2000 AWD Xploder from Turbo back to NA

After getting an estimate on how much it would run me to fix up my Xploder with all new exhaust, cold side piping, and a bunch of other stuff done up the "right" way... I've decided to convert my Xploder back to NA form so that I can actually ENJOY the truck before I die of old age.

Anyways... To start it off I ordered up a MAC cold air intake (I do not have the stock intake) and sold my FMS headers on ebay.

I plan on buying a set of torque monster headers in the next week or so but am still up in the air on how I should run my exhaust from a performance "speed" perspective. I do not plan on doing much, if any, off road driving, so am looking for a setup that improves take off and speed for spirited pavement driving that sounds good.

I already have the spare tire removed (and will be keeping it off, I have free towing anyways lol)... What would an optimal setup be with the above in mind and no worry of a spare tire being in the way? True duals (straight pipe off of each header, thru separate mufflers, and out the sides), or a dual exhaust both going into a 2 in 2 out "H" pipe style muffler and then out the sides? Or something else? In all cases I won't be running any cats.

I also plan to re-tune my car since currently it is tuned for the turbo setup which obviously will no longer apply once I rip everything out.

Thank you for any input!

 

[willzilla]

Yeah... I topped off the coolant and am keeping an eye on it. Always have a leak worry with my history of coolant leaks lol. Didn't see any coolant stains under the car so that was a plus. Will check again this weekend and add more as needed and keep checking.

Hopefully the new MOOG ball joints show up by this weekend so I can swap them out. Was going to order a different brand but was worried about another brand not fitting into the MOOG upper control arms right. From photos (not sure if they are accurate) it looks like the ball joint boots had been changed possibly, perhaps for the better.

 

[willzilla]

Another rainy day... Yesterday I was able to finally fix my wife's A/C in our 2010 e-350... Turns out it was the front blower motor control switch (in the climate control module). Yay

Had some time today and was able to replace the ball joint in the driver side upper control arm. Ended up trying to kill a snake in the garage (or at least get it out of the garage) for 3+ hours and did not get to actually reinstalling the upper control arm or replacing the ball joint in the passenger upper control arm. Ugh.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good, so those Moog UCA's do take the replacement BJ? I think that's the way to go for an arm with lesser miles than the boots last. What were the part numbers for those, and where'd they come from?

 

[willzilla]

Very good, so those Moog UCA's do take the replacement BJ? I think that's the way to go for an arm with lesser miles than the boots last. What were the part numbers for those, and where'd they come from?

Yes... The MOOG upper control arms that I have (unsure about the R series) take the MOOG ball joints. When I read the MOOG data sheet on the upper control arm it had the ball joint part marked so assumed I could swap it out as it's a part they sell.

For the upper control arms I purchased them from Amazon March 11 2013 (lol.. sad)... The part details:

Moog K8708T Control Arm with Ball Joint
Moog K80068 Front Upper Control Arm and Ball Joint

It appears sometime over the past few years MOOG changed up the part numbers a bit (maybe tweaked the arms, not sure.. Added a letter C before the part numbers)...

MOOG CK8708T Problem Solver; Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint
MOOG CK80068 Problem Solver; Complete Arm w/ Ball Joint

The MOOG ball joints I purchased from Summit Racing (though they appears on Rockauto when you search by part, but don't seem to show up when viewing under Explorer)...

Moog Ball Joints K80012

All photos of the ball joint show it with a blue boot... Mine came with the same black boot that it had when I got the upper control arms with the ball joint already pressed in (wish I could get one with a red boot lol)

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I got my UCA's installed in my Mercury in about 2008, but they have maybe 30k miles on them. The bushings are probably fine still, and doing just the BJ's would be good for that truck. I think there were only one choice back then, besides the two piece contraption. I have those new parts now, for my 99 truck.

 

[willzilla]

Pulled the passenger side upper control arm and swapped the ball joint on it as well. Tried to install driver side upper control arm and am at a loss on how the heck the camber bolts on the right side can physically go in from left to right???? There are 2 small metal tubes that I can work around but also a bigger metal tubes that does not budge and the bolt head clanks into it not allowing a direct shot to install the bolt. Is there some trick to this or a way to move the tube out of the way??

 

[CDW6212R]

There are small clamps around there that hold those tight on the frame. Sometimes you don't have to remove a clamp, often you do. My last two have been not bad, the first one I did have to move those tubes. The big one is the emissions going back to the charcoal canister(fuel vapors).

 

[willzilla]

Yeah.. I saw the ones holding the 2 small tubes and those don't seem a problem. The big metal tube... Didn't see what holds that in place and couldn't figure out how to move it at all.

 

[CDW6212R]

It was around 2004 when I did my Mercury, it's fuzzy to recall. I think there was a large self tapping bolt holding a clamp on, with maybe a 10mm bolt head. I'd have to look again to see. Something can be done to get it moved a little.

 

[willzilla]

Hmm.. I'll delve into it again today or this weekend and maybe have better luck. Hard to see much and didn't see anything any clamps near the camber bolt but maybe forward or aft I'll have better luck.

 

[willzilla]

Took it easy this weekend and today... Had to grade finals and catch up on some other work.

