Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread | Page 40 | 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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028.jpg


031.jpg


032.jpg


044.jpg


043.jpg


042.jpg

038.jpg


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
119.jpg

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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we have a place up here called canadian tire (canadian haywire, ukrainian tire, polish wheel, ect). they too are boneheads. i had to get windshield wipers once.... windshield wipers....the guy asked me what motor was in it...???
 



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I got the radiator back in, Since the skid plate was off I also changed the oil and filter. While The oil was draining out I looked up at the trans lines and thought hmm, the trans line just might be cracked. So, I grabbed one off my shelf but it didn't fit quite right and rather than trying to reform it, I re stuck the old one back in after closely inspecting it.Then I re-stuck it in again because I didn't have it routed quite right. Good times.

Just as I had the coolant level topped off, MLB informed me we had to leave in about a hour for our niece's 16th birthday party.

I ran it up to heat, idling in Drive with the e-brake set and watched the temperature on the scan-gauge for a spike and cool down, then shut it off since the fan and shroud were not installed yet. This should have built up pressure in the cooling system and transmission.
After cleaning up my dirty self, I went out to check for drips, leaks etc but found none.

When we got back home I got the shroud and fan back in. Then I ran it up to temp again as above. No leaks.

I'll throw the skid plate back on tomorrow. Then, we'll be back to where we should have been 5 days ago.

I love throwing parts on a car-truck if it is improving something, but to have this much hassle just to make it right is aggravating. Looking at the transmission fluid fittings on the silly plastic tanks scares me. Each time the truck hits a bump the lines flex a little, and so does the fitting. I think I'm just going to bypass the whole thing and run the lines straight to the trans cooler itself.
 






...

I love throwing parts on a car-truck if it is improving something, but to have this much hassle just to make it right is aggravating. Looking at the transmission fluid fittings on the silly plastic tanks scares me. Each time the truck hits a bump the lines flex a little, and so does the fitting. I think I'm just going to bypass the whole thing and run the lines straight to the trans cooler itself.

That's what I'm thinking too, see how it does without the radiator cooler(heater).

I'm still going to dissect one of the aftermarket oil cooler thermostatic adapters. I want to see if the built in 180+ setting they operate at can be altered. If it can be made to turn on at around 100* or so instead, that'd be great for the ATF coolers.
 






Anyhoo,

The gang came to Kansas so we all headed out to Kansas Rocks park. We got onto a trail that became steep and loose so I decided what better time to try out the 4x4 function.

In true fashion, being a stubborn ol mule Betty refused to stay in 4wd. evey time it got steep or tight she'd just pop into 2wd, even though the shifter wasn't moving.

So,
I got on Transfercasewoot dot com and found a manual 4406 transfer case from an '03 F150 with 64k miles on it. I hope to have this changed out soon.

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I'll be sure to keep you posted. Good times!
 






LoL easier than rebuilding one huh! Let me know if ya need any assistance.

Sent from my LGL15G using Forum Runner
 






LoL easier than rebuilding one huh! Let me know if ya need any assistance.

Sent from my LGL15G using Forum Runner

I might take you up on that. Thanks!

I found this about 1.5 hrs away for $83.50, to me it is well worth it.

I do plan to crack open the bad one, this will eliminate the time stress and intimidation, as the Mounty will be able to be driven while I leisurely tear into it. ;)
 
























It has begun. I had to move half the stuff out of my garage to make room, and made more things to fix in the process of cleaning out the wood stove piping.

I am not sure if this will be finished today or not, because I will have to rely on some physical help to actually get the case down and the new one back up.

But there is a huge spectator area now. :D
 






Ok... Do u have physical help available?

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Well, as luck would have it my siblings in law stopped by and Kevin gave me a hand with the little things. Got cleaned up and went to eat chinese buffet.

When we got back I got the case separated from the transmission, and my friend Jimmy came over to pull and stab the new one in. I got all 6 bolts tightened down and called it a night. The hard part is done though, just have some thingys to bolt back together. :D
 












The old case was shot

Shiny silver and some white pieces that looked like paint chips were in the drained fluid.

Now Betty drives like a whole new truck. I think the old case has had issues since it was installed, this one is much much quieter.

Shifting through the 4wd modes is a lot smoother and damped. I took it through some very sharp turns while climbing in 4wd and it no longer thumps the front differential, nor does it pop out of 4wd.

Front diff thump and jump thread

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3480679#post3480679
 






Hmmm, I need that link. Transfer case is on my short list, and under $100?? Gidyup!
 






Glad betty is happy, healthy and on all 4 again.

Sent from my LGL15G using Forum Runner
 






Jon, can you come out east and work on mine? I'll feed you. ;)
 









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