Explorer #5 - 2006 XLT V6

2006 Explorer XLT 4.0 V6 4x4 - 81,000 miles
Charcoal Beige (Not sure of the real name) with the ugly faded plastic.
Medium Light Stone cloth interior, not many options. Power drivers seat, 3rd row seats, thats about it.

Been out of the Explorer game for a few years now, after I sold my 2000 Limited, I got a little Focus for work, but realized saving gas wasnt worth the price of comfort and luxury, so I picked up a 2004 Crown Vic LX Sport. Was at a Dodge dealer some time later with a friend who picked up a newer model Charger R/T, I fell in love, and let the dealership talk me into trading the Vic in for a 2013 R/T. Worst Winter we've ever had lead me to trade that in and lease a Patriot which I ended up "giving" to my girlfriend after we bought our house a few months prior. Patriot wasnt really for big guys like myself, and the 4 cylinder was just terrible and slow. I picked up an 09 Edge Limited with around 100k miles. Regretably didnt do much research on them first. I always loved the look, and when I randomly saw this one, I jumped on it. Ran and drove great, but started to develop numerous problems which kept it off the road for a month or two while I replaced parts in the blistering cold Winter last year. All was well, then it got the infamous PTU leak, trans seals going bad, among other large problems. Could not afford to keep it and fix it, so I had to take a hit and trade it in.

Local dealer happened to just get this 2006 Explorer in, and from across the parking lot seeing it, I had to have it. It has 80k miles, runs and drives great. 4x4 works flawlessly. Its nice to be back in a body on frame vehicle with differentials and stuff like that . The Edge was super fun, smooth and fast, but boy when there was a problem, it was EXPENSIVE.

The previous owner smoked in it, and had kids. Lots of kids it looks like. Kids who had no discipline either, because there is crap under every crevice and panel. It needs alot of TLC cosmetically, but I haven't torn a vehicle apart in so long, im excited. The Edge was too new and fancy to do anything to, aside from my stereo.

I will upload pictures later, when I get some.

I would love to lift it, but this is my DD to work, which is about 65m per day, so thats not friendly on the pocket at all. I love the look of these being lowered an inch or two, with some good looking (not gaudy) 22's. A style like the Adrenaline rims, like a 5-6 spoke wheel.

Plans are:
-Stereo, speakers, amp, subwoofer, big three upgrade, 2 batteries in the back
-Power auto dim rear view mirror
-Homelink addition somewhere
-Brush bar (The one that just comes up and under the grille, not the big one)
-30" LED bar on the guard
-22" Wheels
-Lower 1.5-2"
-Light tint on the front windows
-Change all applicable fluids to synthetic
-Spark plugs and wires
-Possibly an intake, just for looks, since they dont actually improve performace
-HID retrofit, with black housings, halos, and switchback blinkers
-Open the taillights and replace the running lights with red Halos, LED brake/blinker bulbs
-Slowly convert the interior to black leather, or at least black carpet and black headliner
-New drivers side door panel (Sun faded BAD)
-New console lid, worn out where your arm rests on it
-3rd row delete (PM me if youre interested in swapping)

Many other things as well, that ill list as I go. This is all gonna be in good time.

I also want to replace the gas cap. Somehow the PO managed to break the little holding wire off, id like to go back to the "capless" system. Anybody have experience with those aftermarket capless caps?

1/07/2016 Update:

 

[BrianDye]

Sounds like your ex is coming along! What color is your interior?

She definitely is, done a lot since I've posted in this thread, but the interior is tan cloth unfortunately. My least favorite combo! I strongly dislike cloth, but it does the job. If I ever see a wrecked X with a black leather interior, you best bet I'm snagging every last interior piece and swapping.

I've got the blacked iron man style headlights now, the black Bentley style grill, 52" LED bar that I'm currently trying to fab some mounts up for, and I also got one of those flip keys with the fob built in. My favorite "mod" so far probably has gotta be the flip key.

 

[ratfink33]

I have tan also. How are those third row seats working out for you? I only have a 5 seater and am kinda curious about the swap to a third row. Is it doable? Are the quarter trim pieces the same or does the whole back end have to come out? Also. Ever think about running the 20" from the New explorers? I have a set, but I know it would need spacers. Not so sure on them yet.

 

[BrianDye]

I think those wheels would be a huge upgrade. I'm a fan of bigger wheels as well, I really like the 22's on the Edge Sport but they are ungodly expensive.

The 3rd row swap is pretty easy I think, I don't think the trim panels change, but I'm sure someone on here has done a write up/swap with some pictures. I had mine out to shampoo and clean and they just bolt in/out.

Actually now that I think of it...seat belts. The rear panels would have to be swapped because the seatbelts mount to the rear pillar of I remember correctly.

