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Code name Kilo

KeenKilo

Well-Known Member
Joined
June 26, 2018
Messages
112
Reaction score
60
City, State
Georgia
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 Explorer Sport
named my truck kilo because it reminds me of a big white brick of...flower. Anyways here it is freshly detailed +some dang pollen.

I use turtle wax rubbing compound with an old craftsman 10” orbital buffer and followed that by hand appling turtle wax ice with the same name detailing spray.

I don’t particularly like the turtle wax but it is safe for the plastic and did a fine job.

whiper arms and roof racks were removed and painted. Headlights were removed and cleared using blue magic headlight lens restorer with the sealer.

Tons of chips and what not up close but looks great in photos :)

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Things I’ve done since June/July of ‘18 when I bought it arrrrreee

New good tires [made the biggest difference]
New front brake pads + rotors and bearings
Replace oil pressure sensor
Fixed my driver door so it actually closes all the way
Replaced the lift supports for the back window
10/20
replaced intake gaskets
New clutch
New slave/master cylinder
New cooling system (rad, thermo, pump, & hoses)
New motor mounts

Bluetooth singledin head unit
Fixed arm rest
1/21
Moog ball joints
Rancho shocks
6/21
Hood supports
New (JY 4door) leaf springs


I’ll post more here as more gets done
 






It looks good!
 






Finally fixed my arm rest and of course I forgot to take pictures. But basically I took it apart and filled it with two rows of 1”x4” cut to fit tight on the width. then screwed straight through the plastic.
On the hinge I screwed the wood from the side for extra sturdiness
It’s got to be 1”x or 3/4” ply wood
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Finally fixed my arm rest and of course I forgot to take pictures. But basically I took it apart and filled it with two rows of 1”x4” cut to fit tight on the width. then screwed straight through the plastic.
On the hinge I screwed the wood from the side for extra sturdiness
It’s got to be 1”x or 3/4” ply wood
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I’ve got that same seat in my 99. The previous owners replaced the drivers seat, and to quote “my wife’s sister is so fat she kept breaking the seats” lol. She wasn’t really but she didn’t take care of the truck. Thankfully she didn’t drive it much.
 












White is a pretty color...
Hides so many things.

yes both my vehicles are white. By price though not by choice haha. The explorer is very clean. beside some swirls, cracked bump guard down the side and a couple hood chips it’s only got ONE door ding
 






I’ve got that same seat in my 99. The previous owners replaced the drivers seat, and to quote “my wife’s sister is so fat she kept breaking the seats” lol. She wasn’t really but she didn’t take care of the truck. Thankfully she didn’t drive it much.
My armrest has a sticker with a 2002 date on it from the ford dealership. It made it 3 years new before it broke and had to be replaced I guess haha. Great design
 






My armrest has a sticker with a 2002 date on it from the ford dealership. It made it 3 years new before it broke and had to be replaced I guess haha. Great design
I just realized mine doesn’t have one! It always looked off like something was missing, and having to do the lean down looked a bit weird if I ever wanted to “relax” while driving. Wow. Once I get this alternator replaced, guess I know what I’ll be getting next!
 






I just realized mine doesn’t have one! It always looked off like something was missing, and having to do the lean down looked a bit weird if I ever wanted to “relax” while driving. Wow. Once I get this alternator replaced, guess I know what I’ll be getting next!

it is surprisingly so much more comfortable than it just sitting up there and great position for the floor shift. Same height as the door rest gotta love level elbows haha. I was going to make a whole new console but I’ll see how long this last.
 






it is surprisingly so much more comfortable than it just sitting up there and great position for the floor shift. Same height as the door rest gotta love level elbows haha. I was going to make a whole new console but I’ll see how long this last.
Yeah. I always wondered what Ford expected me to do with my right arm. And driving with it around the back of the passenger seat was uncomfortable lol
 






As for your few dings... Paintless ding removal procedures are truly amazing / perfect - near perfect results....and can find guys who do this for $60 per ding... especially if you do the necessary access removal / panels...if necessary. Not a fan of the nickname....no offense. Very clean sport.
 






Yeah, not a great design to cantilever the armrest like 12 inches, where people are going to lean on it.

Put a small pillow or CD carrying case under the armrest to fill that gap so it doesn't stress out that hinge so much.
 






Finally did lower ball joints and upper control arms. Was a bit of a bear. Worst part was getting the steering knuckle off the OG lowers and getting the dang driver control arm bolts out. There’s no room!

Going to get it aligned tomorrow. Drives great right now much quieter and seems to have tightened the steering.

Tie rods look newer and so do the end links.

up next will be shocks and struts and maybe leaf springs off a JY 4 door

went with moog set. For some reason the driver side control arm did not come with a greasable ball joint.
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Went with the rancho 5000’s shocks. Huge improvement combined with the ball joints I have so much more control that I didn’t even know I was missing. Didn’t even need to take the front tires off I did need to jack it up a little because the fronts came fully extended


With the engine work and now these improvements I feel like I have a brand new truck. Not bad for 1,800 original purchase plus about 1,200 in parts, a coupla weekends work, and a coupla bloody knuckles.

next up would be the driver door lock is iffy and I’ve got to do something about the steering wheel but I don’t know what yet

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GOOD DEAL!
I need to start me a gofundme account for some nice shocks / tires... will post link soon :)
 






You are doing some great work there!
 






Picked up a set of leaf springs off a 4door and swapped em. Somet when I ‘took off’ the rear end would hop but not no mo.

Also got it back level, the coupla hundred pounds of tools I had the back had me border line Carolina squatting 😂

as usual I took no pictures but originally tried to do one at a time and ended up having to remove both and support the axle with a jack. After that it was breezy

before and after, both empty

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Just my $.02

Cars typically come with very thin clear from the factory. Be careful buffing it with rubbing compound and a buffer. It’s probably hair thin at this point...keep some wax on it.

I made this mistake a few years ago on mine. It looked awesome, then I slacked on the wax over the years and now it’s all oxidizing off. Time for a paint job.

I spoke to a body man, and he said that you really only want to take a buffer w/ rubbing compound to a car that has had a non-factory clear job. Typically a thicker layer of clear is applied by a shop.
 



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