93 Sport "Deep Purple"

[mr cribb]

I picked up this 93 4x4 Sport on Friday 8/29/14 for the hefty sum of $800.

I got lucky on the price, as this was originally listed as no title on my local Craigslist. As it turned out the title had a lien on it, and the lady wanted to sell it without a title. I asked her to check into the cost of paying off the loan. Within 30 minutes I received a text from her stating it was paid off and the title was clear. I asked her so $800? As much as she hated to, she told me yes.

Useful info:

Previous owner owned it for 6 years and had the A/C converted to R134a as well as had the head gaskets done.

I found a receipt in the glove box for the head work in December of 2012.

I also found a receipt for the last oil change done in February of 2014 and to date has 300 miles on it, and 120 of that was me driving it home.

Stats:
1354E t-case

M5OD trans

Warn manual hubs

Decent looking Ranger aluminum wheels, with 2 almost new tires.

And a Limited slip 3.73 rear

http://[URL=http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/mrcribb/media/20140830_1817201_zpsbbdc67c0.jpg.html][ATTACH=full]296546[/ATTACH]

ugly front bumper, so I installed my 94 limited bumper and grille from my other truck.

It had some running boards on it, that I didn't care for so I removed them.
Running board on:


Running board off:

Inside:

Hubs:

Axle code:


The truck has been in the state of PA at least once in its life, because the old inspection sticker is still on the window from 2008.

As far as rust goes, the drivers side dog leg/ lower rocker has a hole, above the right rear wheel well and some surface rust on the frame.

It couldn't have lived in the northeast long, because the bumper bolts weren't rusted to death, or maybe someone washed it religiously during the winter :dunno:

I would love to say lift and tires, but the odds are it maybe quite sometime if ever that happens.

 

[mr cribb]

I installed a cargo cover that I picked up at the salvage yard a few weeks ago.

I tried adjusting the rear hatch to keep it from rubbing on the body. That turned out to be a failure. What is the secret to hatch realignment?

 

[joecrna]

Hatch or window on rear hatch? The window is usually the hinges. Mine had a small crack I hadn't noticed. The hardware for the glass is all stupid expensive for what they are. Dealer is now running out of some parts.

If you mean the actual hatch, I have no secret.

 

[mr cribb]

Yeah I meant the heavy x.. back hatch.

I know it adjusts at the hinges but it is a royal pain to do it by one's self.

 

[mr cribb]

I got the back hatch adjusted today while it was cool and overcast out.

The secret is to remove the struts (from the hatch and body) that hold the hatch up.
While standing on the bumper you can reach the 5/16" bolts. Adjustments are to your liking.

I also changed out the rear wiper motor. I'm guessing the old one had a short, because it worked intermittently. I swapped it for one from the old 91 parts truck.

Next on the list is to remove the factory radio and speakers. That will be a fun project, haha not.

 

[mr cribb]

I notice a squeal/ squeak when I back up but goes away after driving forward after a bit.

After doing some searching on here for squeal/ squeak (mine is from driveline) I stumbled upon something I forgot about.

U-joints.

Strange part is that the truck doesn't have a vibration at highway speeds, it just squeals a little and goes away.

The truck has a perfect alignment, best I have seen or driven with a TTB front end, no harsh pulling from one side or another.

Hubs don't get hot after driving.

So what I have done is rule out wheel bearings, ball joints, ra bushings as the immediate cause of my noise.

That's not to say some of these things don't need attention, I'm just ruling out possibilities at the present moment.

 

[mr cribb]

So I did figure out the problem. It is a caliper gone bad.

I did get some better shoes put on and ditched the old 30x9.50 15 that were on the back. I moved the 235 75 15 Goodyears from the front to the back and put two good used ones on the front to tie me over until I can buy new ones.

I get to do a brake job for sure soon. The passenger front is down to nothing. Wife told me to scrap the old 92 to pay for brake job. Looks like a busy weekend for me.

 

[coldnsnowy]

I like it! The body and interior in there look MINT. I hear ya' on the brakes, both of my trucks need 'em, 4 corners each. My wallet tries to hide every time I bring it up, too...

 

[malohnes]

Nice score for $800! I like the color and the interior does look pretty clean.
I'd lift her a little to fit 31's and keep her lightly modded. OR build a nice trail rig.

 

[mr cribb]

I am doing the front brakes today only because my passenger side caliper blew apart on me yesterday, so bad that I had to use my needle nose vise grips to clamp off the brake hose so I had at least some sort of front brake.

 

[mr cribb]

I like it! The body and interior in there look MINT. I hear ya' on the brakes, both of my trucks need 'em, 4 corners each. My wallet tries to hide every time I bring it up, too...

Yeah I know what you mean, I had to scrap my old 92 exploder I bought in 2010 in order to fund the 93's brake job.

Nice score for $800! I like the color and the interior does look pretty clean.
I'd lift her a little to fit 31's and keep her lightly modded. OR build a nice trail rig.

It is pretty darn clean on the inside, and to be spotless it needs the seats unbolted and shampoo the carpet. The factory radio was replaced by an aftermarket stereo I had. I also fixed the driver side seatbelt back to normal, it had a penny inside the buckle jamming up the spring to release the seatbelt.

I have thought about a lift, and to keep it simple yet very capable I will eventually do a 1-2" lift with some 31's.

"My idea of a lift" will consist of new 4 leaf rear springs with the extended shackles, and new coil springs up front.

This is because I like the 4 leaf rear for towing and if feels better when you hit a bump. The shocks have been bad for quite some time now, and the springs have been working overtime to pick up the slack.

