supercharged 5.0 true fire 98 explorer sport

hi everyone, my name is tim . i live in selkirk, manitoba, canada and as if this date that i am posting this, i am 36 years old.

i bought my sport in jan 05 from a local ford dealer. it had 111,000KM's on it. this is the second sport i have owned. it was sitting on the lot for about 8 months before i came along. i am the third owner (i was able to track down the person that traded it in, and they got it from a friend, who bought it new in 98).

i started to do a few things to it after i first got it, then i found this site, and all hell broke lose! i've never been satisfied with something the everyone else has, so i started to tinker with it even more.

mods include

interior

installed factory tilt, cruise, overhead console, auto dimming mirror, full length console, with a message center (it didn't have these from factory).

white face with blue flames indigo gauge covers (they light up blue)
blue l.e.d. everything
white l.e.d. interior lights
Kenwood DDX392 Touch Screen Head Unit
alpine 4 channel amp (all four speakers)
boston acoustic front and rear speakers
alpine mono amp (for sub)
2 12 inch jl audio subs
rockford fosgate cap
passenger side one touch window down mod.
custom transfer case shifter
tripple a pillar gauge pod, housing autometer boost, Innovate LC-1 wideband, and oil pressure gauge
12v power inverter with 120v plug in a 2 usb plugs built into the center console

exterior

BMW E46 projectors, mounted into stock housings using clear lens
6000K HID head lights
angel eye "driving" lights, with 8000k h.i.d.'s
clear parking/corner lights
billet grill (powder coated by Turdle)
blacked out ford emblems
custom front steel 95-98 bumper, with 4 inch round tubes welded in for driving lights
shaved radio antenna
shaved roof rack
black euro tall lights
l.e.d. license plate lights
smoked out 3rd break light
lund rear tailgate spoiler/wing (formally from the truck "blackjack" owned by EF member Spas)
hand made roll pan (made from 3 1/2 rear bumpers, with 1/4 inch diamond plate on the top, and it is removable)
aluminum T/A differential griddle/cover (powder coated by Turdle)
Motegi Mr107 20' rims
goodyear wrangler hp p245/50 r20
1 1/4 wheel spacer in the rear, 3/8 in front
and most noticeable, black with blue pearl paint, and blue true fire (ground effects are black with blue pearl as well)

Suspension

2 inch lowering blocks in the rear, reverse TT in the front (2 inch as well)
Explorer Express rear sway bar
4 door leaf springs
rancho rs9000 adjustable rear shocks
03-05 sport trac spindles with drilled and slotted rotors

performance

5L swap
347 stroker
TFS twisted wedge alum heads
comp gold 1.6 rockers
comp cams CCA-35-556-8 nitro cam
heavily modified edelbrock victor jr air gap intake (which serves as a valley pan now)
eaton m122 supercharger (metco 2.70 pulley, and ASP 8 rib 7 1/4 crank pulley) with custom made mount with bell intercooler core
8 rib serpentine belt conversion using pulleys from a 7.3 powerstroke
custom made 3 1/2 inch throttle body elbow
accufab 75mm throttle body
4 inch intake pipe
PMASS MH90 90mm Universal 3000 KG/HR MAF
amsoil cone filter
F.A.S.T. 60lb injectors
edelbrock fuel rails, trick flow specialties fuel pressure regulator with summit racing fuel pressure gauge
walbro 255lph fuel pump
1/2 inch steel braided fuel pressure line from tank to rail using 8AN fittings
torque monster headers
2 1/2 duel pipes with flowpro duel in and out 2 1/2 single muffler
accel extreme 9000 ceramic 45 degree plug wires with boot protectors
4R70W w/2600 stall with J mod
tuff stuff 200a alternator
tuning made possible with sct pro-racer package, and tuned with major help from member [MENTION=102869]Dono[/MENTION] and [MENTION=81804]4pointslow[/MENTION]
flex a lite duel 12 inch electric fans
big 3 upgrade (4 gauge wires)
meziere innercooler water pump
2 froozenboost innercooler rads

Transfer case

4406 manual shift from a 97 F150
modified stock trans cross member to accept 93 mustang 5L polyurethane tans mount
double cardan rear drive shaft

because of all the "fun" i had doing the bodywork, and some other things to my truck, i have nick named it "evil dora" or if you like, just plane "evil"!
and now the thank yous

my buddy gord leiss, who let this thing sit in his garage for 3 months while i did the body work to it. he also gave me a hand with some of the prep work, and painted it for me

kevin willson for doing the true fire http://affordableairbrushing.ca/

Joe Bukoski for letting me do the 5L/4406 swap in his garage

now people from this site, weather they knew it or not, they helped

BIG THANKS to tara a.k.a. explorersport77 for pictures of her truck. wouldn't been able to build the roll pan with out them!

