New To Me 93 Explorer fixer upper thread. (Lots of Pics)

[Got Trq]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to the forum, I made a post in the newbie area but it seems to be quite dead in there other than the other newbies posting. So I thought I'd make a thread in here.

I got this rig to be my winter beater so I don't have to attempt to drive my Mustang in the winter here, I live in UT so they get pretty brutal. I got this for $700, has year old Goodyear Wrangler tires, a new transfer case, and she just paid $300 for a new water pump replacement. But it needed head gaskets when I got it.

So I drove it to my parents house that was real close to where I picked it up, about an hour and half from me.. I didn't want to risk driving it that far with bad head gaskets. I left it there and then ordered all the stuff I needed to get it up and running again.

Here's some of the stuff I got for it:

I got a gasket kit that had all of the gaskets from the head up. (Lower intake, upper intake, EGR, Header, Throttle body etc.) I also got new plugs, wires, thermostat and a fuel sending unit since the guage doesn't work.

So the next weekend I went back to my parents to do the head gaskets and it wouldn't even start! I was getting a little worried, but my buddy and I pushed it into the garage and got tearing it down. I was just hoping that it would work once I got it fixed and that it wouldn't start because it had too much water in the cylinders.

Here's what it looked like when we started:

Heads out:

I read somewhere that it's better to just remove the exhaust from the header rather than the header from the head, so I went that route and ended up breaking 2 of the bolts trying to get them off, it was a huge pain to get them out of the header after that too! Took lots of prying, heat, and PB Blaster.

Parts pile:

After replacing ALL of that stuff, it started right up first try in maybe a second of cranking! I'm pretty happy with the purchase now and have been driving it for a week now and will do the fuel sending unit tomorrow.

Today I replaced the headlights and the door hinge pin on the driver door, as well as the door striker.

Here's the OLD striker, I've never seen one so bad it had grooves on both sides:

Ahh that's better:

Next up was the headlights, here they are before:

Noticed this when I took the grille off, thought it was kinda funny... This isn't the stock grille it's black and isn't the right one for a Limited but oh well, $700 can't complain:

Comparison old vs new:

During, looks better already!

Done:

I need to get some new surrounds for the headlights, I haven't found white ones. So I'm probably going to order some black ones and either paint them and the grille white or just leave them black like the grille.

I didn't want to start the fuel sending unit so late so I tried some of my detailing stuff on the mirrors and some of the other plastic to make it look better, I did the door handles also.

Before:

After:

I didn't get pics of the handles sorry

I will get to the fuel sending unit tomorrow and hopefully have a working fuel gauge and a good winter beater! I'll get some more pics of it as well. I have some more plans for it but it'll be mostly stock.

 

[Got Trq]

Well another long day of working on the explorer, but it's pretty good to go now!

Just got the new fuel sending unit in and put in a new filter in while I was at it. I also replaced the passenger side door hinge, so it shuts like new again.

Fuel gauge works!

I also ordered some new headlight bezels so those will be fixed soon.

 

[skpyle]

Looking good, Got Trq!
Excellent job.

Seth K. Pyle

 

[Got Trq]

Thanks!

Dropping the tank in these isn't an easy task as I was hoping it would be, but the 20y.o. bolts don't help either.

Is there a good place to get some new shocks and struts? I think mine are shot and wouldn't really mind replacing them, I don't know if there's a good aftermarket company that makes some or should I just look for some on rock auto or similar type site.

Thanks,
Quinn

 

[Got Trq]

Ok, been a while since I updated. I've done a few things (and found out others) since my last post on here.
Firstly, new rotors and pads!
These ended up being a bigger pain than I first had thought, but it turned out alright.
Here they are upon first inspection, you have to take apart the hub to get the rotor off.

