1995 Explorer XL personal thread

[donalds]

I would add a diode in there but yeah It's a great idea Do they also make jump pk that can plug into the cigarette lighter

 

[HarryN]

Wife to the rescue....

The great thing about these forums is that usually the solution can be found with a little bit of digging.

My wife put her full weight onto the passenger side / front of the hood. I was able to put my fingers under the drivers side and sort of force the secondary latch to move - so it opened. In retrospect, I should have put a pry bar in there instead of my fingers in case things didn't go according to plan.

The charger is on the starter battery and it is going - only at 8 amps for some reason but at least it is charging.

As a test, I am have it running off of the auxiliary power system to see how that goes and that way I can lock everything up - except for the hood.

_______

While goofing around under there, I noticed that the light that is supposed to come on when the hood is lifted was flickering. When I move the cable slightly, it stayed on - so it likely came on when the hood was closed. At least that is what I hope happened - so I disconnected it.

Need to come up with a back up plan for when this happens in the future.

_________

Really appreciate all of the help from everyone on the forum.

 

[410Fortune]

Glad the hood is open!
Jumper box at Costco $50 lithium ion they are wicked good

 

[HarryN]

Glad the hood is open!
Jumper box at Costco $50 lithium ion they are wicked good

Thanks - for 90+ % of the population, those make perfect sense.

The hood locking up on me (now for the 2nd time) makes me think about options on how to deal with a low starter battery even if I can't open the hood.

I already have 1 solar panel on this Explorer feeding a power system, so for me it makes sense to think about just adding another small panel or similar charging method that I can use to keep the starter battery full - largely no matter what.

______

BTW - following your build. Looks pretty neat. I am enjoying the photos, info and the craftsmanship.

Only "problem" is that now I have many pages of posts to go through.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Only "problem" is that now I have many pages of posts to go through.

is that ecer a bad thing? lunch break, foorbak commercial braks... tons of time to read!

 

[Mbrooks420]

They sell insulated positive stud posts that have caps on them. You mount them somewhere easy to get without opening anything. You can also use a battery tender style pigtail on and lower amp charger. Or an Anderson style connector for any amperage charger.

 

[HarryN]

Thanks everyone for all of the great suggestions.

The battery held a charge for a few days now, so hopefully the light under the hood was the problem.

Did some misc clean up today. Cleaned the battery terminals and added a small amount of distilled water to a few of the cells.

Trimmed out some more alarm related wires from under the hood.

Could not see / reach any locations to add the ground strap from on top (at least for what I can bend / reach at this point ) so still TBD. Now that I can drive it, maybe I will just use the curb as a lift and see if there is an easy ground strap from under neath.

Oiled and adjusted the latch and hood close mechanism / posts so that it works better.

It definitely works much better, but the hood is now a bit low relative to the fenders. Will post a photo in a few days, but maybe the latch is too low or my adjustment is off.

______

Attempted to fix the lift pistons but this is a lost cause. I can't imagine how these ever worked.

Currently using a high technology alternative shown in the photos.
________

Sort of a during and after battery check up / terminal cleaning. There is a plastic cover over the battery top. Not sure if this is stock or something that was added later. The purpose is unclear to me. Perhaps a temperature moderator of some kind.

Rainbow taken after a recent storm - just because it looked neat. The full size image shows a lot of color depth.

 

[HarryN]

I would add a diode in there but yeah It's a great idea Do they also make jump pk that can plug into the cigarette lighter

If not I can rig that up. The cig lighters usually can only support 10 amp continuous, 15 amps for short periods. A lot of people melt down their cig lighters by trying to put USB chargers inside of them.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Thanks everyone for all of the great suggestions.

The battery held a charge for a few days now, so hopefully the light under the hood was the problem.

Did some misc clean up today. Cleaned the battery terminals and added a small amount of distilled water to a few of the cells.

Trimmed out some more alarm related wires from under the hood.

Could not see / reach any locations to add the ground strap from on top (at least for what I can bend / reach at this point ) so still TBD. Now that I can drive it, maybe I will just use the curb as a lift and see if there is an easy ground strap from under neath.