I'm really wanting to keep it simple to avoid (as much as possible) the steering linkage issues that arise by going to the 4" or larger lift. While I am aware of the drop pitman arm, I really don't feel like messing with the steering linkage more than absolutely necessary.

Also by keeping the tire size to 31" I can avoid the re-gearing of the axles, since I already have the 3.73 gears in my axles to begin with.

However, the first order / modification is to pick up a manual 1354 t case before winter gets into full swing down in my neck of the woods.

 

[mr cribb]

Replaced the brakes yesterday, I had no idea how bad they really were. The passenger brake pad near the piston fell out and subsequently destroying the caliper piston. The drivers side wasn't far behind by losing the back pad. The rotors looked like a washboard.

So after new rotors, pads, seals, repacking the bearings, and one new caliper the brakes are freaking awesome.

Anyone have a suggestion in how to disconnect the brake hose from the metal brake line, as it has rust and trying to round off the nut?

I see it as cutting the metal line and splicing in a new piece in order to reattach a new brake hose.

 

[malohnes]

Sure! I had this issue recently. I first soaked in PB Blaster. Then used a large pair of vice grips. Despite the tight space it worked just fine and I had enough of the vice grip to hold on to while I wrenched to break it free without problems.

 

[mr cribb]

The issue is that the nut is pretty much rounded off right now.

I believe that I saw a listing in lmc truck about this particular line I'm having issues with. I haven't traced the line to see if it terminates into a "T" or if it goes directly to the master cylinder.

 

[5spdman]

Hope I can find a Sport that clean one of these days!! Looking good!

 

[mr cribb]

Hope I can find a Sport that clean one of these days!! Looking good!

Thanks man. I really got lucky on this find. Even though this one has lived in Pennsylvania for a bit the rust is so horrible that it is unusable.

Look for one in the south or west where you're at for a good rust free truck.

 

[Kiliona]

Yeah I know what you mean, I had to scrap my old 92 exploder I bought in 2010 in order to fund the 93's brake job.




It is pretty darn clean on the inside, and to be spotless it needs the seats unbolted and shampoo the carpet. The factory radio was replaced by an aftermarket stereo I had. I also fixed the driver side seatbelt back to normal, it had a penny inside the buckle jamming up the spring to release the seatbelt.

I have thought about a lift, and to keep it simple yet very capable I will eventually do a 1-2" lift with some 31's.

"My idea of a lift" will consist of new 4 leaf rear springs with the extended shackles, and new coil springs up front.

This is because I like the 4 leaf rear for towing and if feels better when you hit a bump. The shocks have been bad for quite some time now, and the springs have been working overtime to pick up the slack.

I'm really wanting to keep it simple to avoid (as much as possible) the steering linkage issues that arise by going to the 4" or larger lift. While I am aware of the drop pitman arm, I really don't feel like messing with the steering linkage more than absolutely necessary.

Also by keeping the tire size to 31" I can avoid the re-gearing of the axles, since I already have the 3.73 gears in my axles to begin with.

However, the first order / modification is to pick up a manual 1354 t case before winter gets into full swing down in my neck of the woods.

I have add a leafs in the rear and new springs in the front (like 200 dollars from skyjacker? then 200 more dollars in rancho shocks) I love my suspension set-up (handles well, AND off roads well, and the variable stage? rancho shocks work great, faster you hit a bump the smoother it feels ) and it gives me about 2 inches of lift. I have 31 inch tires with 3.73's and my explorer is a PIG. Granted I'm used to driving my v8 stang, but my explorer is so low on torque id be worried about really towing anything with it. Keep that in mind if you get 31's, I thought I'd be fine with my gear ratio and I'm not even close to fine with it.

Great deal on that thing!

P.S. Mine is a four door, not that it makes a difference.

 

[5spdman]

True that, although I don't think anythign could have more rust than my old sport. I don't think I'll ever buy a car from Ohio again, but rather out here in AZ (it would give me an excuse to come visit family and friends anyway!)

 

[mr cribb]

I have add a leafs in the rear and new springs in the front (like 200 dollars from skyjacker? then 200 more dollars in rancho shocks) I love my suspension set-up (handles well, AND off roads well, and the variable stage? rancho shocks work great, faster you hit a bump the smoother it feels ) and it gives me about 2 inches of lift. I have 31 inch tires with 3.73's and my explorer is a PIG. Granted I'm used to driving my v8 stang, but my explorer is so low on torque id be worried about really towing anything with it. Keep that in mind if you get 31's, I thought I'd be fine with my gear ratio and I'm not even close to fine with it.

Great deal on that thing!

P.S. Mine is a four door, not that it makes a difference.

Thanks man, I am very happy with it.

I have already towed with my current truck. It does very well with the 3.73 gears, and I towed with my old truck that had 3.27 gears my opinion is that the 3.73 gears hands down is the best.

I guess I don't have a problem towing with it because I understand that the 4.0 motor isn't a high output motor to begin with and truthfully, as soon as I can get a real truck to tow with then I won't be towing with the explorer.

 

[mr cribb]

A small update, I replaced the battery cables on 12-15.

I already had the positive cable in possession from my old 92. The positive cable was cracked causing intermittent starting issues.

I decided to go ahead and replace the negative cable, which is now two separate cables, due to age and corrosion.

I did come up with an idea that worked very well for the negative cable, it cost a whopping 17 dollars.

Cracked positive cable.


new negative cable(s)


part numbers used


I highly recommend snipping off the little lead for the cable going to the block, otherwise it will get pinched in the oil filter.