Hello from Wisconsin.

[once]

Hey,
Had my Explorer since December but due to lack of hours at work I've had no money to do anything to it. Well, hours are finally picking back up and I found this forum so figured I'd join it and say hello!

It's a 97' 4WD XLT. Right now it needs new shocks/struts so that's first on my list of things to do. After that is a tuneup followed by a body lift and new exhaust.

Any tips on a good site to get a deal on a body lift and exhaust? I'd like to run a dual exhaust with a nice mean sound to it. I've found some sites but eh..I want to see if ya`ll know any good ones tailored more towards Explorer`s and off roading instead of the general basic sites like jcw and such.

I'd love to be able to hit some trails with this but need to complete a few upgrades first

Regards,
Adam :exp:

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check out our vendor Road Bully. He might have what you're looking for.

 

[99ex22]

BrooklynBay-His truck is a 1997 so I don't think roadbully will be able to help him very much. ONCE- click on the link below in my signature for lifting information and as for the dual exhaust I would go to a local muffler shop and have them custom bend it for you and all that stuff. Run a Magnaflow muffler for a nice deep tone. Flowmasters in my opinion have a tinny japanese economy car sound to them....v8's can pull flowmasters off but not a v6. It would probably run you anywhere from 300.00 to 475.00 or so depending on if you purchase stainless steel tips or just cheapo chrome ones. hope that helps!

-Russ

 

[99ex22]

forgot to add don't do the exhaust til after you do the body lift and in order to run duals your going to have to lose your spare tire if I remember right. but if you do the body lift your going to want to get rid of the spare or throw it in the cargo area because it will look nasty hanging down below the rear bumper.

 

[once]

Your write up was perfect. Exactly what I was looking for in terms of the body lift.

Magnaflow with or without a cat? I believe I can run straight with mine since it's over 10 years old but I'll have to double check.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome once

 

[Mudd Runner]

Once your going to need to keep your cats your truck would need to be 20 years or older and you would need hobbyist or collectors plates to run no cats.

 

[celly]

Greetings Cheesehead. I'm a Canadian living far from WI, but my wife is from Brookfield (we got married there). I have plans to be down there for Summerfest in a few months (road trip). I love Wisconsin, especially in summer.

I don't agree with the Magnaflow assessment if you have the SOHC engine. I had one on myold '99 Sport and hated it. Sounded like some of the ricey Honda Civics that I see patrolling around town. I actually put a Flowmaster 50 Series on and it was much improved. That being said, I feel that the SOHC can be a "hit and miss" engine to put custom exhaust on. I was never truly satisfied with my exhaust tone until I went with a V8.

Check out our review section here for some member's assessments of exhaust (including mine).

If you have a OHV V6 on your ride, ignore my comments. I've heard the Magnaflow works quite well with the OHV.

I'd put the SEARCH button to work. There are years of posts in the archives and you'll see lots of posts on exhaust which is probably the most personal of mods you'll make outside of paint colour and maybe audio equipment.

Welcome to the best Explorer resource on the web.

 

[99ex22]

here is a clip of my 1999 SOHC with a Magnaflow muffler, 2 1/2" pipe, and I also had them cut off that stupid resonator thing when they installed it.....It doesnt sound ANYTHING like a ricer....ENJOY...

 

[99ex22]

Also, magnaflow has more than one dual in dual out mufflers which all have different sounds to them. same goes for the dual in single out mufflers which I have. I did some research before I just went in and told them I wanted a magnaflow installed. I told him I wanted it to sound as close to a v8 as possible and he did a fantastic job....the welder was a Ranger owner and had a similar setup. check out the 4.0L exhaust clip thread to hear different options.

 

[celly]

here is a clip of my 1999 SOHC with a Magnaflow muffler, 2 1/2" pipe, and I also had them cut off that stupid resonator thing when they installed it.....It doesnt sound ANYTHING like a ricer....ENJOY...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8p5wDVC33k

Sounds decent in that clip.

Mine sounded ricey at speed. Got any drive by clips? I'm not saying yours is ricey by any stretch, but I found the Magnaflow to sound "inconsistent", meaning it sounded good at some revs, but horrible at others. It was especially horrendous on the highway. Hardcore drone at highway speeds. I once got a headache from it literally coming back from a 4 hour road trip. The Magnaflow was installed into the stock pipes and we kept the stock resonator intact. Both the stock pipes and the resonator should make the exhaust quieter, but it really wasn't a sound I cared for. I certainly didn't want it louder!

I wish I had researched my purchase more thorughly (I had just found EF at the time and pretty much jumped on the Magnaflow without reading the threads on the forum). There were other threads complaining of the same issue I had. There were others that loved Magnaflow. Lots of people seemed to like the Flowmaster 50 (SUV Series) and that's what I ended up with and liked that setup.

I fully acknowledge that there are several different options within the Magnaflow line. I'm not sure what the model # is with mine. I do still have it and may use it with my V8 some day as I've heard some great sounding 5.0 applications (including Mustangs) with the Magnaflow.

The Flowmaster that replaced the Magnaflow was installed with 2.5" pipes and no resonator. It actually had less cabin drone than the Magnaflow did with smaller pipes and resonator which shouldn't have been the case. I eventually settled on an aftermarket resonator later on just to quieten down the whole system and it worked like a charm.

Keep in mind that sound dynamics in my 2 door Sport are definitely different than a 4 door so we're comparing apples to oranges in many respects.

Once again, exhaust is pretty personal. What some people post on the site and rave about, I find horrible. Other clips sound great to me and people say they're not loud enough. This is definitely one area where we'll never all agree.

 

[99ex22]

No I dont have anymore clips. that one I posted is really old and wasnt even made to be a exhaust clip lol. Ill try to get a drive by this afternoon. I kind of know what you mean about the droan but it's really not that bad. Then again I am obsessed with aftermarket exhausts and grew up riding in straight piped cummins rams.

 

[celly]

No I dont have anymore clips. that one I posted is really old and wasnt even made to be a exhaust clip lol. Ill try to get a drive by this afternoon. I kind of know what you mean about the droan but it's really not that bad. Then again I am obsessed with aftermarket exhausts and grew up riding in straight piped cummins rams.

Don't sweat it. Was just curious. I won't have any need for a SOHC exhaust any time soon. I'm pretty sold on the 5.0.