New EATC, TM Headers, Lights, and Hood!!

[LiKuiD]

Oh man my truck has been spolied this summer. Lets make a list of things from the past few months...

-Torque Monster headers
-BamaChips X-2 Flasher
-X24's old hood with the Mustang cowl
-Diamond Corners and Headlights
-Silverstars for the Diamond Headlights
-EATC installed!

Whew!!! So!

The TM Headers + Bama Flasher = INSANE! Having it set to 93 torque is like driving a completely new truck. It performs amazing. Shifts perfectly, has so much more go all around the power band...its just simply great. End of story. Not to mention I get 21mpg now! Look out aldive!

Before you all go saying "Hey your truck looks exactly like X24's," yes I know. I'm gonna be changing the grill and some other stuff so it wont be exact replicate but keep in mind his truck was my inspiration to even start modding my explorer. Besides, it looks so kick ass.

The diamond corners and lights i've had for a few months, but theyre awesome too. Much better brightness with the Silverstars!

And finally, the EATC. What a fun project!! It took about 2 days for the actual wiring and everything, but it was damn well worth it. It looks so great and its so much better then the manual A/C with the knobs. With the EATC, and the Message Center, its like having an XLT-EB .

I have to thank John (n3elz) lfrom the Ranger Forum for all his help concerning the mod. I couldnt of done it without him and his webpage. Thanks a million John for all your paitence. It paid off very well!

Ok, enough talk. I'll let the pictures do the rest. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask!! (I apologize for the dirty truck pics...although some of you will prolly like them more )

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Looks good. I like your truck a lot. What head-unit is that in the dash?

-Drew

 

[bmxking5]

Looks really good. I still say it needs a couple of inches of drop, but other than that it looks great.

 

[aldive]

Very nice looking; congratulations.

 

[BeauJ]

Very nice. I like the hood

 

[CDW6212R]

Congrats, good work. Do lower the front an inch or two, plus alignment. Regards,

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

Nice X you got there LiKuiD

 

[rcpasq]

You've come a long way with your Explorer this summer. Your vehicle looks great and performs like it looks. Definately enjoy it for the rest of the summer.

The Headers got you going and the Chip put you back on track. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact Tech Performance & Engineering. Thank you.

Bob Pasquale
Tech Performance & Engineering
Torque Monster Headers

 

[n3elz]

Nice job, Steve!!!

In truth, Steve got no answer on some questions because I got busy and never got back to him. So he deserves a lot of credit for "digging in" and getting results.

You're certainly welcome, Steve, for the information. It's my pleasure to put it out there and it's nice to see more people using it. I do hear from folks I've never met from time to time about the mod and how much they like it. It's still one my favorite mods to my Ranger, particularly since Ranger's can't be bought with that option.

My Ranger is up on 35's and locked these days and will eventually be getting a SAS for the front. Anyone interested in the EATC or other mod's I've done, they are listed, usually with full how-to's, on http://members.cardomain.com/n3elz

And Steve: the sum total of what you've done to your truck is AWESOME. I'd do more performance mods but I'm running the 3.0 so it's really not cost-effective to do TOO much, lol. Putting in 4.56 gears helps me turn the 35's about as well as the truck was stock with the stock tires, so no real loss. However, my truck is neither powerful nor fast -- just something that I enjoy, especially offroading it. It's my daily driver, and I love it -- despite its obvious limitations, lol!

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Congrats on the mods - you beat me with the EATC swap! I have all my parts, but the 4wd swap took precidence.

Did you use a new blend door actuator, or one from a junkyard? I have a yard one in hand, but am hesitant to install it.

 

[n3elz]

One possible solution is to use the junkyard electronics, and mechanical parts from a newer one. I used the gear train from my 2002 Ranger, but the actuator electronics from a 1997. Sometimes it's easier to find the non-EATC actuators in recent models. Really, they can be very reliable, but the early models suffered from a poor plastic quality for the gear train and they often stripped out.

I also used the motor from my newer one. The only thing I used from the older one was the PC board inside the actuator.

If you follow my instructions and use a cut-down 5/16" socket, you should be able to change them out pretty easy. The factory directions involving removing the dash are excessive. You can get them in and out without that.

One thing I recommend is to follow my how-to's details on testing OUT of the vehicle before installing it. It can save you a LOT of headaches knowing your collection of salavaged parts works as a "system" prior to installing them.

 

[LiKuiD]

Thanks for all the compliments guys! I'm still considering lowering it a inch or two, but its still on the "to do" list. It'll get there sooner or later so dont worry.

All the components I got for the swap were from the wrecked 5.0 ped5stang has been parting out since the spring. I just used the actuator he sent me and since it worked when I tested everything outside the truck (like John mentioned above) it worked so I decided just to use it and so far have had no problems with it. Hopefully it will stay that way