The Black Hole

Whats In A Name?

It was hot humid august night. The winds have all but vanished. I was doing my best to keep the sweat out of my eyes. The A/C was dying in my 94 Explorer, lovingly named "Pugly", and there was no relief in sight. I decided it was time to stop throwing good money into bad. I was gonna do the unthinkable,.......I was going to commit the most heinous crime of them all! I was going to trade Pugly in for a newer model! Oh the heart break! The insanity of it all! I couldn't believe the thoughts were even going through my head.

I managed to get the old girl back home, to her resting place. She seemed at ease in her familiar surroundings. I had to come up with an explanation to let her know of my evil plan. So i just gave her that old wink and grin that she likes to see from me as we made it back home from another day of adventure in the treacherous Midwestern terrain. I did my best in hiding my cynical thoughts, as I walked around to her rear flank and gave her that little pat on her bumper, as I always have when we part for the night.

The next morning I gave her a real good bath, cleaned behind her mirrors, and brushed her grill. She still looked pretty good for her age. Oh sure she had the tell tale signs, gravity has got its firm grip on her, and I am not the best cosmetics guy in the world. she didn't seem to mind too much, she still kept her nose up and drove with pride.

After looking at many vehicles I just could not find anything that had the same feel as my old girl. Then it happened! Was I seeing a mirage? Was I so desperate to find another rig that I was blinded by insanity? I found my replacement! I quickly made a sale with the owner, and brought it home.

When I pulled in the driveway, my heart sunk as I looked into the yard to see my 94 looking at me in disbelief. She was sunning herself in the grass looking all shiny and then, she just looked away from me. My heart was tearing in two. I parked the new rig, and walked up to her and gave her a soft spoken "Hello". No reply. I tried to tickle her mirrors, no response. The tension was so great, you could have cut it with a 32 count fine tooth hacksaw. I had to explain to her that she gave me great satisfaction for many years, and we made a terrific team together, but the time has come for her to just relax and enjoy her final days. She finally revved up, and understood, her days as my work horse has ended (so we thought).

I introduced her to her daily driver replacement. The shiny new(er) next generation of her kind. The 95 Explorer XLT. She warmed right up to it. Before you know it they were swapping stories. Now I had to ask her for help. I needed a name for the new ride,
so I went to find her, and what did I see? Those two were grill to grill in the driveway. rubbing chrome! I had to get the water hose out and break them up! Sheesh, she was acting like a girl at the prom dance! I let the name thing drop for awhile.

The new(er) Ex needed to get its shots, and a physical. When I got the word on it's health, I about had a coronary. "What do you mean Doc"! I yelled. "Your kidding right"? I asked. The Doc just shook his head and gathered his tools. As he walked away, He said it had a 50/50 chance of survival. My stomach knotted up, my teeth ground, my heart raced, and I could feel the energy build up as I let it all out, "Why! Why! Why did this have to happen"! I screamed.

The prognostic exam from the doc was as such. It had a blown steering rack, the shocks were gone, the brakes were non existent, front sway bar was cracked in half, the 3rd brake light was out, none of the windows or the moon roof would work, the door locks were broke, the rear end LS clutch pack was burned up, the tires were all in need of replacement, the spare was a Firestone recall and flat, the engine had a nasty tick to it, the TPS was shot, the MAF was corroded, the battery had a dead cell in it, the hood shocks were not working, the rear hatch lock was jammed up and you couldn't open it with out a key in the lock, The carpet was stained to no repair, the rear window wiper didn't want to work, and we could not tell what year its engine swap came from. it was a mess, to say the least.

I went in the house to get my gun. I was gonna just put it out of its misery right there and then. I suddenly realized I was out of ammo, from shooting at the jeep that was in my field. I went to the computer to find a place to buy some cheap ammo, and I stumbled across this website, explorerforum.com that said it could heal any ford Explorer no matter what the problems were! I jumped for joy, I could not believe the things I was reading! I wore out the search button, asked a bunch of questions. I quickly broke out my pen and paper, feverishly writing down things as I was learning! I had found a cure for everything that was wrong with my new transport. It was a Godsend, an angel from the SUV heavens!

