Brad Bottoms 98 EB V8 AWD

After excrutiating headaches with the transmission in my Dead Link Removed I decided to get a new Explod... uh, Explorer. So here's what I got:

1998 Eddie Bauer 5.0L V8 4x4 128k:

Aftermarket Stuff:
Hidden Hitch Round Tube Class III Reciever
Ventvisors
Tinted front windows (15%), Windshield (50%), Cargo Windows (5%)
Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil/Transmission/Transfer-Case/Diff oil
Flowmaster 50 series with 3" Turndown after Muffler
"EXPLORER" 3rd Brake Light Cover
Explorer Express Rear Sway Bar
Lund Windjammer
Vector 700W 110V power inverter mounted in rear jack area
TYC Gunmetal Altezza Tail Lights
Crimestopper 2-way FM remote start
75 sq. ft. Brown Bread Sound Deadener
Aimco Extreme Slotted/Drilled Front Rotors
Optima Yellow Top Battery
265/75-16 Cooper Discoverer S/T
Warrior Shackles
Torsion Twist
Gabriel (VST) Front Shocks, Gabriel Load Carrier Shocks in Rear (have helper coils on them, damn sagging leaves)
Infinity 10VQ Sub powered by a JBL P180.2 Amp and Pioneer HU
Stainless Steel Billet Grill
Crystal Clear Headlights and Corners


Motor:
Blew up the stock motor, sucked a little (ok, a lot) of water in and broke a rod (literally snapped it, pics below) so I decided to rebuild myself since I had some free time before starting my new job. Ended up with a 347 just because. Still needs to be tuned and finshed up, but it sounds badass!

347 Stroker
Eagle Cast 3.400" Crank and 5.4" I-Beam Rods
KB Flat Top Pistons (Approx. 10:1 compression)
Comp Cams Cam 35-514-8 with Comp Cams Dual Springs.
1" FMS Intake Heat Spacer
1.6 FMS Roller Rockers
Torque Monster Headers
255lph TRE Performance Fuel Pump
Taylor 8.2mm Wires
Granatelli 75mm MAS (Probably will switch to 80mm Lightning)
MAC Cold Air Intake
OEM Mustang Aluminum Valve Covers
Stock GT40P and intakes for now (all torque, no top end)
Sniper Special Forces Tuning Software (need wideband O2 first)
Rebuilt and un/reinstalled by me, machine and balancing work by others.

Other Mods:
Manual 4406 T-Case Swap
Front Tow Hooks

'Custom' Bodywork:
-Front Driver's Fender creased up a little from when my wheel fell off doing 70...
-Drivers door dented a little from when the truck fell off the jack and pushed the tire into the door (which was leaning against it... I know, wasn't thinking that day I guess..). I've got a door to replace it with, I just need to paint the bottom gold instead of gray.
-Rear hatch has a nice size dent in it from something. Not really sure where it came from, just was there one day when I went to open the hatch.

Somewhere down the road:
I DID HAVE STUFF HERE.... BUT I CHANGE MY MIND MONTHLY ON WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WITH THIS TRUCK, SO SCREW IT. I'll TELL YA WHAT I PLAN ON DOING TO IT ONCE I PUT THE PARTS ON

 

[Yomie]

Very Nice Brad! We need to meet up some time, i would like to check out the new ploder!

 

[98 exploder]

I have almost the identical explorer minus the eddie b, but I saw you have the Granatelli on yours. I am debating whether or not to strap up for the MAS. Are the performance gains really evident. Any input would be helpful.
E-mail @ scalecenter@msn.com

 

[RTStork]

Thats a nice upgrade from your other Explorer. Congrats!

 

[CougarX]

98 exploder:
The granatelli won't really make a difference if thats the only mod you have. It'll help more once you do exhaust, intake, etc. I would have waited to get it until after everything else but it was on sale and I couldn't pass it up.

Personally I would get exhaust, intake, and chip first. But if you're going to do them all anyway it doesn't really matter which one comes first. They'll all help, but the MAS is probably the most dependant on other mods.

Good luck in building your truck. I still have a long way to go to get what I want but I'm working on it.

 

[CougarX]

oops, just saw that u had exhaust and intake already.... i should read 1st then reply huh?

In that case I would say go ahead and get the MAS. You might wait till you can find it on sale so you don't spend over 300 bucks on it though.

 

[rocket 5979]

hey brad

hey man i saw that you said you took your bug guard off your explorer i am thinking of doing the same thing to mine to see what it looks like. did you have those rubber bumpers on your hood so the guard would not rub? and if so how did you take them off? and do you put them back on when you go on trips? mine look like they are stuck on with the sticky foam tape. but if i am taking it off i dont want the residue to remain. any help would be much appreciated. thanks.