I got my passenger side upper control arm installed... Went smoothly. Much less of a pain compared to the drivers side which I still haven't got bolted up yet. Will delve into that this week and hopefully figure something out. Need to rent or borrow a torque wrench to tighten everything down, I believe I read 100lbs but will need to double check. Still need to find my torsion bolts as well.

 

[willzilla]

Ordered new Moog camber bolts and cams to replace my identical Moog camber bolts and cam set... Old ones were warped from when I wasn't sure what I was doing 4 years ago and hulk crushed the cams :-/

I found my torsion bolts FINALLY and installed them... Just did 10 turns for each for now.

Got the new camber bolts installed bolt head on the inside like they should. Didn't tighten them all the way and dropped the truck down to pre-load. Will tighten the rest of the way once the suspension settles.

Need to rent a torque wrench so I can tighten everything to spec (alignment shop mentioned my camber bolts were loose when I took truck up for alignment attempt a few weeks ago and I don't want a repeat of that).

 

[CDW6212R]

I browsed for UCA's, the BJ, and just boots again. I found about three boots that could fit, but none give any dimensions of the two holes. That's poor descriptions, and the reviews were no help, only a few mentioned the application. I'll try to replace my boots, given the maybe $15 savings to replace the BJ's only. The arms are in the high $40's, and boots run under $10 a pair. I might have to buy all of them and see which will work.

 

[willzilla]

Finally got some more time to work on the truck..

Rented a torque wrench from advanced auto.. Pre-loaded the BJs... Torqued down the camber bolts.

Driver side and passenger side are about half an inch difference in height. Couldn't really line it up messing with the torsion bolts as it felt like adjusting one bolt changed height of both sides to some degree and I do not have one of those torsion tension clamp things.

Is there a specific method to level the front end without any special tools?

 

[CDW6212R]

The alignment shop can adjust those if you mention it to them. I like to go in with the height where I want it, and tell them to adjust it if they have to(they had to raise it the last time to get a good alignment).

Measure the height on both sides, from the ground up to the LCA front mounting bolt. Make those equal, and then the handling will be equal for left and right turns. The fenders will always be off some from where the suspension needs to be. I'll be trying to move my fenders or body mounts when I get to doing my good truck.

 

[willzilla]

Cool, thank yoU!

 

[willzilla]

Measured from the ground to the lower control arm bolt and they were pretty much equal, so.. Maybe I'm good to go on the level.

Ran into some issues with my SVT focus yesterday. Went out to eat lunch, hopped out of the car (after shutting the engine off, of course), and noticed the restaurant was closed and hopped back into my car... and... It would not start. Turn the key and NOTHING at all happens. Nothing. Doesn't even attempt to turn over. Nothing. Stuck in a parking lot.

Thankfully my wife works on base with me now and was off base heading to meet me for lunch and I got a ride back to work but my car, a day later, is still stranded in the parking lot (trying not to pay for a tow, ugh).

First thing I did was installing a new clutch starter switch (the plunger that is pushed in when pushing in the clutch) which is a common failure on these cars and it looked worn out. Still wouldn't start.

Swapped around all of the related ignition and starter relays and fuses... Still won't start.

Fixed a very weak ground wire... Notta.

POS starter is super hard to even reach so hopefully it's not the starter that took a crap on me.

Need to check the crankshaft sensor next, tomorrow maybe, as I've heard that is also a possible failure point and need to try and trace the electrical though I believe I could hear the relay click for the starter when turning the key so...

Thankfully the Xploder is running and if I can I will try again to get the alignment done Monday when the shop opens back up. Still need to fill the A/C as well as it is still HOT around here.

 

[CDW6212R]

Sorry to hear that your car has a problem. It's nice to have a spare car, and/or a wife or friend to help too.

Did you check the main battery cables, connections etc? How old is it again, I start expecting wiring issues after about 15 years? Does it have any hidden fuses, mega fuses etc? Try to be sure it's getting power to the PCM(ground too), as well as the starter etc. I think you have a good grasp of what all can go wrong, you'll find it soon.

 

[willzilla]

The car (an SVT focus) is a good 15 years old now (2003 model, bought it new in 2002).

Just got it towed back to my house, thankfully USAA insurance policy has roadside assistance that I had completely forgotten about. Will troubleshoot it more in depth when I get a chance. Drove my Xploder 10 miles to meet tow truck driver and followed him and my car back. Truck seems to be driving nicely though I still need the alignment.. Thankfully even with hands off the wheel the truck drives nice and straight with zero shimmy/shake... Actually surprised lol. Will try to get alignment done (3rd attempt now since I started this entire thing lol) tomorrow and also work on the A/C.

 

[willzilla]

Drove the truck around some more today... Seems to be driving really good. Engine temps are great.

Hoping alignment tomorrow goes smoothly haha.

And need to figure out how to do the A/C job.

Once that's done I can clean up my engine wiring somewhat and also button up the inner splash guards and other plastic pieces.

Noticed my power mirrors are acting up. Driver side power doesn't work (passenger side works fine) and both mirrors don't hold where I set them and move out of position from driving it... Weird.

My passenger side HID light doesn't come on half the time (sometimes comes on when I turn lights on and off a bunch of times)... Planned to replace the HID's anyways as they have been flaky for a long time. Still need grab the black hood cowl piece as well (with the wiper fluid jets) and install my wiper arms and new wiper blades and a new windshield sometime as well..