2000 AWD Xploder from Turbo back to NA

After getting an estimate on how much it would run me to fix up my Xploder with all new exhaust, cold side piping, and a bunch of other stuff done up the "right" way... I've decided to convert my Xploder back to NA form so that I can actually ENJOY the truck before I die of old age.

Anyways... To start it off I ordered up a MAC cold air intake (I do not have the stock intake) and sold my FMS headers on ebay.

I plan on buying a set of torque monster headers in the next week or so but am still up in the air on how I should run my exhaust from a performance "speed" perspective. I do not plan on doing much, if any, off road driving, so am looking for a setup that improves take off and speed for spirited pavement driving that sounds good.

I already have the spare tire removed (and will be keeping it off, I have free towing anyways lol)... What would an optimal setup be with the above in mind and no worry of a spare tire being in the way? True duals (straight pipe off of each header, thru separate mufflers, and out the sides), or a dual exhaust both going into a 2 in 2 out "H" pipe style muffler and then out the sides? Or something else? In all cases I won't be running any cats.

I also plan to re-tune my car since currently it is tuned for the turbo setup which obviously will no longer apply once I rip everything out.

Thank you for any input!

 

[willzilla]

Put together a little video on the wheel hubs install

 

[willzilla]

Does anyone happen to know what the largest tire that can fit on 16" wheels and not rub at the typical ride height? Currently have on some worn down Goodyear Tracker 2 tires size P255/70R16. The wheels are I believe Cragar Soft 8 Black Wheels 1629406014B which are 16x8. Don't need to go extreme or anything but would maybe like a little more size as I do plan to take car down crappier roads and such, and I may toss on a small amount of lift later on. Don't want to rub or chop anything, lol. I'd think 285/75R16 should fit fine and not rub (at least not on anything but hard full lock)? Anyone confirm?

 

[willzilla]

Ok, looking around it seems 285/75R16 probably to much, lol. I do see some mentioning in the forums of 275/70R16 working fine on similar car as mine (v8 AWD). May try that size.

 

[CDW6212R]

That first size would have been 2.5" taller of a tire, the 275/70 will be just one inch taller(31"). Your 8" wide wheels can handle a 275mm wide tire easily. For rough roads, search well for tough off road tread tires, aim for that deep tread and something that reviews tell you will ride well.

 

[willzilla]

That first size would have been 2.5" taller of a tire, the 275/70 will be just one inch taller(31"). Your 8" wide wheels can handle a 275mm wide tire easily. For rough roads, search well for tough off road tread tires, aim for that deep tread and something that reviews tell you will ride well.

Yeah, after diving in a bit more I quickly saw that the 285 would of been way to big, haha My brain looks at tire sizes in relation to a car versus a truck/SUV... Like on my ZL1 my rear tires are 305 width As for tires for the Xploder I've seen a few posts of people mentioning 275/70R16 seems to work fine no rubbing or very very little, and worse case I think I can twist my keys a bit and do a few small things to get a little more clearance.

As for tires.. I'll be happy with some on-road/off-road middle ground tires.. car will still be 85% road and MAYBE 15% minor off-road stuff, nothing extreme.

 

[CDW6212R]

There are tons of tire brands now, plus so many bigger sizes. I wish they still made some 16" sports car sizes, like the old Corvette and Camaro sizes, 255/50/16 for example or close to it.

 

[Turdle]

I like our falkens. Wildpeak at3s

The sidewall has some beef look to it.

265 75 16 should be a good size, about 31"
You'll need to trim the bumper for anything larger.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Does anyone happen to know what the largest tire that can fit on 16" wheels and not rub at the typical ride height? Currently have on some worn down Goodyear Tracker 2 tires size P255/70R16. The wheels are I believe Cragar Soft 8 Black Wheels 1629406014B which are 16x8. Don't need to go extreme or anything but would maybe like a little more size as I do plan to take car down crappier roads and such, and I may toss on a small amount of lift later on. Don't want to rub or chop anything, lol. I'd think 285/75R16 should fit fine and not rub (at least not on anything but hard full lock)? Anyone confirm?

somewhere round a 30 that runs large for no rub.

 

[willzilla]

My oldest drove the Explorer to school today, lol.. uh oh!

I snapped a ****pit view while picking my son up from school a few days ago... looks pretty decent overall

Tires show up today I believe.. will see about getting them installed over the weekend or sometime next week as time allows. May need to lift front up a tad. STILLLLL need to drain and fill the transmission fluid, lol, plus pick up some new lift shocks for the rear glass.

Also.. while cleaning the inside of the windshield my finger barely touched a piece of black plastic behind the rearview mirror and it crumbled into 10 pieces, lol.. Looked to hold some kind of small circuit board in it connected by 2 wires with maybe a light sensor or something... perhaps it's the housing for the light sensor for auto on/off headlights? Anyone know if this black housing is something that can be bought? LOL.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

My oldest drove the Explorer to school today, lol.. uh oh!