 

[ratfink33]

I think those wheels would be a huge upgrade. I'm a fan of bigger wheels as well, I really like the 22's on the Edge Sport but they are ungodly expensive.

The 3rd row swap is pretty easy I think, I don't think the trim panels change, but I'm sure someone on here has done a write up/swap with some pictures. I had mine out to shampoo and clean and they just bolt in/out.

Actually now that I think of it...seat belts. The rear panels would have to be swapped because the seatbelts mount to the rear pillar of I remember correctly.

Ah yes. The seatbelts. Damn. Those rear panels aren't easy. Lol. Well if you want to look into those rims from s newer explorer, pm me. Might be able to help!

 

[BrianDye]

Yeah, those rear most panels suck! You pretty much have to gut the interior it seems like to get them out. As much as I would love a set of the OEM bigger Ford wheels, they are an arm and a leg, vs aftermarket which is what ill most likely stick with. Got a few bugs to work out before wheels though.

Picked up a new belt today, Dayco was the brand, they didn't have Motorcraft, but RockAuto listed this one right with the MC. I didn't replace the tensioner, as it was still extremely tight. All pulleys felt smooth and quiet as well.

I went to the auto wash the other day, one that has the undercarriage spray, it got something wet, and caused it to keep stalling at idle until whatever it was dried. Cant figure out what it was, but its been fine since. I lost my reverse lights as well sometime around then, checked today and noticed the fuse popped, so I replace it, and as soon as I put it in reverse, it popped again. I love how all the issues pop up when its under 30 degrees outside.

On a good note, I did go elite today finally!

 

[BrianDye]

I'm also thinking about adding a block heater of some sort. I really hate how this thing sounds when starting it up in these bitter cold temps we get. Our Winters seem to average in the single digits when it actually hits and we've only been down in probably the low 20's. They seem to be relatively cheap too, under $100.

Does anyone know if the 4th gen oil pan is steel? I found some magnetic heaters 200 or 300 watts for $30 and $44 that are magnetic and just stick on.

 

[BrianDye]

A member did a nice little write up in the 4th gen modified section with the Morimoto Mini projectors, and I decided to bite the bullet and finally build mine. Looking good so far, alot less intimidating now that ive started finally.

Painting the shrouds red, and the reflector bowl in the headlight flat black. In the future I plan on running flat black wheels, or maybe a combo like my Edge had, which was a flat black, and gloss black wheel, and then I plan on painting my calipers red, so itll be a nice contrast. Also running white halos on the front of the shrouds.

Cant wait to see it done! TONS of pics when im done!

 

[BrianDye]

Finished the headlights, and finally got to the carwash for the first time in quite a while. (I wouldnt count the time over Christmas when it caused my X to keep stalling, wasnt even a half-assed wash lol)

God, she looks good! Ran across the street to Sterling State Park to snap a few pictures with the nice sunset we had. Nice change of weather today over all the cloudy gloom we've had for the past month.

As clean and sleek as she looks with the new front end look, it really makes me want to ditch my antenna, but I still sometimes use FM. I might look into one of those hidden powered ones AutoZone has for $20.

 

[BrianDye]

So the other day I noticed my reverse lights not coming on. I knew right away it wasn't the reverse switch or whatever that piece is called, because I could hear the relay click when I put it in reverse.

Checked the fuse, and sure enough it was popped. No idea why, so I throw another one in, all my reverse lights come on, and then less than a sec later it pops again.

I back halfway into my garage today to check it out, take both tail lights out, check the wiring, bulbs and the wiring to my LED pods underneath which are wired in with my reverse lights. (Been this way for 3? Months now, no issues) all wiring was fine. I disconnected one of the pods, new fuse, turned the key on but didn't start it, put it in reverse and sure enough it worked. I left it in reverse for probably 3-5 minutes waiting to see if it would pop again, it didn't. I even connected the second pod back up after the first 30 seconds to see if that would pop the fuse. Nope.

So I buckle everything back up, clean up my mess, get in, start the truck to leave, put it in reverse again just to make sure, they come on, sure enough the fuse pops a split second later. I don't get it.

 

[King of So Cal]

Looks good man! Semi familiar haha

 

[BrianDye]

Looks good man! Semi familiar haha

Hm, I don't see any similarities after looking at yours again, mine looks so puny. I need my taxes to get here so I can start the lift process lol. Tubular UCA's, 1" BL, Traxda level/lift and unsure of a wheel/tire combo yet.

 

[BootyDo]

Nice thread! Need more daytime photos now

 

[BlakeWinstel]

New Favorite Thread!

Definitely keep updating us! I just found this thread and I LOVE your attention to detail and your write ups.

