5spdman's slow and cheap XLT build | Page 24 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5spdman's slow and cheap XLT build

Well, I ended up getting rained out at work this afternoon, so I got the truck to the fire station and washed off the underside to get rid of the dirt, mud, grime and salt from the winter...best as I could at least...

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Looks like I have some repainting to do...all the flaking is starting to bug me...

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It sometimes hurts me to think that I brought this almost rust free rig back to the rust belt and subject it to such cruelty...starting to get some cancer on the fenders, and I'm gonna have my work cut out for me getting those sliders cleaned up and refinished...and of course, rust coming through on parts that were just sandblasted and refinished only 6 months ago......ugh.......

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Enough of that.....lets get to the big deal.....
 



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I've known for a little while now that I needed a new clutch...wasn't sure just how bad it was, and if I babied it, it would do what I needed, so I ran it through hunting season, and now that that is over (few days left for rabbit, but I take my car for that), it was time to get to work.

Side note, just under 2 hours I had absolutely everything out of the vehicle, without removing fluids or having to lift the vehicle...a lift kit is good for more than just off-roading! :D

Signs were not good as soon as the trans came out...

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That black dust in the bottom of the bell housing is THICK! Not looking good...

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Doesn't look too bad...

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Hmm...yeah, it's not good...

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Also, I'm gonna assume this is not a good sign...is it normal to get a little seepage after you've removed the flywheel, or am I staring at a rear main replacement?

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Fly wheel is smooth and shiny, and eaten in like a bad rotor in my mind, so I think I'm just going to get a replacement rather than resurfacing...the oil still has me a bit worried...

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This is the sad state in which I left him...again...Edgar has been teaching me a lot and leading me to a lot of firsts when it comes to repairs and mechanics...

With that being said, would I be throwing money away buying a complete clutch pack? Should I just buy a new disc and have the flywheel resurfaced? Or am I right in buying a new pressure plate, disc and flywheel? This is all new to me...I haven't purchased anything yet and have been trying to do some research on aftermarket companies....although, I did notice that RockAuto has the LUK kit (part # 07077) which is the same as the NAPA kit (part # 1107077) for $84, which is $65 cheaper than NAPA, so I may go with that if needed.

At least it's out, I can research new parts, and work on some other issues that are present...
 






Conventional wisdom is to do all clutch parts vs only some, because you're already right there with the tranny down. The labor in loved in getting to that point justifies doing everything. It's also the prime opportunity to do the real main seal, which seems to be a very common issue on first gens.
When I did my clutch, I got the Luk package, with slave. I resurfaced the flywheel, and now 12 years later, I wish I replaced it with a new one instead. Reason is, these clutches are so damn problematic with disengaging completely, that I feel the amount shaved off in resurfacing makes a difference in operation. It's been operational since I did the clutch, but never perfect. Maybe I never bled it just right, maybe it's the thinner flywheel.
I would get the Luke kit from Napa, seems like a good price, but can't include a slave at that price, can it? Choose wisely on which brand slave you get. Parts store slaves tend to fail in a year or two, from reading countless clutch threads here. People say bite the bullet and get it from Ford only. Or at least a luck brand one. And replace the pilot bearing while you're right there, too. Try hard to find a timken brand pilot.
 






I would do it all, and a new main seal. There are diff kits offered , and I chose the performance kit, because doing it once, was better than twice in my head.

Have a read in the BH thread on this subject. I went thru exactly what your experiencing now, and have shared all my findings there, with pics. Its from last year, and will be towards the back of the thread.
 






The LUK kit from Rock Auto is good, that is what I used last year when I did mine. I also bought my flywheel from Rockauto, it is cheap for being a big chunk of metal and it already has the bearing installed so that saves some labor of getting the old one out.

Replace the slave cylinder with the Motorcraft one, I shopped online for the cheapest price.

Replace the rear main oil seal with only the Ford Motorcraft one with the metal sleeve. All other seals will leak again. Ford has a TSB out that the crankshaft is too polished and the normal seals are not able to seal properly. The Ford seal comes with a sleeve that presses on to address that issue. It all goes on in 1 piece. Use the proper tool, it makes it so easy.Here is my thread on it: How To: 4.0 OHV Rear Main Oil Seal Replacement The Right Way
 












Thanks for that Brian! I wasn't sure what I'd be getting into with that...

Greg, I might be in touch with you on that, but I'll check with my uncle (the family mechanic) and see if he's got one...much closer lol...
 






Also, forgot to note, and I thought it was included before, just over a year ago I had to replace the slave, which was a NAPA brand and only lasted 2 years...I already bit the bullet and have a Motorcraft slave installed...
 






What kind of undercoating are you using, or is any of it useful in the salt belt?

To your door delima I liked option number one because everything is all symmetrical (and it doesn’t help that I’m OCD).

Definitely replace the rear main while you have access to it.
 






