01 ex to 02 ex front end?

[nviime]

I just bought a 2001 Ford explorer XLT 4.0 4x4 while on leave in november, back in afghanistan now planning out what i wanna do, and ive really come to the conclusion i much perfer the 2002-2005 explorer front end much more, now the question is, is there a way to get it to line up properly, and work nicely?

I notice the 02 is 1.9" wider then the 01, 72.1" vs 70.2" for the 01...... so perhaps it wouldnt look right without taking 1.9" out of the middle of the front end parts, but would the fenders and such line up? or are there kits out that that would look that way for me, other then the pro-modified ones....

 

[deamon3]

That's going to be way to hard.

Just use a sport trac front end , it's a direct bolt up. Looks the same as the explorers basically as well.

 

[nviime]

when you say direct bolt up, what exactly do you mean, and what all would be required to do so, cause i dont mind the 01 sport trac front end as well, i just wanna get rid of hte ugly beat up facia thats on my 01 ex right now...

fyi im new to this vehicle stuff, as far as seriously modifying and working on them, so i may be a little lost.... thanks for any help tho

 

[deamon3]

I'm no expert really. I just kno the sport trac uses the same body as the explorer and that the front end will match up with the explorers.

If you have no idea what your doing then just replace the broken parts on your ex with explorer parts , it'll be much easier.

 

[flamingX]

I believe the '02+ 4-door Explorer is a totaly differen't animal than the '95-'01s
But the Sport (2dr) and the Sport-Trac were continued to be built the same until '05.

The hood, bumper, headlights (and openings) grill and fender flares (including where the holes are drilled) are different so there will be some modifying to make it look right on a '01. If yours is a Sport then it's just a matter of swaping the the fender flares and the side fairings along with the complete front clip off of a '03-'05 Sport but if yours is a 4dr you may be able to modify the side fairings from a Sport-Trac (I 'think' the wheel base is longer on the S-T so it's a matter of cutting it down and trying to hide the seam). Or you can put your '01 flares on it and weld up any unused holes, the bumper won't line up perfectly, don't know how far off, but you may be able to live with it. The door gap and body line 'should' line right up, I wouldn't know until I tryed it (was thinking of doing that to my '97 but decided to go another way)

 

[jtmx101]

nothing is impossible, lol. there are alot of wild front end conversions out there, I would suggest finding a reputible custom body shop with experience with this kind of work and go from there

 

[flamingX]

The hood, bumper, headlights (and openings) grill and fender flares (including where the holes are drilled) are different so there will be some modifying to make it look right on a '01. If yours is a Sport then it's just a matter of swaping the the fender flares and the side fairings along with the complete front clip off of a '03-'05 Sport but if yours is a 4dr you may be able to modify the side fairings from a Sport-Trac (I 'think' the wheel base is longer on the S-T so it's a matter of cutting it down and trying to hide the seam). Or you can put your '01 flares on it and weld up any unused holes,

EDIT I thought the flares were bolted on the 03-05 Sport/Sport Tracs, but they are stamped into the fender, so it will take some creative body work to make it look good.

 

[cmj141]

So correct me if I'm wrong... Am I able to swap the fenders, grill and headlights from my 98 X Sport with those of a newer sport trac? I'm been trying to find a front end to replace the old ugly rounded dodge neon lights look that of something boxier.

I believe the '02+ 4-door Explorer is a totaly differen't animal than the '95-'01s
But the Sport (2dr) and the Sport-Trac were continued to be built the same until '05.

The hood, bumper, headlights (and openings) grill and fender flares (including where the holes are drilled) are different so there will be some modifying to make it look right on a '01. If yours is a Sport then it's just a matter of swaping the the fender flares and the side fairings along with the complete front clip off of a '03-'05 Sport but if yours is a 4dr you may be able to modify the side fairings from a Sport-Trac (I 'think' the wheel base is longer on the S-T so it's a matter of cutting it down and trying to hide the seam). Or you can put your '01 flares on it and weld up any unused holes, the bumper won't line up perfectly, don't know how far off, but you may be able to live with it. The door gap and body line 'should' line right up, I wouldn't know until I tryed it (was thinking of doing that to my '97 but decided to go another way)