supercharged 5.0 true fire 98 explorer sport

[CDW6212R]

Would a flat trans pan help with that jack? For these trucks and how they are used, I think you want more cooling and a deeper pan will be flat.

I have one I'm hoping to put on today, it's close to the same depth as the protrusion of the stock pan(4" I think). All the aftermarket pans also have a drain plug, you guys like that too.

 

[Dono]

I have an aftermarket pan on mine with a drain plug. I guess the drain plug is a good thing when it comes time to change filters also. I'd expect the job to be much cleaner.

 

[4pointslow]

It's cleaner until you drop the drain plug in the funnel and it gets stuck in the funnel hole blocking it up and over flowing out the funnel on to the floor on new years eve when you are replacing the torque converter in 20 degree weather that doesn't fix the problem anyway so you have to replace the faulty remanufactured valve body later. lol. true story.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

want a funny story. about 3 or so weeks ago i was driving down the main drag when i came upside a 2000ish dodge dakota at a stop light. i looked over, didnt think anything of it. light turned green and i heard his tires chirp. still not thinking much about it until he sped up the same rate as me, then it was on. he did pull on me, but not much. we went out to the highway and told him to roll down to 40kms, then we will go at it. well, that backfired on me big time. she refused to kick down to first, and the guy walked me hard!. a call went to don that night, and me jumping up and down telling him a dakota handed me my ass. don found a few things that wernt right in the trans tune, fixed him, and all was good. just had to find the guy again.
well, that time came

but, because i just swapped leaf packs yesterday (thanks again don!) i didnt want drop the hammer because i still have to retorque the u bolts. turns out however, this thing is a wolf in sheeps clothing as well! turns out this little dakota with a 5.9 badge on the door is a 360 stroked to a 413! i dont feel so bad now lol

 

[Dono]

Ah, you have a 347 with a power adder. we just need to get our poop together. he has the weight advantage, but you should have the hp advantage. I look forward to another pull.

 

[4pointslow]

Please post an underhood picture, showing your throttlebody and IAC.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

 

[vroomzoomboom]

long time no update. well, after who knows how long with fight a surging idle issue (that seemed to get worse over time) dono and 4point put their heads together and found the problem that was in the tune (when the perverse tuner kept insisting that there was a problem with the truck). don has had some things come up so he hasnt had a lot of time to spend fine tuning that at the moment. i also found out the hard way that evil can handle 240 plus degrees of temp without spitting head gaskets, or launching a rad cap out of sight either......whoops (the power for the electric fan controller was accidentally unplugged while doing a idle log for don and when i shut the datalog off, it was at 240). she also left me with no choice one day, and had to call the tow truck to come drag her back home. no start, no power with the exception of the electric fans coming on. the main ground going from the block to the battery came just a tad loose and was enough to loose contact (that was 2 hours of my life i will never get back.). speaking of power, a old problem has came back, and that is a charging issue. i tested and tried everything i could think of to find the problem (even moved the main ground directly to the block form the timing chain cover). i took it to a friend i know who is the power mechanics teacher at the local collage. after he probed evil for a hour he found what he thinks is my alt that is only a year old may have again taken a big ol steamy dump. at 2000ish rpms it is only putting out 70 amps when it should be 110. the shop i got it from tested it, but not in the truck, and not when it was hot. i also called a place that turdle told me that might upgrade a 4g alt, but when i did, the said they didnt, so now its back to the drawing board possibly.

 

[gmanpaint]

Can't remember if you changed the pulley on that ALT.

If you did, does it kill them in stock configuration prematurely?

I just buy the 130 amp with lifetime warranty, and swap them out when they die.

 

[4pointslow]

Disconnecting a battery cable with the engine running can ruin an alternator.
Therefore having a battery ground connection go bad with the engine running can ruin an alternator.
This is one of the reasons that when a battery cable is repaired or what ever, you have to make sure that it is not going to lose connection.
All your connections should be tight, and those after market battery terminals we have to fix cables usually suck.
But replacing a cable is often too expensive or not obtainable.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Can't remember if you changed the pulley on that ALT.

i did. i went from a 2 1/2 to a 3 inch pulley. BUT before everyone jumps on me for that, it was because i also went from a 6 1/4 crank pulley to a 7 1/4 crank pulley to overdrive the supercharger. i didnt want the alt spinning so fast that it might or would burn out the bearings in it.....lots of good that has done now.

