single core and 96-98 having an optional 2 core. 96-01 V8 radiators mount all the same.
 






You have to look it up under a 97 or 98 V8 Explorer/Mountaineer. For some reason all aftermarket list 99-01 as single core and 96-98 having an optional 2 core. 96-01 V8 radiators mount all the same.

I also noted a radiator cap pressure difference-higher PSI for earlier years. Hmmm.
 






Orielly 1997 v8 radiator part number 431328
2000 v8 431410

Autozone 97 part number B1824
2000 part number B2308 which is what I have.
 












V8 was not until 96.

Annd, at autozone you must ask for 1997, ford, explorer, AWD ( not 4wd) , to get the 2 core v8 radiator. The v8 rad is totally unique. The rad and condensor will only mount once they are "buckled" together. It uses fanny pack style buckles.
 






The built 460 in my '74 Ranchero, which had lots of open space around the engine, ran cooler with a 180 thermostat than with a 160. I think the 160 just stayed open and allowed the coolant to flow through the radiator too fast for the radiator to do its job.

I bought a 2 row radiator for my V6 Sport Trac at either O'Reilly's or Advance (Advance I think). You have to read the description carefully. It might say 1" or 2" core instead of 1 row or 2 row. And it costs more. I read the description 2 or 3 times trying to figure out why one was more than the other before I realized what it was saying.
 






Be careful ordering the cap also. I bought two from Rock Auto, part number was correct, but they were the larger diameter for older Fords. I had to hunt a little harder to get a couple, I think I went to Amazon that last time.
 






The v8 rad is totally unique. The rad and condensor will only mount once they are "buckled" together. It uses fanny pack style buckles.

thats simple to get around. find any v6 truck. the condensor has little brackets on them that bolt to the condensor and to the rad support. that way it is free from the rad. do that, and you will never have to clip it to the rad again. dono and i did that. works fine.
 






thats simple to get around. find any v6 truck. the condensor has little brackets on them that bolt to the condensor and to the rad support. that way it is free from the rad. do that, and you will never have to clip it to the rad again. dono and i did that. works fine.
are you using a v6 radiator? Cooling issues?
 






I ran my 2 core sohc rad until a couple months ago when it finally started weeping , ( 300,000 miles ) i now have the 2 core from the mountaineer my drivetrain came from , rather its 1 or 2 core other than the clips the V8 used for the AC condensor its the same rad, btw the plastic brakets with the clips are removable
 






are you using a v6 radiator? Cooling issues?

nope. i have a stock ford rad that came from the donor truck when i did the v8 swap. i was going to use the SOHC rad, but i eff'd it up. don is using a aftermarket oem replacement rad that i think is a 2 core. i had issues last summer, but found out i had the wrong rad cap on it. now that i have the correct one i havent had a overheating issue since (that and we also found that we had the timing retarded way to much down low. that didnt help things either).
 






When cruising on highway at 70+ mph on a 95+ degree day with ac turned on, my temps climb to over 220 degrees according to the scangauge. No MIL whatsoever. I wonder whit temp would trigger a check engine light for high temp? I've seen it get as high as 226 degrees.
With no ac on a less than 80 degree day, 197, 198 is the normal cruising temp.


It's a new radiator, water pump, several thermostats before paying for a genuine ford,which does perform about 2 degrees cooler than the generics did. Hoses are good. No coolant leaks. \

The truck has seemed sluggish and hot ever since the front bumper and skid plate. Sheri even commented it took more pedal to cruise over 60mph when they were first installed. "What ever you did to that truck made it slow" was her statement. When a woman notices, it's a deal. Well, for this woman who does not know what a ball joint does it is. she thinks what a ball joint does is break---




Scangauge has a "lod" function also. The bumper and skid have cause this number to go up for highway speeds. 80 or so in the mounty, The avalon runs at 32 lod at 75 MPH. I know this is comparing apples to oranges, so, I would like someone with a v8 explorer and scan gauge to measure the lod at 70 mph for me please. ( push one of the gauge buttons until LOD is displayed) This value will rise and fall with accelerator pedal input, so a good level road average would be better. No speacial trip is needed, but if you remember while on a commute ro errand i would appreciate it.



Funny though, the idiot temp gauge sits right on the middle when scangauge says 220 degrees. The "gauge" barely moves off center at any time.

I also got no code for trans temp of 245 degrees. OD light never flashed, I could turn it on and off. surely there is an over temp trans code.

I guess what I am trying go get at, is, the front bumper and skid are causing a lot more stress on the engine, it needs more cooling capacity to keep up.

Why would Ford lower the cooling system pressure and capacity for the 98 up models?
 






I can get that LOD reading for you Jon. Its a short easy drive to I-10 where the speed limit is 75. And its straight and flat. Just gotta remember to do it.
 






I'll check my coolant and the load too, I haven't used the Scan Gauge in this truck since last year. I've still got all stock parts, other than the 180 T'stat, and deep trans pan. I would like to know what temps I hit delivering mail. I run the AC(MAX 72) all the time if it's above about 80 outside. I bet my coolant is around 190-200 most of the time.

Will a V8 radiator work with the V6 condenser? I'd like to keep the V6 condenser of my 99 truck, with a 306, I like that bottom mounting bracket much better than the V8 stuff.
 



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yes im using my original condensor 97 sohc with a 99 mountaineer rad , the plastic brackets with the buckles is removable and interchangeable
 






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