ExplorerSport77's X "Hotness"

jon a.k.a. Turdle for selling me some real swanky rear shackles, as well as powder coating the diff cover and sending them up to canada. as well as much needed info on v8, and 4406 swaps as well as doing the grill and showing me how its done.

don aka dono for the help with the tuning, and wideband, as well as the supercharger

andy aka ahodges for some parts, and any help i needed for all the go faster goodies

5.0 swap - w/ 4406

jad2411 for finding me a link for my hidden antenna

ryan a.k.a. MustangP51 for doing his write up on making l.e.d.'s for interior lights, and how to make projectors

P51's HID Headlight (Projector) and Fog Conversion (PICS)

and N3ELZ cardomain page for L.E.D. switch and cruise pod mods

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-6
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-12
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-23

bob a.k.a. rwenzing for showing me speedhut's sit for the gauges

Gauges, Custom Gauges, Tachometers, Speedometers, Shift Light, Pod

Buzz4x4 for his write up on blacking out ford emblems

How to Make Your Own Custom Ford Emblems

the late aldive for his write up on one touch down passengers window mod

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141027&highlight=touch+passengers+window+mod

BIG COUNTRY, for his write up on how to install a auto dimming mirror

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84968

BIG COUNTRY, 98formulaLS1, and Ryon40 for there write ups on how to install a message center

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225017&highlight=BIG+COUNTRY
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80670&highlight=message+center
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245085&highlight=Ryon40

MountaineerGreen for his 4406 swap write up and "Custom" Driveshaft for a 4406 and 4" Superlift on the Cheap " (even tho its lowered

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726&highlight=awd+4x4+swap
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185232

Simon, aka blueka for his "pickle" thread, and help anytime i picked the phone up the phone on the 5L swap

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271813

Jon, aka 4pointslow for any MAJOR technical advice i have needed

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219092

i wish i could find who did the write up on the overhead console install, but here is the link

http://www.explorer4x4.com/overhead.htm

Russ aka NICE59FORDF100 for his help on the wiring, and what to watch out for electronically.

hopefully one day, i will be able to help people on here just as much as the people that i have mentioned above!

plus you know you have done something right when.....

your truck (as well as corkey) wins truck of the month

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=296023

is the feature truck on the fun hump day radio show (starts roughly around the 30 min mark)

http://explorerforum.podbean.com/2011/03/23/19-vroom-zoomboom/

and you drive 26 hours ONE WAY to the carlisle all ford nationals in june 2010 and 2011, and grab second place in the s.u.v. all category!

then in 2014 you go back to the same show you have been to 5 years in a row (nothing by most, but its one hell of a long drive) and take first!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Id think if its off a 302 windsor with the 4r70w it would.
What do I know though?

I'm not sure how it interfaces with stuff like your gauges, air conditioning, that sort of stuff.
You might end up with having to make a holley digital dash work....no idea.

i do know someone that has a terminator kit in his ranger, ironically the same guy was riding shotgun when i blew evil up lol. i know he needed the screen for his temp, oil pressure, volts, but i think he said his fuel gauge, and speedo are dead. not sure if its because of the kit or not. i do remember looking at how he put it in and i was like......dude, your a electrician and THIS is how you wired it? smh lol

 

[Dono]

"dude, your a electrician and THIS is how you wired it?" LOL
It seems the more comfortable we are with our trade the more we can be like 'Ah, good enough' on our own stuff.

What are the odds of you calling Holley? I'm sure they have all kinds of great information for you (Since neither of us know anything about it yet).

I'm pretty sure we can sort out the wiring, cam position, and crank sensors and pulse calculations without any issue. Im not sure about the waste spark ignition though. Holley will have these answers.

I know the dash is tight, and I'm not even sure if a Holley digital hash will fit in the cluster location (Height issues I think).

This is fun. And....You know a guy that made his work in a Ranger. Thats going to be helpful.

 

[92302expo]

If I’m not mistaken @410Fortune is using a holly on a 07 ranger. 410Custom's builds a 2007 Ranger V8 - custom truck build - Project "Ranger Premier"

 

[vroomzoomboom]

"dude, your a electrician and THIS is how you wired it?" LOL
It seems the more comfortable we are with our trade the more we can be like 'Ah, good enough' on our own stuff.

