91 Sploder sport 4x4 thread

[general x]

Score! I just picked up a FREE 4x4 2 door standard 91 explorer sport on kijiji the other day. Needs some work but hey, it's free, and it runs! Shifter is a bit wobbly, one tire blown out, needed a battery (Had 3 in the garage doing nothing anyway) drivers outside door handle does not work and inside pull is missing. A/C Still blows cold thou! Also front left headlight buckets screwed up and both bumpers are bent, body is in alright shape, thou the clearcoat peeled off of everywhere but the passenger side (Weird)

 

[general x]

I had 2 narrow 33 inch tires beside my garage from a previous project so I figured i'd bend the bumper back to where it's supposed to be and see if it would fit. Had to mount one of them to get it home in the first place since the sploder didn't have a spare. They actually don't rub (Ok, the inner fender rubs at the rear, but it has room to move if modified with a self tapping screw and washer)

 

[Anime]

FREE Sport 5-speed 4x4s that run and have working A/C?
Whats the world coming to, used to be we had to pay for those...

 

[general x]

When I bought my first 4 door sploder it cost me 3500 CAD and the A/C never worked once! I could open my drivers door from the outside thou I checked the driveline over and all the rods, joints and links seem to be in good shape, the electric shift 4x4 and low range work and the fluids are all fine septs the front diff is milky looking.

Has a small issue with the cooling system thou. When I first started it (And enjoyed my first vehicle with A/C) it boiled over when I shut it off. Flushed the cooling system, slapped a new thermostat and rad cap on it for good measure. Nearly fixed the problem too. I can run the A/C on bust with the rpms at 2300 on a 20 degree day and it won't overheat but when I shut it down after a few minutes it startes to bubble a bit. Not nearly as bad as it did where it shot coolant and steam out of the radiator cap all over the ground, but it still does it enough to throw bubbles into the overflow tank. Think a chemical flush is in order, or is it a blockage issue? When the thermostat was out I filled the cooling system and spun the water pump and it pushed some of the coolant out of the thermostat hole, but when you shut the vehicle down it shouldn't become a pump issue...

 

[RockcrawlerEX]

Nice find. Wish we had some guys down here giving out 4x4 X's. Even ones that don't run are fine with me.

 

[bats]

Looks almost identical to the one I just picked up! Mine's in a better condition but I paid for mine.

 

[Erki]

You need to upgrade to an elite account if you want to sell on the forum.

 

[general x]

Thanks for the tip. I need the plastic inner door pull and the plastic surround that it bolts to for the drivers door. Mine has power windows and door locks but yours may be different since it has 4 power window switches? I don't need the bumpers (Once I find a way to bend the tube I have i'll make some new ones) Does it have a removable hidden hitch? Also, is your boss taking the trim around the headlights (The ones pictured on the bench seat)Cuz whats sitting on the seat is what I need. I also need a new grill. Oh, and my glove box is broken so I need one of those too, it's gray. HMMMMM what else...

Oh! And the nozzle for the rear window squirter is missing. My antennae is missing as well (Base it there, just the rod is gone) What condition are the tires in?

 

[general x]

So I tried slipping an F150 coil spring in the front end today that I had kicking around from one of my parts trucks. If I had some TTB drop brackets they would be sticking around too, but it provided a bit too much lift as I'm sure many of you are aware. Anyone around here looking to get rid of a pair of 2-4" TTB drop brackets for a good price?

Found an ad on Kijiji for someone parting out an 88 ranger with a 4" lift kit. Couldn't get a hold of him to ask for a price or what kind of lift it is but would that kit fit my sport? If I could get a hold of him I would just measure my leaf packs, take a look and let my wallet decide but thus far I don't know what I'd be buying, or if it will fit at all

 

[general x]

I haven't updated this in a while! For what it's worth I haven't worked on it until recently. I decided the only way I'm going to be able to do anything with this rig is if I set a low budget and have fun making it work. Since then I've gotten the lights working, regreased the front wheel bearings, repaired the sloppy shifter with some scrap plastic to act as a bushing, changed the spark plugs with some I've apparently had for the last 6 or 7 years. Most importantly I started to make a winch mount/bumper to replace the front mashed in bumper.

 

[general x]

I liked how the hitch brought the receiver up from the frame rails but I didn't appreciate how it pushed the receiver outwards so I chopped it up and rewelded it together farther back. More of a pain in the ass than it was worth, considering a receiver from Princess is all of 25 bucks? This was free (Already had it) though leaving more of my budget for Rockauto Picture of snazzy extra wide bumper is where I left off before going home today, back at it tomorrow.

