97 Explorer w/5.0 and AWD, any good off road????

[killbill2]

Hi, last week my supercharged grand prix gtp was driven to the junk yard, tired of working on it and I HATE cars now. So I bought a 97 Explorer 5.0 AWD with only 88,195 miles on it, can any one tell me if it is worth doing some minor mods to put 32" tires to off road with it or not having 4 low makes it not worth it for off road? I have installed a magnaflow muffler with a 3" tail pipe (sounds great with the 5.0) and a fram air hog air filter so far but the stock 235 tires are driving me nuts, they are just to small. Thanks for any help.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Many members have installed larger tires. Take a look at the tires & wheels section.

 

[Turdle]

Welcome to the forum.

To get you started--swap in a real transfer case. it is an easy swap-should have been factory option

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726&highlight=4406

Then, torsion twist and a little help to the leafs will easily clear 32's.

 

[jds3403]

Welcome to the forum.

To get you started--swap in a real transfer case. it is an easy swap-should have been factory option

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726&highlight=4406

Then, torsion twist and a little help to the leafs will easily clear 32's.

Will need some trimming to easily clear, I put 32x11.5 BFG A/T's with a TT and shackles and the tires rubbed doing anything but a straight line, took some off the bumper and the fender and in lock while hitting a bump it still rubs, And he can certainly have fun off road with the BW 4405 AWD case, I wouldn't think that would be the first thing necessary to having fun off road, besides swapping gas tanks with a sport, d-shafts, finding the proper shift hardware, doable yes but pita? yes. worth it yes. I know this isn't the place to discuss in more detail the aforementioned mods as he was referred to the appropriate threads but a little guidance before hand can save someone some time and energy

 

[ericautopart]

Haven't done much wheeling in mine..I've got other rigs for that but this passed winter it proved itself in deep snow.

 

[Turdle]

Will need some trimming to easily clear, I put 32x11.5 BFG A/T's with a TT and shackles and the tires rubbed doing anything but a straight line, took some off the bumper and the fender and in lock while hitting a bump it still rubs, And he can certainly have fun off road with the BW 4405 AWD case, I wouldn't think that would be the first thing necessary to having fun off road, besides swapping gas tanks with a sport, d-shafts, finding the proper shift hardware, doable yes but pita? yes. worth it yes. I know this isn't the place to discuss in more detail the aforementioned mods as he was referred to the appropriate threads but a little guidance before hand can save someone some time and energy

Trimming will depend on wheels. Also, not all 32"s are crated equal.

And there is no way the OP can have fun with a 4405 transfer case cause it will not bolt to the 4r70 behind the v8. The v8 has an AWD ( 4404) transfer case, so yeah, I kinda know what I am talking about.