What did YOU do to your Explorer today?

[kmack]

Haven't installed them yet, but found a set of factory manual hubs off a '94 Ex Eddie Bauer (of all models) at the Pick-n-Pull this past weekend. $30 out the door! Just need to clean them up a little...

 

[CreepingNet]

Not today but finally replaced the rear bumper that NASCAR wannabe smashed last summer, $55.00 off a 91' Sport. Not hard to remove off the pick n' pull vehicle but had to hammer like Thor to get those splined bolts out of my truck. Plus no hitch removal either. 4 hours later and I had a better looking back bumper than before the damage...just need to drill and refit my old DIN hitch controller plate...but it's tied and tucked away for now.

Since then, have been spending some time here and there researching since my truck is getting due for some things (exhaust, tires, RABs, and eventually shocks)....so doing my research so I'll probably be lurking around more.

 

[AGodlyCanuck]

Did rear wheel Bearings and axle seals.

First time.
Don't know why I was surprised that the axle pins came out so easy from the differential. I mean they have been soaked in oil their whole lives lol

 

[Exploring XLT]

Had some fun

 

[AGodlyCanuck]

Not much lately.
I installed a cb though.

Always wanted one lol

 

[Wilson Vo]

I rebuilt my window motors. The old bushings completely exploded and mixed in with the grease.

 

[410Fortune]

That is wild!! I have never seen that much bushing material

Starting a V8 sport trac here yeah!

 

[CreepingNet]

In the last two months this was all done to my 93' Sport.....

- new Walker exhaust
- passed smog
- replaced a few bulbs in the cluster
- replaced my crappy 08' Durabrand stereo that has been a dashboard corpse for a few years

EXHAUST

For as much rust as there was on the bottom, the tops of the original exhaust from the cats back was rather rust free till the tailpipe...where it rusted off.

Used the Lisle tool to pop off all the rubber and shockingly the one rusty thing....the bolts to the cat....were not at all seized and easy to get off with no WD40 or PB Blaster.

Had everything back in in 2 hours. Only tough part was measuring and cutting the intermediate pipe with a hacksaw because I got the 4-door part (the only avail) but shortened it matches the 2-door part perfectly so all well there.

After a month she's developing a nice quiet growl on par with some smaller V8s and I'm sensing a small power increase. So I'm happy with that. Passed smog like a champ as always.

DASH LIGHTING

Just an interrim solution till I go full LED in the interior as I found the bulbs cheap at Food Source in South Reno of all places.

Replaced most of the grumpy dark old bulbs and one bad bulb. Biggest PITA was getting behind the gauge cluster until I figured out I could pull the speedometer cable from a clip and get just enough space to fit my mitts back there and take the cable off.

The replaced bulbs are brighter, but still I'd rather just go LED and be done with it for a good long while like my dome light.

STEREO

Picked up a $60 JVC headunit with Bluetooth, mic, USB, Spotify, Pandora....all that Jazz. This time instead of Butt splices I used insulated spade terminals since this truck has outlived it's "last hurrah" status and is moving into something kinda like "Classic Vehicle" territory and it'll make future upgrades easier.

The PITA here is this truck, when fam bought it new in 1993, had the premium audio system......and most internet sites only have the pinout/color charts for the standard stuff. And me....the head unit is new, but the sub, amp, and speakers are all the original Clinton era JBL/Pioneer parts....so some R&D was in order, but being a good with electronics, it was dead on perfect first try. Sounds better than the original am/fm/tape deck did through the same amp/speakers.

 

[Wilson Vo]

Cool I’ve recently put in four new kicker 5x7s for the doors a pioneer head unit and two kicker 12s
I’ve also bedlined the cargo area.

 

[Mike65]

Took my wife's 99 Sport to state inspection & it passed.

 

[Roont]

Ted is still strictly on plow duty, so got it out of the forest that grew around it all summer and began maintenance prep. Started immediately with no issues.
I think I'm going to do a rattle can black job and start thinking about putting it on the road more.
Have a sidewall cut and these are old tires so going to be researching a new set as I really need this truck to have grab

 

[Roont]

Cool I’ve recently put in four new kicker 5x7s for the doors a pioneer head unit and two kicker 12s
I’ve also bedlined the cargo area.

View attachment 173211

oooooooooooo I am definitely doing this!! Looks great!

 

[Wilson Vo]

oooooooooooo I am definitely doing this!! Looks great!

I like it it’s really easy to clean compared to the carpet which had a bunch of stains on it. I bought the roll on version heard it had more texture than the spray cans. I did 5 coats on mine haha.

 

[AGodlyCanuck]

Replaced the transmission Vaccum actuator thing.

Took maybe 2 hours?
The benefit of small hands?

 

[Exploring XLT]

Ooops...

 

[kmack]

Ooops...

Everyone ok?

 

[Rick]

Out with the old halogen rock lights. In with the new LED lights.

 

[Rick]

View attachment 173876

Ooops...

Whoops!!

 

[CreepingNet]

New Tires on Saturday. Firestone Destination AT/2s all around. It was time or possibly well overdue. I had almost 90K and 11 years out of those Michelin M/S....impressive....but I had a slow leak and driving on them felt like I had Gummy Bears for tires so it was time to go.

Still feels funky odd going to Firestones on a 1st Gen considering history but so far they feel a lot like the Michelins did when new, surprising considering the more aggressive tread, and they feel a bit more solid.....need to clean the rims though.

 

[Roadrunner777]

Well... LOL... Last year I wrote that I was retiring my explorer. It never really happened because winter snow came early and the best move at that point was to just park it out of the way and wait for spring to send it to the junkyard. But we ran into a situation this fall, issues with both of our other vehicles, so I have pressed the Explorer back into service. Needed a new battery, registration, and a windshield wiper, but it is back on the road in all of it's heavily rusted glory.

It's a funny deal. I purchased a 2002 Chevy Avalanche to replace the Explorer. I would have gone with another Explorer, but I couldn't find one in my price/condition range anywhere close to home. But, in the first year, the Avalanche developed a list of issues that... well, it's really something how many things failed in a year of short daily drives. The most serious and difficult is a gas leak at the fuel pump, and the way Chevy does this, it's easier to drop the tank than cut a hatch to get to it. But, it's a big job and I figured I would just get the Explorer running again so I had something to drive to work and get parts. I'm actually working on all the Avalanche issues now. Meanwhile, we had a very odd situation with my wife's car and it is, at the moment, 5 hours away needing to be driven home. So, my wife has been driving the Explorer to work. She never drove it before this because she is short and figured she couldn't reach the pedals. But she has to get to work, so she jumped in and tried. And she absolutely loves the Explorer! It's really too bad it's so badly rusted. It's way beyond repair at this point.

Anyway, yeah... it lives!