going for the gusto...

[NaplesBill]

Dead Link Removed

 

[NaplesBill]

The image doesn't seem to work, here is the web address:



Dead Link Removed

 

[neo77777]

Re: Seriously Lowered

Godfather,
Now that is definately my idea of a sweet looking Explorer! I've been working on my 98 Sport a little over a year and frankly I have looking for the method to getting the right drop. Currently I'm running about 1 1/2 drop with Mustang GT 17X9's and Continental 275/55/R17's. I have re-equipped with Edelbrock IAS shocks, PIAA Pro 90 lamps and an X airdam from Explorer Express. I'll be posting a couple of pics here in the future so we can compare notes. Again nice work!!

 

[X24]

alright guys... heres the story. Today I did the torsion twist... kinda gets you in the mood to dance doesnt it? anyway, I successfully lowered the front of my 98 1.5". Whoo hoo! BUT... I also bought 1" blocks for the rear from autozone today. My plan was to install them tomorrow, but now I dont know if I'm going to. I didnt take any measurements of the rear before I lowered the front but as of now the rear is only .5" higher than the front. It has always been lower than the front. Maybe I'll try to get another .5 out of the front and then put the blocks in the back. Let me know what you think. thanks. BTW... dont suggest that I should go lower than 1" in the back because I cant. My drivers side exhaust pipe will probably start getting hit if I go any lower.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey there everyone ( especially godfather )!!!! well i finally got it done. i did the whole torsion adjuster turn-around. i was a bit skeptical at first if it would work, but trust me it worked. i finally got off my ass and went to autozone and rented the 2-3 arm puller, and it was actually quite easy ( might be for the fact that i am a helo mechanic, and if you can work on them, you can work on anything ). for those that are wondering, it is easily a 1 person job. and godfather was right, a simple and cheap cargo strap ( adjustable strap ), is quite the helping tool when puting the adjuster back in. well it took me about 1 hour, but that was with about 5 beers also, so it actually would have been a lot less time if not for the beer breaks. well i took pics but by the time i got off work and finished the job the sun had set, so i will take pics of them tomorrow. with the bolts all the way removed and the torsion adjuster turnaround, all in all, it dropped more than 3" from factory, probably close to 4". i'll post pics tomorrow. thanks agian godfather for all the help. you were the answer i was looking for......

 

[psychotic]

Hey FAST, how did you notch the cross member??? where, and how? please help, I'm only 15, and my dad will help me, but he doesn't want us screwing it up, and he is a little weary of stuff i get online, so i'm gonna prove him wrong. Any help?

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

hey pyschotic

well i didn't notch my crossmember yet. i will do that later on. but if you do notch it, go further back in this post and it shows the pics of where godfather notched his, he said he used a plasma cutter. good luck.

 

[psychotic]

so you can flip the T-bar without notching it? What is the notching part for?

 

[Godfather 1138]

Sorry guys, crazy stuff going on here.

Psych...It is not nesecary to notch the crossmember, the only reason that I did was to get a little more of a drop BEFORE I flipped the adjuster. You DO NOT need to notch it, it's a waste if you are going to flip the adjuster. I wish I hadn't....especially when I think about how much that shop charged me to use the plasma cutter.

FastAzz....glad to hear everything went (fairly) smooth for you. I can't wait to see the pics.

Bill...Your X looks awsome! I love those wheels on it, and the color. I hope you decide to go a little lower with it, but it still looks great even if you don't.

Neo...thanks for the compliments. I'm looking foward to seeing yours. I was concidering putting some 2000 GT wheels on mine so I'm curious as to how they look.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

here are the pics

first off, thank you again godfather for your help in this thread. well here are 2 links for the pics of my newly dropped version of my X i took today.

 

[X24]

Good thing or bad thing?

I have dropped the front about 2.25" and I have not removed the bolts yet. I thought the MOST you could get out of a TT was 2" I will probably take them out completely only because I dont like them sticking out that far. Is it possible to get over 2" with a TT and if so would it do dammage? I also put in the blocks today. It looks pretty good. Ill have pics up one of these days.

 

[psychotic]

hey FastAzz, very good job!!!! What kind of tail lights do you have ?

 

[Johnny V]

...NICE JOB FASTAZZ!!!!

