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1992 Dora the Explorer

Well I turned 16 this June so this is the first truck I have ever owned. I was originally looking for a Jeep Cherokee but my dad found this one at the school he works at.

Here it is before I bought it
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I paid $500 for the truck and got it home.
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Very first thing I did was install a new Deck because someone stole the faceplate off the old one. At first I couldn't get anything to work, and started to think maybe the speakers were removed and I didn't even bother to check. Finally I tried one more cable and to my surprise, and pain... an insanely loud song started playing :D So I'm a teenager, I like my music loud. Yet I can only listen to my stereo on 20 out of 50 because it's so loud, and it stays crisp too. I'm positive their aftermarket speakers and I couldn't be happier.

At first I needed a new battery, new calipers and rotors, plus new wheel bearings and such for the front end. The guy who had the truck before me wore the brake pads down so much that the pads were actually almost gone, plus the rotors were literally 50% worn down.

After a while of driving everything was working perfectly except for tilt steering, 4x4, and I had a small rad leak.

Well first I read a ton and finally pulled off my shift motor... You know the story, took it apart and the bushing was lying in 2 pieces... Put it back together and 4x4 worked 5 times perfectly then nothing. I got POed and left it for the night. Next morning I went out and 4x4 is working perfectly ever since. HOWEVER I can't get 4-low to engage and I haven't got a clue why.

Well once I got 4x4 working, and my brother got a 1993 Ford 7.3L F250 Desiel I decided it was time to go play. Found a random mud pit in the middle of a dry area so my brother parked and I went to play.
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That's my friend Cody... Don't ask me how he kept his shoes so white :rolleyes:

A while later I learned that my radiator only leaked when the heater WASN"T on. Plus I found the actual leak, it looked like the rad separated from the plastic pieces running down the sides. My dad found a used rad for $70 so I picked it up and threw it in. No more leaking rad :) Next day I looked and found some PS fluid on the driveway. I looked and looked but couldn't find a leak, and 2 days later it disappeared and hasn't leaked since. So from that moment on I have absolutely no leaks ;)

I always knew I wanted to lift it, but didn't know where to start... Until my neighbor came over and made a call to his friend. A week later 4 very good condition 31" BFG Mud-terrains were donated to "My Cause" :cool: In those few days I mounted the tires, took off the lip under the front bumper, and installed 2 tow hooks from the junkyard.

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Also as my friend cody sat in the driver's seat he accidently fixed my tilt steering. It consisted of him pulling extremely hard on the lever until it popped :p: So now I have tilt steering lol

And that's how she sits now.
Future plans are 4" rough country lift. Custom tube-bumpers with a roof rack, a full-size spare and then a swing-out tire carrier for the rear bumper. My plans change a lot but I'll keep posting picks of what I do.

Eventually I'd like to have a 4" suspension lift with 2" BL. 33" tires. Bumpers, winch, roof-rack, snorkel, and to finally install the Flowmaster Super 44 that I got for $90 brand new.

Overall I paid $500 for the truck, about $450 in repairs. $117 to install the tires and $7 for the tow hooks. Plus $60 for twice the amount of sandpaper I needed and just enough spray paint for my hood.

lol okay Finally I can finish with a question, Since I got the truck I've been burning blue on start-up. I'm going to replace all the spark plugs and wires, and my neighbor who has always been into trucks and cars said putting exactly an ounce of Dextron ATF tranny fluid in my oil will seal the bushings and help the sticky lifter. Anymore and it will hurt the engine, any less and it won't make a difference. Anyone else heard of this, and what else can I do for burning blue?
 



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I was planning on getting new leafs and shocks for my SOA, which would give me 5.5" of lift. Then buying the 4" Bronco II lift from roughcountry cause its only $770 USD. Then using the coil seats in front for that extra 1 1/2" lift.

If you get beefed up leaf's remember they will add a couple inches. There's a thread somewhere around here about using f150 leafs, combined with SOA you'd be looking at atleast 7.5 inches. Those 2in lift shocks won't work to well once you get over 5inches.
 



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You're talking about an offal lot of lift here.. 5.5" of lift, and with 33's remember that the radius of that tire is about 2 or 3" more than stock tires as well. be sure to figure that in. it comes out to quite a tall truck.. Me personally, i value stability, don't want it to roll too easily.
 






i agree^^^^^ i lifted mine 4 inches and put my 33's on it and its perfect just enought that its not to high, but high enough to easily clear 33's and look good
 






i agree^^^^^ i lifted mine 4 inches and put my 33's on it and its perfect just enought that its not to high, but high enough to easily clear 33's and look good

How much fender trimming did you have to do? if any.. does it rub? are you running spacers?
 






Well I've pretty much decided on doing a 4" rough country lift up front with the coil seats for another 1 1/2" of lift. Then doing SOA in the rear with new leafs and shocks. Then I'll buy 33x12.5x15 M/Ts of some sort for a little more stability. I've found two different vehicles with that exact setup and I really like the look.
 






Oct 15th and 16th winter tune-up

Well before any mods start I decided I should at least make sure my truck will make it through winter... And I'm glad I did, everything was pretty dirty and old when I took it apart.

Firstly, last night I finally cleaned my auto hubs after not being able to back up at all or they'd engage.

First I just took the front tires off and slid off the hubs. Here's what I saw on the spindle.