It was really time for new rotors! These had a huge lip, and were starting to make some not so good sounds haha.
Here's a pic of the lip, if you can see it. It was a decent size lip on the outer edge, probably beyond being able to grind them down:

Here's the old next to the new:

And new one with the new ceramic pads all ready to go:

I also fixed the headlight bezels, I don't have a pic of them yet so I'll have to take one. Also, in driving it more since I originally fixed it I believe my passenger head is cracked

So I will be ordering some aftermarket late style heads and get the extra compression and some more HP. Only downside is I have to get new gaskets and head bolts again but it'll be worth it in the end. I am really enjoying this thing

-Quinn

 

[skpyle]

I am really enjoying this thing

That is the key. If you are enjoying it, then its all worth it. Keep up the good work!

Seth K. Pyle

 

[FordMar85]

I am enjoying seeing others with such great success with their explorers. I have a 92 that I got because I needed a cheap vehicle 2 years back, I'm a pastor and the car I had blew the tranny and I couldn't pay to fix it, and it was in the price range. I have not really taken much time to do much with it yet but was just discussing with my wife the idea of bringing it back to life. I'm not going to mess with it much until the weather warms up some but I could enjoy digging into this vehicle come spring and seeing it go from a junk "preachers car" to a restored explorer that looks like a car a professional adult should be driving.

On that note, how difficult was the fuel sending unit to replace and did you end up needing new tank straps, this is one of the things on the top of my list.

 

[Ramblinwilly]

How did you get the door striker out. Is that a right or left handed thread? Did the "plastic" tube that covers the striker come with the new one? That's what I need. Both are missing from my Ranger.

Excellent pictures!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Got Trq]

How did you get the door striker out. Is that a right or left handed thread? Did the "plastic" tube that covers the striker come with the new one? That's what I need. Both are missing from my Ranger.

Excellent pictures!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I didn't notice this!

The door striker is regular threading, it's a 50 Torx bit. If you get a whole new striker ($6) they come with everything, the plastic, the bolt and the piece around it.

 

[Got Trq]

I am enjoying seeing others with such great success with their explorers. I have a 92 that I got because I needed a cheap vehicle 2 years back, I'm a pastor and the car I had blew the tranny and I couldn't pay to fix it, and it was in the price range. I have not really taken much time to do much with it yet but was just discussing with my wife the idea of bringing it back to life. I'm not going to mess with it much until the weather warms up some but I could enjoy digging into this vehicle come spring and seeing it go from a junk "preachers car" to a restored explorer that looks like a car a professional adult should be driving.

On that note, how difficult was the fuel sending unit to replace and did you end up needing new tank straps, this is one of the things on the top of my list.

I'm really liking mine, I just ordered the new heads for it.. Soon I won't burn anymore coolant

The fuel sending unit was a pain, I had to use a hammer to unscrew the old unit. I think if I did it again I would buy the assembly with the pump in it as getting the pump out of the old one and in the new one wasn't too easy. Dropping the tank wasn't as easy as some other tanks I've dropped in the past. A friend of mine and I did it in a few hours from start to finish with swapping the pump over and everything.

I'm doing all this without a manual too, so if you have one it may speed things up. I've done all the work to my cars I've had, and I'm pretty into modding some of my cars, I've had 4 mustangs now that have all been modded

 

[mr cribb]

On that note, how difficult was the fuel sending unit to replace and did you end up needing new tank straps, this is one of the things on the top of my list.

I'm really liking mine, I just ordered the new heads for it.. Soon I won't burn anymore coolant

The fuel sending unit was a pain, I had to use a hammer to unscrew the old unit. I think if I did it again I would buy the assembly with the pump in it as getting the pump out of the old one and in the new one wasn't too easy. Dropping the tank wasn't as easy as some other tanks I've dropped in the past. A friend of mine and I did it in a few hours from start to finish with swapping the pump over and everything.

I'm doing all this without a manual too, so if you have one it may speed things up. I've done all the work to my cars I've had, and I'm pretty into modding some of my cars, I've had 4 mustangs now that have all been modded

Here is the easier way to change the fuel pump in an Explorer.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182160&highlight=gas+tank+access+panel

 

[Got Trq]

That seems harder, I was able to clean mine off and clean out everything under there. It really isn't that difficult to drop a tank IMO.