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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
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- Joined
- August 3, 2000
- Messages
- 35,005
- Reaction score
- 11,927
- City, State
- NORTH IDAHO, 7B
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- B2 "Slightly" Modified
- Callsign
- FOURTEN
Yes that is the one
Pigtail is under the f150 somewhere! Lol
I run two wires direct to the instrument cluster for the lights. Can also run them to the gem module on rangers and make the connection there
Pigtail is under the f150 somewhere! Lol
I run two wires direct to the instrument cluster for the lights. Can also run them to the gem module on rangers and make the connection there
- Joined
- August 3, 2000
- Messages
- 35,005
- Reaction score
- 11,927
- City, State
- NORTH IDAHO, 7B
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- B2 "Slightly" Modified
- Callsign
- FOURTEN
Been trying to find that connector pigtail online
There was a recent thread here about it
I have built them a time or two. Using two small female pins from a leftover connector and then just fill it with silicon it works fantastic
There was a recent thread here about it
I have built them a time or two. Using two small female pins from a leftover connector and then just fill it with silicon it works fantastic
- Joined
- August 3, 2000
- Messages
- 35,005
- Reaction score
- 11,927
- City, State
- NORTH IDAHO, 7B
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- B2 "Slightly" Modified
- Callsign
- FOURTEN
Yes I’m pretty sure all of the manual t cases use the same switch and pigtail all the way back to 83
Heck some older trucks the pigtail is actually under the truck even when not used and the truck had the e shift
Heck some older trucks the pigtail is actually under the truck even when not used and the truck had the e shift
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
I was crawling under my Mounty this weekend, contemplating dual exhaust routing, when I noticed a hose dangling in space. It's bigger than the dif breather tube and is connected to this black box.
The black itself is connected to nothing. Is this the result of the prior owner's attempt to delete something emissions related? Do I need to hook it back up? I don't recall seeing something like this on my '97 SOHC or '00 OHV (but maybe I just overlooked it?
The black itself is connected to nothing. Is this the result of the prior owner's attempt to delete something emissions related? Do I need to hook it back up? I don't recall seeing something like this on my '97 SOHC or '00 OHV (but maybe I just overlooked it?
- Joined
- June 17, 2004
- Messages
- 24,495
- Reaction score
- 5,098
- City, State
- Knoxville, TN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Limited AWD 302
That's the charcoal canister, and there might be two of them up there. You want that hooked up, it collects fuel vapors from the gas tank. It connects to an aluminum line running along the fuel and brake lines, to a valve in front to control when it is pulled in.
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
I thought the charcoal canister(s) sat on that bracket above the spare tire. Is this an additional one? The crossmember in the picture is ahead of the rear axle, the one that the position #4 body mounts bolt through. There don't appear to be any stray lines/hoses on the driver's side, and there's just the one loose hose hanging off the box on the passenger's side.
- Joined
- June 17, 2004
- Messages
- 24,495
- Reaction score
- 5,098
- City, State
- Knoxville, TN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Limited AWD 302
Well, hmm, it looks like it, I'm thinking of my 99 chassis, I don't recall something forward of the diff. Let me find my picture of the back end without the body;
Here it is, my 99 has that too, maybe it's another vent for the gas tank. I don't remember where the hose goes to that one, but the left side opening has nothing attached to it. If that has a hose leading to the charcoal canisters, then it's likely just a vent with some foam filter material inside.
Below is the picture of the charcoal canisters, they are behind the diff, next to the frame on the left.
Here it is, my 99 has that too, maybe it's another vent for the gas tank. I don't remember where the hose goes to that one, but the left side opening has nothing attached to it. If that has a hose leading to the charcoal canisters, then it's likely just a vent with some foam filter material inside.
Below is the picture of the charcoal canisters, they are behind the diff, next to the frame on the left.
- Joined
- June 17, 2004
- Messages
- 24,495
- Reaction score
- 5,098
- City, State
- Knoxville, TN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Limited AWD 302
Yes, I'll bet it's the vent to atmosphere, just a filter, and controlled by that solenoid. Water would be bad to get inside any of the fuel system back through the vent, so it's up high with lots of hose length.
