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

 

[cybergasm]

I think you should since the Directions included from Richmond are not Correct for the Ford D35. So Someone else ( like me ) will not run into the same issues that you did.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, do, every picture and new commentary helps everybody have an easier time of it.

 

[gmanpaint]

Front locker is officially finished

Took most of the afternoon and into the evening, but I got it licked. Getting the front dif in by yourself with a standard floor jack is not recommended That took a lot of time getting it up in there and with the Dixon Bros LCA cross member, it's even more of a PITA. A person working a trans jack would have been ideal...a lesson learned...lol

Next obstacle to overcome was the new C/V axle for the Drivers side. Apparently the Cir-clip on it was just open way to far for it to go in. I was getting frustrated with it thinking something was wrong inside with the locker, or the shims not allowing the bearing to seat right. 88comingup stopped over and swapped the old clip off the other C/V axle(after squeezing it tighter), and BAM! in it went Props to him for the help there.

After dropping the front Diff, it's time to take the cover off and drain it.
Once its drained, you will see the innards, and now the bearing caps need to be marked as to not confuse them on install. This is extremely important! If you look closely at the photo below, you will see where I used a small punch and marked the left with one mark, & the right with two marks. I also used a yellow wax crayon to mark the tops, and the sides to ease confusion of how they should be installed.

The intermediate shaft needs to be removed, before the carrier can be removed. The CAD is a little diff than others as the housing, the shift fork, and the stub axle with coupler needs removed as well. There is a spacer washer, and a clip that holds these in place. After the clip is removed it comes out with a little back & forth of the axles in the tubes.

Carrier removal:
After removing the caps and carefully placing them aside, the carrier is removed. Slide it out straight at you, (use a prybar and tap it if it is stubborn) and take the shims with it at the same time. I kept the order of the shims and left to right, then the caps, and used a zip tie, to keep them together until install time.

Mark the ring gear & the carrier with an etch mark, wax marker or welders stone. Just so long as you can replace the gear to its exact location later. I used the impact to remove all the ring gear bolts from the carrier. Once it is off the spider gears come out by hand easily. Place them in a box somewhere as you will not be needing them again.

Smear axle grease on all the locker parts ( I used red med grease) this will hold things in place for you making it easier for the install.

Make sure you remove the thrust washers off the side spider gears and slide them onto the outer locker parts. Slide the outer ring side in place, both inner washer parts, then the inner driver, then the pass side outer. (Here is where I got confused) Next the 2 inner washers need to put together, and then installed in the pass side inner driver. Drop the last 3 parts in the carrier all at once.

Fill the 4 window holes on each inner driver with axle grease. Take the 8 springs and place one smaller spring inside a larger one until you have 4 spring set ups. Smear some axle grease on all 4 to hold them together. Line up the window holes on the locker with the center shaft hole lined up. There are 4 small pins that go in these windows, and they slide in one side and then get pushed to the other side,(I used a dental pick), then the springs go in place behind the pins. Make sure they "Snap" into the locker for a tight fit. Just press on the edge with a tip of a flat screwdriver. Slide the shaft into place and tap in the pin.

Should look like this now.

Next is the ring carrier install. Place the carrier in a vice and snug it without touching the bearings. Place the gear on and match it up to your markings. Tighten them up in a criss cross star pattern a little at a time. After they are all snugged up, torque then all to 80 ft lbs, using the star pattern, then double check them once more.

Okay! Time to re-install the carrier
Using the proper side shims, place them on the ends of their original locations, and all at once, slide the carrier in place. This may take a few tries and it will be snug. Just be patient here and be easy as to not bend or damage the shims. It will go back in place, and once it is, the bearing races go back on. After installing them EXACTLY the way they came off, torque them to 47-67 ft lbs.

Now replace the intermediate axles and if you have the cad, just reverse the order you removed it with. Bolt the cover back on, with a gasket, rtv or both. Loosen the fill plug to where it almost comes out. Install the diff back in the truck. Fill with 80-90w gear fluids, and snug up the fill plug.

Your done! Button up the rest of the truck and go break it in for 50 miles.

I used this time to install a new C/V axle I had as a trail spare.

Test ride for Toby!

2wd-- You don't know it's there at all. Drives like normal, feels no different than before.

3wd-- Transfer case in 4hi & low, and front axle disconnected. This is a weird feeling, as it will steer to right hard at first, and you have to counter steer to have control from a standing start. You know its there as it is still in break in period and you can hear it working a bit.

4wd-- Transfer case in 4hi, and front axle connected. Easy on the throttle it drives as normal as it did in this range. Hard to tell a difference unless you jump on the throttle.

4wd low-Okay, now you REALLY know it is in there! In gravel, I hit the throttle a bit and wow, night & day difference. With all 4 wheels working in sync, you can feel the control difference and the power going to all 4 at once is unreal compared to having 3wd open in loose ground.

