Travis Brown
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 19, 2020
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 37
- Location
- California
- City, State
- California
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2006 Ford Explorer XLT
In my quest to maximize the off road capability of my rig, I was getting ready to do some sort of custom swap similar to Ronin8002
www.explorerforum.com
where he custom welded a bunch of mounting hardware to get a 5" coilover into the front. As you guys know, aftermarket support for the 4th gen is minimal, so I figured this was the only way to go to get standard coilovers in the front.
Instead, I discovered that Fox makes vehicle specific coilovers for the F-150 which just happen to be very close to the right size for our Explorers.
Here are the stock strut specs:
Extended Length 518.7 mm ( 20.42 in)
Compressed Length 490.7 mm (19.32 in)
Travel Length 71.9 mm (2.83 in)
2.5" wide lower eyelet for 18mm bolt
I had already installed a 3" spacer lift, which adds 1.92" to the shock height, for a total of 22.34" at full droop, but I was still stuck with the stock suspension travel (which is a pitiful 4.5")
The Fox 985-02-007 is essentially a standard 2" IFP coilovers, but with an extended-length single-piece lower eyelet. Fox changes the upper mount plate, springs, damper tuning, and eyelet adapter to make it to work on F-150s, 4Runners, and other common vehicles, providing a different part for each. This one is for 2004-2008 F-150s. Here are the specs
Fox 985-02-007 specs
Extended 21.990"
Compressed 16.600"
Travel 5.390"
Springs: 650 lbs/in
As you can see it's less than a half inch shorter than a 3" lifted Explorer strut, but with twice the travel. Assuming a motion ratio of 1.6, this would give more than 8" of travel. Of course, the ball joints, CV axles, and tie rod ends will all limit it to less than that.
It turns out that with only minor modifications, this can be bolted right into the Explorer front suspension. The main differences are the hole pattern in the shock tower and the bolt mount on the LCA.
Step 1 - Drill the shock tower
I drilled 3x 1/2" holes. I placed them deliberately forward of center to improve clearance to the CV shaft and put more distance between them and the stock holes
Step 2 - Drill the LCA
The stock explorer uses an 18mm bolt with a 2.5" eyelet width. The fox shock uses a 16mm bolt. The Fox shock comes with adapters meant to drop into the slightly larger 20mm holes in the F-150's control arms. I used a 13/16" drill bit to give me a very slightly oversized 20mm hole.
Step 3 - Fabricate a spacer
The eyelet width on the fox shock is about 1/8" narrower than the Explorer's LCA. You'll need to make a spacer to fill the gap. I grabbed a large washer and bored it out to the same 20mm ID. You'll also need to grind it down to avoid interfering with the semi-circular sheet metal on the LCA meant to guide the oem strut into position.
Step 4 - Enjoy
Here's the finished product. Note: I was already running a 3" lift, so I had already dropped the UCA 2" to avoid killing the upper ball joint. If you're not super handy with metal work, you could also just buy the control arms from BTF fab.
Another very important note: From the factory, the fox shocks are set with a very high preload (2.5") to handle the F-150's weight. You'll need to dial that back a lot to get proper ride height on an Explorer. Something like 1" should be about right. I have a heavy off-road bumper and winch, so mine is set at 1.25"
Ronin8002's 4th Gen custom coilover conversion
I'm going to be doing a project over the holidays to convert from the stock OEM style struts in the front of my 2008 4x4 Explorer to Fox coilover shocks. The goal is to get a mild amount of lift (around 2.5") and increase the front suspension travel. In stock form, the 4th Gen OEM front...
Instead, I discovered that Fox makes vehicle specific coilovers for the F-150 which just happen to be very close to the right size for our Explorers.
Here are the stock strut specs:
Extended Length 518.7 mm ( 20.42 in)
Compressed Length 490.7 mm (19.32 in)
Travel Length 71.9 mm (2.83 in)
2.5" wide lower eyelet for 18mm bolt
I had already installed a 3" spacer lift, which adds 1.92" to the shock height, for a total of 22.34" at full droop, but I was still stuck with the stock suspension travel (which is a pitiful 4.5")
The Fox 985-02-007 is essentially a standard 2" IFP coilovers, but with an extended-length single-piece lower eyelet. Fox changes the upper mount plate, springs, damper tuning, and eyelet adapter to make it to work on F-150s, 4Runners, and other common vehicles, providing a different part for each. This one is for 2004-2008 F-150s. Here are the specs
Fox 985-02-007 specs
Extended 21.990"
Compressed 16.600"
Travel 5.390"
Springs: 650 lbs/in
As you can see it's less than a half inch shorter than a 3" lifted Explorer strut, but with twice the travel. Assuming a motion ratio of 1.6, this would give more than 8" of travel. Of course, the ball joints, CV axles, and tie rod ends will all limit it to less than that.
It turns out that with only minor modifications, this can be bolted right into the Explorer front suspension. The main differences are the hole pattern in the shock tower and the bolt mount on the LCA.
Step 1 - Drill the shock tower
I drilled 3x 1/2" holes. I placed them deliberately forward of center to improve clearance to the CV shaft and put more distance between them and the stock holes
Step 2 - Drill the LCA
The stock explorer uses an 18mm bolt with a 2.5" eyelet width. The fox shock uses a 16mm bolt. The Fox shock comes with adapters meant to drop into the slightly larger 20mm holes in the F-150's control arms. I used a 13/16" drill bit to give me a very slightly oversized 20mm hole.
Step 3 - Fabricate a spacer
The eyelet width on the fox shock is about 1/8" narrower than the Explorer's LCA. You'll need to make a spacer to fill the gap. I grabbed a large washer and bored it out to the same 20mm ID. You'll also need to grind it down to avoid interfering with the semi-circular sheet metal on the LCA meant to guide the oem strut into position.
Step 4 - Enjoy
Here's the finished product. Note: I was already running a 3" lift, so I had already dropped the UCA 2" to avoid killing the upper ball joint. If you're not super handy with metal work, you could also just buy the control arms from BTF fab.
Another very important note: From the factory, the fox shocks are set with a very high preload (2.5") to handle the F-150's weight. You'll need to dial that back a lot to get proper ride height on an Explorer. Something like 1" should be about right. I have a heavy off-road bumper and winch, so mine is set at 1.25"
