Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread

The new turd mobile. 2000 Mountaineer v8 awd.



The bad:

Was living it's prior life on a dusty road. Must tear out interior and deep clean.
Driver window off track "or something" and will not roll down. It tries but the rear part wants to stay up.

3 out of 4 door handles have issues. I have 4 new outer handles on order.
Cracked passenger side tail light housing. ( Ebay for some cool tail lights)

Compass-Thermometer thingy lit up and went out--idunno bout that yet

Door locks seem sticky, probably has to do with the handles.
It has a funky purple color trim with red metallic ( you'll have that every now and then)

The good
Gas tank was full
109k miles
I am the 2nd owner!!
Is from the local area, which means no salt!
The undercarriage is fairly clean
No dents to underside panels
Good rubber
Camber shims already installed
Looks like good service records, all recalls were completed.
Clean carfax believe it or not.

The "maybe" bad

The original owner, told the dealership it had a bad "heater core" however I have run it for several cycles, over an hour each idling in the driveay and see no leaks.
However, there was evidence of a windshield leak or the like,I saw condensation on the inside of the windows this AM. The moisture smell is that of water only-no anti freeze smell. I am thinking it could also be a cowl drain which is clogged???? but she did say the passenger carpet got wet.

I tried to get heat, however it is an auto climate control. Being 90 degrees outside, I doubt it would have given me heat.The heater core hoses were hot, and the coolant bypass valve does operate. AC blows Ice cold.

Maybe she meant to say "heater door"???

Anyway--here are the pics.



My intent is to drive this and use it as a tow rig for a light weight off road toy. Mods will be minimal. Edit: This plan did not work out so on to plan "b"

Current visual status

Progress pictures

Now, let's clean it up a little


Herculine'rd rocker panels. Rock sliders installed

BW 4406 True 4x4 Manual transfer case ( AKA Mouse entry point) installed 8-27-2012
Installed newer Tcase from a 2003 11-14-15

Saw a rainbow in Colorado so yeah, time for a picture

And here she is, on top of the highest pass road in North America. Careful tire placement a must!!!

2-2-2013

Changed "color scheme" of the Dick Cepek DC1 wheels. New Falken Wildpeak AT 31x1050x15

Then I decided Maroon washer on the wheels would look better

Update 6-6-2013

New bumpers, winch and Pro LED light . Front Bumper from RLC, Skid plate from RCI, rear bumper from Kert307

Rear anti sway disconnects

Update 9-2-2014
A cracked radiator at 70mph led to engine failure. Replaced with a freshened up a bit 80k mile engine starting on page 23

Found another rainbow in Kansas.

 

[techieman33]

Looks like a good starting point for you, and don't worry about the overhead console I have one that color laying around here somewhere.

 

[sparksafly'n]

Hey I got to drive her home!! It drives very nice No rattles

Felt like I had drove it before,that nice!! Was sad to see the other rig go.At least it's close and can maybe wheel with it again someday. I under stand the whys. Just can't wait to see what he pulls out of his hat next!!:

 

[techieman33]

Hey I got to drive her home!! It drives very nice No rattles

Felt like I had drove it before,that nice!! Was sad to see the other rig go.At least it's close and can maybe wheel with it again someday. I under stand the whys. Just can't wait to see what he pulls out of his hat next!!:

I remember him saying something about really wanting a 408w, dana 60's and 44's

 

[Limited02]

Very nice! Can't wait to see her all detailed up.

I say do the basic CAI, tune and exhaust, slightly lowered on some powder coated Cobra R's(like that last one). Put some good rotors and pads on and she'll make a fine towing rig.

We need to have a get together at your place someday soon and line our rigs up for fun.........

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Subscribing! The color combo has grown on me lately, cant wait to see what you do with Puff.

 

[Turdle]

The window issue was due to the window pulling free from the clamp, so I cleaned the area with brake cleaner, and stuck a hunk of double sided foam tape into the channel, then forced the window into it. Now the driver window works again.
Also re powdercoated the wheels I had laying around in a bright silver color. I will try to get them installed tomorrow. The almost look like some old man sprayed em with aluminum paint, it is what it is and they are going on.


Hosed down the engine bay and it looks a lot better, then went about changing out a perfectly good set of spark plugs just because I wanted to know it was done. Still no evidence of a coolant leak, in fact all the pans are bone dry.

Eric, I will take you up on that overhead, please.

I was humoring myself on the way to the store, in my new found silent ride, jamming to James Taylor and hearing every note through a stock stereo.

THis made me realize I need to choose my battles, and since a new off road toy is in the works, this needs to just stay the way it is. I will work with the stupid purple trim, as it goes away once you are driving down the road, can't see or hear it so why mess with it?

Trailer hitch will be color coded to the darker trim.
A purple hitch, because I can.

 

[techieman33]

The window issue was due to the window pulling free from the clamp, so I cleaned the area with brake cleaner, and stuck a hunk of double sided foam tape into the channel, then forced the window into it. Now the driver window works again.
Also re powdercoated the wheels I had laying around in a bright silver color. I will try to get them installed tomorrow. The almost look like some old man sprayed em with aluminum paint, it is what it is and they are going on.


