Questions about 02 explorer sport 4x4 suspension and seat change

[bradmullins]

I have a 2002 explorer sport 4x4. It's the roughest riding vehicle I've ever sat in. Every time I hit a bump or a pot hole it's a dead thud. I asked my mechanic and we put shocks on the rear. It didn't help a bit. Any ideas?

Also what's up with these little seats and no head rest? I called about some seats and I found some mountaineer seats but I'm not so sure they'll work because these sport models seem to be odd balls. You can't find much of anything for them so I wonder if a seat from a mountaineer and all the electric adjustments will work?

 

[drdoom]

I would check the leaf springs to see what type it has, check the body mounts too, and the ball joints. Sway bars you want to check them too. Also what kind of tires are you running?

 

[bradmullins]

Normal all season tires 235/70r16 I'm not sure what kind of leaf springs though. I'm assuming whatever came stock

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I have a 2002 explorer sport 4x4.

Also what's up with these little seats and no head rest? I called about some seats and I found some mountaineer seats but I'm not so sure they'll work because these sport models seem to be odd balls. You can't find much of anything for them so I wonder if a seat from a mountaineer and all the electric adjustments will work?

Yes, they'll bolt right in but you might need to rewire the connector under the seat, so be sure to get the connector and a bit of wire from the donor vehicle. The Sport and Sport Tracs have the same seats, and I swapped a set of high back Explorer seats into my Sport Trac. 1st set I tried was leather and had the power lumbar and it was the one that used a different connector. The wires are all there I think but the connector is different - at least I didn't have any problem figuring out the wiring. (I had taken the connector and a bit of the wiring because I have 2 STs and was planning to put power seats in the one without them. Tried them in the one with power 1st to see if they worked.) Took that one out because the lumbar bag doesn't hold air, and it feels like there's a bar under my tailbone. I then installed a cloth power seat with the manual lumbar and am happy with it. Pretty sure I've seen the high back leather power seats with manual lumbar. I'd stay away from the power lumbar because there's no way to tell if the lumbar air bag holds air until you have power to it. The motor runs to air up the bag on the one I have, but it doesn't hold air.

BTW, if your looking for gray ones, there are 2 or 3 shades of gray used in the EXs and Mountaineers. You probably want the darkest, which is the hardest to find.

 

[bradmullins]

Yeah these seats are horrendous and have a very low back. Cheap seats IMO.

I love those Sport Tracs btw, they still command a hefty price when searching for used vehicles.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

After seeing your photo, we need to back up a bit. What you're calling low backs look like what I'm calling high back. The leather seats shown in the 2002 sales literature are true low back seats with no headrests. The top of the back is squared off, not shaped like the one you show. That's what I assumed you were talking about. The cloth power seats were a similar shape as the leather, but did have adjustable headrests. The non-power seats were higher backed with no headrest very similar to the one in your photo. Overall height is about the same though. The cloth power seat in my '01 ST has support in the lumbar area, but not in the shoulder area. The non-power seat in my '02 has support in the upper back, but no lumbar support. For me, both are comfortable enough on short trips around town, but uncomfortable on longer drives. Both now have power cloth seats from '97 or '98 Explorers, and even though the seats look identical, the one in the '02 is more comfortable than the one in the '01. I don't know why.

To be clear, seats from 2001 and earlier Explorers and Mountaineers are bolt-ins. The 2002 and later are a completely different vehicle, so I doubt the seats are a direct fit. You may be able to bolt the seat itself onto your current tracks, but I don't know.

If the seat pictured is the original seat to your Sport, (like I said, the sales lit shows a different design), I don't think you'll gain anything by swapping 2001 and earlier seats because that looks like a Mountaineer seat without the Mountaineer design in the headrest area. Does your current seat have the manual or power/pneumatic lumbar support?

 

[bradmullins]

That picture looks a little deceiving. The seats are the height of a normal seat minus the head rest of course. The seat comes up to the top of my shoulders and I'm not too tall about 5'10.

The drivers seat has manual lumbar support though via a wheel knob on the seat it also has a handle to tilt the seat back forward and backward. However the other adjustments are electric on the drivers side.

I had a 92 Eddie Bauer that had the most comfortable seats ever and plenty of room too but I'm squished all up in this thing. The door handle is down too far for someone my size when I sit in the seat my legs are up higher than the handle is I have to stick my fingers through the hole in the arm rest (where the electric window switches and stuff are) to open the dang door.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Ok, I just looked at the sales lit again and the Sports had more seating options than the Tracs. You could get high back power seats in both cloth and leather in the Sports that weren't available in the Sport Tracs which seems rather odd. I thought the options were the same. But that explains your seats and the cloth ones I saw in an '01 Sport at the salvage yard today that look just like the seats I swapped into my Tracs. You have what Ford (and I) call high backs. The low back seats have headrests, high backs don't. One would think the seats in the Sport would be the same as used in the '01 and earlier 4 doors, but maybe not.

One variable in the Sport is the need for the seat to tilt forward for access to the back seat. Does the whole seat tilt forward, or just the seat back? If the whole seat tilts, there needs to be more clearance under the seat to allow that, meaning a different seat track. That would explain why you sit so high. I'm 6'2" and with the seat in my Sport Trac in my driving position, the door handle is about even with the middle of my thigh. I have plenty of leg and head room. The top of the seat is even with about the middle of my ear. True with the original, non-power seats and the '97-98 Explorer seats I swapped into my Tracs.

Did your Eddie Bauer seats have the extra section at the front to adjust the leg support? I think some Mountaineers had that too, and that would be a different seat yet although the tracks are the same unless the Sport seat tracks are higher to allow the whole seat to tilt.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm learning/relearning too.

 

[bradmullins]

On the passenger side the whole seat tilts up like you're talking about but not on the drivers' side. I'm assuming it couldn't tilt too much forward because it'd be blocked by the steering wheel.
And yep my Eddie Bauer had leg rest adjustment and all that stuff man it was comfy. Like I said this Sport is a great vehicle but it's an oddball everywhere. This thing even has oddball tail lights? Can you believe that? It doesn't have the same taillights that the 02 4 doors have. Makes it look older than it really is at least to me.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The '01-03 2 dr Sports and '01-05 Sport Tracs are based on the '95-01 Explorers and have nothing in common with the '02 and later Explorers, except possibly the 4.0 V6.

 

[swshawaii]

^

The 01-03 Sport has EXACTLY the same front end as the 2001-2005 Sport Trac .....NO difference.
They are totally different from the regular 4-door Explorer.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2622504&postcount=9

Also be aware of the 2001 Sport Trac engine differences. (Job 1 vs. Job 2)
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276469