I sprung into action. I worked day and night, Pugly was right by my side the entire time, helping me in any way she could. I never seen this side of her, and was really amazed at how well she handled the pressure. She gently squeegeed the sweat out off my fore head with her soft wiper blades as I worked away. After an entire weekend of work, I collapsed. I needed some rest, and so did the 95. The sun crested over the hills, and awoke me to a new day. I shuffled my feet to the window facing the driveway, peeled the drapes gently back, and peered out at the 95. WOW!
It had a its color back, and was looking great! Now as the time went on, (and most of my paychecks), and the selling of almost everything I own, for funds to get the 95 to its former glory.

After some time to reflect on this name thing, I strolled up and whispered into Pugly's passenger side mirror, and she giggled with delight.

I climbed up onto the front bumper in my pajamas and robe half opened, with a cup of coffee in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other, I raised my arms with out stretched hands and proclaimed the new name of the 95.

BEHOLD...........THE BLACK HOLE!!!!!!!! (Then the neighbor yelled at me to close my robe)



The End................(or is it just the beginning?)


Actually, only some of this really happened.




View attachment 324381

 

[Glen4X4]

When in 4auto the axle will engage and be live until the truck is shut off, but yeah the drive shaft will then rotate but you won't get any binding unless a rear wheel slips and the clutch engages momentarily. You don't need to worry about over heating your transfer case. The 97+ Explorers run like this all the time since they have a full-time live axle.

 

[gmanpaint]

Well, I will give it a trial run, see how it reacts with the rear locker. Sometimes when turning, the rears tend to "Bark" from wind up. If the T-case kicks in the fronts, it might be a jolt on the new gears.

 

[Glen4X4]

Well, I will give it a trial run, see how it reacts with the rear locker. Sometimes when turning, the rears tend to "Bark" from wind up. If the T-case kicks in the fronts, it might be a jolt on the new gears.

Yeah....I wasn't thinking about it being locked in the front. You could always do the brown-wire-mod, it makes for better 4wheeling if you use high at all so its not a jolt on the front. You could install a 3way toggle that way you can run 4auto to have your axle running live but cut the power from the GEM to the t-case off then when a rear wheel slips the clutch won't engage.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm fuzzy about the 95/96 trucks and their TC. If you have a 4WD Auto and not 4WD HI like the later trucks, then the front will only engage when the module detects a difference in speed between front and back. You would have to hot wire that brown wire to make it engage in that case.

But also, if you have the front axle not energized, then the front driveshaft should freewheel at what speed it likes. That sounds like what I've read described about the later F series trucks. They have the front axle disconnect, and the electronics have to match the speed before engaging it I believe(TC clutch).

 

[gmanpaint]

That's very interesting Don. I really need to research this subject.

 

[gmanpaint]

Well, the gears got broken in the old fashioned way. By taking the rig to Moab, & trails up in the San Juan Mtns in Ouray CO. Everything worked out good, except my trans got hot a lot. Made the decision to go full manual. That will be coming soon!

For now, the newest update is the front sway bar disconnects.

These were hand made by DkChrist, powder coated by Turdle.

In this pic, I have the old end links and the new disconnects.

I used the red energy suspension bushings from my old links for the new disconnects.

Pass side install

Drivers side installed

I also had to have something to limit my travel when they are disconnected, so I opted for a cheaper way, these are ranger tailgate cables. $10/pc. The rig is on a floor jack and the wheels are at full droop in the pics.

Drivers side

Pass side

I should get a lot of articulation when these are disconnected. Get rid of that Bobble head action with the sway bar still connected.

I have to say, these disconnects made by DkChrist are very nice, heavy duty, and will outlast the rig most likely. I think you can get a set from him if you ask him real nice like

 

[V8powerbaby]

very nice gregg those disconnects look mighty beefy

 

[blueka]

Me likey!!!


