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@donalds Thanks, I appreciate that. I know the VSS on the 97-01's is on top of the rear diff, just wasn't sure what held it in (couldn't see above the axle, and it's not safe to stick your head where it will be cracked like an egg if your Hi-Lift slips). I didn't think of it at the time, but I...

@donalds Will attempt at next convenience; interrupted my work flow on The Vulture to get a quote on paint for Hazey's roof. What do you do to get the VSS out, is it threaded or locked at all, or do you just pull it? I didn't find any concrete answer to this for the 97-01's. I don't want to...

PCM flashed for 5.13 gears this morning at my regular Ford dealership. When I asked, the tech I dealt with said there was only one setting for the axle gearing, not separate settings for both axles, so there's that for anybody who didn't know. To reiterate for the ignorant, reflashing the PCM...

@DaSovietPotato She's one clean-looking 1st-gen! Treat her nice; these early Explorers are a treat to drive and put a smile on my face every time I turn the key.

@Turdle I was going to say, we can carry on these discussions all day, but until @kburns2358 actually responds with what sort of applications his wife wants to use this for, we really can't have even the slightest idea of suggestions to make. Here we are having an open-ended discussion about...

Welp, set up for the PCM flash for the 5.13's... Here's to hoping I don't roll over before next week! She needs an alignment again already (this is becoming an expensive habit!) but I'll push that off until I've had my fun for the season. May be I'd save money by just buying my own alignment...

This thing is a pleasure to drive every single time. Pushing off modifying it, going to ride out the relatively new tires until either one blows out (have a matching spare wheel, don't have a matching tire for it) or they all wear out, then check out my options and put on 1" spacers (1.5" are...

Basically a given in offroading vehicles is that you'll want to use taller tires and smaller-diameter wheels, so that you can air down and let the sidewalls flex. The wider the tires, the better for traction, but go too wide and you'll end up scrubbing on the fenders, harming your turning...

@kburns2358 Welcome to our collective backyard! Several questions to begin; firstly, what kind of offroading are we talking about? Sand, mud and gravel, or we talking about rock crawling with lockers and gear ratio changes and 37" tires here? Secondly, what is the vehicle already equipped...

@FredRD Good going, good going! For good measure, you might want to source new or junk yard parts to replace the ones that were exposed to water or mud directly; some times, even if it looks good on clean-up, the damage that was caused isn't immediately apparent. That might possibly be related...

@FredRD It appears that your reply doesn't contain any text. The others and I would be happy to help with any further questions or concerns on this topic!

@eholden Welcome to our collective backyard! That's a fine looking Explorer, if I'm one to pass judgment. The factory running boards do reduce clearance significantly; if you're planning on beating around on this one, I'd do some searching with the bar on the top right corner to see what...

@LordTerriikk Welcome to our collective back yard! I hope you find the information here useful; I know I have. You know what we all want... Odometer reading and photographs!

@FredRD Welcome to the Forum! This topic isn't as common as the V8 swaps with the 2nd-gens, but similar swaps have been done. To save you the trouble of having to figure it out yourself, firstly, you're posting this question in the wrong subforum. Go to the main page, scroll down to 3rd...

@Turdle Try it yourself to test its cost, possibility, and convenience for one person, and now apply that cost and (in-) convenience to every person in the nation. Now, assume that the majority is a bunch of hard-heads who think the old way is better, so you have to convince them that your way...

Hey, I've got a great idea! I can solve the fuel crisis: let's just legalize weed, so the people can forget about all of this stuff, while we communize everything and take away their freedoms! Seems to be the logic of all the politicians these days... while they pretend to save the environment...

@AngryPossum She sure is a nice lookin' piece of metal! Gotta love the '90s styling. Good old hardcore performance, without all the garish and silly-looking body angles and weird lines trending to day... and my favorite part, these old trucks actually have windows that you can SEE out of...

(Sorry for off-topic, but relevant for pricing) @AngryPossum, a slightly newer Ranger with clean title in worse condition than my '99 Sport had an asking price of $10k, compared to the Explorer with salvage title at $3k (talked down to $2k, as mentioned before) back in 2017. Pickup trucks have...

@Smit789 The SOHC debate (whether it ends up applying to you in the future or not) will go on indefinitely. OHV is still the preferred motor by the crybabies- er, hardcore Explorer enthusiasts, who think 300k miles isn't far enough for a 25-year-old engine to travel. These are old trucks...

Gonna be the Devil's advocate here and mention that insurance and SOHC aren't as big of a deal as people are making them out to be. I've got two SOHC's, one just under 200k and one just turned 217k with no issues whatsoever. I don't treat my Sport nice, and the timing chain woes that everybody...

