Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread | Page 120 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

As some of you know, I am working on building a parts list for a shortened Dana 44, long radius arm with coil overs SAS. 5:13 gears to match my rear axle and an ARB, maybe an electric locker. I have a pretty good list so far. At the same time, I am going to swap out the rear drum brakes for discs off of a 99 Explorer.

Please note: The plan is to keep this project as simple as possible with mostly off the shelf parts. I am not a fabricator, just a decent welder with a what I would consider the minimum required tools (chop saw, cut off wheels, air tools, welder, etc.), who likes doing his own work. Your opinions are welcome, but what I really need is technical advice. I have been thinking about this for several years and now have the time and cash to make it happen. Please keep on topic with your advice and don't go off on a side track about how you would do it as a four-link, or caged arms, or leave the axle full-width because that is not what I want. I want a simple-ish set up that works.
 



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"I don't know honey, must have been the Tire Fairy that left those tires on the side of the house!" :dunno:
 



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Anyone know the length of a 91-94 Explorer Sport speedometer cable? After getting the custom VSS and speedometer housing for the Atlas, my cable is a few feet too long. I made it work, but I am not proud of the sidewinder speedometer cable look.
 












Try 89-90 Bronco II cable, they are a little shorter and have same connection at the instrument cluster
They always sold me the Aerostar or Ranger extended cab cables which were like 18" too long
Eventually I ditched the cable and went with an Autometer programmable speedo and 96-98 style VSS

There USED TO BE several different lengths depending on ranger/aerostar/BII/Explorer and then it seemed towards the end there all I could get was the super long one..... I had to replace the factory cable in like 1998 and then the crappy aftermarket ones about every 2 years after that........

here on Rockauto you can see available 63" 72" and 80":
1989 FORD BRONCO II 2.9L 177cid V6 Speedometer Cable | RockAuto
 






Thanks. I have the 72" one now and need one about 4' long. Doesn't look like the transfer case ends are right on the 63" length cables. The pictures on the 72" cables are the same fitting I have.
 






Maybe a Aerostar one would work. :dunno:
 












The Ford cars should be using the same cable. Mustang, TBird, Crown Vic. Maybe there is something there.
 






Looks like the Ford standard is 72", with the shorter cable for the Bronco II at 63" with the wrong end.
 






Got tires. First thing I noticed is they have a wider tread area than the KM2's. KM2 = 9" tread width, RAZR = 11". I should get them mounted next week. Want to go for one more long drive with the KM2's before I change the transfer case fluid, install the skid plates and call the case swap good.
View attachment 174367
View attachment 174368

Luckily, I got outside through the garage as the UPS dude backed into my driveway so he didn't set off the doorbell camera. My stealth tire purchase mission is still a go!! I stashed them in a out of the way area not real visible, but I have plausible deniability of hiding them if discovered since they are in plain sight.

I just did this... I don't think my wife is going to be happy when she walks out to get the mail, and trips over 33" A/T's that the FedEx man just left. .:help:
 












I ordered it like that to get the VSS to the frame rail and give me some wiggle room. I was planning on ordering a new cable from them, but Tony said I could just use the OEM cable if it would line up. It does line up, but its way too long and snakes around the underside of the body. I am going to mess with it some more and see if I can run it a different way. If I don't like that, I will need a custom length cable about 2' shorter than OEM.

I did talk to a guy who does this locally. He said he can make me a cable any length I want for about $70.00. He said to bring the vehicle over and he would crawl under there and we could figure out the length and where the cable would be happiest, and then make the cable while I wait. I might go that route.
 






What if you route it outside the frame, like the parking brake, and then cut back in to take up length?
 


















Why not just switch to GPS speedometer?

I'm just not interested in a GPS speedometer. I also don't want to change my instrument cluster because I like how it looks. I was under the Explorer a few minutes ago and think I have it sorted out. If I mount the VSS inside the frame rail with all the other wiring, fuel lines and brake lines, I can then mark the OEM speedo cable at the length it needs to be, remove it and take it over to the guy to make me a new one.

I looked at routing it down the outside of the frame, but that would only take up a few inches of length, and expose it to the outside world.
 






good thinking, speedo cable guys are a dying breed! Gotta keep them in business too..........
 






Got the Explorer all cleaned up and took her for a drive. One of the few places you can drive onto the beach in the county, and one of the few places I still like here. The PD must have cleaned out the transient RV crowd recently. I am uploading the pics while sitting in my chair watching the world drift past.
20191015_170201.jpg


20191015_170231.jpg


Edit: On the way home, all I could think of is how loud these KM2's have gotten. I think the Maxxis Razr's will be mounted soon.
 






I was going to ask, what's taking you so long to put the new tires on?

It's like Santa brought you a present under the tree, and too lazy to get out of bed on Christmas morning....Oh wait that's pretty much every Christmas now... Meh, carry on.
 



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Well, I was going to put some more miles on the transfer case and the old tires before I replaced them with the intention of wearing the old tires instead of the new set. Then I got to thinking about the fact that the last time I bought tires for the Explorer was almost seven years ago. The old tires are less than half way worn. These new tires have a 40,000 mile warranty, which I will never hit. There is no real practical reason to not go ahead and swap them out.

I was also going to make sure and have 500 miles on the transfer case before I flat towed behind the RV. Since no one seems to be interested in going camping, I am going to plan a solo tent camping trip in the near future. That will exceed the 100 or so miles I need to hit the 500 mile break-in recommended by AA, and give me some alone time with the Explorer (and the dog, of course). I only have a few things to do besides mounting the new tires before heading out on a mini-adventure; replace the speedo cable, fix a leaky air line and install the skid plates.
 






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