April 2nd is the real test for it, as a few of us are heading to the off road park for a day of wheeling. Can't wait to see what it can do, and hopefully I don't test it too hard and have trail repairs :

I have to break it in for a bit, so I will take it easy on it out there...lol

Here is a link to a thread telling what Locker you run, if you want to add to it.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=309569&highlight=locker+run

 

[lynchy wa]

Awesome mate, after all the trial's and tribulation's you've faced and overcome, I'm stoked your sorted. Awesome, awesome news mate!!!

 

[gmanpaint]

Thank you so very much Greg. I'm sore as heck right now, and am so relieved it's finished for now until the next Mod.

Stay tuned---Next weekend the welder is getting a little workout with 3 new mods.

 

[gmanpaint]

Here is a before picture of the bumper. Hopefully by Monday, it will be finished with the makeover.

This picture is from when the front locker was being done. Notice no D35, no C/V axles, no dr side coil over, & the knuckles separated from the UCA. Too bad it didn't have this kind of droop all the time...lol

 

[lynchy wa]

Hell yeah

 

[GRNMACHINE]

DOUBLE Hell Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is Awesome! Dig how it is bolted to the frame horns and how it wraps around.

 

[crazyflights]

Looking great! Love the front bumper!!!

 

[gmanpaint]

Sorry guys....I didn't get any of the front work done over the weekend

It was not meant to be I guess. Weather was bad with mid 30* temps and 2 days of rain, so no outdoor work could be done. Indoors, there is a truck with a trans pulled blocking me from getting under cover. I hope next Sunday is better weather wise. That bumper was made for a 1" body lift, and mounts need raised 2". Frame rails need capped with 3/8" plate and 1" thick clevis mounts welded thru it. Add a 2x3 cross member and winch plate between the frame rails in front of radiator, still to do.

The only things that got done was the relocation of the rear tow hooks to a better spot for descent angles & Lifted the front 1.5" to get more room for the front tires.

There is a chance of going wheeling this coming Saturday, but with this bumper sitting 2" too low, I am afraid of the tires rubbing it on the wrap around tubes at compression, but since it got a little more lift, it is hit or miss (pun intended).

 

[lynchy wa]

I'd say take it easy on saturday and she'll be right but I bet you wouldnt!!!

 

[gmanpaint]

Take it easy like this?













:

 

[lynchy wa]

Yes Sir, hahaha, just like that! Go hard or go home Wicked vid!

I just checked out your other video's on the tube, furlurken' awesome mate!!!!!

 

[gmanpaint]

Thanks Greg. Will have a few more added here shortly. Woot!

Been thinking of a way to move the rear axle back a couple inches without an SOA. The 35" tires are real close to the body in front of the tires. I need to install some new leaf springs still, but would also like to move it back. When articulating one side and stuffing the tire it will still rub. Cutting the body is not an option.

The front spring mounts on the frame are at a point that if I move em back any it will lower them. That is not a good option for me as that is already a place to hang up on.
The rear spring mounts are boxed into the frame rails. These can be relocated if needed.

How to go about this is still a mystery to me. I know a longer drive shaft will be needed. Longer springs with the center pin back farther? Full width axle & outboard the leaf packs? Staying SUA for lower COG is my wants, but is it even possible? If this is just a pipe dream I will just get bigger bump stops/limit straps, to limit my rear flex, but not being SAS, the rear flex is the only flex it has

Any ideas? Has anyone seen this done without hacking the body with SUA?

 

[IZwack]

you can fab new leaf spring perches that have centering holes 1 or so inch in front of axle centerline.

 

[corkey]

FireZapper did that to his, it is in his thread, , he moved the pin location on his springs back to allow room for his big tires,, it looks easy enough,,

 

[gmanpaint]

you can fab new leaf spring perches that have centering holes 1 or so inch in front of axle centerline.

FireZapper did that to his, it is in his thread, , he moved the pin location on his springs back to allow room for his big tires,, it looks easy enough,,

I love you guys!

Brilliant! The obvious slips my mind yet once again...LOL

 

[gmanpaint]

I was informed that simply "Flipping" (180*) the leaf packs will move the axle back 2.5". The pin on the leaf packs are not centered. This is what I plan on doing, and getting the drive shaft lengthen and balanced.

Since the shop was occupied at the welders shop, I had to push the bumper project back another week. So I made these up in the meantime. The cable guards I have need a new mount on the front now, so This is what I came up with. 2 pc design. Removable for when I don't need them, and easily installed with clevis pins. Booger welded 2 nuts and washers(nut-washer-washer-nut) inside the tubes so the eye bolts can be adjusted for height.

Together.

Bottoms.

Tops.

Mocked in place. (placement is subject to change)

 

[MrQ]

Lookin' good gman!

 

[gmanpaint]

Thanks Dan. It will look better after it is sandblasted & powder coated. Just have to finish all the welding on it first.