View attachment 435328

I snapped a ****pit view while picking my son up from school a few days ago... looks pretty decent overall

View attachment 435329

Tires show up today I believe.. will see about getting them installed over the weekend or sometime next week as time allows. May need to lift front up a tad. STILLLLL need to drain and fill the transmission fluid, lol, plus pick up some new lift shocks for the rear glass.

Also.. while cleaning the inside of the windshield my finger barely touched a piece of black plastic behind the rearview mirror and it crumbled into 10 pieces, lol.. Looked to hold some kind of small circuit board in it connected by 2 wires with maybe a light sensor or something... perhaps it's the housing for the light sensor for auto on/off headlights? Anyone know if this black housing is something that can be bought? LOL.

Nice explorer where did you get the carbon fiber accents

 

[willzilla]

Nice explorer where did you get the carbon fiber accents

Thank you!

I got them from Carid... I actually did a video on them plus some other interior things:



Check the video description for links to everything including the carbon fiber accents and some other stuff that may be useful

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Thank you!

I got them from Carid... I actually did a video on them plus some other interior things:



Check the video description for links to everything including the carbon fiber accents and some other stuff that may be useful

Thanks bro

 

[willzilla]

Thanks bro

No problem!

 

[willzilla]

Tires showed up.. I hope they fit, LOLLLL... Ended up going with some Yokohama's which seemed like they rated and reviewed pretty decent.. not to loud and a nice blend of mostly on-road driving with some light offroad capability and bad weather:

Ended up goign with 275/70R16 which is only a tad larger than the tires already on the truck which are P255/70R16 and the size a few people in a tire thread on here mentioning fitting without any issues. Comparing the 2 sizes:

Current:
255/70R16
Diameter : 30.1"
Width : 10.0"
Wheel : 16" x 6.5-8.5"
(LT Tires 6.5-8")
Sidewall : 7.0"
Circum. : 94.4"
Revs/Mile : 671

New:
275/70R16
Diameter : 31.2"
Width : 10.8"
Wheel : 16" x 7-9"
(LT Tires 7-8.5")
Sidewall : 7.6"
Circum. : 97.8"
Revs/Mile : 648

So... around 1.1" more diameter, 0.8" wider, 0.6" more sidewall, 3.4" more circumference.

They were pretty cheap and I got a rebate on top. I seem to have a ton of room under the wheel wells but if I need to I can raise the front some and trim some of the liner if I need to as they are pretty tore up already in a few places, lol.

 

[CDW6212R]

That size should work well. I had 30.5" 18" tires on my lowered Mountaineer, 265mm wide. They only rubbed at full lock on the sway bar, and on hard bumps the plastic inner fender(top of the tire). That's the tire pictured with my 18" wheels, 8.5" wide.

 

[willzilla]

That size should work well. I had 30.5" 18" tires on my lowered Mountaineer, 265mm wide. They only rubbed at full lock on the sway bar, and on hard bumps the plastic inner fender(top of the tire). That's the tire pictured with my 18" wheels, 8.5" wide.

Awesome, that's good to hear! Hope to get them mounted maybe next weekend

 

[willzilla]

I've been driving the truck frequently over the past week and my oldest has been driving it... So far it's driving extremely well overall. Only minor "issue" is the steering feels "loose" a little.. as in that it feels like there is some extra play in the wheel... it could be that I'm just used to newer cars and tighter steering and this is normal? Lol.

 

[CDW6212R]

Check the steering shaft joints, the boot near the bottom will tear and the joints do wear out over time. Some people have rebuilt those and others have remade a boot to cover/seal it up.

 

[willzilla]

Check the steering shaft joints, the boot near the bottom will tear and the joints do wear out over time. Some people have rebuilt those and others have remade a boot to cover/seal it up.

Cool, thank you. I'll take a peep when I get a chance

Drove last night to fetch kids from a trampoline park and snapped this pic... The headlight output is pretty good Now to track down a loose wire or something as occasionally when I hit a hard bump the headlights will flicker for a split second, lol.

 

[willzilla]

Found the issue with my headlights flickering a bit.. One of the power wires between the new battery terminals to the PWM fan controller was loose (in the terminal and on the fan controller as well). Every time I'd shake the wire the headlights also flickered, lol. Tightened it up in both spots and they seem good to go!

Also... Ended up selling my 2019 NV3500 over the weekend. Got offered what I paid for it over 3 years ago and with my oldest driving and 2 more of my girls will be driving soon and how little I use the van to drive anyone other than myself or myself plus 1 or 2 others only I figured we could downsize a bit. Now looking for a cheap 4 door sedan or something like a Focus or whatever for the kids to use (plus save money on gas), lol. I really loved the NV3500.. that van is a beast and served well (and I even used it to tow my Xploder from TN to TX on a flatbed trailer).