Disconnecting a battery cable with the engine running can ruin an alternator.
Therefore having a battery ground connection go bad with the engine running can ruin an alternator.
This is one of the reasons that when a battery cable is repaired or what ever, you have to make sure that it is not going to lose connection.
All your connections should be tight, and those after market battery terminals we have to fix cables usually suck.
But replacing a cable is often too expensive or not obtainable.

i havent disconnected the batter while the truck has been running with this alt. last summer i did upgrade all (with the exception of the power wire to the starter) to 4 gauge wire (power and ground). i also upgraded the terminals (that a friend had on his grand prix that i pulled off before we took it to the shredder)

i also found out i called the wrong place the other day......i will have to call this place http://www.carolinaalternators.com/ to see if they make a alt still, and if they do, will they ship up here. or i found another place http://www.tuffstuffperformance.com...30585.1329969-1998-ford-explorer-302-v-8.html that sells them. they are also listed on summit racing, but would be dropped shipped and summit cant say for sure if they have stock or not.

 

[CDW6212R]

I feel that. I've had a few battery cables fabricated at a local place, and the last one corroded internally after about two years(my Lincoln not driven much at all). I fixed that with a used Explorer cable set(low mileage spare I had handy).

I hate those bolt on repair terminals too, my "new" 98 has them and I already have a pair of something from Amazon that I'll try.

I didn't know that having a loose main power cable could kill an alternator, but I try to keep everything tight.

I would also like to find out if some 3G alternator could replace the 4G we have, in case there is something to gain there.

 

[4pointslow]

Get rid of that battery and get an Optima.
They don't vent gases all over the battery terminals like the one in your picture.
The venting gases cause corrosion. Ever since I switched to Optima's I have not had to clean the terminals on both my 1998 Explorers.
When my 2004 battery dies it is getting one too.
Also, disconnect your negative battery terminal when the vehicle is not being driven daily. Driving with a discharged battery overworks the alternator and can lead to premature failure.
I see green stuff and rust on those used terminals. How do they look inside where the cables go in?

 

[CDW6212R]

BTW, for an alternator, avoid DB Electronics if you can. They had some bad reviews a few years back, and may have been building nothing but a stock internal unit and called them 170's to 220's etc. I hear good things about their SBF starters, $50 or so. But I have two of their alternators, one died after about 20 months, and the shop said it wasn't anything better than stock when I had it rebuilt.

 

[4pointslow]

Did the 5.0 Explorers ever come with 3G?
The 4.0's did, I can get alternator brackets for either. The rear most bolt hole is in a different location.

 

[CDW6212R]

Did the 5.0 Explorers ever come with 3G?
The 4.0's did, I can get alternator brackets for either. The rear most bolt hole is in a different location.

The 5.0 and the SOHC 4.0 all have the same 4G, which has the different bolt pattern from the 3G. All OHV 4.0's take that same 3G housing unit. I'm wondering if they made any 3G with that bolt pattern of our 4G housings. I doubt it.

 

[4pointslow]

Remember the 4.0 sohc was in the Mustang too, it had a 3G, so does my 2004.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

happy days

in don's thread the subject briefly was turned to a slight charging problem he has (but know where near as bad as mine). i started doing a few searches on 4G alts for explorers and i finally came up with one. its a place called tuff stuff in ohio (http://www.tuffstuffperformance.com...30585.1329969-1998-ford-explorer-302-v-8.html). the good news is they make 200A 4G alts for our trucks (NEW, not remand). the bad was they dont sell direct to the public, you have to go threw a speed shop or what i did which is summit. also, because its not a popular alt, they had to make it when we ordered them. however, from the time i called to the time i got it (today) it was about 2 weeks.
let me tell you, this even looks pretty. i got the black powder coated one. chrome or pol. alum is a little too fancy for evil. the only difference i have seen was the cage on the back of the alt touches the valve cover (remember however i have trickflow valve covers, not stockers). i put it on as soon as i got home from work, and will take it for a ride in a bit. its hot as balls right now, and will me working outside all day in coveralls, a rawhide leather jacket cutting rail cars with a cutting torch, i NEED to sit in a air conditioned house for a little while.

 

[4pointslow]

Wow, it even looks good!
How well does it charge?

 

[CDW6212R]

Very nice. I hope that produces all the juice your truck needs now. I'll put that on my wish list.