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The inside of the hubs looked just disgusting... It was so full of dirty grease, no wonder it didn't work properly. Sadly I didn't get a picture before I cleaned them out with solvent a few times.


I just poured solvent in both hubs about 2 times

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A quick tip, to get them really clean. Find a lid or something that fits over the opening of the hub. Fill it with solvent, cover the hub and swish it around. Then repeat :)

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Next let them drain for a few minutes to make sure there's no left over solvent inside, then fill them up with ATF fluid. Wait about 15 minutes then dump them out. Fill both hubs up again and I waited 2 hours.

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After 2 hours, dump out the ATF fluid and let them drain. Next use a SMALL amount of bearing grease and rub it over the spindle on the axle. Then slide the hubs back on, making sure their fully on the spindle. Re-installed tires, tightened up, and I was done :)

I went out and so far I've noticed a huge improvement. I don't have to screw around trying to disengage my hubs anymore. Just stop, take it out of 4x4, back up 10 feet and their both disengaged. HOWEVER, today at canadian tire I backed up with my tires and full lock and they somehow did re-engage. I had to put it in 4x4, drive forward to engage them. Then take it out and reverse.



Then today I replaced the fluid in my rear differential. Pretty simple, but with me being 16 with no experience and on my own. With it being only 4ºC outside, and a cramped garage. I think I did okay :)

First I jacked it up and took out the drain plug... UH OH! I found a ton of metal shavings stuck to the plug.

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I was a little worried cause a few days ago my LSD started to click when one of my rear wheels were spinning in the snow... Oh ya, it snowed a ton out and its only Oct. 16... I hate Alberta.

Then I just followed the How To on changing my rear diff fluid.

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Is it just me or is that oil insanely black and dirty.....? Glad I changed it now.

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In this picture, on the right inside lip there is a part of the plastic that somehow got damaged near that flat square part. That's where my metal shavings came from.


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So far I got it all bolted and sealed up. Its so cold out I'm deciding to wait till tomorrow to fill it up.

That's it for now, we'll see how my diff does tomorrow when I start driving.
 






Okay well my auto hubs seem to be crapping out yet again... I've been searching around and found a few places from the US that will ship some manual hubs to me for $310 CDN after shipping. Guess I know my next purchase...
 






go to autozone and they should have them in stock i just bought a set of manuls and i love them they ran me about 240bucks and the special socket for like 13 bucks.
 






I would make sure to get warn manual hubs, The milemarker ones suck from what I've heard. But if money is tight I can understand from currently being in that position :rolleyes:
 


















Well I wasn't wrong and now its confirmed. I'm using 1 quart of oil every 250 kms or so................... I'm not burning blue, but I sometimes think I smell it. I'll check to see if its leaking near the manifolds and just burning off... Its 0ºC out right now and I have a garage that isn't insulated so I'll have to find someone who will let me use some shop space if I have to do an engine rebuild. There's someone selling a 302 with a 5-speed tranny for 300 bucks. But I doubt I'd wanna do a full swap.

Any tips on what I should do? I'm thinking replace the valve seals and gaskets and such?
 






I would first save yourself a lot of trouble, find the leak. figure out where it's coming from... i know that may be hard, but i would clean your block and and then drive around and see where it's coming from. depending on where it comes from will depend on what detail and how expensive the repair will be.
 












Okay well I went out mudding with a friend in a 4-runner with a 4" lift and 33s. Well I've got some work set for this weekend.

1. Install manual hubs...if they come tomorrow.
2. Extend breather lines (rear axle to tail lights. front axle + tranny + transfercase to near brake booster or cruise control box)

3. I've at least almost become certain I AM burning oil. Today my friend said he could see blue while my engine was pushing through the mud. I'll have to find some time to take the top end apart...

4. Price out SOA + 4" rough country lift with F150 coil seats. Okay, I just wanna make sure. If I buy the 4" kit for the bronco II, it will come with the rear blocks which I won't use but the front end is all the same? Doing this would save me like 500 bucks.
 






Well I got my hubs installed a few days ago, and finished my breather lines yesterday. I'll get a few pics soon.

Also, I talked to a guy at North Shore Off-road and got a few quotes on different lifts.

- Complete 4" trailmaster kit with shocks = $800. Amazing deal cause its been sitting around for a while he says.

- 6" BDS ranger kit (complete kit with shocks) = $965.13. He says we can swap out the shocks to fit with a SOA, and the kit comes with AAL so I can get the rear up to 6" as well.

The guy says the trailmaster kit is $1600 normally but he has had it for a while so the deal is $800. Its tempting but I wanted to go a little higher than 4" and would like SOA.

How well will the ranger kit work? I know I'll have to chuck the blocks and u-bolts. But can I use the whole front end and the AAL for the rear along with an SOA?
 






Well I've done a few things.
1. Replaced PCV valve... Dear god that was bitter sweet. It was so easy I'm mad I didn't do it earlier, but now I start on a dime even when its cold, it doesn't burn blue, it idles amazing, plus it is way more responsive. So in short, all my engine troubles are currently fixed.

2. Because I feel safer with my engine, I've decided on a lift. 6" BDS suspension lift with 33x12.5 tires on 10" rims. The lift MAY come later this winter, or when its warm out next spring (April / May)
 






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