01 STrunner's Sport Trac | Page 12 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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01 STrunner's Sport Trac

My name is Patrick and now that I've finally done some work I'll start a registry to keep track of where it's been and where it's going. I'll try to organize it chronologically as best I can.

I got the truck in June of 2008 with 70,000 miles on it.

Newest Setup: SAS/SOA, 3" BL, Warrior Shackles for ~12" total lift.

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Some quick stats:
2001 Explorer Sport Trac
4X4
4.88 Gears
LP Dana 44HD Front Axle with leaf springs
SOA Stock 8.8 in the rear
35x12.50 BFG KM2s
17x9 Cragar Soft8 wheels
6x5.5 bolt pattern all 4 corners
Advantage Hard Hat bed cover

Here she is the day we brought her home

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And of course it had to be approved by our skilled research team

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The first thing I did to it was add a little ford emblem over the door badging. This pic is pretty recent but the best closeup I have of it. And when you're 15 stickers are still fricken sweet haha.

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Another pic after a nice bath and detailing

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My backyard; well sorta. Shenandoah National Forest is about 20 or 30 min away. I really like the view

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This is a mountain bike park my buddies and I hit up a lot. The sun was at a cool angle so I snapped a quick picture.

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Next thing (About a year and a half later) was a new set of shoes as beach driving was in the very near future and I needed a tire I wouldn't get stuck with. Got a set of Hercules Terra Trac A/T's in the stock size yet again. Before the beach trip I added a CB since we were traveling with RV's as a little group to OBX. That was just mounted on the passenger side of the console and the antenna was run under the carpet to the magnet mount antenna on the roof.

And the best way to go to the beach:

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After the beach trip I decided I needed a little extra light in the back for hooking up trailers and just for more light whenever I wanted. Or to tell someone behind me to shut their damn high beams off. So I went down to Autozone and for $20 picked up a cheap pair of 3X5 Pilot Aux lights and hooked them up to a switch that I put down on the side of the console.

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Also that was after a little fun with friends in an old park I found near my high school. Also from this next pic you can see how worn out the old shocks are. They were creaking over every little bump. Ended up having a local shop replace all 4 - Monroe Sensa-Tracs on the front and Monroe air adjustable shocks in the rear so it could be leveled out under heavy loads.

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Heres a somewhat side shot with the new shock. Easily an inch or 2 higher. Before I learned mud was the devil...

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A pic of the air shocks getting a workout. The setup is about 6000-6500 lbs. - Little overloaded but at the time it was our only choice for a tow vehicle since we got rid of our 3/4 ton with the 8.1 liter Vortec. Truck did fine the temp gauge didn't even rise but she didn't like overdrive at all.

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My friends and I are big into snowboarding. Since the bed is so small, had to put the board up on the roof. So a Yakima rack was added on top.

That sunbleached gray cladding just wasn't cutting it anymore and I started to see guys on here that painted theirs black and I loved the way it looked. After researching a little I found Krylon Fusion to be the main paint everyone used. Got a few cans and started the project.

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And After:
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For a year and a half the truck really didn't change. I was too busy with school, sports and helping remodel the entire house to really think about it.

I then got into Clemson University and joined the Offroad club. There was already a sport trace in it!! although it was stock. But hey 2's better than 1.
We took a couple trips but I've really only got pictures from Uwharrie Nat'l Forest just outside Charlotte.

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Decided while I was there to get my wheels repainted dirt brown. Still haven't learned my lesson about mud
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I went to the wrong state to want college and coming home to VA only gave me a little hope before our annual trip to Snowshoe WV. And yes we're dumb enough to men bike in a couple inches of snow.

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Back at school I was starting to go crazy not bing able to do work on my truck after looking over projects on here all winter. I got a small fix when Offtrac said there was a guy selling a brush guard which I had been looking for. He also threw in some clear corner lamps for nothin!

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Finally finals week was done and I could start working on the TT/Shackle Lift

Heres a picture of it before the lift:

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I was experimenting with the front bumper and was too lazy to put it back on for the picture.


