1997 Ford Explorer - V8 - 5.0 - AWD

[CDW6212R]

Great work. Now will you ever do it again, or is it a pay someone else to do it job? If yes, then come on over, I've got the parts scattered around my garage waiting.

 

[Spudhut]

@CDW6212R - to answer your question...Yes i would. Too bad you weren't closer to me. TN is a haul.

It was frustrating but at the end, it was enjoyable for me. No busted knuckles and believe it or not, I didn't give blood either!

 

[CDW6212R]

That's success, not bashing or scraping multiple knuckles etc.

I wear the latex gloves half to minimize those, partly to keep cleaner hands. I discovered the 7mm gloves a couple of years ago. They are slightly harder to feel through, but they last say five times longer than the 5mm gloves. They cost about double, but they save money by surviving a lot longer before they tear.

 

[Turdle]

Good job!
Those timing marks move because the rubber "wedge" in the balancer shifts over time. How far were your paint marks from true 0?

 

[Spudhut]

I thought I would post a quick 'Help' for all those Body Lift individuals.

I was looking for bolts for my body lift. I did not buy a kit, only the pucks and figured I would go to Fastenal to get what I need in regards to hardware. Big mistake. First of all, you cant buy in single units at the 'brick and mortar' locations; all bolts come in packs of (3). Which means Ill have one left over bolt I will never use. Plus, it was a cost of $12 for the 12mm x 1.75 x 120mm length bolts. This was the longest they had in stock. So, now I want to return my un-opened package, lost my receipt and Fastenal wont honor the purchase unless I produce the receipt. I offered to show my transaction that's on my card....No go - No joy!

So, I went online to pick up everything else I needed and stumbled on this site - Belmetric. I ordered Monday and got my bolts in 2 days. Great service, fast shipping.

www.belmetric.com

All hardware is automotive related.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Great find, thanks!

 

[CDW6212R]

Very nice, great find, thank you.

 

[rpenner54]

Great read on the Water pump. I plan to pull mine in the garage next weekend to start that. If only it would be warmer on the weekends!

 

[WormsExplorer]

That was a good find. Thanks for sharing. Will be going there when I get the parts for my Body lift

 

[Spudhut]

Did a few minor things over the weekend -

I installed my '$50 - Pieced together' 2" body lift kit to give some added space prior to installing the BW 4406 swap. I was a bit leary about installing it as im not a huge fan of BL's, but glad I did. I can now get into areas I couldn't before, especially with the pressure washer to clean all the Arkansas clay out of it.

All the bolts for the body came loose except one. Always the last one that gives trouble. With the help of my Son and a jack, a log and ingenuity...it worked well, and safe. I'm not going to go into the details of the process - there are great threads that cover this.

Pictures are the best I can do, till I can roll it out. It has 1" of clearance above roof rack and header panel for garage door.

I cut the factory front bumper brackets off and added some new plates to cap the frame and make use of them as mounting points when I fab up my front tube bumper.

After I get the BW 4406 swapped in, Im going to re-position it in the garage to get started on the SAS. (because as you can see...I have no room - dedication is the drive!)

 

[Mbrooks420]

Welds look solid. Dig it.

 

[WormsExplorer]

Looks great. Where did you get the Body pucs from?

 

[Spudhut]

@WormsExplorer - Picked them up on Ebay

For Body (8 ea): Zone Offroad 3296 - Body Lift Kit Blocks 2" Tall x 3" Wide Ships For FREE | eBay

For Core Support (2 ea): Zone Offroad 2296 - Body Lift Kit Blocks 2" Tall x 2" Wide Ships For FREE | eBay

 

[WormsExplorer]

@WormsExplorer - Picked them up on Ebay

Zone Offroad 3296 - Body Lift Kit Blocks 2" Tall x 3" Wide Ships For FREE | eBay

Awesome thanks. Been looking on Amazon also. I saw some that are the 3". Was planning to get those and cut in 1/2 and get a 1.5 inch lift. or just go with the 2" lift blocks and go the route you went. I am still debating. Wanting to get 33" tires under here with as minimal lift as possible and no cutting. Yeah I know a lot of demands LOL. I like seeing builds likes yours and also how @Starkman did his.

 

[Spudhut]

Thanks.. The height is not too much. I dont like the gap between the frame and body when it is excessive. Hope this gives some perspective for you. (Driver Rear fender well area)

BTW: I will be cleaning up the frame - too 'roachy' for me

 

[WormsExplorer]

Thanks.. The height is not too much. I dont like the gap between the frame and body when it is excessive. Hope this gives some perspective for you. (Driver Rear fender well area)

BTW: I will be cleaning up the frame - too 'roachy' for me

It doesn't look to bad. You also have a SOA done right? Yeah the frame looks GREAT ha ha ha. What Axle are you planning to use for your SAS?

 

[Spudhut]

the SOA is done in the rear. I'm going with D30 as well. Got it for a steal - (whole Cherokee for $150), and considering I'm on a budget as well (like most ) it will do until I find something bigger.

 

[Turdle]

The frame plug bumper mounts are kinda cool. and, it reminds me of something I need to take care of.

 

[Spudhut]

The frame plug bumper mounts are kinda cool. and, it reminds me of something I need to take care of.

Thanks. I personally don't like to 'direct weld' my bumpers to the vehicle in case I need to replace it or sell it. Making things 'modular' takes a little more time and worth it to me in the end.

 

[Spudhut]

For lunch today, I decided to walk around the JY to look at the 'new' inventory brought in. A few more Ex's hit the stands.

Peeked into the back of one and found this un-opened factory trailer harness. Been looking for a used one on a vehicle for months....Big score for me!