Oiled and adjusted the latch and hood close mechanism / posts so that it works better.

It definitely works much better, but the hood is now a bit low relative to the fenders. Will post a photo in a few days, but maybe the latch is too low or my adjustment is off.

______

Attempted to fix the lift pistons but this is a lost cause. I can't imagine how these ever worked.

Currently using a high technology alternative shown in the photos.
________

Sort of a during and after battery check up / terminal cleaning. There is a plastic cover over the battery top. Not sure if this is stock or something that was added later. The purpose is unclear to me. Perhaps a temperature moderator of some kind.

Rainbow taken after a recent storm - just because it looked neat. The full size image shows a lot of color depth.

View attachment 440782

View attachment 440783

View attachment 440784

why cant the pistons be changed? if not iirc doorman makes a hood prop

 

[410Fortune]

We often put gen 1 ranger prop rods on these gen ii explorers no more need for the hydraulic lift supports

The factory battery cover is just a beauty piece

 

[DemonMudder]

We often put gen 1 ranger prop rods on these gen ii explorers no more need for the hydraulic lift supports

The factory battery cover is just a beauty piece

I sort of have that, had a chunk of 2x4 in the back that was used as a prop, I still keep it in the bed of this truck just in case too, needed it a few times! lol

 

[donalds]

I used a stick aka THE STICK for years

 

[Mbrooks420]

Hood prop-o-later 3000. I’ve always used a prop since my hood decided to randomly close on my head while working under there. Fool me 3 times…….

 

[Marcianello]

Hi - my mini van was demolished in a crash a few months ago.

If you are curious, there is a photo of the remains in my introduction thread.

My fantastic son in law has located an explorer from within the extended family and is doing some general fix up up for me. Have not seen the vehicle yet except for some photos as it is a few hours away.

It will be my first experience with actually owning a Ford, even though I have worked on their vans and driven plenty of Ford cars via business rentals.

This thread is mostly just to help me keep track of stuff related to the vehicle. No great insights - just me learning and minor tinkering.

_________________-

General specs that I know so far:
- 1995
- 4 door
- Explorer XL
- Control trac 4wd
- Seems to be in remarkably good condition (at least the interior)

General plans / assumptions:
- Probably will need some front end suspension work on the usual joint locations. (assumption)
- Brakes looked ok to him
- Tires looked ok to him
- Since my back is kind of sensitive to shock right now, I might look at ways to reduce the effect of "shock" going through the vehicle to my back as it goes over pot holes and bumps.
- No plans to off road or anything like that.
- Might drive to the mountains / road snow as my back gets better.

Edit - add changing the thermostat and checking coolant system to the list.


I build conversion van electrical systems, so will likely put some solar panels and a power system into this one like I had in my mini van.
- Roof looks narrower than the mini van, but hopefully can get the old panels mounted on the explorer. If not will pick up some shorter ones.

- Debating on building up an "over the wheel well" type power system or pulling out the rear passenger side seat and putting it there.

On the minivan - I put the system into the seat location.

_____________

In the photo that my SIL sent, there appears to be a steel bar just behind the rear wheel well that goes cross wise just above floor level and anchors to each side. Not quite sure if that is something from Ford or an after market thing that the original owner installed.

Something for me to think about.


_____________

That is about all that I know at this point other than what I am reading on this forum.

Thanks for all of the information that is posted here.

Your Explorer is famous for rollovers, keep that in mind. Your AOD or AODE (you got the cutoff year, could be either one) transmission is good if the owners changed the fluid & filter. These failed often when people refused to do so.
The clean condition is attributable to the handicap scooter loading brace in the back, so it’s likely your tranny is in good shape.
Every part you will ever need is available for cheap at Pick-N-Pull. Dont put new wine in old wineskins… they keep an updated inventory online.
I drove a ‘69 Mustang for years, it had a 1-tire-fire rear end with drum brakes. I found a ‘98 Eddie Bauer Explorer at Pick-n-Pull and pulled out it’s 31-spline, locking 4.10 rear end with disc brakes on it for under $250. I sold my original axle to a hotrodder for $300
I’ve restored many cars over the years, with mostly used parts. Almost all of my customers are still driving them today. When I was young & broke I used to get my brake pads & rotors from these yards, and there were so many cars you could always find a brand new set.
Because explorers had such crappy engineering, there won’t be many of them left soon. Get a 2005+ if you want to keep one.