 

[CougarX]

Actually, i've been too lazy to take them off since i've been at college.... so they are still on there.... so i'm not sure how easily they come off. As soon as I do it I'll let ya know though.

 

[eaglein99]

taking off the rubber bumpers

you can take off the rubber bumpers by heating them up and they should peel right off. there may be some resistance, but don't worry. as far as the residue, a little bit of wd-40 and some eblow grease will take care of that. when you put the bug deflector back on for road trips, just stick the bumpers on the bug deflector itself.

 

[rocket 5979]

COOL

HEY MAN GREAT IDEA ABOUT THE BUMPERS AND STICKING THEM ONN THE DEFLECTOR. I WAS TRYING (ALTHOUGH NOT TOO HARD) TO COME UP WITH A WAY TO PUT THEM BACK ON WITHOUT HAVING TO STICK THEM AND PULL THEM BACK ON AND OFF ALL THE TIME.

 

[CougarX]

Just in case anyone wants to know, I'm now a card carrying 347 member....

 

[j602]

Saweet!!!!! So how does the 347 perform? Huge improvement?

 

[bmxking5]

Mmmmmmmmmm....347

 

[CougarX]

Not sure yet, I'm in the process of putting everything back together, should be done by tonight though! I'm sure i'll still need a little tweaking and I'm waiting on my chip to come back so it'll be a while before I know the full performance of it.

 

[hostile413]

nice explorer, same as mine, but mines a '96

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

nice x u got there brad keep up the good work it looks awesome

 

[snocross1985]

Any more updates for your registry? How's the 347 perform?

 

[CougarX]

It runs pretty good, not great yet though. I still need to get it dyno tuned to make everything work together and get my timing/fuel pressure/mixture/shift points all correct. The only problem is that the only dynos in the area are 2wd dynos. Since mine is AWD this doesn't help me much. I could remove the front shaft but I'm concerned with the t-case sucking some power from the drivetrain and throwing off my tune. I like to do things once and get them right.

I plan on doing a T-Case swap (Expedition 4406) which will allow me to run on a 2wd dyno properly. This probably won't be till early next year before I even get started on this, however. I'm searching for a T-Case for the swap but don't want to pay a lot for it, I'm just waiting for a good deal.

Besides the T-Case, there are a few other things that I want to do before I get a dyno tune. I still need to put in an aftermarket fuel pump, which will probably happen with the t-case swap since I have to drop the tank anyway. I also want to get a set of Torque-Monster Headers and reinstall the factory EGR system before the tune. Other small things include new high performance coil packs, a shift kit, and other small performance items.

I just bought a 2002 Sport Trac that is going to become my daily driver (even though it looks like that one that would be built!! ) so that I can work on getting this one like I want it without having to worry about down time or putting wear and tear on the motor without it being properly tuned. This is going to be a long slow process because I have no where to work on it at the time except the parking lot for my apartment. A house (rented or bought, not sure yet) is in the plan for the 2nd half of 2006 and any house I ever own or rent will have a garage for my toys!

Long term plans for the truck include a suspension lift and at least 35's. If I keep the IFS I want to go with the RCD kit or a Dixon Bros. kit (which would be sweet but cost more then the truck is worth) Depending on my location and financial situation at the time, it may turn into an SAS. Custom bumpers, a tire carrier, and all the usual off road accessories are in the plans too.

I plan on keeping this truck for a long long time. Its worth much more to me then the amount of money I could get out of it. It has had a rough life but has only let me down once (which was my fault, gotta learn to slow down in that water!). I'm in no hurry at the moment to get this done, because I have other priorities and have no where to wheel or anyone to wheel with here in St. Louis. When I move back home to KY and have a house or at least know people with a shop is when this project will really get a boost. In the mean time I'm just going to slowly collect and stockpile the parts I need to accomplish my goals.

 

[CougarX]

So yeah, never posted these before cause I wasn't ever on in the summer, but heres the whole reason for the 347 in the first place. All you people that sucked water into the engine and simply pulled the plugs, blew out the water, and went on your merry way... SCREW YOU!!

 

[CougarX]

Here's another pic of the Explorer and an example of how rough of a life it has had. When I got done in the mud I thought I had bent something from bouncing around so hard! Nothing was bent though, the weight of all the mud crammed into every little crevice on the under side was making it sit so low! I was literally riding around on the bump stops untill some of the mud dried out and began to lose weight. I drove around town all night and let 'truck terds' everywhere from the mud falling out from under the truck. I also managed to remove the valence and a fog light this same night (if you can make it out, one fog light bracket is empty).
Kinda crazy, but after that first dent it all goes down hill