1998 Explorer 5.0 “Restoration2021” project

[SuperGordo]

GOOD LORD MAN!!!!!! Totally Impressive Job,sssss...
This post/Forum/Story is a Great Resume for a side Gig over at Counts Kustoms. (Believe Danny on the road with the band)
You really are SUPER-G!!!!
BTW,

Thanks my man. Not sure The Count could use me… but i have my projects too. My son and i built a super nice 95 Tbird. Look at my avatar. That car was so much work that the explorer is like a nice day trip… but im having fun with the Explorer! Can’t wait for the start up!

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks my man. Not sure The Count could use me… but i have my projects too. My son and i built a super nice 95 Tbird. Look at my avatar. That car was so much work that the explorer is like a nice day trip… but im having fun with the Explorer! Can’t wait for the start up!

Oh, very good, then you should be ready to do the J'Mod to the 4R70W soon too. Nobody has gone through it and detailed the hole sizes they used for the truck VB. I found lots of examples with Thunderbird's and Mark VIII's on the TCCOA forum, but they debated a ton about which accumulator springs each liked. They seemed to go fairly big with the holes and had hard shifts, which they wanted I'm sure. I haven't had the time to go through any of mine yet, I'm planning to use the two accumulator springs which are the common ones found on eBay and trans parts sources. That should be a basic step for any of these 302/4R70W trucks.

 

[CJYoung]

I did it with my Snap On Solus Scanner.

WELL....SNAP!!!! YOU DA MAN!!

 

[SuperGordo]

Oh, very good, then you should be ready to do the J'Mod to the 4R70W soon too. Nobody has gone through it and detailed the hole sizes they used for the truck VB. I found lots of examples with Thunderbird's and Mark VIII's on the TCCOA forum, but they debated a ton about which accumulator springs each liked. They seemed to go fairly big with the holes and had hard shifts, which they wanted I'm sure. I haven't had the time to go through any of mine yet, I'm planning to use the two accumulator springs which are the common ones found on eBay and trans parts sources. That should be a basic step for any of these 302/4R70W trucks.

Well, I rebuild transmissions for a living. The 4r70w is my favorite tranny. I've done plenty Jmods! I have several MN12 thunderbirds. A Jmod is definitely in this Explorers future..

 

[Kidd7]

I can try to get you some decent pics of the spark plug routing, but by the time I get home it's usually dark. May not happen til Saturday. The wires do have metal sleeves to assist with the heat and proximity. I have had one get burned up some while on a road trip.

 

[donalds]

Well, I rebuild transmissions for a living.

That's good the know .

I take excellent care of my 5r
Every bit helps .

 

[SuperGordo]

That's good the know .

I take excellent care of my 5r
Every bit helps .

The 5R is a good trans. Pretty easy to rebuild too.

 

[SuperGordo]

Oh, very good, then you should be ready to do the J'Mod to the 4R70W soon too. Nobody has gone through it and detailed the hole sizes they used for the truck VB. I found lots of examples with Thunderbird's and Mark VIII's on the TCCOA forum, but they debated a ton about which accumulator springs each liked. They seemed to go fairly big with the holes and had hard shifts, which they wanted I'm sure. I haven't had the time to go through any of mine yet, I'm planning to use the two accumulator springs which are the common ones found on eBay and trans parts sources. That should be a basic step for any of these 302/4R70W trucks.

Also, as far as the drill sizes go for the Jmod on a truck VB. You simply use the same size the Jerry 101 article states. Ive Jmodded plenty F150s, the truck VB has a couple different springs inside that vary from passenger cars, but that doesn’t affect the JMod.

 

[SuperGordo]

I can try to get you some decent pics of the spark plug routing, but by the time I get home it's usually dark. May not happen til Saturday. The wires do have metal sleeves to assist with the heat and proximity. I have had one get burned up some while on a road trip.