What are the odds of you calling Holley? I'm sure they have all kinds of great information for you (Since neither of us know anything about it yet).

I'm pretty sure we can sort out the wiring, cam position, and crank sensors and pulse calculations without any issue. Im not sure about the waste spark ignition though. Holley will have these answers.

I know the dash is tight, and I'm not even sure if a Holley digital hash will fit in the cluster location (Height issues I think).

This is fun. And....You know a guy that made his work in a Ranger. Thats going to be helpful.

funny as i just was on the phone with them for the last 30-45 mins. i am also getting use to this

ok, what type of vehicle are you wanting to use this in?

a 98 explorer that has a 347 sbf with a eaton m122 supercharger on it and a 4r70 auto

.............oh...........

i have a the ranger guy, and another guy i am going to have to chat with on this, also the screens holley has......cheapest one is around 800-1000. and thats not pesos either.

If I’m not mistaken @410Fortune is using a holly on a 07 ranger. 410Custom's builds a 2007 Ranger V8 - custom truck build - Project "Ranger Premier"

forgot about that. also at the same time i would want to talk to someone that has already put it in, and had it up and running. not saying 410 doesnt know what he doing, because he dose know what hes doing, i just want someone that has the battle scars already lol

 

[vroomzoomboom]

so i has taken years for him to get even with me, even though he didnt know he was getting even lol. over the years i have cost dono a lot of money saying "hey, check this out!" only for me to plant a seed in his mind about something, then him carry it out. well don, today is your reckoning!
if i have said this in past posts, ooops.
we have always talked about holley kits for our trucks. don had always commented on how nice they idle compared to tuning the ford computer. i had always thought that we have reached the limits of tuning with the ford computers in these trucks as well. great example is smelling like fumes after driving it, seeing black smoke coming from it when its idling, plugs black only after a few miles, surging or stumbling when driving.
so back in jan or feb i contacted member and vendor here on ef, @Brett about a holley terminator x max kit. after a few calls, and emails he put one together for me a shipped it up. today i finally got it!

first thought......what the hell did i get myself into!!!!!

he did say there was a lot of wiring, but also at the same time, there was a lot that can be eliminated when everything is said and done. i will have to get a few more things from Lowdoller Motorsports as well as find a nice place to mount the screen (i might make a molded mount from fiberglass and put it in one of the vents above the radio, or kiss my message center goodbye because it wont be any use and put it in the center console). so it looks like i will start reading everything over the next day or two, and hope it warms up fast so i can start putting this in.
wish the guy who hates wiring luck, cause hes gonna need it!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

just went outside and looked at where i can place what. first up was the screen.

was thinking about replacing my soon to be dead message center (and to think how many hours it took me to put it in lol)

nope.
second spot i was thinking was one of the vents.

Win!
then i was hoping on the brain fitting inside the console.

win number 2! so now that i have those sorted out, or the easy part if you like, i can get to the rest......soon.....

 

[Dono]

Going to be a roller coaster of emotions getting Evil happy with this. Tuning via map sensor will be interesting.
I'm also really interested in how the Holley deals with idle with a hot cam. I'm told the holley has way more adjustment.

We really struggled with running the motor(s) in closed loop as at idle/low speeds the factory ecu would start to 'run away' by thinking it needed to add fuel and then it just kept wanting to add when it was actually already rich. We were going to try turning off closed loop fuel adjustment on the factory ecu, but this will be way more exciting.

I'm sure glad others are around to help pick up the pieces when were at a frustrated emotional low trying to understand when Evil is unhappy and doesn't want to run. Steep learning curve, for sure.

And, yup, feels good to know I helped push Tim way out of his comfort zone. Lord knows, he's done it to me more than once. No regrets, I got to know a great guy and have learned a ton!