Like Lono I put the jack stands on the frame right in front of the wheel wells and used the bottle jack to push the leaf springs down so i could put the bolts in.

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With the shackles only: the stupid bolt killed what daylight I had left so the torsion keys had to wait for the next day.

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After the TT so its all done! And now the cladding is off to be painted minus the front bumper. I wanted to see what it looked like.

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Finally looking like a truck

After that the body lift was next:

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TT/Shackles:

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And after body lift:

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There wasn't a terrible amount of trimming to do. Still waiting to see how it all flexes out. It took me long enough. After 4 years of owning the Trac and almost 60,000 miles later its barely the same as when I bought it home from the dealer. It took about 2 and a half years before I even started looking to do anything. I really have to thank everyone on here for their help and guidance. Now she sits high but there's always room for improvement and I'll update as I go along.
 



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Thanks I really like the setup and how it's out of the way. I have a few pictures. I can't remember if I posted it in a thread I made, one Lono made, or one Offtrac made. That doesn't really narrow it down but I remember specifically talking between all 3 of us. I'll try to throw some up on this thread soon if you can't find them.

I seen you post it somewhere but couldnt remember either so i figured id just ask you lol
If you can can some pictures or that thread that would be really appreciated ! :D
 



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That's the thread I was thinking about! Hope it helps you out.

Sorry to hear about the antenna Offtrac.
 






That's the thread I was thinking about! Hope it helps you out.

Sorry to hear about the antenna Offtrac.

Do you have a 4FT antenna ? or 5 ?
 






It's a 4ft antenna. It sticks up above the cab a little. I think 5ft would be too long. Also, make sure to get a tunable tip antenna because they are much easier to set up than the ones you have to cut to length to tune.
 






I bought a pink 4ft firestik and it has a tuneable tip lol
I was just wanting to compare but I also have a roof basket so it's just Alittle taller then that. Should be installing everything this week (hopefully)
 






Very nice!
 






i know you've probably been asked this before but how'd you mount your switches for your KC lights
 






Hmm let me look around later tonight when I get back to my computer. I'm pretty sure I have some good info and pictures.
 






alright because i saw a picture of where you had them mounted on the side of your console and i was wondering how you did that
 






Alright I couldn't find where I'd posted the pics before so I'll just pull them off photobucket again.

Basically I ran the lights directly to the battery so that they could be on whenever I wanted them to be, even if there isn't ignition power.

I ran the wires through the grommet of the shift linkage in the firewal so that I didn't have to cut any more holes. Then tacked the wires to the bottom of the dash in the driver side footwell (on that metal plate behind the plastic).

The upper part of the center console with the cupholders that is silver is really easy to take off. There are a few clips (it's been a little while so I cant remember exactly how many) that you'll press inward and then the silver section will pop right off. This gives you access all the way down to the floorboard underneath so it's just a matter of picking where you want the switches. The only part that sucks is that the area closer to the seat from the 2 switches is that theres some plastic behind the outer section that kept me from mounting my 3rd switch that powers my LEDs there. Plus i use the LEDs as my high beams late at night so I like it where I can quickly flip the switch so I don't blind anyone.
 






Here are the pictures to go with the explanation.

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Thank you so much man! ill get back to you whenever i get mine installed
 






Good luck!
 






Finally got the truck back down to SC. Unfortunately I haven't had any time to work on it yet though.
 






The transmission crossmember is done! It has held up for a few days with no signs of weakness (knock on wood). Still working with the new front driveshaft to actually get it mounted up to the transfer case. Pics soon to follow.
 






The front driveshaft is finally in!! With the track bar removed and the sway bars disconnected this thing just soaks up ruts and rocks. Also this is the first time I've used Low range since the 4.88s and it is really low compared to the 4.10s! No action shots as it was too cold to get out of the truck a bunch.

Not the greatest welds but we also went over every weld twice to make sure there were no gaps.

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How easy/hard is it going to be to remove the transmission/t-case with your crossmember welded to the frame?
 






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