Si

 

[Sbyrne97]

what lift springs did you buy?

 

[gmanpaint]

what lift springs did you buy?

They are custom made from a local shop here. Most spring shops can make you a set as cheap, or cheaper than the sets you find online, or at 4x4 stores. Call around.

 

[gmanpaint]

Latest:

Wasn't happy with the front drivers lights used for rock lights.
SO...........

I installed 2 more 55 watt mini's for rock lights in the front. These are a major improvement for seeing at night. They will light up the area around the tire, where I can lean my head out the window and see whats going on. Perfect for changing a C/V axle in the dark as well.

 

[gmanpaint]

Driver seat repair

Well I had a broken drivers seat, so I decided to take it apart and see if it was something I could fix myself.

After removing the seat, I removed the power assembly carriage.


I found the problem with 2 springs that had came off, making it a real PITA...pun intended....It made it so the air pump was hitting my tail bone..ouch!


I also had a problem with the lumber going flat. As soon as I inflated it, it would deflate. I removed the side plastic trim, and found a mess of vac lines and one was almost disconnected. I simply pushed it back in place.

Vac lines

Then I attacked the back section. I wanted to inspect the lumber support.
I found that the rear cross support had broken the tiny tack welds to the frame. I used some heavy zip ties to hold it into place. The bladder tube seemed alright, so I figured the seams was the cause of the air leak, due to age. Bag is a heavy nylon of some sort, and has rods going through the sides, to hold it to the frame.

I also found that the foam that covers the lumber bag, is thinner in this spot, so with the bag fully deflated, you really feel the lack of support. Need to figure something else out down the road.



Put it all back together, and reinstalled it. Everything works just great. I was thinking I had to go and find another seat, but this worked out perfect. It only took a couple hours of my time, and saved me some cash.

 

[CDW6212R]

Good job, I have a broken right seat that needs help. The inside hinge is broken and I think the seat back has to come off to work on it. Thanks for the pictures.

 

[gmanpaint]

Good job, I have a broken right seat that needs help. The inside hinge is broken and I think the seat back has to come off to work on it. Thanks for the pictures.

No Prob

One of the reasons I post pictures, hopefully it might help someone else one day.

When removing the seat back, you have to do 2 things. 1st is to remove the plastic (black) snap clip that runs along the entire bottom of the seat back.
2nd is to stick your hand up into the rear of the seat, and there is another shorter(8" aprox) snap clip attached to a cloth membrane, that loops over the lower cross support. Once that is loose, you can freely lift the entire seat back off the seat frame.

The bottom seat cushion is a bit harder. This will take some removal of the switches, power rail, plastic trim, vac lines, springs, and some adhesive to break free. A much more daunting task to say the least.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I learned how to remove the motors recently from the tracks. I bought two new seat tracks, and I have a spare memory seat. I'll put two in my Mountaineer knowing how the system works from my Limiteds. You don't need that for an off road truck do you, LOL?

 

[techieman33]

Thanks, I learned how to remove the motors recently from the tracks. I bought two new seat tracks, and I have a spare memory seat. I'll put two in my Mountaineer knowing how the system works from my Limiteds. You don't need that for an off road truck do you, LOL?

Just because your driving off road doesn't mean you can't be rolling around in "luxury." I'm sure some of the off road guys have much nicer seats than your limited got from the factory I know my brother does.

 

[CDW6212R]

I know, I was thinking of guys who go fording in deep water. Few here do that I think. I'm talking about the memory seat feature, which is a lot of electronics and special seat motors.

 

[gmanpaint]

I decided to redo the pictures thru the entire thread. Have another look thru, and see for yourselves.

 

[Turdle]

Nice. I like

 

[Glen4X4]

Thread looks nice with the pictures all re-laid out. Didn't want to go the Body lift route before but seeing your truck makes me want to do that with 33's and tt with shackles.