@vofuv Welcome to our collective back yard! This site contains a wealth of knowledge that will equip you to keep your Explorer on (and off!) the road for a long time. When did you get it? Have you modified it any, or plan to in the future? Tell us the story, and post up some pics!

@Smit789 For comparison, I paid $3500 for a loaded 2000 Limited at 216k in near-perfect condition (except for the dash lights, and as I later found out, spark plugs, wires and coil pack) with minimal rust (east coast, surface rust is a given).

Well, the repairs just held up to a 400-mile straight run on highway and beach sand. Let's see, what all did I do to day? The way out was uneventful, up until the part where the highway turned into straight sand. Never seen a highway before with green signs with white letters reading "4WD...

@Smit789 You've got the right ideas thus far, and heed what @C420sailor said - he's got good advice. The drivetrain is the most important, and even at such low mileage, it's still 23 years old. Don't overlook the small stuff: check for interior functions and cycle through all the A/C vent...

@TexasBear Ha, I'm not really that knowledgeable... just been down a few different roads, and made mistakes, trying to cheap out on stuff before doing it right. You're the person I wrote down all these parts for over the years; I knew I'd need that some day. Basically your budget is your only...

@Copperchick010 Welcome to our collective backyard! Hope you find this place useful, it's saved our necks plenty of times and we'll do the best we can for you too. I'm not too familiar with 3rd-gen and newer Explorers, but post up that video in this thread, or make a new thread, or if you find...

@TexasBear SWEET find! I'm gonna jump on this boat before reading others' posts or checking your profile, so take this for what it's worth. 1. Lift. If you absolutely must have a body lift, I and several others here wouldn't recommend more than 2". That plus a 4" Superlift (K357, specify for...

@SuperGordo Easily, relative to hack, slash and weld jobs that require using parts from half a dozen other Explorers! :P

@Fix4Dirt Yeah, keep us posted on that, any additional info you discover could be really useful for somebody later.

@SuperGordo Good to know! I love following a good build thread, particularly when everything comes together easily. At least we know somebody's having a good time!

After finding that my OxGord OBD-II scanner didn't work with Hazey either, and after running Hazey to half a dozen parts stores to play with their differing OBD-II scanners, I began to suspect that the OxGord scanner is its own problem. Ran The Vulture to Auto Zone to see if other tools can...

Update time! New Motorcraft SP500's were installed this morning, as well as new plug wires (the previous ones, although new-ish, didn't survive removal, but it's better that they need replaced while at the garage, than while on the road). That didn't solve the problem, but was worth it for...

@Nate Tidwell I would 100% agree with the others here, EFI is the right way to go. Not only does it self-adjust to compensate for differences in atmospheric conditions and negate the need for regular "tune-ups", but it would come with the donor vehicle and there's (as you noted yourself) many...

There's three levels of "dark". There's new-moon-dark, there's forest-dark, and there's power's-out-hurricane-dark. This was definitely Level 2. The wide-angled roof lights were very helpful in cornering. Lots of people put lights on the roof. Few people seem to comprehend the importance...

Got a flex shot for you IFS fans out there... Whee, look at all that articulation. I think the tire flexed as much as the suspension did. Notice the upside-down weight rating sticker on the flipped hitch receiver. That thing did take a rock for me, on the Sawmill downhill run I believe it...

Well, the Vulture survived a 2-day outing in NC's Uwharries this week, sustaining minor body damage on the underside of both rear wheel arches (bashed the tires up under there a few times), as well as scraping the left lower control arm on the top of a rock. I'd consider this to be an ideal...

@Ace of Speights My '99 Sport had the finicky lights issue when the dimmer is between the top of its range and the "dome lights on" position; I observed that by moving it downward just a bit, I could avoid the issue while keeping the lights at their brightest. It could be a worn dimmer switch...

2016 Limited, nice find! You know what we all want... Pics! I hope you find this forum quite useful over the course of your ownership. Some info on the engine and mileage might be nice too, some folks will likely pop in with upcoming maintenance suggestions, things to keep an eye on, etc.

@CDW6212R Considering the status of the economy, spark plugs are still cheap! Even $6 a plug (way overpriced, I paid $3 and some change each, for SP500's) is under $50 for the V8, plus $200 for labor if you can't do it yourself. $250 every, let's say, 50k, for spark plugs... Sheesh, even just...

@Stic-o I'm a thousand years late to the game, but good find! These pop up around the east coast every once and again, I see them running around about every other time I go out. They're bigger than I'd want to daily, but they were from a time when trucks were trucks!