Conventional wisdom is to do all clutch parts vs only some, because you're already right there with the tranny down. The labor in loved in getting to that point justifies doing everything. It's also the prime opportunity to do the real main seal, which seems to be a very common issue on first gens.
When I did my clutch, I got the Luk package, with slave. I resurfaced the flywheel, and now 12 years later, I wish I replaced it with a new one instead. Reason is, these clutches are so damn problematic with disengaging completely, that I feel the amount shaved off in resurfacing makes a difference in operation. It's been operational since I did the clutch, but never perfect. Maybe I never bled it just right, maybe it's the thinner flywheel.
I would get the Luke kit from Napa, seems like a good price, but can't include a slave at that price, can it? Choose wisely on which brand slave you get. Parts store slaves tend to fail in a year or two, from reading countless clutch threads here. People say bite the bullet and get it from Ford only. Or at least a luck brand one. And replace the pilot bearing while you're right there, too. Try hard to find a timken brand pilot.

Being broke as crap and needing my truck desperately a couple years ago, I was forced to use whatever slave Oreily's had. Almost 2 years to the day is how long it lasted, albeit 2 years of hard wheeling, so I've been eyeing the Luk slave. A little nosing around on amazon, and for my 96 (They list it as compatible with 93-03 Explorers) I found a flywheel, slave, and clutch kit, all Luk brand for under $200 if you're a prime member. There's only 8 reviews on the slave, and they're all 5 stars, but 8 reviews doesn't tell you a darn thing, and if I read your comment correctly, you've gotten 12 years out of a Luk slave?

EDIT: Found the timken pilot bearing on rockauto. Fits the 93-03's also. It's TIMKEN F33126

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=2472580&cc=1119620&jsn=595
 






The Napa kit I got, included the slave bearing, but I didn't use it. It locked in place, and wouldn't compress to allow the trans to be stabbed. I got them to break out another to compare it too, and it did the same thing. I bought a separate Napa slave unit, and it also locked. It was a plastic assembly, no boot, and a newer style bearing. I ended up shopping around a few parts stores, just so I could test it by hand. I found an all aluminum metal unit, with a nice dust boot & line tool, at Auto Zone, (of all places), and used it. I Know you already have the MC slave, but this is for you & others that might be reading this in the future.

Old slave on top- Larger Napa bearing in kit on left- New Napa slave on bottom.
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Autozone Slave I used, and works perfectly. Better unit than all others I looked at, and was priced right.

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I also bought a new pre-filled & bled master cylinder line/resi tank, when I did this work, and loved it. A simple gravity bleed with a few Oz of new fluids was all it took to have a perfect pedal. I would do this again, if ever needed.
 












I guess it's been skipped over, but I'm not planning on replacing the slave...I have a Motorcraft slave installed already that is less than a year old. Can't anyone read? (I'm just kidding btw...lot of words, lots of pictures...I usually read threads mostly by pics too lol)

Anyways, I just ordered the Motorcraft main seal...$54 on Amazon, should be here by Wednesday. I've gone over the procedure a few times, but was wondering as I never read anything about it; I'm not going to have to drain any oil to replace the seal correct? Just want to be sure of this before I attempt to replace it.

Greg, I checked with my uncle...he said it wasn't cost efficient to have all of the different sizes of seal install tools, and he usually installs them by hand, and then lightly goes around and around with a hammer and a piece of bar stock, working his way around until it's in...I don't have the years of experience he does, and not sure yet that I'll be comfortable doing that myself, so I may be in contact with you for that tool...

What kind of undercoating are you using, or is any of it useful in the salt belt?

To your door delima I liked option number one because everything is all symmetrical (and it doesn’t help that I’m OCD).

Definitely replace the rear main while you have access to it.

I'm also a bit OCD, which is probably why I also lean towards option 1. As far as undercoating, I just used some rubberized stuff that NAPA had....for the bedliner on the sliders, I quickly went over them with a flap disc (like, very quickly), wiped them down with a cleaner and used spray can bed liner.....

I'll be doing a better job with them soon...

Haven't ordered the flywheel and clutch pack, but they are saved in a shopping cart on RockAuto...$185 for Luk flywheel, Luk clutch pack, Dorman shift repair kit (seeing fluid on top the trans around the shifter), and Walker exhaust spring bolts (original ones have been getting harder and harder to work with), including shipping.

Had some trouble with the pipe-to-manifold flange bolts, and only two are original; the other two were grade 8 hex heads I found laying around that happened to match, so I'll also be going to Fastenal to get 4 new flange bolts, and 2 new wing nuts for the Hi-Lift (1 to replace the one lost in a creek in KY, and 1 to keep as a spare in case one gets dropped and lost again).

I did do some work earlier this week. I replaced the mirrors on the truck with the mirrors on the donor doors (may take them off again to clean up and possibly paint) and ran some new speaker wire...when I built the truck, I ran all new 16g speaker wire to each door speaker, and then just wrapped wire around the speaker terminals. This was not the greatest idea as the front speakers intermittently go in and out, and I also lost the ability to remove doors if needed unless I unhooked the speakers and pulled the wire out of the rubber tube the door harness runs through. I remedied this by adding terminal connectors to a length of speaker wire, running it through the door and will be replacing the stock speaker wires in the harness connectors with the 16g speaker wires I ran throughout the truck...replacing doors will be as easy as 4 bolts and a plug now.
 