As far as the antenna goes... You can always buy a stubby antenna for it. I have one that is in the shape of a .50 cal bullet and is carbon fiber. about 4.5 inches tall. Best part is, I still have radio.

Or you could hardwire in an ipod in an added on USB plug and put it in the glovebox and load it with music, or get a bluetooth headunit and use the radio on your phone if that is an option. (I have unlimited data so i just use that, way better sound quality)

 

[BrianDye]

Thanks guys! Its been a while since ive posted any updates.

Been trying to track down this clunk I have, some have suggested the sway bar end links, and/or the struts, but I'm not sure yet. Its not affecting drivability at all, so im not really in a rush to throw money into expensive parts just yet, lol.

I had a Hifonics 2500w amp pushing my 18" Fi, and wasnt happy with it. Bought the amp used, I think the PO clipped it to death and ran it with too little power too many times. Definitely wasnt putting out 2500w. I had a 2100w Hifonics prior to this that blew it away, and both dyno'ed to their actual RMS ratings, but the 2100w had some issues out of the box.

Found a guy who wanted to straight trade an Audiopipe APCL3k, which is a 2 ohm amp, but again 3000k RMS easily with proper electrical.

Hooked it up to try it with my sub still wired to 1ohm, it had more power, but still wasnt blowing me away like it used to. Rewired it to 3ohms, (subs DVC, 1.6) and it POUNDS like it used to.

Was pricing out high output alternators, Mechmans 240a is $349, but they're running a special until April 1st with their Elite series 250a and better guts for the same price. Hoping to get one of those ordered before the 1st.

Ordered a matching 4 channel Audiopipe amp, 1500w. I believe it puts out about 75w RMS at 2 ohms to each channel. Ordered some JBL 5x7's for now until a later date when I can find and afford some really nice components.

I currently have 2 runs of 0 gauge coming from the front, 2 grounds which will both be going to a battery I add in the back, probably a yellow top Optima group 31. I can get them with a hefty discount, about $180 shipped. Im gonna get a group 34 for under the hood for about $120 shipped as well.

I ordered more wire, a ton of 14 gauge speaker wire to run all new wire to the door speakers, and some new 8g wire for the 4 channel as well as the Fi going from the amp to the box so it all looks clean and matches.

I decided it was best to ditch the third row. I will NEVER use it, plus it was just extra weight. Those seats were heavy as hell, about the same weight as my box and amp, so its kind of a nice trade-off. Also was able to remove the 3rd row seat belts so they wouldnt rattle around or be in the way. Gonna build a plywood false floor and carpet it with black carpet like speaker boxes have. Batter(y/ies) will be mounted on the left side, I would like the amps on the same side, but im not sure yet.

During this process, I also decided why not swap interiors since I hate tan and cloth. Ordered new black carpet from Stock interiors, without the mass backing because I will be applying Fatmat all over as I go. (Used Fatmat in my 2000, and it was night and day. Dynamat is a rip off, paying for the name).

I found two front power black leather seats from a junkyard by work, already pulled. They want $125 each, but one has a small small rip and the employee said he knows the guy would take less. Gotta figure out how to wire the passenger seat, since my passenger seat is manual.

Also will be ordering the 07 style door panels with the pull handle in the arm rest. I will get black as well, because I eventually will replace all the panels, but have some tan accents so my dashboard and console wont look odd.

Hopefully going to pick the seats up tomorrow.

(This means, I have all my seats up for sale, pickup only in Monroe, MI)
Front driver - power, airbag
Front pass - manual, airbag
Rear bench
Third row + seatbelts and cargo floor

 

[BrianDye]

So I called that shop today about the front seats - no answer. Left a message, hopefully they get back with me soon.

I'm at kind of a crossroads with the interior though. There are plenty of black parts in my tan interior so the black seats and carpet are gonna look fine as-is. It's extremely hard trying to find a wrecked X with a black interior, I'd be all over it. Unfortunately every black piece I've found so far is pulled and the X was already sent through the crusher.

I'm thinking for now, until I can find that fully intact interior, I'm gonna have to stick with my tan door panels but I wanted to replace that nasty cloth insert with black leather anyways which should tie in well with the seats.

Issue is, my door panels are so faded it's not even funny like the whole top halves of each one is basically white. Every thread I've read really doesn't post any results, and I've even made a thread asking for suggestions to no responses.

Everyone says stay away from paint, that'll just chip off. I don't want temporary finishes here, I want to restore these things back to OEM quality which I'm assuming needs to be done with dye. I've read about this as well, but everyone seems to order this expensive spray dye that doesn't match.

