the return

zerodevil · 03-31-2012, 10:49 PM

Thanks Sam.

Well summit just pushed the delivery date back for the third time on my springs and sway bars untill the 16th. So I'm going to go ahead and do the control arms and tie rod ends on this upcoming Wednesday. And I will do the struts, springs, and bars once they all come in.. hopefully on the 16th.

*BigRondo* · 04-01-2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armysoldier30263

you should probably lay off the popcorn so much Rondo! lol

Come on, I love the stuff!!

*BigRondo* · 04-01-2012, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerodevil

Rondo, I didn't do pics or a write up for the hubs as some one has already done one. But you can count on a bunch for the control arms. Tie rod ends. Sway bars. And the strut replacement.

Limited. I Havnt found a set I want yet. Deffinately going to be a gloss black 5 spoke 20 inch. I want to do 10 to 12 wide on the rear and 8 wide up front. Hoping for some crazy supercharged launches!!

I love checking out the pics of the progress and the finished product!!

*HiImBrian* · 04-01-2012, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armysoldier30263

you should probably lay off the popcorn so much Rondo! lol

There ARE worse things to eat...

*BigRondo* · 04-01-2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiImBrian

There ARE worse things to eat...

It turns out that it is pretty healthy: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness...its/53777198/1

Go figure.

*HiImBrian* · 04-01-2012, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRondo

It turns out that it is pretty healthy: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness...its/53777198/1

Go figure.

I know, popcorn and fruit is all my house snacks on...

*not8taxi* · 04-02-2012, 05:38 PM

what springs are you doing?...i replaced mine a few years back with kyb struts and the ground force lowering springs...

i did the eibach sway bars and it rides awesome...only thing that was a set back were the front links on the sway bars...the bushings and the links broke right off so i bought the moog links and some other bushings that got recommended to me by someone on the forum and its been great since

zerodevil · 04-02-2012, 06:25 PM

I am doing that exact set up haha. Thanks for the advice on the moog end links. Do you remember the part numbers? I was thinking of doing this anyways!

*not8taxi* · 04-02-2012, 08:07 PM

not sure about the part number but if you google moog links for the explorer im sure youll find them...

as for the bushings...heres the link to the thread i started about them and one of the forum members actually pointed me to better bushings...theyre thicker so you would need to make them smaller...heres the link

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=325617

i never did the camber alignment...the tires sit in on the top...i figured they would since the car is lowered with 20" wheels...i dont know how to go about fixing that...let me know if you have any more info thanks

zerodevil · 04-05-2012, 01:17 AM

Thanks for the info man!! I've gone ahead and placed another order for those parts.. it looks like eibach makes a set of alignlent kits for our trucks that can provide adjustment to the Camber issue. I'm going to have my local aftermarket tire/rim/suspension shop guy take a look at it when all is said and done to see what he thinks before I spend the extra hundred and fifty bucks. Any negative issues from the negative camber you have noticed?

*not8taxi* · 04-07-2012, 05:42 PM

nope no negative issues...i just figured ill fix it...i dont notice it at all while driving...when im on the interstates the truck drives smooth...

let me know what your guy tells you...maybe it could help me out thanks

zerodevil · 04-10-2012, 12:08 PM

at least the truck didnt develope any funny handling issues.. Ive read that a lot of negative camber can make for a really "Fun" driving experience.. but a little bit of negative camber can actually increase cornering tracktion. My main worry is tire ware at this point, how much negative camber are you looking at? a couple of degrees? or is it really noticable? would you mind sharing a pic or two?

in other news my sway bar end links and bushings made it in today! can i ask how you went about reducing them? my inclination is to find a lathe and just do it the right way...

Summit just shipped my struts, my strut mounts.. and my MSD ignition coils...what... i had a moment of weakness. The springs and sway bars are due to ship out on the 16th, and barring unforseeing shenangians thats when i will be starting phase two of the suspension rebuilding. write up and tons of picks to follow!!

