03 fliptrac $700 daily driver (summer of fun with 4 sport tracs)

[oklagp1200r]

It's not so much what I do as where I live. I commute to the city 30 miles away from home, then 50 miles back past home to get my son from daycare (opposite direction of work) then 25 miles back to home. If we could get him into a more convenient daycare we would but there's nothing out here!

I get it but Dam man!
I drove a truck over the road for 25 years so not much into driving anymore lol
The wife always *****es I'm tired of driving why don't you drive lmfao

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I get it but Dam man!
I drove a truck over the road for 25 years so not much into driving anymore lol
The wife always *****es I'm tired of driving why don't you drive lmfao

I didn't drive OTR, but most of my jobs were driving a straight truck making deliveries. I drove 250-350 miles a day until our jobs were farmed out to a 3rd party 5 1/2 years ago. I was blessed to move to a different job in the same company that only required occasional driving to local service calls. I thought I'd miss the driving, but I didn't. Being cooped up inside with people all day was the big adjustment. I've always liked road trips, and doing all the driving, but I was relieved when my wife arranged for her brother to drive her 650 miles to Columbus, Ohio next week. 20 miles is about her limit these days. I need to be here for the grandkids Monday and Tuesday, which is why she asked her brother to drive her.

 

[410Fortune]

Well I drove her around a bit yesterday and I mean all the way down the dirt and out to the pavement this is huge day for a conversion like this, so many little things
She is awesome! Even hit 5th gear

We did smoke the junkyard/not sure where I got it / what year it came from ac compressor,
Nothing like a burning rubber smell and smoke pouring out to make you think the worst. Ac is not charged it should have been free wheeling? It melted all 3 of the plastic bushings on the clutch. Nasty! New compressor will go in today
We let it cool off and drove her home the 3 miles slowly


I’m in love

Now let’s catch you guys up
Fyi sandbox the clutch is awesome!!!!

 

[97Sandbox]

Woohoo! Sounds like 4.2 clutch and flywheel bolted to a 5.0 is 100% confirmed. Off to RockAuto I go...

 

[410Fortune]

Best clutch I have ever pressed in, it is silent and effortless

4.10 limited slip v8 cammed 5 speed is fun!

 

[Josh P]

Best day ever!

 

[410Fortune]

Well it was a great day! Truck drove awesome! I was super thrilled to wash it off a bit then finish up the interior and install front d shaft… and then
The stuff hit the fan

Something went wrong with the camshaft install and the engine is trashed
Ordered new gasket set will be installing a different 5.0

Good news is the engine took about 3 hours to pull. Bad news is I cannot afford to buy a comp cam right now or wait for it so I gotta run a stock 302 for a while
I wish I could buy a Atk 347 hahahaha

Truck was a ripper! Sounded so good had no clue anything was wrong. Then next day went to start it and sounded bad then quit
No restart. Check fuel psi was good. No oil pressure while cranking, pulled cam synchros could see the cam walked backwards… engine was out 3 hours later

What a loss! Something I did, not torque the cam bolt? Install something backwards, mix match cam gear? No clue. Everything checked out except th cam bolt was loose and the entire timing set was loose, tons of sharp metal in pan… shes toast, I can’t believe it… but moving on

I sat there just staring at it for long time yesterday thinking what is next… then my stepson says well we can stare at it and wonder or we can just pull it. Hahahaha the two of us can pull a 5.0 that is for sure.
At least I know… $3500 loss! Jasper 306 bye bye

 

[97Sandbox]

Oof that's rough. Do you think it was an issue with the cam or the block?

 

[410Fortune]

Okay so before the engine blew I went through a lot to get this sucker done and ready for the road. Last you guys saw I deleted the steering column and finalized the wiring..
I also swapped wheels and tires for these ones.. these are the wheels from Eddiemoney 07 ranger I get to keep them as part of my pay… they have been waiting to go on this /
A trac for a couple of years now

265 /16 fit nicely! Plan is to run 285 eventually

Now that she’s been road tested time for bumper. As you can see this one front bumper has been drilled 2” down to accommodate the body lift. Makes my life easier
However stock sucks so I had to use my own fog lights

Factory light was dismantled and the glass broken out, removed

For my truck with the body lift I had to get creative to ensure the light was in the hole in the bumper cover

Next time to mod the trans crossmember, the one that came with the sport trac was too tall for my urethane mount
I made two at once because I need another for a 04 ranger v8 we built

For the 5 speed I dropped it down additional 1/2”

 

[Fordtruckfan89]

View attachment 444405
Okay so before the engine blew I went through a lot to get this sucker done and ready for the road. Last you guys saw I deleted the steering column and finalized the wiring..
I also swapped wheels and tires for these ones.. these are the wheels from Eddiemoney 07 ranger I get to keep them as part of my pay… they have been waiting to go on this /
A trac for a couple of years

 

[oklagp1200r]

@410Fortune
DAM!!!!!!
Focus on project at hand then go back to try to figure out what happened! I know I couldn't rest till I had a idea of WHY!
Sorry for your loss man!

