Getting the 2wd Trail Ready

[Arthur]

There are three things that I plan on doing soon to make the explorer more capable offroad.

The first thing I am doing is putting on 4 tow hooks. They came in the mail today. In the rear I want to drill out this bolt that is right behind the shackles and replace it with one of the bolts supplied with the tow hooks and then drill the second hole and mount it to the frame.

Here is the bolt I want to drill out...

and here is how I plan on mounting them in the rear...

Before I mount the front tow hooks and I want to mount a skid plate. The skid plate is the second thing on my list to get the explorer more trail worthy. I wanted to know what skid plates you would suggest. Does anyone have the James Duff skid plate? Its on sale for $75 right now and that I'm probably going to order it this week.

The third thing is the big thing. I have a 2wd explorer with the 3.08 open differential and thats gotta go. I want an electronic locker for the rear 8.8 axle and I want to re-gear to either 4.10 or 4.56. Any suggestions for this? What are the cheapest electric lockers? What are the most reliable?

 

[pughman]

tow hooks are the best us 2wd's can add for off road ! lol.....

 

[swak6287]

tranny cooler....the bigger the better.
i hate the fact that i never had low end torque until i got the cherokee.
friends that do not mind jumping in and out of their trucks to tow u when u get stuck. after a while, they get tired. put a little catch on the hook so u can just hang your hoop of your strap on it, and throw the strap to the top of the ex. saves a lot of time that way.
have fun.

 

[Arthur]

tow hooks are the best us 2wd's can add for off road ! lol.....

yeah you're probably right
have you installed them on the stomper?

 

[pughman]

no, i have not try'd to go that far off road yet.....we do more mud'n here than off road trails...and it does very good in the mud...

 

[Arthur]

it'll do better once you get those SSRs...

anyone have any electric locker suggestions

 

[dkchrist]

eaton elocker (used in H1,H2,and H3 toyota uses very similar version) Auburn are pretty good from what i have heard but stay away from detroit electrac heard of them having a lot of engagement problems or just stay away for electric all together and use and OX locker

 

[Arthur]

i definitely want to have a selectable locker because it is my daily driver

 

[95offroadx]

get a better limited slip in the rear.. mine truck does awesome in 2wd(even though its 4x4)...its cheaper

 

[Arthur]

im stickin with the selectable locker... limited slip is nice but i want more

 

[little x]

The Auburn ECTED is i believe the cheapest. You can find it for $550. The ARB is probably the nicest, and you can inflate your tires/run air tools. But it is expensive, maybe arround $1050 when it's all said and done. OX are the middle ground in price. But you pretty much know an OX is going to work, since you don't have to rely on electricity or air, just a cable. It's just as reliable as your throttle.

 

[Arthur]

The Auburn ECTED is i believe the cheapest. You can find it for $550. The ARB is probably the nicest, and you can inflate your tires/run air tools. But it is expensive, maybe arround $1050 when it's all said and done. OX are the middle ground in price. But you pretty much know an OX is going to work, since you don't have to rely on electricity or air, just a cable. It's just as reliable as your throttle.

does the gear ratio make a difference in the price? thanks this is the best response ive had

 

[little x]

It depends on the specific model, if you check their sites you will learn a lot. I would regear when you add your locker.

 

[Gopher]

unless you're in snow just get a detroit. Strong and dont have to worry about other things. Remember the more choices you have the more that can go wrong. ha.

If you plan to stay with 33's then 4.10 would be ok but if you go 35 then you need 4.56.

 

[Arthur]

unless you're in snow just get a detroit. Strong and dont have to worry about other things. Remember the more choices you have the more that can go wrong. ha.

If you plan to stay with 33's then 4.10 would be ok but if you go 35 then you need 4.56.

I never drive in snow because it never snows here... but the ex is my daily drive and a locker would make it suck on the street wouldn't it? Thats why I want to go with a selectable one. Yeah I am probably gonna go 4:10 instead of 4:56 for better gas mileage.

 

[Gopher]

mileage with the gears is all depending on how you drive and what tires you have. See some might say that even though you have lower gears (higher number) your mileage will go down. This isn't always true since the motor will have less strain on it to pull the same weight.

If you want to keep mileage then i wouldnt even touch your truck. The lift, tires, and gears equals out to around 12-15 mpg.

The detroit is fine for driving around town. You do change your style a little bit, but sometimes barking the tires can be fun.

 

[Arthur]

alright well im gonna look into it... but i definitely want to regear because i lost a lot of power when switched to 31" tires from the 225/70R15 (27.4")

 

[FROADER]

A locker is fine for a daily driver. I did it for 3 years with 35s and no sway bars.

 

[Arthur]

e-z locker is pretty cheap... but I don't understand how it works... it says it is automatic, but what engages it?

do i have 31 or 28 spline?

 

[Mud Bug 94]

31 spline. and the E-Z is a spring loaded unit that is engaged when you hit the gas but disengaged when coasting.for example..if you made a sharp turn in a parking lot (coasting,not on the gas)it will disengage and engage several times (click,click,click,click)but if you hit the gas while turning the in side tire will chirp and screech.