 

[410Fortune]

There are quite a few cables going to the Holley brain I do not think the center console will work unless you plan to really extend some wires

I am mounting the Holley pcm under the hood of the 07, there the factory pcm was. I am making a custom shroud to hide all the cabling and protect the unit while still exposing the diagnostics leds

That is the plan anyways

I think you made a smart choice here, the Holley is the way to go for a rig like yours
The wiring is much more simple then the stock efi

As you know I am just starting the actual install.. what great timing eh?
No pun intended

Thanks Brett for all your support! My guess is Brett got one of these too and probably already has it running in something none of us know about…. He is pretty sneaky

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i am hoping the wires reach the console. brett sold me a unterminated kit, and said they are around 15 feet in length if i remember right. if not, the other place i was thinking of was behind the glovebox. i would love to mount it under the hood, but every time i wash the truck, i wash under the hood, so sooner or later it will be nailed with water.
yea, i have been watching the ranger build from day one, waiting and hoping you were going to start wiring it up and see what you ran into for problems because if anything, i hate wiring, yet here we are lol

 

[vroomzoomboom]

well....score one for 410. i unboxed everything, the injector harness more then likely wont reach to start. i took the brain back out to the truck to see about other places to put it. the glove box looks like a no go either. i wanted to put it on the back side. it wont sit flush, as well as it will probably hit the heater box, and inside it sits too tall. i also stuck it at the very front of the center console at the bottom of the dash. it will fit there, but in order to have room for the wires, i wont be able to see the diagnostics leds. sucks because i wanted to hide it, yet be able to have access to it.

 

[Dono]

What a second wiring harness(s) worth? We could always cut and splice, keeping the wire colors the same. That would give you double the length.

 

[donalds]

What a second wiring harness(s) worth? We could always cut and splice, keeping the wire colors the same. That would give you double the length.

No that's my speed
Good idea

 

[vroomzoomboom]

What a second wiring harness(s) worth? We could always cut and splice, keeping the wire colors the same. That would give you double the length.

i was thinking of that. well, adding to the harness. buying a second one to cut up is a no go. too much $$$$ (and you know i was walking funny after what ups did to me). i just opened EVERYTHING. so far, the injector harness would be too short, trans harness will work, the main harness would be close. the unknown is the ignition harness and however the coil drivers have to be wired.

 

[410Fortune]

And I’ve been walking around today thinking the center console might actually work better than my idea lol lol I figured everything can run up the spine of the trans


The center console in this 07 is going to be a busy place i have a lot of electronics to stuff in this truck

Will be fun to see what you come up with abs compare notes

 

[vroomzoomboom]

And I’ve been walking around today thinking the center console might actually work better than my idea lol lol I figured everything can run up the spine of the trans


The center console in this 07 is going to be a busy place i have a lot of electronics to stuff in this truck

Will be fun to see what you come up with abs compare notes

see, i was also thinking that. was also trying to figure out a good spot for the harness to come out from if this is where i put it. i dont really want it following the top of the trans because if (ok, when i have to pull the motor, been threw this too many times with this truck lol) i have to pull the motor out, i dont want to crush it, or sever it if the trans or motor hit the firewall.

 

[gmanpaint]

How bad do you need your Glove box? Could you modify the inside tray to put it in there?

Cut the tray on the door to make it fit, and attach the box to the backside of the door. With the door open, it gives you easy access to it. Close the door, and it's out of sight and safe from the elements. Your wiring might reach as is, with it there too.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

the cool thing is (and if i am not wrong) the inside of the glove box bolts on to the outside. i have about 4 trucks with boxes in them. i also had something like that floating around in my head. i would have to make something to tilt it however. the brain is as tall as the glove box. which would also cause a problem with the wire harness rubbing the bottom of the dash open or closed. i will think of something, one way or another.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

and this is the reason why i cant get stuff done.

Tuesday april 12, 11pm

Wednesday april 13 11pm

i'm not even going to put a picture up of what it looks like now.....

the plan was going to be, last weekend, yank the passengers header off because i have a crack in it someplace that needs fixing. well, that turned into me doing the wheel bearing on the kid's escape, then pumping water out of the back yard. figure i would start the holley kit this weekend. fail, that more then likely wont happen for another 2 to 3 weeks now.

 

[410Fortune]

It’s better than being on fire!! Snow in the middle or april 20 degrees at night brrrrrr we ran out of firewood 3 weeks ago having to gather what we can daily, still buying pellets for heat and burning propane to heat the shop!! Come on down to Sandpoint we can drag that sob into the second bay!

Hang in there man spring will get here eventually. The funny part is the ski area closed on the 10th for the season on the 11th they got a foot

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i could probably make it there in roughly 15-20 hours, or one shot. or at least i used to be able to do that.

well my shift was canceled for this afternoon due to weather (the last time they did that was at least 10 years ago). guess i start labeling wires. if it wasnt cold and crappy out, i would rip apart my console so i could mount the brain into it.