 

[BrianDye]

Carpet came yesterday, boy thats gonna be a project just trimming it to fit, lol. (Its molded for my Explorer, but has excess on the ends, and no holes cut)

Picked up a set of black leather front seats too, super excited about that! My Explorer currently has a power driver seat, manual recline and passenger is completely manual. These seats are power, heat AND memory. Drivers seat is full power (reclining).

Passenger seat is very easy to wire up, same harness but needs a power and ground. Drivers has me stumped at the moment, but ill figure it out eventually.

 

[BrianDye]

After a LONG weekend of struggling with wiring diagrams and frustration, the seats are in!

New carpet as well from stockinteriors.com.

Black carpet, with black power seats, drivers is a 10 way now, passenger is now power, both are heated but thats not wired up yet. Such a HUGE upgrade. These seats aren't in the best condition, but I got one hell of a deal vs what I priced out on eBay, and its so much better than dirty cloth!

 

[BrianDye]

So ive gotten alot done on the interior, audio wise. I have added the AGM battery in the back, I cant even stress how much that helped. My stock battery wasn't "bad," but the difference when starting now is insane. It cranks so fast and fires up quicker, it used to crank what was/seemed normal to me, but now seems slow as dirt.

So I have like 80% of the false floor made, some supports made, and everything is in and functional, but I still have to make the smaller flap thats going to be on hinges for my jack storage and spare tire release.

I have been looking up thread after thread related to the traxda lift, and I think about it every damn day, how bad I want it. Like I said though, before I order that, im ordering all new components for the front end, tie rods, ball joints, sway bar bushings/links, brake rotors, pads, etc.

Just replaced my rear sway bar end links as one side was broken off and clunking like crazy. SO nice not hearing that anymore. In my RockAuto cart right now, im about to order the lower ball joints, sway bar bushings, end links, and tie rod ends for just over $100 shipped which is a good deal. All quality parts too, Moog.

The biggest thing right now is going to be tires, and those BTF upper control arms. New tires seem to be $650+mount/balancing, and the UCA's are about $600 shipped which is crazy as well. Im going to try to find some used tires once I figure out what tire size I should go with. Also want to get wheel spacers as well, because the lift makes the wheels kind of sink in towards the X, whereas I want them to stand out a bit. Members even reported better handling with the wider/pushed out tires saying the ride felt more stable overall which makes sense.

Goodbye bank account!

 

[BrianDye]

Ive always liked the look of an Explorer (any gen) with the roof rails removed for a sportier look, with larger aftermarket wheels, tinted windows, etc. I just saw a picture of one lifted with beefy tires, blacked out and had the rails removed, and it looked so damn good. I might end up doing this as well. Still on the fence about it though.

 

[BrianDye]

So I was sick of my ugly, bad stock rear view mirror and decided it was time to figure out the wiring and order an OEM auto-dimming rear view.

Had a third gen mirror in my cart on eBay for like $35, with part of the pigtail, and ended up coming across a 4th gen mirror for under $30. Seller told me it did NOT have any of the harness which was a bummer, but I found one for $16 with about 12" of wiring. Ordered both, mirror got here the next day (Came from my state) and behold, there is wiring with it. I was mad. Hopefully the seller will let me return the harness I bought.

Oh well, but I got it installed easily, tapped into the compass modules wiring, but did it over in the A-Pillar. Tied the wiring into the loom that already ran down, and it looks OEM as can be! I opted to not wire the reverse circuit (12v when in reverse) which just disables the dimming feature while your car is in reverse. I rarely use that mirror when backing up anyways.

So much better! And it looks better as well.

Cheap, crappy, wimpy looking stock mirror: (Wiring was hanging down as I already started the project)

Nice looking OEM power mirror:

Wouldn't ever know it wasnt stock:

So a little backstory before my next story: I noticed some aftermarket wiring under my drivers footwell area which looked identical to maybe a lower end remote start or alarm. I assumed it was just removed, or something because I didnt see any modules down there, never really looked into it.

So I was ordering LEDs for my gauges, climate controls, and rear climate controls. Was going to check the bulbs in my vanitys, but I NEVER use them, so that'll come at a later date. While I was out there double checking my bulb count, (I still have my center bezel off, working on fitting the EQ into it), I see these two dim LED lights way back in the center flashing.

Reach behind it from under the steering wheel and grab what I think to be what was flashing (it was) and it was this little box module tied into those wires I mentioned above. The module it probably 2.5" by 2" and maybe an inch tall. Clearly not anything related to remote starting or alarms.

I unplugged it and brought it inside to do some googling, its a GPS tracking device with remote ignition disabling available. Only available for sale to companies it seems like. Im going out on a limb and assuming its the dealer I bought it from, in case you don't pay your note. Upon some more digging, I found mine is only wired for power so theres no ignition disabling but what an odd find!