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!

 

[4pointslow]

That Harbor freight trans jack, with custom made feet for our deep pans is worth every penny.
I think I found mine on sale for 149.00
It is not the little dinky one, and not the very large one, it's the one in the middle.

I have my pressures cranked up at WOT, I think I mimicked the shift pressures out of the value files for 93 octane tune.
I have the 5R55E though.
Maybe you could check your value file and see if it is the same as what you are using.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

don, if you want to grab one, and store it here, i only have one problem with it. i dont want to be the first one to use it! lol.
i called my trans guy this morning (not the guy that rebuilt this one, but the one i wanted orginally to do it, but they both know each other very well) and this is what he had to say.
its a rubber seal in a alum housing. they will expand at different rates. the alum will expand faster then the rubber, once the seal starts to creep out, your fate is made.he also knows the pump and bushing is new and doesnt think that would have been the problem. he figures heat was the problem. may not have been on that day, but was leading up to it. he had also said he doesnt feel pressure had nothing to do with it either. the one thing he did mention was to clean the surface with brake clean, and put locktite on the seal before reinstalling it. that is something i know my buddy didnt do when he put it n (not blaming him for that either). he also said there is no retainer for those, so that wont happen.
one thing i did say to don when he was here yesterday was that him and i are starting to get to the point that we had better expect some things like this. you cant push parts that were never expected to do the things we are doing with them to last forever on a daily basis and drive the way we (or i, i know i am way harder on my truck then don is).

 

[Turdle]

The seal has a steel ring which presses into the aluminum housing if I recall correctly. I wonder if there is some sort of "loc tite" that would help keep it in there.

I have a new one in the box if a picture would help with discussion-

edit. ^^^yeah what he said.

 

[Dono]

The only jack I see that looks like it might actually work is $260.00
The others don't look very stable. We don't have a harbour freight here.
http://www.princessauto.com/en/b/wo.../automotive/jacks/floor-transmission/N-197eqx

I didn't install my seal with locktite either.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

I didn't install my seal with locktite either.

oops.....
and yea, 260 BEFORE tax sound a little steep to me

 

[Dono]

yea, I think so also. Quite a bit of cash. Strong arming the trans from the floor in to position doesn't seem like much of an option to me either.

If you happen upon something, let me know. We do need something that has the tilt adjuster knobs. I clearly saw that yesterday.

 

[CDW6212R]

How do the cheap HF trans jack work? I bought the one that is a scissors thing, about 10-15" footprint and jacks up about 20"(my guesses). I got it to do the 5R55E in my 99 truck.

There's a 2004 Mustang V6 here from last week at the P.A.P. I need to try to get there since it has the last best 4R70W you can get. It has all of the J'Mod parts in it already, and the latest/strongest planetary etc.

Fords never used to have front seal issues, these must be an oddity, maybe poor QC of the seal dimensions. I usually use RTV all the way around, just as a sealant. Is there anything that will hold it in better, because that's no fun to R&R a trans to just do a seal.

 

[Dono]

For Tim, a seal replacement looks to be about 5 to 6 hours start to finish. Driveway, and no air tools.

Not fun. I'm guessing the worst of it is that smell of the atf, as I'm sure we can all relate. lol.

Tim seems to be taking the whole thing very well. Yesterday I expected to see tools all over the yard from being thrown around. Not even a hint of being upset. The police were not even there explaining to him that yelling profanity in the neighborhood with children around is not acceptable. Maybe he was still numb, I'm not sure. I am sure that this isn't how someone wants to spend their holiday.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm smelling gear oil now, I took apart the rear for bearings yesterday, and I'm trying to do the front today or tomorrow. That stuff stinks.

 

[gmanpaint]

Use the cheap sissor style. Use lumber to assist with width/height/angles. Even that type has a way to adjust the tilt on it. I use that with an impact to raise/lower, and its fine.

 

[Dono]

Tim, I'm sorry.

That's all I have to say.

 

[4pointslow]

800 lb trans jack at Harbor freight is now 159.00.
You guys don't have Harbor Freight? Some of there stuff is junk, but some actually works.
Maybe princessauto will have a sale?

 

[4pointslow]

260 dived by 2 is 130 each....

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Tim, I'm sorry.

That's all I have to say.

you damn well better be!

so put locktite on the seal, hammered it in with dons installer then waited for a hour or 2 for it to dry. had my son over to help (he wants to learn how to do some of this stuff. well, learn he did. new words, how a a situation can go from a bed of roses, to crap within seconds.
lets just say this happen

because THAT happen

i have done it this way before. ahodges had mentioned to me once he was able to put his trans in using straps. i did that the last time, and it worked. this time it worked up until the strap the was under the bell housing snapped sending the trans almost crashing to the ground (but fear not, my hand broke some of its fall) and the converter close to popping out.
even with the trans jack this thing fought me, but it is pretty much in now. just have to put the exhaust on, starter, front driveshaft and converter bolts. i would probably had it done tonight if i didnt run out of light.

 

[Dono]

Bingo
Share the cost and suddenly we have another tool. It might even keep us from permanently disabling ourselves.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

It might even keep us from permanently disabling ourselves.

or not, but at least we can now say we tried.

 

[4pointslow]

That jack looks identical to the one I have, except mine is red. lol.
Make your own feet to work with your deep trans pan, I used 3/16 strips bent into an L shape.

 

[4pointslow]

 

[Dono]

That jack looks identical to the one I have, except mine is red. lol.
Make your own feet to work with your deep trans pan, I used 3/16 strips bent into an L shape.

Pic please. edit......you beat me to it.
Thanks,

 

[vroomzoomboom]

yup. found that out as well. they wernt tall enough and it almost fell off it as well! you guys have harbour, we have princess auto. different company, same loved Chinese tools