 

[410Fortune]

Done and in. T case was pulled to passenger side 1/4”

Now I have this auto to 5 speed modded wiring harness except something was missing, plug for reverse lights. So out came wiring books and I w ended up rebuilding this harness adding reverse light wires and plug??

Neutral safety wires will be run to new clutch switch so truck won’t start without clutch pressed in
I believe I can come back later and un pin the downstream 02 sensors the catalyst monitors have been removed from my pcm. I wanted to confirm this before actually removing them

Time for a transfer case shifter
Drilled pilot hole from below then floor opened with grinder

Heat guard material removed with dewalt vibrating tool, one of my
Favs

Shift lever in and checked for clearance
Hole
Finished up
Metal
Bent to clear (bfh)

Time for a floor plate

What the heck?? The plate I have from the other sport trax is off 1.5”?????? Friggin wild! I used a different m5od-r2 the shifter must have moved??? Anyways I like it better a little further back. Tried wrapping my head around this 1996 vs 2004 same trans. Had to
Modify it and install

Both shifters in happy with location time for a floor and seats

Super excited w the prospect of driving this sucker the next day time to install the bed with 2” body lift
Pucks… unfortunately I used a mis
Match of
Bolts when I installed body mounts and body lift left me with no bolts for the bed! So I had to make some.
Extended factory bolts 2”

Bed is on! Still need to move back bumper up 2” no biggie

Reverse lights work like a champ!

 

[410Fortune]

Now that she’s a 5 speed with manual t case we need a bezel! So I made one.

Deleted 4wd switch, added usb ports,
Replaced rear window defrost w second fog light switch (will use for
Off Road lights) and changed the rear wiper spot to a proper sport trax rear window switch

Happy
Me! Pulled her out of shop checked things over no leaks… check brake lines 500
Times no leaks. Bled
Clutch slave bled brakes

Time for test drive, she runs so nice! Sounds *****in

Mounted the clutch reservoir

Center console shift boots next up. Modded front d shaft to fit (4.6 shaft shortened 1/2” by removing 1”
From slip yoke)

Little things under the hood

Test drive was awesome! Drove for like hour or so… came home
Cleaned shop pulled her in for the night! Slept like a baby. Next day…. Not so good

 

[97Sandbox]

What the heck?? The plate I have from the other sport trax is off 1.5”?????? Friggin wild! I used a different m5od-r2 the shifter must have moved??? Anyways I like it better a little further back. Tried wrapping my head around this 1996 vs 2004 same trans. Had to
Modify it and install

From what I've read, it's '97-'03 M5R2s that swap straight into 2nd/2.5 gens. If that trans is from a '96, it would have the shifter further back.

Modded front d shaft to fit (4.6 shaft shortened 1/2” by removing 1”
From slip yoke)

Do you do this for every 4406 swap? I know I've heard to use the 4.6 Expedition front shaft, but I don't recall seeing anyone cut it down before. Also, did you have to run a 1310/1330 conversion U joint at the axle?

Thanks for all the detail on the trans x member and reverse light wiring!

 

[410Fortune]

The black sport trac had a 96/97 trans in it, I ended up using one from an 04 the shifter moved a bit between those years

I bought some driveshafts from a buddy who parts out f150 I have no idea what this shaft came from but it was too long by 1/4” or so. My fix when this happens w to shave the slip yoke down 1” gives the clearance needed. Yes it will need a conversion joint or change the yoke on the diff side. Conversion joint has always worked well for me… I’m cheap hahaha

 

[vroomzoomboom]

thats odd. i have had a cam dowel break off but the bolt held the sprocket in place. i think there might have been a defect there.
want a 347 eh. i know a guy that has a spare sitting on the floor. if i am not wrong the same guy is having a hell of a time getting his truck running after putting a terminator x max in it.

 

[410Fortune]

Want and need are two different things! Haha someday I will have a stroker

For now more carnage! I either forgot to torque the cam bolt (very odd for me) or a mix match of timing parts caused an issue? I may never know

The camshaft walked back far enough to where it destroyed some lifters

Trouble in paradise

Pushrods all seem okay at first glance
All springs made it. I may just need another $530 cam

She’s on the stand now so I can pull the heads FromWhat I can see lifter bored still smooth? Longblock Maybe can be saved we shall see

 

[Josh P]

Dono had this luck with his 347

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Dono had this luck with his 347

dono broke a lifter, it jammed the cam, which broke the dowel for the gear, which made a mess. dono had no luck with his truck and he didnt nothing wrong. he sold it to me, now his black cloud is over my truck.....

 

[Josh P]

dono broke a lifter, it jammed the cam, which broke the dowel for the gear, which made a mess. dono had no luck with his truck and he didnt nothing wrong. he sold it to me, now his black cloud is over my truck.....

He gave it a lot more chances than most people would have. I have respect for him.