Caleb, if you’re interested in something other than the rubberized coating you’ve been using, I have successfully used the DIY bedliner material from dupli-color on my Z71. I had tried the stuff you’ve used years ago, and it didn’t work for me.
 






I mentioned you already have the slave, and shared for others searching. Sorry bud.

It's all good man...seemed like there were a few posts about slaves after I mentioned it. There were two lol.

Just me not paying attention...got my mind on my truck, getting my shotgun ready for turkey season, putting my new .22 together (after calling Savage about the damaged stock straight from the box), and the new goodies I got to accompany the Milwaukee drill and impact combo my wife got me for Christmas (late birthday gift cards are great!)

Just went back and actually read through your post. I must have been tired of reading, seeing as there were pics, but I saw it. No problem at all, share away!

Caleb, if you’re interested in something other than the rubberized coating you’ve been using, I have successfully used the DIY bedliner material from dupli-color on my Z71. I had tried the stuff you’ve used years ago, and it didn’t work for me.

I should be a little more clear; after repairing the rockers, I sprayed the rockers with the rubberized undercoating before painting, and used spray on bedliner for the rock sliders. I think maybe that the spray on 'liner would work, I just failed to do a good job prepping the fresh metal for a finish....I'll be looking into something else when I get to redoing the sliders though I think, so I may be looking into that.
 






Well, parts have started coming in, so I figured I'd get to work...

Followed Brian's thread on removing the rear main seal...as the slide hammer I had available to borrow didn't have the correct screw ends, I tried the screw and vice grip tactic...just ripped the screw out...4 times.....

I did get it out though...the holes made by the screws allowed enough room for the end of some needle nose pliers to get in there, and it pried right out...

I thought I'd try my uncle's way of just carefully tapping the new seal into place...that metal sleeve for the crankshaft that came with the Motorcraft seal wasn't having any of it...for 45 minutes. AutoZone rents tools, but the tool for installing the seal is one they don't have...in touch with Gman...

Didn't get a picture of it, but figured I'd get the pilot bearing out and shaft cleaned up for the new bearing.......well, as it turns out, all I had to do was clean it. That's right; there hasn't been a pilot bearing in there this whole time...just a lot of grease........hopefully everything is still alright.

Clutch kit (with needed bearing), flywheel, shifter seal kit, exhaust bolts and new ground wires should arrive tomorrow...guess I have a few things I can do for now...
 






No Problem. I sent it out to you on the 2nd, will be there on the 6th. Just return it when done with it.

I have always been able to get the seals out with 2 sheet metal screws, at 3&9 o'clock, and pulled them out with 2 pairs of pliers. Just have to be gentle and tug easy. A slide hammer is too much I think.
 






Got some work done last night, and will be heading up to do some more tonight...

Big shout-out to @gmanpaint for shipping out the rear seal replacement tool for me to borrow. If I ever have to do it again, I just might purchase one for myself!

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There's just something about getting new parts that just brightens up your day!

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Much better....new seal and a pilot bearing!!

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Flywheel in a torqued...

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That makes me feel so much better.....

Waiting on dad to see if he has a tap and die at work that I can use on the manifold and exhaust bolts that hold the y-pipe to the manifolds...some were a pain to get out, so hopefully I can get those all cleaned up and squared away and get everything back in tonight and back home for the time being.

You may notice that something is missing in the above picture...see next post...
 



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As I had mentioned a while back, there's a few things I wanted to try and take care of while I'm working on Edgar.

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One of those things was taking care of this mess...ground harness was a disaster, so before it became a problem, I took measures into my own hands, and improved upon them. The harness was a bit of a pain to get out...had to take out the oil filter (thing missing in the last picture of the last post) to just barely get to the bolt holding it to the engine block.

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This was the harness that I received from RockAuto. I was slightly disappointed as the description picture showed the 2-pin factory plug that is a part of the harness, but I had the means to handle that, and a majority of the wire from the plug was still good.

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I started by removing the cheap, thin clamp from the wires. It didn't look all that good to me, and only involved a vise, channel locks and a screwdriver to reverse the crimp...pocket knife took care of the heat shrink...

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This is now what I had to work with...closed copper lugs, adhesive lined heat-shrink tubing, and adhesive lined heat-shrink butt connectors. To attach the copper lugs to the battery, I purchased marine battery terminals...I previously had one for the positive connection to the battery, which made for disconnecting the battery for working on the vehicle a breeze. Having these terminals on the battery posts will make removing the battery now quick and painless, and easier to series batteries for trail welding if ever needed (who knows, may add an extra battery somewhere down the road...)

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Everything ready to go! Well, almost...still didn't like how the in-line lug that connects to the chassis left wire exposed. While I was at Menard's getting the heat-shrink I needed, I picked up a can of liquid electrical tape.

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Any terminals on the harness that exposed wires got 3 coats of the stuff (picture is of 1 coat). All copper is now covered and sealed, and I shouldn't have to replace these wires for a very, very long time now!

Well, supper is about ready and Dad should be by sometime soon with a tap and die, so later tonight or tomorrow, there should be another update!
 






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