My to-do list- I know what I want, how do I get it?

[8donovang]

I recently started a new job with enough pay to actually start building up my exploder again, albeit slowly. So, I've been brainstorming with my buddys about what all I should do. The short answer is; everything.

(It's a 1999 XLT 4.0 SOHC)

So, I'll start with the stuff I DON'T know how I'll do yet, which is the main reason for putting this thread up here.

Front Bench Seat: It popped into my mind a while back how awesome it'd be if I had a bench seat in the front- something like the kind with the center seat fold-down armrest so I could still reach into the back between seats, but then when I'm with my girl at, say, the drive-in, we don't have to sit a few feet apart in bucket seats. Plus, it'd make one more place for someone to sleep in my truck, you know? I just thought it'd be awesome. However, I haven't found a bench seat out of another model that'd fit properly,as far as size is concerned.

Brake Balance Controller: In a cobra kit car I helped a buddy build, he threw in a knob in the dash for the F/R brake balance. This helped him keep the braking force perfect in any conditions and point of pad wear, it was pretty amazing the difference it seemed to make. Not to mention it left him with the ability to lock up front tires and spin the rear when he needed some attention.. Yeah, I wouldn't mind having that.. So, how exactly might I be able to put one of those in my truck?

Intake Mods (In General): So, over several days of searching through these forums I've seen so many people saying so many different things about many different intake systems/setups. I've already got the un-restrictive exhaust (Straight-piped after the cats, to be exact) but I don't know which way to go with intake. I've heard about some really good cold-air intakes (Being in Cali doesn't get to me that much, I'm on the fence on whether or not I would use an illegal one here) but then I've heard that not only do they still pull warm air, but that the orig intake is a cold-air. And I've heard about being able to modify the intake box to take in more air, colder air, I believe I remember seeing something about some kind of ram-air setup of sorts? Either way, I'm looking for the best bang for my buck- especially if that means I can save the $150-300 on an aftermarket (and maybe illegal) intake kit and just modify my stock one, and only fall a few HP short. As if the intake's HP will be noticeable on it's own anyway, right? It's gonna be a bunch of small mods put together until I can get the $4.4k for the supercharger kit.. hehehe.

Lowering The X: Before I get told to search- I'm aware of how to lower (and lift) my X, with the adjuster flip too. I'm aware that you can't lift more than 2", sometimes less, without seriously destroying your CV joint quickly. But what about lowering? I have seen this question asked a few times, but never answered. Can I slam it to my heart's content (fender wells permitting..) or will 2" be my limit both ways, or somewhere in-between? I'd appreciate getting the cleared up so I can finally lower her.

Shift Kit: So far I've had great results with TransGo Reprogramming Shift Kits, but if there's a cheaper one that gets just as drastic of a change (The word improvement is interchangeable with change in this case, at least for me. Some hate hate the bigger jolt you get with each shift, I love it!) for less bank I'd be open to looking into it. I'm just looking for some feedback and suggestions before I decide to actually go for it. BTW I plan to use TransGo part number AODE-HD2.

That's all I can remember that I need help with. I also plan to do the throttle cable mod and brown wire mod today, plus cleaning the MAF since it feels like she's lost a tiny bit of power and mileage recently.

Also, if there are any other great mods/suggestions/ideas I'd love to hear them. Plus, if you know of any other performance mods or parts that are pretty wallet-friendly, don't hesitate! Even small things (I've already gone to all synthetics) since enough of them will be pretty damn noticeable.

Thank you all in advance!

 

[2000StreetRod]

Low cost intake improvement

One no cost thing that will improve your intake airflow is to remove the silencer cone from the bottom front of the lower section of the air filter housing. That way you will retain the cold air intake. A low cost improvement is to replace the stock air filter with a dropin high flow filter.

 

[my pos mounty]

Could a bench seat from a Ranger be made to fit here? They have the type of bench seat you describe. Don't know about pattern/fabric matching what you have already though.

 

[8donovang]

Rod- Yes, I believe that's what I've seen described around here. But how does an aftermarket intake compare?

Mounty- I'm yet to go take the measurements, but it does sound the most likely now that I think about it. As far as matching fabrics, upholstering (sp?) isn't that hard, and maybe I'd take that as my chance to change the interior colors.

I appreciate the suggestions!

 

[2000StreetRod]

Intake mods

The photo below shows how I modified the lower half of the air filter box. The two hoses are shop vac hoses that are routed to the front of the vehicle.

Below is a photo of my main intake tube with cone filter (4 in. dia. outlet to 90mm Lightning MAF sensor going from 4 in. dia. to 75mm racing throttle body.

The intake sound is awesome and the engine is much more responsive. However, I've monitored the intake air temp with my scanner as I drive around and the engine compartment air is considerably warmer than the outside air. As soon as my custom tune is completed I'm going to modify the upper half of the air filter box to accommodate my 4 in. dia. tube, eliminate the cone filter and use a dropin high flow filter. Later I plan to add another intake hose connected to a shield above the exhaust manifold for thermostatically controlled intake during cold weather.

When I'm done I think my intake system will be as good or better than anything commercially available.

 

[yellowford]

As far as the bench seat is concerned there has been talk about it before and the options are find a stock front bench seat their fairly rare it seems or use a front seat from a ranger.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Those benches are rare indeed... Odd thing is, there are TWO Ex's with front bench seats at the nearby boneyard right now! Both are reasonably trashed though. People like to throw taken off oily parts in there, I think one of them has the entire engine disassembled in the front seat. Why do people wreck stuff like that? Just throw them outside in case someone wants the parts?

 

[8donovang]

Oh! Really? Wait, are they 2nd gens also? And how much fabrication would my XLT take to accept them? Do you fit in the same holes and whatnot? Also, what do the center consoles look like? I figure there's something like a little pod with two cup-holders where the center console protrudes in the regular X's? I'd love the at least find the console for the bench X's. I can put in another bench, but I gotta find a way not to have a big hole in the middle of the bottom of the dash. Hell, if the ones there are in good shape and are black, I might pay you to ship 'em to me if you could. So far, all 3 pick-n-pulls around me only have the normal explorers.

What I'm really wondering about now is the brake balancer. Nobody's heard anything of that, nobody's tried or anything?

BTW thank yall again for the help ^^

NOTE: The brown wire mod changed the way I look at my X forever... I leave the switch off and enjoy the actual RWD feeling.. and the occasional "accidental" burnout..

 

[my pos mounty]

Don't get too carried away with your "accidental" burnouts. The electric clutches in your transfercase can get severely damaged when your beating it like a redheaded stepchild

 

[Elessar65]

Burn outs like that are a BAD idea, unless you convert to a manual transfer case. Kiss your TC goodbye, lol.