BD's 2000 Explorer Limited

[BrianDye]

Well thats news I certainly did not wanna hear but I do appreciate the input ...and just for the record, if I do/ever have todo mine, im going for 3 hours or less :

Subject change...I have a 4 button fob, (lock, unlock, alarm, and what seems to be a picture of a rear hatch)

When I press the hatch button, nothing happens...is it just a replacement fob with an extra button? Or is it like the new Fords, where you have to press it and hold it, or double tap it? I cant, for the life of me get it todo anything...is it for the hatch or the glass?

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm not sure of other remotes that might work, but the right one has three buttons, and it's rather small. The first gen remotes were bigger.

Read an owner's manual for the programming steps. It involves turning the key on etc, and pushing the lock/unlock buttons for the truck to learn them. I haven't done it since 2003.

 

[BrianDye]

No my remote works fine, but it has that 4th blue button that shows the hatch opening. I didnt think 2nd gens ever had that feature but then I swore I remember reading somewhere of one that did, then I remembered he did some kind of DIY job and made it open all the way by itself too.

So I just have a 4 button fob with 3 useable buttons....anyway to reprogram that button...say to open a window or something? That'd be pretty nifty.

I also discovered I have a crooked Explorer I noticed when I backed up in my driveway, the left side always seemed lower, but I just kept telling myself it was the driveway (Which it PARTIALLY was) but now Ive noticed the drivers side (ONLY in the rear) sits about 1.5-2" lower and its bugging the hell out of me! What could that be? Could one side of leafs go bad?

Also, I have the most annoying brake squeek ever, but its only when its like 65 or less outside, and its only when im NOT hitting the brake pedal. I can just barely press the pedal enough to turn the brake lights on and the squeek will go away. It also goes away after I brake for a stop sign, red light etc, until the brakes cool back down, do I have a loose or crooked pad or something??

 

[Brandon96]

...but now Ive noticed the drivers side (ONLY in the rear) sits about 1.5-2" lower and its bugging the hell out of me! What could that be? Could one side of leafs go bad?...

Assuming you don't have the air ride, It's the gangster lean!!

Gas tank, driver as well as some other heavy junk is all on the driver's side of the truck, wearing out the driver's side leaf spring faster than the passenger's. A common fix is to swap out the two leaf springs from one side to the other, not hard at all!

p.s. - I'm in no way calling you fat

 

[BrianDye]

Haha it def looks like it's doin the gangsta lean, what would be a more permanent fix rather than putting bad leafs on the passenger side? How can I tell if I have air suspension? I haven't heard a compressor or anything so I don't think I do..

 

[blueka]

open the hatch on the inside driver's panel, there should be a switch in there if you have air ride to turn it on and off.


Si

 

[Brandon96]

ok, first off, I've only seen a sport with air ride, so I don't know if the 4door would be different.

But, If you look up under the truck, check to see if there's two air bags/bladders sitting between the leaf springs and frame. The air ride sports only came with a single spring and an overload spring. I highly doubt that's the case though...

Two other alternatives to simply swapping out the springs are;

1. Getting new ones from Ford; expensive... or LMC truck; people have been unhappy with the spring rate of these, theres a couple threads around.
2. Throwing in Add-a-Leaves to both springs, which is what I did. Your still definitely going to want to swap out the two to even out your ride height.

There's always the option of getting your springs re-arc'ed at a shop, which would probably be a good fix, but I'm not sure how long re-arc'ed springs stay re-arc'ed.

 

[BrianDye]

Today I took the pin striping off, it was horrid, but it looks SO much better now! You can barely tell where the stripe was, the paints only a tad off and you have to be looking at it at a weird angle. I also tinted the 3rd brakelight, and gave the wiper arms, and the plastic cowl a fresh coat of paint. Im waiting for the arms and cowl to dry but they look brand new.

2nd week of November im gonna be putting on a nice catback setup, not sure what yet, but I need a good growl. I dont want anything loud, just something that has a nice roar during normal driving, but will be pretty loud when I get on it. Any suggestions? Preferably a cheaper setup too, I dont wanna break the bank on it.

 

[Brandon96]

1 vote for any of the Flowmaster 40 series.

Well behaved under light load, loud as crap when you hammer down.

I've had it both with the stock pipe and 2.5" duals... love 'em both

 

[BrianDye]

I like the sound of that id honestly love a dual tipped setup but that would have to be custom right? Does the.flowmaster make a single in/dual out setup?

 

[Brandon96]

Yeah, it would have to be custom, expect to pay around $350-$400 for a quality job at a shop...

And yes mine is single 2.75" in and dual 2.75" out. I might be able to get a part # off it for your reference if you'd like...

 

[BrianDye]

Thatd be great, I actually know a small mom & pop owned muffler shop right around the corner, they re-mounted my muffler and welded some new pipe on for me for only 40 bucks, so I bet I could get them to do it fairly cheaply. Is the V8 a single in single out? (I know its a single out, but I noticed 2 pipes coming from the engine bay going back, I didnt pay attention to see if it went into the muffler that way, or went to one)

 

[Brandon96]

You make an excellent point..

I think the SOHC V6 and the 5.0 are dual ins....

 

[BrianDye]

maybe ill go for a no muffler setup and just weld some pipe from where I cut the muffler off haha

 

[Brandon96]

My part number is 9530452, which came out to be a Super 40, Single 3" in Dual 2.50" out..

Don't quote me because I really don't know.. I thiiiink the 5.0 has dual 'down pipes' for lack of better terms.. the pipes between the cats and muffler. If that's the case you will probably need either a dual 2" in, or 2.25", my 4.0 pipe slid right into the 2" perfect.

 

[BrianDye]

Thanks for the info, ill have to check after school today, its about 22 degrees outside so I refuse to lay down on my driveway to check haha

 

[CDW6212R]

They have dual 2.25" pipes going to the mufflers, and one out. Dual 2.5" pipes should be minimum for any bone stock 302, so change them from as far forward as possible. One 3" tailpipe would be decent for a stock 302, not ideal but okay.

 

[BrianDye]

Just seems like its gonna be a PITA todo anything at home with it...I dont have class thursday morning so I might just head over to that muffler shop down the street and talk to them.

 

[BrianDye]

Just a little update...been busy with work the last week havent had much spare time.

Ive done a few things to this beast, I finally removed that god awful gold pinstripe; looks a million times better, and thank god for Goo-Gone!

I also installed a 2 gauge-gauge pod on the A pillar, one spot has my volt gauge, but im gonna buy a digital one, and then get a digital PSI gauge for my tank for my horns.

I mounted and hardwired my radar detector finally, looks and works great.

And on top of that, I opened a new account with my credit union, so I can finally open a PayPal account, and make my own online purchases, INCLUDING my Elite membership. My new debit card should be here by next weekend they said and I can register it with my PayPal and start ordering some parts for me ride. First order: Elite status, Second: 194 SMD LEDS! Time to start converting

 

[BrianDye]

Awesome! PayPal is up, still waiting on my new bank card so I can start buying parts online. I think my first purchase besides "194" LEDs will be a CAI.

I got quoted today at the shop, he said for a dual 2 1/4 setup he would charge 209, and then if I wanted chrome tips he showed me I believe they were 2 1/2 or 2 3/4's and they looked badass, he said he'd put them on also for just 25$ more.

He said the muffler will sound damn close to a flowmaster, I told him I didnt want anything always loud, I just wanted a nice growl and then to be able to hear it when I stomp on it.

Does that sound like a good price? This is a smaller "mom and pop" type shop, I havent called any other shops.