My First Explorer, 2000 EB

[traveler]

Went out to take these pics and realized that NOT all the exterior lights are LED. The puddle lights and the small corner parking lights were forgotten. I'll get that taken care of this week.

 

[CDW6212R]

I want to see someone retrofit the puddle lights with the nice projection type you can buy for lots of later cars. They project a picture down onto the ground, usually it's the car make or logo.

 

[traveler]

I've seen those, and would like to find some of those. I have seen some LEDs that fit however.

 

[traveler]

Just for kicks and giggles I got a tag for the "dead" space that is covered by the spare tire now. What do ya think?

 

[traveler]

I went and installed a new antenna for my CB. Yes, I know that CBs are on the way out and everyone is using handheld shortwave now. But some of the groups I go out with now still use the CBs so....

 

[traveler]

What do you think? If if I can paint it spruce green will it look like LilEddie?

 

[traveler]

Went out to the truck to replace a bad relay and found this....

Somethings been using my intake manifold as a picnic table! As far as I can tell he hasn't gotten around to munching on wires yet.

 

[joney]

What do you think? If if I can paint it spruce green will it look like LilEddie?

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Cool! Where did you get it?

 

[traveler]

I actually got it from NAPA. Its a Hot Wheel.. If you look closely it's a Toyota. But it's so small it's hard to tell.

 

[traveler]

Does anyone have any experience with these tires? They have a pretty good rating on Amazon.

Amazon product ASIN B01BY1FCK6

 

[gmanpaint]

Never heard of them. I read a bunch of the reviews there.

From what I can surmise is, they are a harder compound tire made in Thailand.
Should work well in most conditions, but traction is always reduced the harder the compound. Rock crawling & street grip will be affected. Any good spaced out deep lug tire will normally perform well in sand/snow/dirt. Mud is a different story as lugs need to be able to "Clean" themselves while the tire spins, so they can grab again when returning to contact. Siping for water is different then snow. They are directional. These are modeled after the old original BFG MT's, and look to have all that in the treads.

My biggest concern with the cheaper hard compound tires is grip, and balancing. Hard compounds tend to last longer, if that's any upside. LOL

 

[traveler]

LoL Actually I probably posted that too soon. I'm already looking at another tire that I believe I like better. It's another brand that isn't as well-known as Goodrich, Goodyear, or Mickey Thompson, but again has good reviews. A Crosswind M/T Mud Radial Tire. I'll do more reading and probably change my mind a few more times before actually pulling the trigger. A small bit of trivia, this will be the first time I will buy 5 tires LoL.
I'm also planning on going to go up one more size to a 285/75/R16. Just right at a 33" tire.

 

[gmanpaint]

285/75 is a 32"x11"

 

[CDW6212R]

Is it 32", my math in my head calls it 32.5", using 255/70/16 as a 30" stock size. Each 10mm section width adds about 1/2", and each series step adds about one inch, so 30mm wider and one step taller, makes 2.5" taller than stock. The deep off road tread adds some size too, I'd call the 33" size close.

 

[traveler]

It's actually about 32.7. Depends on what company you ask. Anyway they'll still be bigger than my 265/75/R16s.

I got the wiring and switches cleaned up. Neater wiring under the hood and a nice bank 9f switches inside. Now just need a neat way to label the switches. The 7" spots and the 4.5" floods on the bumper are wired through individual relays and switches but all are wired to come on only when high beams are on. The cowl lights are on their own switch with a relay and the yellow fogs are using the OEM fog switch and wiring.

Taking a short break then starting on new door speakers.

 

[traveler]

Drove LilEddie to Overgaard AZ while pulling our travel trailer. Did ok with a few minor, correctible issues.

1) The sway control hook ups aren't the correct distance apart from each other so I need to relocate the ball on the trailer tongue and move it back a few inches.

2) I got a 0303 code at the very end of the return trip. Cylinder 3 misfire randomly. I'm guessing it got hot and cooked through a plug wire insulation. I'll look into it this weekend. Its running great now that its cooled and I'm not asking anything more than regular driving.

3) I need to install a place to connect the trailer emergency brake line. I don't like hooking it to the safety chains as I feel that if the chains fail the wire will just go with them.

Thats all that comes to mind right now. All in all a good trip.

We did have a minor "incident" when we arrived (after dark). We were setting up the camper, Sandi was inside taking care of that and I was outside leveling, unhooking, etc. When I unhooked the 7-pin plug from the truck, the entire camper lost power. No lights, no pumps, nothing. As it was dark, and we were just gonna go to bed anyway I left the truck connected and went to sleep. Next day I went back to the camper and investigated the problem. Looked for loose connections, tested the battery, nothing wrong just no power. Found a little corrosion, cleaned that up still no power. The battery box gauge said over 12 volts so I knew I HAD power it just wasn't getting to the camper. Checked all the fuses in the camper, they were good. Finally I had to do what I did not want to do and crawl under the camper in the dirt looking for loose wires. Found an inline fuse that upon investigation was blown. A simple replacement and we're good to go. If I had known the fuse was even there I'd have looked there first!
Oh well... lesson learned. hehe

 

[traveler]

Well the Expedition is going bye bye.... I am taking delivery of a new Pickup this evening... Very excited about it. An 06 F150 FX4. Already has a Tuner, dual exhaust, and a nice Pioneer stereo/nav/etc.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Well the Expedition is going bye bye.... I am taking delivery of a new Pickup this evening... Very excited about it. An 06 F150 FX4. Already has a Tuner, dual exhaust, and a nice Pioneer stereo/nav/etc.

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are you still plannin' to remove the lift, or just go witht he lift? i like how it looks now

 

[traveler]

I like how it looks now too. However, I have greats and grands (people who are great grandparents, and people who are grandchildren) who would have a hard time getting into the truck as is. I'll eventually remove the 6" lift and put a leveling kit in it.

 

[traveler]

Well, Sandi has seen the F150, she's climbed into it, she says the truck stays the way it is. So the lift stays!
By the way, the lift is a rough country, the tuner is a super chips, the exhaust is flowmaster.