 

[donalds]

Because explorers had such crappy engineering, there won’t be many of them left soon. Get a 2005+ if you want to keep one.

Lmao

 

[HarryN]

why cant the pistons be changed? if not iirc doorman makes a hood prop

So for now, it isn't my highest priority. I am hoping to not spend a lot of time under the hood. The cylinders on the lift seem strong enough, but the side torque split off the end connection that ties to the hood nub or whatever it is called. Will take a picture sometime but I was surprised at the side load involved - it just split them.

The links above in post #116 - one of them links to a thread that talks about these lifts and after market versions.

My limited time and budget need to go into making sure the drive train is solid and in the back of my head it seems like something isn't quite right on the passenger side rear end. What I should really do is find someone to test drive it that knows that they are supposed to feel like.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Your Explorer is famous for rollovers, keep that in mind. Your AOD or AODE (you got the cutoff year, could be either one) transmission is good if the owners changed the fluid & filter. These failed often when people refused to do so.
The clean condition is attributable to the handicap scooter loading brace in the back, so it’s likely your tranny is in good shape.
Every part you will ever need is available for cheap at Pick-N-Pull. Dont put new wine in old wineskins… they keep an updated inventory online.
I drove a ‘69 Mustang for years, it had a 1-tire-fire rear end with drum brakes. I found a ‘98 Eddie Bauer Explorer at Pick-n-Pull and pulled out it’s 31-spline, locking 4.10 rear end with disc brakes on it for under $250. I sold my original axle to a hotrodder for $300
I’ve restored many cars over the years, with mostly used parts. Almost all of my customers are still driving them today. When I was young & broke I used to get my brake pads & rotors from these yards, and there were so many cars you could always find a brand new set.
Because explorers had such crappy engineering, there won’t be many of them left soon. Get a 2005+ if you want to keep one.

Where to start with your inaccuracies……

For starters, he doesn’t have an AOD, or AODE. No Explorers ever have, actually. He’s got a 4r55e if he’s an auto.

These Explorers, if kept in reasonable mechanical shape, are no more rollover prone than any other SUV of the time. If you drive accordingly there is nothing to really be concerned about.

2005+? Good luck.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

i wouldnt say the 05+ is any better. some still have the sohc between a 2nd gen v8 or a 4th gen v8 its close, but i think the 2g takes the cake slightly love the 6 speed trans on the 4g but 2g has solid axle 5.0 shared with.... nearly every single ford of the era.............. very strong

 

[DemonMudder]

i wouldnt say the 05+ is any better. some still have the sohc between a 2nd gen v8 or a 4th gen v8 its close, but i think the 2g takes the cake slightly love the 6 speed trans on the 4g but 2g has solid axle 5.0 shared with.... nearly every single ford of the era.............. very strong

That was my biggest choice of argument, the loss of a solid axle, suspension lifts were a lot easier and more common on the 2g vs the later models lol
plus they look better than the newer Xs lol

 

[410Fortune]

You can’t kill a 91 explorer
Or a 95
Or a 96-97
And the 98-01 are pretty tough too especially with the pushrods

I mean normal lifespan on these trucks is like 220-300k miles and sometimes we have them with like over 300 and 400k miles!! Talk about getting your monies worth

The old bronco ii and s10
Blazer are the rollover prone suv but not really any worse then an old cj5 or 7

How many explorers have we seen on this forum that just flip over during normal road use? Not many since the Firestone tire issue

Everyone here knows it was a batch of Firestone w tires from one plant made between certain dates… yet ford was the one shelling out all the money to people who overcorrected when a tire blew and the suvs flopped