You did post pics before, and I'm studying them. I have the tubular steel manifolds, and my plug wires don't have the metal shields on the boots. But any insight on the routing around the manifolds is appreciated. As is typical with older vehicles many of the factory plug wire retainers broke. So We're trying to get this right because it looks real easy to get it wrong!

 

[410Fortune]

I missed it earlier

I route plug wires away from the manifolds by going out towards the fender skirt… forget going along the valve cover like stock, unless you are using a stock wire set and the stock look. Also do not cross wires if you can help it route them together so they do not cross cross each other. The way you had them routed on the pass side looks similar to how I do it

 

[SuperGordo]

I missed it earlier

I route plug wires away from the manifolds by going out towards the fender skirt… forget going along the valve cover like stock, unless you are using a stock wire set and the stock look. Also do not cross wires if you can help it route them together so they do not cross cross each other. The way you had them routed on the pass side looks similar to how I do it

Thanks, that helps. Once I get the wires done correctly, I won't have much to do to have a start up.

 

[410Fortune]

I remove the metal plug wire protectors and I run the fiberglass heat socks you can get at auto part stores
My trucks run Taylor wires and headers so I don’t have any good pics of routing them on a stockish truck but I will look through my pics and see

 

[SuperGordo]

Question for anyone. Does anyone know of replacement Orings for the fuel line fittings for the fuel filter? One of mine was torn. I couldn't find anything the same size. My searches have found me nothing.

 

[SuperGordo]

I remove the metal plug wire protectors and I run the fiberglass heat socks you can get at auto part stores
My trucks run Taylor wires and headers so I don’t have any good pics of routing them on a stockish truck but I will look through my pics and see

I'm sticking with the stock manifolds, but the heat socks seems like a smart idea.

 

[SuperGordo]

Oh, very good, then you should be ready to do the J'Mod to the 4R70W soon too. Nobody has gone through it and detailed the hole sizes they used for the truck VB. I found lots of examples with Thunderbird's and Mark VIII's on the TCCOA forum, but they debated a ton about which accumulator springs each liked. They seemed to go fairly big with the holes and had hard shifts, which they wanted I'm sure. I haven't had the time to go through any of mine yet, I'm planning to use the two accumulator springs which are the common ones found on eBay and trans parts sources. That should be a basic step for any of these 302/4R70W trucks.

Also, as far as the drill sizes go for the Jmod on a truck VB. You simply use the same size the Jerry 101 article states. Ive Jmodded plenty F150s, the truck VB has a couple different springs inside that vary from passenger cars, but that doesn’t affect the JMod.

 

[410Fortune]

Fuel line o rings best bet is to take a ring down to parts store and check their !help! Section

Better yet if you have a hydraulics shop near try them

Otherwise just measure the o ring and try to find it online that way

Other option is junkyard or private party parting one out

 

[SuperGordo]

Fuel line o rings best bet is to take a ring down to parts store and check their !help! Section

Better yet if you have a hydraulics shop near try them

Otherwise just measure the o ring and try to find it online that way

Other option is junkyard or private party parting one out

Fair enough. I need to hit the yard for one of the plastic parts that holds the condenser to the radiator. So ill get the o rings from the fitting.

 

[SuperGordo]

Going for the new coolant/wiper tank.

 

[SuperGordo]

Decided to do a test fit of the new grill. So much better than the billet grill.

 

[SuperGordo]

Today I installed new AC hoses. Did the suction/discharge hoses and the liquid line. Had to put the heat shield on the AC compressor, because I forgot to put it on before i installed the compressor. The new coolant/wiper tank has only a single washer pump on it. So i have to go grab the dual washer pump tomorrow. Then the tank can go in. I clamped down one of the heater hoses. Then realized i forgot to get a few inches of 5/8” heater hose to go from the core to the heater control valve. I also want to replace the rubber trans cooler hose while the radiator is out. Things are coming together nicely, but as you all know the little details in the end will slow you down a bit. Im trying to be patient. I really want to hear this run again after all this work. I expect it will be nice.