5spdman's slow and cheap XLT build

[mr cribb]

Yes I think so. And I have one... no charge.

I Google searched 1350 shifter on 1354... There's a guy on here that used this combination on a 98.

I don't have the big bolt that the shift assembly rides on.

 

[5spdman]

How you tempt me good sir.....

Well I'm starting to wonder what all else could go wrong with this truck...I lost all pressure in the clutch hydraulics this morning, and while I was under getting ready to gravity bleed it, I noticed that almost ALL of the bolts for both driveshafts were almost undone all the way! Glad I made it back home last night...torqued the bolts back down, but I think I'm gonna need some thread-lock pretty soon...

 

[mr cribb]

Blue thread lock if you wish to unbolt said item in the future.

Red thread lock is permanent.

 

[5spdman]

Thanks for that info!

 

[Maniak]

.torqued the bolts back down, but I think I'm gonna need some thread-lock pretty soon... .

I put some nail polish at the edge of the nut/bolt which helps hold it and more importantly, I can tell if it moved just by looking...

Oh yea.. blue locktite is actually in a red bottle.. go figure..

~Mark

 

[5spdman]

I put some nail polish at the edge of the nut/bolt which helps hold it and more importantly, I can tell if it moved just by looking...

Oh yea.. blue locktite is actually in a red bottle.. go figure..

~Mark

Never thought about that....not a bad idea.

Hmmm....is the red locktite in a blue bottle then? Lol

 

[Maniak]

I am planning on modifying the stock arms, and thought of doing it while they are still on the beams, that way I don't mess with the caster at all, making sure that I chock all the tires so the truck doesn't move, taking many measurements before cutting the arms, and taking even more measurements during the fabrication.<snip>

On my extended radius arms, they took the tube part out and ran the angle of the tube the same as the bottom of the RA. That put in caster adjustment so no drop brackets are needed for the RA any more.
This is right after I installed them. One of these days I'll make a new trans cross member....

Build-day3 016 by maniak_az, on Flickr

As far as mounting, was kinda thinking of moving the drop brackets for the arms back about 6-8", <snip>

Watch the trans cross member, You can see it got in my way..

Would I be better off doing the F250 conversion for the time being and waiting to do the radius arms just for now, or should I just wait and do the whole thing in one shot? I know that I'll actually be better off doing both...I have some time to think about it...

If you are using the springs that you will be using with the extended arms (same amount of lift), installing the f-250 mounts now won't really get you "much" other than getting the welding/cutting for the f-250 mounts out of the way now. That is assuming you are not currently topping out of bottoming out the current shocks. If you are, do it now... Assuming you don't "need" to do it now, you won't be able to take advantage of the longer shocks yet. Also, I don't know if the f-250 shocks will be the right length.. I went to gorancho.com and downloaded their big pdf shock catalog. Then I found what the correct mounts types were for the explorer and looked for a shock with those mounts and the extended/compressed lengths I wanted. You can do something similar, just compare the f-250 shocks with the explorer shocks and see if it's the right size and mounts.

~Mark

 

[mr cribb]

Regarding the manual case near me...

I also own the wiring harness for the transfer case dash lights now. I bought it today.

 

[5spdman]

So I read lol...sounds like your rig is coming right along!

 

[mr cribb]

So I read lol...sounds like your rig is coming right along!

Yeah.

I still have some things to do before I can say it is where I want it.

Needs:
All new suspension
Clutch (everything)
Fuel pump assembly
Tires
Rust repair and paint job.

 

[5spdman]

Yeah.

I still have some things to do before I can say it is where I want it.

Needs:
All new suspension
Transmission
Fuel pump assembly
Tires
Rust repair and paint job.

Well I still have my stock coil springs, the fuel pump (that off and on told me my fuel level, maybe an easy fix) and my stock tires yet...I'm sure you're looking for new though, but thought I'd offer!