*Limited02* · 04-10-2012, 12:46 PM

Let me know how the MSD COP's work out because all my research leads me back to using the stockers. Kind of like the Accel COP's you had, aftermarkets tend to have a higher fail rate than the stock ones.

Make sure you take a good before and after picture of the suspension if possible!!!

zerodevil · 04-12-2012, 04:44 AM

will do bud. to be honest my grenatelli's made quite a bit of difference, especially in the mid range. the problem was the mounts kept breaking, and finally one of them sustained some internal damage when i had a spark plug fire out of the cylender head on me. apparently the build quality of the MSD COP's is way up where, and they have a warantte, which i like. Higher voltage, more amp's, and a longer spark.. all sounds good to me. I think my tune from henson took into account the aftermarket COP's in the spark timing, and as a result i lost a little more from running the stock ones than i would have otherwise.

So i am thinking of lining this rig up to my dads explorer to show and compare both stance, and ride hight before and after the suspension rebuild and upgrade(which is go for wednesday the 25th).. i am also trying to talk my dad into driving a "chase vehicle" so i can get some footage to try and compare body roll both before and after.

after this little bout of irresponsible spending, the next thing up is going to be repairing the cracked rear hatch, and the rear bumper cover.. then im getting a Sarona Aftermarket hood.. and then im getting the whole truck painted Black.. im not sure if its going to be gloss, flat, or metalic.. but thats half a year off or more.

*Limited02* · 04-12-2012, 07:45 AM

Reading that last paragraph, I thought you were talking about my Explorer...

My rear hatch and bumper need some love as well. I've been torn between regular black as it currently is, or Tuxedo black like most the current Fords have. I believe not8taxi repainted his Tuxedo black???

Now I will be honest here. I've been considering selling my Explorer to buy my dream car: 1969 Mustang Fastback... Yes, it would be a DD because I don't believe in garage queens. This is 95% wishful thinking, but as time goes by, it becomes more of a reality... Anyhow, the Explorer does have something about it that makes it so hard to sell, so I guess I'll be doing some "improvements" and drive it till it's not worth driving.

After you get the drivetrain in place and it's all running good, take her to the strip and see what she can run.

zerodevil · 04-12-2012, 08:15 AM

I got to that point when I was going to buy my truck too! But to be honest I realised that not only is this my FIRST CAR.. but I would lose my ass if I sold or traded her. I've spent way to much money and time om her. So idc if it takes 10 years or 10 months. I want to turn my x into a one of a kind dream machine thats still able to daily drive.

zerodevil · 04-18-2012, 12:13 AM

Well, summit bumped my springs yet again. Till the 27th this time.. so me and my buddy are going to tackle the lower and upper controll arms, the sway bars, and the tie rods and ends tomorrow. I'll make sure we get lots of pictures and well do a right up soon after. We will be doing the struts and springs here near the end of The month.

*Limited02* · 04-18-2012, 08:14 AM

Bummer! I'm going to have to do something soon with mine because each day the Explorer seems to "grind" a little more and is getting bouncy on the highway when I hit bumps. Looking forward to your writeups because I'll be following them

zerodevil · 04-19-2012, 12:33 AM

Success!! Twelve ish hours to get it all wrapped up. I got a bunch of pictures and I will start a write up tomorrow, I'm totally spent at the moment.

zerodevil · 04-20-2012, 01:17 PM

Limited, I have to say the sway bars are amazing, putting eibachs on these trucks feels about as good as getting a push-up bra for your lady friend if ya get where im coming from

. pardon my school yard humor, but its the only thing that remotely comes close. the difference from these bars is night and day, i can only imagine how shes going to drive when the CG is lowered down and the stance widened up a bit. the verdict, worth every stinking penny.

