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]

oh, on a side note.. the abandoned strip/logging area down from my house where some of the shots of my truck were taken and where i would take the truck to test things out has been filled in, leveled, and taped off! i think they are going to build apartments on the land. sucks.

 

[Four0Sport]

Just a quick update on some things I purchased for the truck. The energy suspension bump stops came in, and i found the drops for the factory bump stops that came with the Rough Country lift, just need to put them on the truck now.

Oh.. i almost forgot. The RoughCountry lift leaf packs I purchased from a member here arrived yesterday. Need to get the rear bushings replaced and my 93 will finally sit level, again.

 

[Four0Sport]

Got some stuff done recently.. had some help getting the valve cover gaskets replaced so i figured nows as good time as any to throw on the upper plenum, throttlebody, water neck, and valve covers i painted. heres some pics...

I need to take the factory IAC off and at least sand it down to get the corrosion and rust off. Other than that I think it turned out pretty good. My truck is a non-egr truck, but the intake i got from a friend was egr so i had a billet aluminum block off plate made for free by a friend. Slowly things are starting to look good under the hood, till they get dirty again.

 

[Four0Sport]

Nothin is better than getting a really good deal on something. Which is why most of the build on my truck takes so long.. I wait for really good deals. Thats part of what makes this a 'budget' build I suppose. I got these Cooper Discoverer LT 32x11.50s for less than $40 from a friend. They still have some decent tread, need cleaned up though.

 

[Four0Sport]

had a day off today, and some spare time between working on my fiance's legacy and spending some time with her this evening i managed to get a few things done on the 93. i removed the wheel flares and rocker plastic getting ready to have the rockers looked at for some fab work and found a couple more spots of rust. the wheel lip on the pass rear quarter has some rust showing through, and the bottom corner of drivers fender has a couple holes. looks like ill be doing more body work than i thought this spring. hopes are to have a friend fab some channel in place of the rockers, may have to weld in new dog legs b4 that happens. that will be fun since the only dog legs available are for a 4dr. oh well, it can be done as many on here have done before. i dont think i'll be putting the plastic back on there, it was holding so much dirt and debris. i was thinking of using them as templates though, tracing the outline agaisnt the truck to give me clean line to tape off and then bed lining the wheel arches. time will tell what i do, it needs to warm up a little more b4 anything.

i didnt let the rust get me down for long though. the mag lite mounts i ordered came in and i got them secured underneath the ashtray on the dash. looks pretty good, i need to get some pics of it, i didnt have my camera out there with me this time.

im still having trouble finding bushings to fit the used leaf packs i got. stock bushings seem to be correct for the rear eyes but the fronts are different. monday is my next day off, i think im just gonna break down and take them to a spring shop and let them press some in. they are bound to have the right size.. i hope so anyway. im anxious to get these on the truck.

 

[Four0Sport]

tomorrow is spose to be in the mid 50s with lots of sun, and i picked up my leaf packs from the spring shop on my way to work this morning. all in all, with a shop pressing new bushings, i still have way less into these leaf packs than i would if i had bought them brand new. so tomorrow.. on they go, and im gonna try to tackle my front brake lines once and for all. i'll prbly throw my bumpstops on also since ill have the front wheels off. oh well.. im gonna go to bed and get some sleep cause ill be busy tomorrow.

 

[yostyexplorer94]

That really gives the engine a clean fresh look. Looking good

 

[Four0Sport]

yeah.. i need to clean the rest of it up a little more. thanks!