 

[mr cribb]

Well I still have my stock coil springs, the fuel pump (that off and on told me my fuel level, maybe an easy fix) and my stock tires yet...I'm sure you're looking for new though, but thought I'd offer!

Yeah...

New stuff like fuel pump for precaution seeing as my rig has close to 230k miles.

Going with 2 inch lift and 31's for two reasons. I like my teardrop wheels and 31's don't require axle re gearing.

 

[5spdman]

Going with 2 inch lift and 31's for two reasons. I like my teardrop wheels and 31's don't require axle re gearing.

Yeah...to be honest, I somewhat wish I had gone with 31's only having 3.73 gearing, but I do like the 33's and they look mighty good too!

Will have updates in the next week or so...will be getting some trail time this weekend, got some RTV to seal the leaky transmission, thread-lock for the drive shaft bolts, new rotors and pads all around, and with 4wheelparts.com having a sale, I'll be grabbing a set of 4 ES9000 shocks for $175 and stopping at the junkyard for some F250 shock towers...

 

[5spdman]

What now!?!?!

Alright, here's the scoop....

Two weeks ago, I got in the truck and I had no pressure at all on my clutch pedal...found that there was actually no fluid in it. I got it moved up to the shop and took the master cylinder out and gravity bled the whole thing, put it back in, vacuum bled the system to make sure there was no air in the slave cylinder, and everything was working fine.

This morning when I jumped into the truck, The clutch pedal went halfway to the floor before there was any pressure...vacuum bled the slave again, and I'm at full pressure, but I know that the slave is leaking (no leaks from anything else and through the opening on the bell housing I noticed fluid on the slave).

Called my mechanic (AKA my uncle in Ohio, who I call when I can't figure something out on my own) and told him what was going on. He said I should be fine for at least a week as long as it's all bled, but I'll be heading into Flagstaff tomorrow and can pick up a new part...

Here's the "dilema" I'm having; the slave was a replacement from NAPA and is still under warranty, so it should be little/no cost (other than my labor) to get the slave replaced. But I'm starting to wonder since this one didn't even last a year, or even 5,000 miles, should I take the replacement from NAPA with the warranty, or should I consider skipping NAPA and get a new slave cylinder through Motorcraft? I don't mind working on my truck when I have the time; I actually enjoy it, but I don't want to have to do this once a year...

 

[mr cribb]

Motorcraft is the way to go.

I checked the price a few weeks ago and it is 135 dollars. The factory slave cylinders are headed into clearance, and no longer being produced.

 

[5spdman]

Oh Lord, what have I done?!

Give it a few days to dry, tape around the "deer tracks" and paint them silver...tomorrow, paint the other two tires, replace slave cylinder (went with the NAPA replacement since it was under warranty), reseal the transmission, and replace all four rotors and brakes...

 

[Explorin'VA]

Aw man, I liked the aluminum alloy look. But maybe once I see them on the truck I'll change my mind

 

[5spdman]

I kinda did too, but there was a lot of corrosion on these ones and it was really buggin' me. The chrome on the center caps was starting to flake off really bad as well...cheapest replacement caps I found were black. I think with the rim edge and the tracks staying silver, it'll look pretty sharp....it was just a PITA to tape the tracks.

If I want to switch back, quick trip to the junkyard would take care of the problem.

 

[Explorin'VA]

My center caps were the same way, so I ditch the rear ones, stripped the front ones and repainted them with chrome wheel paint, then put them back on to "protect" the hubs. The replacement ones are way too expensive and it would be impossible to find them at the junkyard in any better condition.

Sounds like a sweet paint scheme you're going for on the wheels. The entire truck looks great. Keep the updates coming bud

 

[5spdman]

Thanks! My second thought was also to ditch them, but I didn't think it looked quite right...maybe if it was 2WD, but then again, I wouldn't have the truck if it wasn't 4WD. Plus, I plan on having this truck and another 2dr in the future, for quite a while...if I want it to look good, may as well spend the money!