Hosed down the engine bay and it looks a lot better, then went about changing out a perfectly good set of spark plugs just because I wanted to know it was done. Still no evidence of a coolant leak, in fact all the pans are bone dry.

Eric, I will take you up on that overhead, please.

I was humoring myself on the way to the store, in my new found silent ride, jamming to James Taylor and hearing every note through a stock stereo.

THis made me realize I need to choose my battles, and since a new off road toy is in the works, this needs to just stay the way it is. I will work with the stupid purple trim, as it goes away once you are driving down the road, can't see or hear it so why mess with it?

Trailer hitch will be color coded to the darker trim.
A purple hitch, because I can.

I'll drop it in the mail tomorrow, do you need a hitch? I still have a brand new one laying around that I picked up cheap from toypaseo.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very nice Jon, that's two you have bought now. How is your son's doing?

BTW, I have a new LF arm rest(door pull) you might like. I bought it for the switches for mine.

So how long until it has TM's

The person at Ford that came up with that color combo must have been color blind. I see several Mounties that color running around KC.

I'm not thrilled with the Dark Toreador Red either. Help me find a better choice to repaint my lower part.

Jon, do you like the "purple" rear bumper pad? I have a new one that I may not use if I can get the Saleen bumper cover fitted and refinished.

 

[Turdle]

Very nice Jon, that's two you have bought now. How is your son's doing?

BTW, I have a new LF arm rest(door pull) you might like. I bought it for the switches for mine.






I'm not thrilled with the Dark Toreador Red either. Help me find a better choice to repaint my lower part.

Jon, do you like the "purple" rear bumper pad? I have a new one that I may not use if I can get the Saleen bumper cover fitted and refinished.

I'm not thrilled but I have decided to refurbish what is there. Let me know how much you want for the pad because I do want it. ( This will also help motivate you to get the Saleen bumper cover finished )

So the colors are Toreador red and Dark Toreador red? I need to get some touch up paints.

 

[Turdle]

"new" wheels. Chrome Powdercoat turns out to look like polished aluminum, however, they will look like this with no maintenance other than soap and water.

The engine bay is cleaning up nicely.

Gonna take the trailer to get 4 new tires put on it this afternoon

Edit:
Still waiting on door handles from Tousley, OEM tail light from ebay, and one other part.

Every, and when I say every, I mean EVERY plastic explorer radiator fan I have seen is either cracked, or, cracking. If looking closely between the blades you will notice white "hairline stress" fractures in your blade. Look between every blade and I bet you even see a break. Even new ones in the box exhibit these hairline stress cracks, and i believe it has something to do with forcing it onto the metal support ring. I have not ever witness one coming apart, but if you look you will see it is a matter of time. This one is cracked. As I sit editing this I realize a picture is in order.


I was able to find a v8 metal fan off ebay, and am also waiting on it. We'll see if the same clutch works, but if it doesn't i have a metal blade fan clutch on the shelf. I'd have a lot more shelf space if I didn't have all these parts. Anyone need a 5.0 flex plate? lol

 

[Turdle]

Fan blade stuff here

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2812771#post2812771

 

[Joe Dirt]

I'm interested in the metal fan blade swap, I'd like to change mine too, stupid plastic fan blades...

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I know of a '97 in Gas KS that is just sitting being ignored that has a metal fan

 

[Turdle]

I know of a '97 in Gas KS that is just sitting being ignored that has a metal fan

Good idea, not like he needs it anyway. Back in a flash.

 

[CDW6212R]

Fan blade stuff here

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2812771#post2812771

That's a scary picture. Mine has 178k on it and I had to tweak it hard when I pried the big nut loose with a Channel lock pliers last year. I thought it would be bent/tweaked a bit, but it spins true.

I have to swap injectors to get mine running smoothly again(bad gas(#2 injector)).

I'll let you know about the bumper pad before too long, I also bought the hitch pad.

The Toreador Red is code FL, I don't recall what the other one is.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

WoW I need to take a look at my fan now too. Re: wheels, always nice work, unfortunately I dont think any color could make them look really good. Just another ho hum design by Ford.

And Don, your Mounty is what made me take a second glance at this different color combo. And man I need a V8

 

[Limited02]

Jon- Get me some closeup's up the wheels ASAP with some sun on them!!! THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!!! My wheels are polished aluminum and if that's what your's looks like, then YEEHAAAAAAAAW!!!

Also, I would paint the darker red the brighter red and polish it up. It will look more even and a lot cleaner.

 

[Turdle]

Jon- Get me some closeup's up the wheels ASAP with some sun on them!!! THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!!! My wheels are polished aluminum and if that's what your's looks like, then YEEHAAAAAAAAW!!!

Also, I would paint the darker red the brighter red and polish it up. It will look more even and a lot cleaner.

k

I know the tires look dirty. After a few more car washes I'll use some kinda shine for a good picture. Oh, got a new tail light and used some Armor All on the bumper pads. It looks a lot better now

 

[Scott B.]

Did you powder coat your wheels the same color as you did my engine accessory brackets? Your wheels look like a lighter color...

 

[dreddog47]

in b 4 347 stroker...

I really like how the wheels came out, but it would really look sweet with some 18" saleens or cobra R's


Also, you should tint your taillights red, being you have a TR mounty, that'd look really awesome....

GL with the new mounty!