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
Sounds good! I'll drop the spare and reconnect the hose.
I was messing with the exhaust more last night and also noticed my trans mount is pretty well shot. I might have to start my custom crossmember with the F150 poly mount early.
I was messing with the exhaust more last night and also noticed my trans mount is pretty well shot. I might have to start my custom crossmember with the F150 poly mount early.
- Joined
- June 17, 2004
- Messages
- 24,495
- Reaction score
- 5,098
- City, State
- Knoxville, TN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Limited AWD 302
The stock trans mount is poor for just the OEM setup, with mileage they wear out badly. Pick a popular aftermarket urethane mount.
You should see the odd looking stock mount for the 6R80 trans, it's strong looking but unique enough that I'll probably use that when I modify the cross member.
You should see the odd looking stock mount for the 6R80 trans, it's strong looking but unique enough that I'll probably use that when I modify the cross member.
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
Found it! Not at the salvage yard but on my transmission.
The whole time I was looking at my transfer case and didn't think to check all the wiring on the M5R2...glad I took a look at the transmission tonight haha.
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
When I was messing with my exhaust the other night, I noticed my driveshaft moved when I pulled on the tailpipe...the trans mount is totally shot. Now I'm thinking about making my custom crossmember for the F150 ES poly mount sooner rather than later.
I did some digging and determined the crossmembers for 4.2L 97 F150s were the same for the 4R70W and M5R2 (supposedly this is not the case with AOD and M5R2 crossmembers used in OBS F150s, those are different). Both auto and manual trucks use the same mount too, but my M5R2 also had a big bracket with what look like vibration dampers that was bolted between the trans mount and the transmission. I'm not sure if 4R70 F150s had that, or if there's any benefit to using the bracket/dampers in my swap. I will need to figure this out to calculate the length to section out of my crossmember, though.
If both the 4R70 and M5R2 f150s used it, then I can ignore the thickness of the bracket. However, if the bracket was only on M5R2 trucks, I need to treat it as a spacer and take the height into consideration when chopping out the difference between the F150 and 5.0 Explorer 4R70W mount (which does not employ a similar bracket/damper). I haven't been able to find good pictures online, so I'm hoping someone can confirm one way or the other. If not, I may just need to go crawl under some 4.2 F150s at the salvage yard to find out for sure.
I did some digging and determined the crossmembers for 4.2L 97 F150s were the same for the 4R70W and M5R2 (supposedly this is not the case with AOD and M5R2 crossmembers used in OBS F150s, those are different). Both auto and manual trucks use the same mount too, but my M5R2 also had a big bracket with what look like vibration dampers that was bolted between the trans mount and the transmission. I'm not sure if 4R70 F150s had that, or if there's any benefit to using the bracket/dampers in my swap. I will need to figure this out to calculate the length to section out of my crossmember, though.
If both the 4R70 and M5R2 f150s used it, then I can ignore the thickness of the bracket. However, if the bracket was only on M5R2 trucks, I need to treat it as a spacer and take the height into consideration when chopping out the difference between the F150 and 5.0 Explorer 4R70W mount (which does not employ a similar bracket/damper). I haven't been able to find good pictures online, so I'm hoping someone can confirm one way or the other. If not, I may just need to go crawl under some 4.2 F150s at the salvage yard to find out for sure.