04-10-2012, 12:46 PM	#33
Limited02 Wanna Race? Gardner, KS '02 Limited V8 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,098 Vehicle Specs	Let me know how the MSD COP's work out because all my research leads me back to using the stockers. Kind of like the Accel COP's you had, aftermarkets tend to have a higher fail rate than the stock ones. Make sure you take a good before and after picture of the suspension if possible!!! __________________ "Spending money I don't have, on parts I don't need, to impress people I don't know" 2002 4.6 4x4, K&N CAI, Henson tuned, FM70 and 20" Boss 306's My Built-in Cabinet EXPLORER FORUM LICENSE PLATE FRAMES!!!

04-12-2012, 07:45 AM	#35
Limited02 Wanna Race? Gardner, KS '02 Limited V8 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,098 Vehicle Specs	Reading that last paragraph, I thought you were talking about my Explorer... My rear hatch and bumper need some love as well. I've been torn between regular black as it currently is, or Tuxedo black like most the current Fords have. I believe not8taxi repainted his Tuxedo black??? Now I will be honest here. I've been considering selling my Explorer to buy my dream car: 1969 Mustang Fastback... Yes, it would be a DD because I don't believe in garage queens. This is 95% wishful thinking, but as time goes by, it becomes more of a reality... Anyhow, the Explorer does have something about it that makes it so hard to sell, so I guess I'll be doing some "improvements" and drive it till it's not worth driving. After you get the drivetrain in place and it's all running good, take her to the strip and see what she can run. __________________ "Spending money I don't have, on parts I don't need, to impress people I don't know" 2002 4.6 4x4, K&N CAI, Henson tuned, FM70 and 20" Boss 306's My Built-in Cabinet EXPLORER FORUM LICENSE PLATE FRAMES!!!

04-18-2012, 08:14 AM	#38
Limited02 Wanna Race? Gardner, KS '02 Limited V8 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,098 Vehicle Specs	Bummer! I'm going to have to do something soon with mine because each day the Explorer seems to "grind" a little more and is getting bouncy on the highway when I hit bumps. Looking forward to your writeups because I'll be following them __________________ "Spending money I don't have, on parts I don't need, to impress people I don't know" 2002 4.6 4x4, K&N CAI, Henson tuned, FM70 and 20" Boss 306's My Built-in Cabinet EXPLORER FORUM LICENSE PLATE FRAMES!!!

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03-31-2012, 10:49 PM	#21
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Thanks Sam. Well summit just pushed the delivery date back for the third time on my springs and sway bars untill the 16th. So I'm going to go ahead and do the control arms and tie rod ends on this upcoming Wednesday. And I will do the struts, springs, and bars once they all come in.. hopefully on the 16th.

04-02-2012, 05:38 PM	#27
not8taxi Elite Explorer queens, ny 02 XLT Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 620 Vehicle Specs	what springs are you doing?...i replaced mine a few years back with kyb struts and the ground force lowering springs... i did the eibach sway bars and it rides awesome...only thing that was a set back were the front links on the sway bars...the bushings and the links broke right off so i bought the moog links and some other bushings that got recommended to me by someone on the forum and its been great since

04-02-2012, 06:25 PM	#28
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	I am doing that exact set up haha. Thanks for the advice on the moog end links. Do you remember the part numbers? I was thinking of doing this anyways!

04-02-2012, 08:07 PM	#29
not8taxi Elite Explorer queens, ny 02 XLT Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 620 Vehicle Specs	not sure about the part number but if you google moog links for the explorer im sure youll find them... as for the bushings...heres the link to the thread i started about them and one of the forum members actually pointed me to better bushings...theyre thicker so you would need to make them smaller...heres the link http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=325617 i never did the camber alignment...the tires sit in on the top...i figured they would since the car is lowered with 20" wheels...i dont know how to go about fixing that...let me know if you have any more info thanks

04-05-2012, 01:17 AM	#30
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Thanks for the info man!! I've gone ahead and placed another order for those parts.. it looks like eibach makes a set of alignlent kits for our trucks that can provide adjustment to the Camber issue. I'm going to have my local aftermarket tire/rim/suspension shop guy take a look at it when all is said and done to see what he thinks before I spend the extra hundred and fifty bucks. Any negative issues from the negative camber you have noticed?