 

[Four0Sport]

im glad i bought that grinder the last time i needed to cut a shackle bolt out because i had to do it again yesterday. needless to say i anti-seized every bolt i took out while putting the new rear leafs in. the sway bar had to come off.. the leaf packs i installed werent as tall under the rear end and brought the shock mount up to where it rubbed the sway bar mount instead of bolting up to the mount. After taking a few breaks, and eating lunch, i finally did manage to get the leaf packs in there and im impressed. the truck has a slight rear rake now since i left the warrior shackles on. makes the truck feel completely different.. no more rear sag, i can see out over the hood better, the ride is better since i dont have the AALs or worn factory leafs.

i didnt get a chance to tackle the front brake line extensions though, ran out ot a friend to look at my rust situation b4 it got too dark. besides the rockers i have a couple spots on my rear whee wells that hes gonna fix.

so heres a list of things that i still want to get done preferably this spring:
-front ext. brake lines
-front sway bar links
-4.10s front and rear
-repair/replace rockers
-swing-out tire mount

as far as tires go i think im just gonna run the 32s i got off a friend till they wear down and i need to buy new ones, then ill go with the 33x10.50s i want. im also still debating on picking up a set of black soft 8s.. cant beat the price, but then id have 2 sets of 15x8s, and i only really need one. hmm decisions. i took a couple pics yesterday, havnt had time to upload them.. will do this evening after work.

 

[Four0Sport]

oh, i forgot to mention something. everything went fine with the install, but during the test drive i did notice a bit of a vibration while accellerating. driveshaft? i hope not, the angle of the driveshaft is changed from how it was b4, obviously. i havnt heard of anyone else having and problems after taller leaf springs but then again everyones truck is different. is there anything i can physically look or on the pinion, driveshaft to see whats goin on?

 

[Four0Sport]

finally got the picutres uploaded, 4 days late, but here they are nonetheless

..and the mag lite mounts in installed

 

[Four0Sport]

I also got the Sony XPlod speakers installed in the doors, they sound a lot better than the crackly factory speakers. Next up this week is going to be front and rear brake hoses (the rear got ssssssstretched pretty bad and is seeping around the ends) and re-wiring my fog lights and accessories.

 

[Four0Sport]

Got a few things done this morning, front brake hoses, rear brake hose with hard line extension, and with a little 'hammerfication' the Jeep TJ extended end links are in. Enough talking, on to the pictures...

The rear hard line extension is kind of ghetto, i know, but my legs were falling asleep from sitting indian style under the truck and I couldnt find the 6" piece of line I bought. Im really excited about the endlinks working out so well, I was getting tired of sloppy steering from having the sway bar unhooked. If I can get remotivated I'm gonna run out to work and borrow the vaccum pump bleeder tool. I am going to get as much of the old fluid out as possible and using the pump will be way quicker than having someone press and release the pedal 100 times.

 

[Four0Sport]

The 32s are on and I must say I like the way they look on the truck. The tires are just wide enough not to be overly huge looking and gives the truck a nice stance. I also gotta say I'm impressed by the Coopers so far. They are a little noisy on the interstate, handle well in rain, gravel, and loose dirt.. havnt been able to test them out in the mud yet. They were used, and with that being sad im not all that mad about one of them having a little sidewall bulge. If they hold up and continue to impress me over the next few months I might buy a new set a pair at a time. Havnt gotten any pictures, will try as soon as this rain clears out.

 

[Four0Sport]

The rain has held off so far today so I took a little time and cleaned out the inside of the truck. Wiped everything down with a damp cloth to remove all the dust, then went back at it with Turtle Wax Ice Detailer Spray which is much easier to use than the paste I had before. Loved the way the interior turned out, clean, shiny, NOT greasy, awesome.

While I had the camera out I thought I would get a picture of my $40 air intake.. $10 MAF adapter, $30 K&N cone filter.

Here are a few shots of how the truck sits with 32s

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

looks good keep up good work

 

[Four0Sport]

thanks sam

 

[Willard]

Those 32's look much better. That intake make a difference? I've always thought about doing it on the cheap like that.

 

[Four0Sport]

Those 32's look much better. That intake make a difference? I've always thought about doing it on the cheap like that.

actully.. yeah it has made a difference. throttle response is quicker, acceleration is up slightly. and i needed it.

 

[Willard]

actully.. yeah it has made a difference. throttle response is quicker, acceleration is up slightly. and i needed it.

sweet, i might have to do that sometime soon