- Joined
- August 3, 2000
- Messages
- 35,005
- Reaction score
- 11,927
- City, State
- NORTH IDAHO, 7B
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- B2 "Slightly" Modified
- Callsign
- FOURTEN
If you find some 4.2 f150 at the yard and they have manual transmissions I would be grabbing as many of those 5 speeds as possible and the 4406 t cases these are worth good $$$
I have seen that big damper
I don’t run any of the balance weights/ dampers on my rigs none of them. I took them off the front diff and the t case and the rear diff when I see them
If everything is balanced and spinning true I have never seen the need nor do I have vibrations
Now with that said I also have poly body mounts and trans mounts and when I can solid engine mounts, to me all that rubber crap is for comfort not for performance. I get a much better feel for what the truck is doing without them not to mention less body roll and sway
I have seen that big damper
I don’t run any of the balance weights/ dampers on my rigs none of them. I took them off the front diff and the t case and the rear diff when I see them
If everything is balanced and spinning true I have never seen the need nor do I have vibrations
Now with that said I also have poly body mounts and trans mounts and when I can solid engine mounts, to me all that rubber crap is for comfort not for performance. I get a much better feel for what the truck is doing without them not to mention less body roll and sway
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
Yep, I think it's best to go without the extra damper bracket for my purposes and just take 0.15" (or whatever the bracket thickness is) less out of the crossmember. Here's the damper:
That's assuming that the 4R70W and M5R2 have the same distance between the mount surface and center of the output shaft, which I'd still like to confirm. On this '97 M5R2, that dimension is about 4-11/16"
I see M5R2s pretty often (manual farm trucks are surprisingly common in general out here) and it's probably 50/50 whether they're 2wd vs 4x4. I'd definitely be squirreling more away if I had spare afternoons to spend in the salvage yard. For now, I have one 2wd and one 4x4, and that's enough for a couple fun builds.
That's assuming that the 4R70W and M5R2 have the same distance between the mount surface and center of the output shaft, which I'd still like to confirm. On this '97 M5R2, that dimension is about 4-11/16"
I see M5R2s pretty often (manual farm trucks are surprisingly common in general out here) and it's probably 50/50 whether they're 2wd vs 4x4. I'd definitely be squirreling more away if I had spare afternoons to spend in the salvage yard. For now, I have one 2wd and one 4x4, and that's enough for a couple fun builds.
97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
I ordered my hacked/tuned PCM this week for the manual swap and I have steel plate ready to modify my trans crossmember. I'm sure there will be things I missed, but I think the only other thing I need for the M5OD/4406 swap is a replacement gasket for between the trans and tcase.
To all you 4406 pros: do you normally just go for a new gasket (such as Dorman 917-522) when you swap one in, or do you take the opportunity to refresh the 4406 with a full bearing/seal kit before it goes in?
My M5 and 4406 had less than 120k on them when they came out of an F150 with body damage, so I'm expecting they're still in decent shape. Other than feeling for excessive play in input/output shafts, I'm not sure if there's any way to evaluate the trans and tcase condition without cracking them open. Any suggestions?
To all you 4406 pros: do you normally just go for a new gasket (such as Dorman 917-522) when you swap one in, or do you take the opportunity to refresh the 4406 with a full bearing/seal kit before it goes in?
My M5 and 4406 had less than 120k on them when they came out of an F150 with body damage, so I'm expecting they're still in decent shape. Other than feeling for excessive play in input/output shafts, I'm not sure if there's any way to evaluate the trans and tcase condition without cracking them open. Any suggestions?
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97Sandbox
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,520
- Reaction score
- 1,508
- City, State
- Seward, NE
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Explorer Sport
I messed around with my tcase and trans more and found that both shift as I'd expect and the inputs/outputs don't have much noticeable play except for the trans input shaft. I didn't set up a great way to measure it, but I'd guess I can push it about 1/16" away from center in any direction side-to-side or up-and-down. Is that normal for an M5 trans?
The input shaft in the 2wd M5 I have for my Sport feels equally loose. For reference, the 4x4 M5's donor F150 had 117k on the clock. I thought an input shaft bearing would still have life in it at that mileage, but maybe I'm wrong.
I also completed my shifter stub modification (grind new slot for opposite hand pinch bolt) so I can now run a '91 Explorer shifter directly on the '97 F150 shifter stub.
For those who don't know, the F150 shift lever is quite a bit longer than the Explorer/Ranger shifter which I think would look silly.
The input shaft in the 2wd M5 I have for my Sport feels equally loose. For reference, the 4x4 M5's donor F150 had 117k on the clock. I thought an input shaft bearing would still have life in it at that mileage, but maybe I'm wrong.
I also completed my shifter stub modification (grind new slot for opposite hand pinch bolt) so I can now run a '91 Explorer shifter directly on the '97 F150 shifter stub.
For those who don't know, the F150 shift lever is quite a bit longer than the Explorer/Ranger shifter which I think would look silly.
Explorer Features
Explorer Features