04-07-2012, 05:42 PM	#31
not8taxi Elite Explorer queens, ny 02 XLT Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 620 Vehicle Specs	nope no negative issues...i just figured ill fix it...i dont notice it at all while driving...when im on the interstates the truck drives smooth... let me know what your guy tells you...maybe it could help me out thanks

04-10-2012, 12:08 PM	#32
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	at least the truck didnt develope any funny handling issues.. Ive read that a lot of negative camber can make for a really "Fun" driving experience.. but a little bit of negative camber can actually increase cornering tracktion. My main worry is tire ware at this point, how much negative camber are you looking at? a couple of degrees? or is it really noticable? would you mind sharing a pic or two? in other news my sway bar end links and bushings made it in today! can i ask how you went about reducing them? my inclination is to find a lathe and just do it the right way... Summit just shipped my struts, my strut mounts.. and my MSD ignition coils...what... i had a moment of weakness. The springs and sway bars are due to ship out on the 16th, and barring unforseeing shenangians thats when i will be starting phase two of the suspension rebuilding. write up and tons of picks to follow!!

04-12-2012, 04:44 AM	#34
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	will do bud. to be honest my grenatelli's made quite a bit of difference, especially in the mid range. the problem was the mounts kept breaking, and finally one of them sustained some internal damage when i had a spark plug fire out of the cylender head on me. apparently the build quality of the MSD COP's is way up where, and they have a warantte, which i like. Higher voltage, more amp's, and a longer spark.. all sounds good to me. I think my tune from henson took into account the aftermarket COP's in the spark timing, and as a result i lost a little more from running the stock ones than i would have otherwise. So i am thinking of lining this rig up to my dads explorer to show and compare both stance, and ride hight before and after the suspension rebuild and upgrade(which is go for wednesday the 25th).. i am also trying to talk my dad into driving a "chase vehicle" so i can get some footage to try and compare body roll both before and after. after this little bout of irresponsible spending, the next thing up is going to be repairing the cracked rear hatch, and the rear bumper cover.. then im getting a Sarona Aftermarket hood.. and then im getting the whole truck painted Black.. im not sure if its going to be gloss, flat, or metalic.. but thats half a year off or more.

04-12-2012, 08:15 AM	#36
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	I got to that point when I was going to buy my truck too! But to be honest I realised that not only is this my FIRST CAR.. but I would lose my ass if I sold or traded her. I've spent way to much money and time om her. So idc if it takes 10 years or 10 months. I want to turn my x into a one of a kind dream machine thats still able to daily drive.

04-18-2012, 12:13 AM	#37
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Well, summit bumped my springs yet again. Till the 27th this time.. so me and my buddy are going to tackle the lower and upper controll arms, the sway bars, and the tie rods and ends tomorrow. I'll make sure we get lots of pictures and well do a right up soon after. We will be doing the struts and springs here near the end of The month.

04-19-2012, 12:33 AM	#39
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Success!! Twelve ish hours to get it all wrapped up. I got a bunch of pictures and I will start a write up tomorrow, I'm totally spent at the moment.

04-20-2012, 01:17 PM	#40
zerodevil Wannabe Elite Explorer Anchorage, AK 2003 XLT V8. Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,332 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Limited, I have to say the sway bars are amazing, putting eibachs on these trucks feels about as good as getting a push-up bra for your lady friend if ya get where im coming from . pardon my school yard humor, but its the only thing that remotely comes close. the difference from these bars is night and day, i can only imagine how shes going to drive when the CG is lowered down and the stance widened up a bit. the verdict, worth every stinking penny.