 

[general x]

Fit and welded the channel bumper to the hitch mount today. Also welded on some tabs for the off road lights and angled the ends of the bumper to follow the fenders (A little bit) Wired in a toggle switch to a fused panel and relay for the lights but didn't have low enough gauge wire for the relay output to the lights.

 

[general x]

Most importantly! I finally stuck these beauties on. Surprised they still stuck after sitting rolled up in that tube for a good year or so

 

[general x]

Got another box of small parts for the sploder. Changed the door pin bushings, the fuel filter and the spark plug wires today. Turns out two of the plug wires were swapped and a quick look at the Haynes manual had her running great. Not surprisingly there is a lot more torque starting off now XD I've also since painted the bumper with Tremclad. Some more bracing and installation of these D-ring mounts are in order so this paint shall be redone.

Found this High Lift accessory kit at Princess Auto for 50 bucks. Included are the brackets and chains required to turn your High lift into a winch. It was 25 bucks off because it was missing a glove, sounds good to me XD

 

[mr cribb]

Nice find.... I'd like to find a free 4x4 5 speed.

 

[general x]

Nice find.... I'd like to find a free 4x4 5 speed.

Thanks, I got lucky with this one. Managed to find the listing on kijijis free section within a half hour of it going up and three other treasure hunters showed up after I claimed it.

Did a few more things to the sploder. Glued the broken door pull back together, pulled the front differential in prep for welded spiders and C clip removal and braced up the bumper as well as added the D rings!

 

[general x]

I'm interested in building a rigid A frame tow bar so I can tow the sploder to trails or rescue it with my truck. So far searching the forums and google hasn't revealed much in the way of construction materials to be used or guides to follow when making a tow bar. I've a design roughed out in my head and plan to use the D rings as an attachment point but I don't know what to use for materials. Anyone build their own tow bar for a sploder before?

 

[general x]

Not much new but a pic of the bumper mounted and wired. I also pulled the front diff and welded the spiders up. I intended on re installing the front diff today but the drivers diff output seal refused to cooperate. I think I may have been given a seal for the D28 TTB as the initial portion of the housing where (I think) the seal should sit is too big. I wasn't paying much attention and, thinking the seal should sit farther in the housing, I basically beat the crap out of it until it wasn't going to be usable for anything Somewhat related, I found (and purchased) a factory service manual on Ebay for 30 bucks shipped so my next brain fart can be corrected with guidance. I've got a Haynes already but, while excellent for the average tune up's and repairs, it's missing too many important bits.

It occurs to me that this thread would probably be more appropriate in the registries section of the forum titled "general x 91 4x4 Sport" or something similar?

Now that the bumper is mounted those lights seem very...vulnerable. I think a brush guard extending out past the lights is in my future

 

[general x]

No pics today unfortunately. Got the correct seal and reinstalled the front diff and left axleshaft. While perusing the parts stores rather massive selection of automotive sprays/chemicals I found the famed can of Seafoam and lobbed it onto my pile of supplies. Back at the shop I put about half the can in the fuel tank, 1/3 in the oil and fed a bit into the intake of the sploder and I'm surprised to admit it seems to have helped. I've always been leery of putting anything in my crankcase other than oil but figured with 280000KM and being free I didn't have much to lose. The random/progressively worsening ticking disappeared completely for the duration of runtime up to operating temp with Seafoam in the oil. Hopefully it stays gone once I change to fresh oil (Your results may vary

Also decided the round lights on the front bumper looked a little silly so they've been swapped for rectangular off road lights and are mounted as far back on the brackets as possible. Tested the rigidity of the bumper by lifting the truck with a highlift jack on the far corners of the bumper and the only issue I found was the bumper slid upwards once most of the weight was off the ground. Luckily I like it's higher position so I'll tighten the bolts a bit more and that's where it'll stay

Tomorrow the search for an appropriate spring for my right front axleshaft begins

 

[general x]

Checked what seemed like good sources for random widgets and springs but came up with nothing to use for my c clip eliminator spring on the right axleshaft. Then I stumbled across a promising spring in the shop at work. To those in the buisness of Semi truck repair you'll recognize this as a spring from a Holland fifth wheel. With the seal removed from the diff side of the shaft the spring fits perfectly over the remaining lip.