DID YOU REMOVE THE STOPPERS IN THE REAR?
I WAS LOOKING @ MINE TODAY, AND WITH A 3" BLOCK IT APPEARS THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO BE REMOVED , OR CUT DOWN. GOD FATHER REMOVED HIS COMPLETLY AND JUST HAS A RUBBER STRIP IN IT'S PLACE (IF MY MEMORY SERVES CORRECT) ALSO I THINK HE SAYS HE BOTTOMS THE FRAME OUT ONCE IN A WHILE (GODFATHER IF I QUOTED YOU WRONG PLEASE CORRECT ME)

ALSO DID YOU GET AN ALLIGNMENT, A COUPLE OF MY LOCAL GUYS SAID IT WOULD BE THE COST OF A REGULAR ALLIGNMENT (ABOUT $55.00) AND CAM KIT (SHIMS ABOUT $30.00) AND THE COST OF INSTALLING THE CAM KIT ($65.00 PER SIDE)

I WAS JUST GETTING READY TO MINE AND THOUGT ,"ID BETTER CALL AND SEE WHAT THIS WILL RUN". GLAD I DID, I'LL HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK NOW! I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE AROUND AND LEAVE BLACK SNAIL TRAILS FROM THE RUBBER SCRATCHING OFF THE INSIDES OF THE TIRES.

SO I'LL UPDATE NEXT WEEKEND WITH PHOTO'S TOO AFTER I COMPLETE IT.

JOHNNY

 

[benj75]

fastazz4.0:

is your EX "bright amber metallic"? it looks like it from the pics. my EX is exactly like yours minus the gold pinstripe.

i like the color ALOT. there are EX's everywhere, but not any this color in my area. besides a pic I saw on another site(which sucks so bad, i won't name it), yours is the first EX i've seen with the same paint. is this a rare color?
***

i planned on dropping mine yesterday, but it rained HARD, plus i had to work overtime. so, i pulled it inside during my lunch break, trimmed the bump stops and removed the adjuster bolts. the front dropped 2". hopefully today, or sometime this week, i'll drop the rear. with the rear sag i have, moving the spacers on top of the leaf should level it out.

the ride (with stock shocks) isn't bad at all, i was expecting worse. after i get shocks, i'll probably go for the 3" drop.

 

[benj75]

about moving the spacers:

someone in an old thread(can't remember which one), said something about having to remove a pin from the spring, before moving the spacers, and replacing afterwards.

anyone know more about this?

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

whoa!!!!!!!!

well to start off, pyschotic, they are the new carbon fiber altezza taillights. 98fordx24 i removed the bolts completely before when i did the TT, but that was because i was trying to find a parking space at work and ran over the curb stops to get to it and bent the hell out of the bolts. but it didn't do any damage from the TT, it didn't even throw out my alignment til i did the torsion adjuster swaparound. now my camber is off, but i'll get that fixed this weekend. johnny V, all i did in the rear was swap the blocks on the leaf spring. it is fairly simple, just jack up the rear diff, and remove the 4 bolts on the bottom of the U-bolts. use a set of vice grips to hold the top of the bolt that goes through the blocks and swap them around to the top and reinstall them the same way you removed them. it takes about an hour to do it. just use commo sense when it comes to safety ( ie: jacks, chalks etc. etc. ). benj75, yes i do have that color paint, i like it too. there are tons of explorers here where i live, and i am the only one that has this color. as far as the pin goes that you are talking about, it is actually a bolt with around head, thus the reason that you need a pair of vice grips to hold it while removing the nut, it is easier with a buddy to hold it. use some WD-40 too, it makes things a lot easier. if you read in this post about my reply to johnny V, it gives a brief description about how to do it. good luck and thanks everyone for the compliments..

 

[RTStork]

FastAZZ4.0, where did you get the Carbon fiber tail lights and also where did you get that sticker on your back window? I want both.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

sorry

hey RTStork, well i got the sticker in Va. from a guy who makes vinyl stickers, and the taillights i bought off the net, i forget the site. i gotta have something that nobody else has.

 

[benj75]

fastazz4.0: thanks for the tips about the rear.

i used a penetrating spray and still couldn't get the nuts on the u-bolts loose. i put a pipe on the end of my ratchet for more leverage..............and broke my ratchet.


oh well. i'm going to see if the shop that's doing my alignment can swap the spacers for me. if they want more than $20, i'll just find someone at work, who has air tools, to help me.

 

[FastAZZ4.0]

hey benj75, try giving it a little coersion by tapping on the tip of the nuts into a gradual beating session with a hammer. that is what i had to do to break up the rust and crap on the threads of the nuts on my u-bolts. oh yeah, and buy snap-on or craftsmen, if you break 'em, just take it to sears and get a new one, hassle free. you pay more but you ever have to pay for a replacement toll unless you break them. good luck