Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread | Page 64 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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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

001-8_zps25438bd5.jpg


Progress pictures
025.jpg


026.jpg


027.jpg


028.jpg


031.jpg


032.jpg


044.jpg


043.jpg


042.jpg

038.jpg


Now, let's clean it up a little


Herculine'rd rocker panels. Rock sliders installed

005-4.jpg


004-3.jpg



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

003-7.jpg

Saw a rainbow in Colorado so yeah, time for a picture
119.jpg

And here she is, on top of the highest pass road in North America. Careful tire placement a must!!!
041-1.jpg


2-2-2013

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

005_zps519396ed.jpg


Then I decided Maroon washer on the wheels would look better

006_zps9145ce92.jpg


003_zpse4691714.jpg


Update 6-6-2013

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


001-8_zps25438bd5.jpg


002_zps7dd4e30f.jpg


Rear anti sway disconnects

004_zps1b757042.jpg


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

001_zps0a3e1791.jpg



Found another rainbow in Kansas.

008_zpsarhv1lwt.jpg
 



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Those look awesome!!

But, sorry, they are 650#.:(

I have only ever bought one set of 750#, and am using them now. The #'s stamped on them might have been worn, and hard to read.

Someone with a 4.0L might want to buy them, for that killer custom color finish.

I showed the number to sheri, she saw it too. Could be these were mis boxed, but they plainly said 1200.0250.0750 on the coil printed in ink. In fact, I blew up the picture of them boxed up, saved it in paint. Look for yourself. it's a 7 and no way could it have been a worn 6. I am positive on this.

As I said, My guess s a mis boxed set, or, one which was returned with incorrect springs. Below is the printed number,on the coil with the rust spot, you can make out 1200.250.0750S ( S is for silver)
I'm not making this up. Sheri saw it also.


eibach number.png
 






They had1200.250. 750 stamped on them before I burned it off. :dunno:
Shoulda got a picture of that. But i do remember seeing the 750 and thinking hmmm--


Anyway, since you said I had to coat them with the shaded cherry, well, here they are.

View attachment 166206 View attachment 166207

Tim, the chrome powder coat has to be cleared in some fashion, I do not think you would like the result of a plain clear.
Wow, I love that color too! That might be good for a set of valve covers also. I'll keep that in mind as I rebuild some chassis stuff very soon.
 






I am going thru my thread to check the coils usage. I did swap them out in 2016 with new, but am now 2nd guessing myself on the rating.

I know I bought a set of 650, 700, & 750's. I have the 700 on a shelf & the 750's in the rig. I just have to read up when I swapped them out compared to what I originally installed.

Edit:
Ok, after doing a little digging, I first installed 750's. I swapped them for 650's in 2016, lost too much lift, took them off, and put the originals back in.

Then I swapped in a set of 700's right after we came back from CO in 2017. I sent the rig for the Engine swap at that time, and when it returned, I swapped in a new set of 750's for the additional weight. You powder coated them.

I remember now, that I sent the 650's back, to get the 700's.

So what does all that mean? It means that you got my 1st set ever installed, and they are indeed 750's!!!!!!! I actually have bought 2 sets of 750's, for a total of 4 sets bought over the years. :crazy:

Sorry for creating the confusion. Your good to go, and I'm just old, with way too much to remember. This is why I document as much as possible on my registries, as I can't remember everything done, and when.

Edit 2: I didn't pay attention to the boxes used when I re-used them to ship to you, so very good chance they was in the wrong box, as I had a stack of them. lol
 






I am going thru my thread to check the coils usage. I did swap them out in 2016 with new, but am now 2nd guessing myself on the rating.

I know I bought a set of 650, 700, & 750's. I have the 700 on a shelf & the 750's in the rig. I just have to read up when I swapped them out compared to what I originally installed.

Edit:
Ok, after doing a little digging, I first installed 750's. I swapped them for 650's in 2016, lost too much lift, took them off, and put the originals back in.

Then I swapped in a set of 700's right after we came back from CO in 2017. I sent the rig for the Engine swap at that time, and when it returned, I swapped in a new set of 750's for the additional weight. You powder coated them.

I remember now, that I sent the 650's back, to get the 700's.

So what does all that mean? It means that you got my 1st set ever installed, and they are indeed 750's!!!!!!! I actually have bought 2 sets of 750's, for a total of 4 sets bought over the years. :crazy:

Sorry for creating the confusion. Your good to go, and I'm just old, with way too much to remember. This is why I document as much as possible on my registries, as I can't remember everything done, and when.

Edit 2: I didn't pay attention to the boxes used when I re-used them to ship to you, so very good chance they was in the wrong box, as I had a stack of them. lol

It's ok, I'm not confused. Wait, what were we talking about?
 






...
and I'm just old,

Can't argue with you here! ;)

As for spring rate, as a reference, my Tacoma has 600 lb springs currently. I am going to swap to 700 lb when I install the winch and bumper.

My Ranger with the V8 is still running the original Rancho lift springs - I have no idea what their spring rate is.
 












Oh yes, love those, that color is awesome to me.
 






looks great, wish you were closer to me :) My green XLT has allot of parts that need finishing :)
 












looks great, wish you were closer to me :) My green XLT has allot of parts that need finishing :)
wha? too far?
Why, in my day, well, just the other day actually, we drove down there to get a car. surely you could drive this far for a set of powder coated lug nuts. :thumbsup:
 


















Don, you would not believe how many variances of transparent red there are to choose from, so, here ya go

Powder Coating Colors & Custom Coatings | Shop | Prismatic Powders

Oh yes, I realize how many variances there are in colors. I was browsing for a long time to decide on a combination of reds to replace the Toreador Red. I'm sure the powder coat choices are even much greater than typical paints.

That color you came up with I appreciate for the real pictures showing the true color result. Paint swatches in books or little pictures don't help nearly as much.

I still need to decide on a bottom color, the Dark Toreador Red seems like it has almost purple in it. The closest contrasting color I like is a GM dark red on 2016+ pickups. I'm not sure it will be dark enough, for that I just want an OEM base/clear paint to use. I still might have to mix the old base with the new color, but a stock simple base color would be best.

2016 red Z71 truck and Mounty.jpg
 






Don, don't go by color names I use here. Powdercoat colors are "named" differently to avoid copyright conflicts.

For instance, NIC makes a purple "named" Plum Crazy which is more magenta than plum. They do this so they can make and sell sprint purple which is a dead match.
However, if you shop for colors in Prismatic's website, you can order 5 swatches to be sent to you free of charge. That way you have it in hand and can see them under any lighting you choose. Look at the swatch on line, then the gallery if there is one for that color, get 5 that seem close and go from there.
 






That's helpful. I will probably decide on just a several few parts underneath to powder coat. I won't go crazy and do half of everything. The coil springs in front would look good. I'm thinking of the sway bars, spindles, major items like those. I had my trailer hitch done here in black to stop the rusting.
 






You definitely have a talent for making old things look brand new!... Now if only it worked on people.. Hehe

Those look fabulous! You know if you have coils and Gman has coils you know who's surely to follow!
 






Those springs came out great :thumbsup:

Makes me want to redo my TRD springs, but who knows if I'll ever reuse them since I have TEIN coilovers :dunno:
 






Just in case I come across a set of good used springs... What are the dimensions I should be looking for? Other than lbs?
 



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Just in case I come across a set of good used springs... What are the dimensions I should be looking for? Other than lbs?

12" long
2.5" inner diameter
o_O
 






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