BD's 2000 Explorer Limited

[CDW6212R]

Congrats on the new truck, I love the Limiteds.

Buy some Eastwood rust products and begin spraying the corrosion under the doors, hatch, rocker bottom etc.

Have fun with it.

 

[BrianDye]

Thanks! Yea im gonna tackle the interior, then the rear bumper, and then under the truck and stepboards.

Im not gonna worry about the hood because im just gonna have it painted in the springtime, so ill just go find a good hook at the junkyard.

 

[CDW6212R]

How are the door panels? I ask because I know you can still buy many of them on eBay for about $75 or less. I bought a set for my Mountaineer, and he did have the dark gray Limited panels. Check closely along the top next to the mirror, my old 98 LF panel is beginning to fade(turn whitish).

 

[BrianDye]

Yea on that little lip thing that sticks up higher than the window, its fading right there, but honestly other than that theyre all in likew new condition, do you remember what seller it was? I would be interested soon in buying a replacement drivers side panel...

Thanks for your help man!

 

[BrianDye]

Ill be back in a few hours guys im going to get her plated and registered

 

[CDW6212R]

Brian, I don't see a dark gray choice right now, but here is the 95-98 light gray part;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-9...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

The seller is wwilliams623, he has a lot of new old stock parts.

 

[BrianDye]

That sucks...well Joe led me to some specialty paint to repaint the panel OEM, or worst case I could maybe make those black

 

[BrianDye]

Wow I cant believe the gas mileage this things getting! I was expecting like 13 tops city, but im getting upwards of like 17.5 and loving it! I think the computer might be a little off, cus it seems even a little higher calculating it myself.

 

[BrianDye]

Seafoam!

All in all today was a very productive day:

1. Bought the headunit wiring harness, ordered the double din dash kit (Pickup in the am)
2. Got her registered and plated
3. Seafoamed it!
4. Replaced the drivers side "taiwan" taillight
5. VHT'ed the taillights, 2 coats so far, then 2 more tomorrow
6. Replaced stock rear speak's with my Sony 4-ways (Sounds un-believably more crisp)
7. Shampooed the front carpet/mats, looks brand new besides the worn out driver mat
8. Cleaned all the door panels/dash
9. New Rain-X Lattitude front wipers, and a Duralast rear

I would have done alot more, but im now broke as a joke til Friday :/, and its already 2:30 am, so I had to call it quits as I dont have a garage anymore .

It was funny, the neighborhood security guard stopped (Making sure this was my vehicle and that I wasnt stealing etc) and then we started bs'in about audio/electronics and ended up wanting me to install his PA/siren system and told me he'd stop back by sometime when it starts warming up...nice fella but I wouldnt wanna tussle with him LOL.

I noticed that my drivers side taillight was different, the top black part thats behind the liftgate when its closed was like kind of "chrome-ish" and the reverse light wasnt like split in 2 sections, it was just all clear, unlike the stock light. I pulled it off and there was a huge "MADE IN TAIWAN" sticker so it must have been a cheap replacement.

Taiwan=Left, Stock=Right

I had that other drivers side taillight lying around from when I wanted todo the liftgate swap on my 95, and im glad I still had it.

The taiwan light had a nice chip in it which was killing me to get replaced;

The stock is left, taiwan is right, thats the "chrome-ish" I mentioned above.

And BTW, I am officially addicted to the V8 growl! I absolutely cannot wait to get a nice muffler, and TMH's!

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good. Isn't the stock exhaust just about right? I'd love to be able to make changes and end up with a similar sound. But cutting out the rear cats, resonator, and changing mufflers will be different. Good luck on yours.

 

[BrianDye]

Yea stock isnt bad, but id like to hear it a little more, I pretty much have to have the radio off to get a good listen.

But this was a fun project:

(The rear wiper knob wasnt back on yet!)
Actually wasnt too bad, besides the ridiculously fitting double din kit that barely fits on the radio...anyone have a clue why my stock sub isnt working? I just got one wire harness, out of the 3 plugs for the radio, it plugs into the big one.

Its no big deal, just made me wonder. (My subs will be in tomorrow anywho)

This was great too!

Its gettin better and better

 

[CDW6212R]

The high end radio trucks have three connectors in the dash. Mine had just one, and there is an adapter that upgrades it to the three connector system. Remember that the Mach is the only one with a stock sub, and the four door speakers don't receive low frequencies.

It sounds like you are fine given you swapped decks, you can work with the one connector to pull all the circuits you need.

 

[sean99]

Very good. Isn't the stock exhaust just about right?

Is there any hp to be gained by going with a mac cat back after doing tmh's and mac intake?

 

[CDW6212R]

Is there any hp to be gained by going with a mac cat back after doing tmh's and mac intake?

The best 302 power gains will come from the PCM tune, headers, camshaft, and intake(not air cleaner),

The whole exhaust is actually bad, find a 302 Mustang and see the sizes of the headers, cats, mufflers(2), and tail pipes. Anything done to the exhaust is better, tuning is needed along the way or after to maximize the gains. As the exhaust is improved, the restrictions which are the problem lessen, and more air flows out, which makes it run leaner. It needs more fuel, and reprogramming corrects that more accurately than relying on the OEM tuning.

The Explorer cam is the same roller truck cam in other truck 302's of the 90's, the 302 HO cam is a big improvement. But know that a cam swap is a massive project, don't do that without being ready for it.

The intake manifold is the typical long runner type, not good for best power. If you go so far a to pull the engine, that's the best time to upgrade the intake and cam, preferably a cam custom made for the truck and the intake chosen.

The stock air cleaner is not great, several others are better. The Mac seems to be the cheapest and at least as good as any other air cleaner. For the air filter avoid the oiled type, they catch the least amount of dust etc, which ends up in the oil. Regards,

 

[sean99]

The best 302 power gains will come from the PCM tune, headers, camshaft, and intake(not air cleaner), or the air filter avoid the oiled type,

I have the amsoil air filter and will do a tune after the torque monster headers. I'll have to look into a cam and intake for a later date.

16.8 city driving is really good for a v8...i'm probably getting around 12 city right now.

 

[CDW6212R]

Amsoil makes great filters, I have one in my 99 and a big one for a custom air cleaner I'm building for the other one. Good stuff.

 

[BrianDye]

Yea I forgot to mention on here that I was at Walmart buying wiper fluid (They have the best bug cleaner, citrus scented for like 1.97$ a gallon) and I was out in the parking lot filling up the resivoir (Which leads me to another question ill ask in a minute), and just decided to pop the air filter out to see how dirty it was....and I lifted up the filter, and it was very clean (As in being super white still), but I grabbed about 4 handfuls of "shredded newspaper" and fur. It was horrid. I have no clue how the hell it got in there, and honestly I dont wanna know, but its clean now.

(Question) Where is the rear wiper fluid resivoir? Isnt there one? I press the button and the wiper wipes, but no fluid comes out, and I dont recal hearing anything pumping....

 

[sean99]

There is only one reservoir. The air filter box has a snorkel that comes out behind the headlight. That was a nest in there

 

[sean99]

rear washer pump info:http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206349&highlight=rear+wiper+pump

 

[BrianDye]

Thanks for the info guys, im gonna go figure out the rear wiper right now....thats one of the biggest things I missed having my car, is not having a rear wiper....bugged the **** outta me!