I got the green light!!

[F'in Bob]

...to actually do some much needed trail work on Barney. Its a 96 Sport, and I'm looking to add bigger tires, gears, and maybe a 2" body lift since the suspension mods available for my year are scarce. So, if you folks have any advice, like where to go in this are for work (Matt, Perry?), let me know. Not sure of the order I will go in, but I am keeping an eye on the Moab trip. Seems that trip screams for gears, big tires, skidplates, etc...

Thanks for the help!

 

[mattadams]

F'in Bob, check out this thread... Dead Link Removed

 

[F'in Bob]

Thanks Matt...

...good thread. High Country is only about 20 minutes from the house. Next question. What order should I go in?
1)Body/Suspension Lift, skid plates
2)Gears
3)Tires?

Thanks.

 

[Robert]

Something like this? Raised the torsion bars, added longer shackels, taller tires, Borla exhaust, SuperChip and K&N FIPK.

Dead Link Removed

 

[Goober]

F'in Bob, glad to see Barney is growing some bal..... I mean growing up. LOL

 

[F'in Bob]

Nice color...

...kind of grows on you doesn't it! I see on your signature that you have 4.10's and a limited slip. What kind of unit is it? Do you have a stick(I do) or auto. And , I have thought about going to a 16" tire to get a free inch of clearance. What size tires?

Thanks..

 

[F'in Bob]

disregard the tire size question...

...d'oh.

 

[Robert]

Ford factory 4.10 traction lock limited slip. 5-speed automatic (only one offered in '97 with the SOHC V6). The Barney color isn't nearly as popular here in Arizona (which I like) as it was in Ohio when I bought it. I have seen maybe 3 other Barney's in the two years that I have been here but they all had the black trim and 15" wheels. I almost bought the Willow Green until I saw Barney.

 

[Perry]

F'in Bob,
glad to see you are looking at going to Moab. Just remember if you don't get yours any farther then stock there is still trails for the stock Explorer's.
As for what you should do first, I have no idea since you have the newer model. I do know having lower gears would be a good thing. I have the 3.73 gears and 33" tires and in the mountains it sucks! By next week that will change.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!lol
You might want to talk to Sinjin or GJarret since they have the same style you do and they both have done the lift and torsion twist thing.
If you start working on this, I might be able to help you with some of it. Just depends on when, what, etc etc.
Looking forward to seeing you and your other half in Moab.

 

[F'in Bob]

Thanks Perry...

...not sure should be first. I could live with the tires I have now since they are fairly new. Gears would probably be the first thing I would get. Then suspension work...we'll see how it works out. I can't see being without the truck for 2-3 days...

 

[Ray Lobato]

Bob,
1. How big of tires do you want to put on?
2. What gear do you have now?
3. If you have to regear, Can you afford lockers/Limited slip?
4. Do I want to keep this as a daily driver or make a monster out of it.
5. How much are you willing to spend on it? alot and make a monster or just enough to accomplish question number 1.




If you can answer those questions, then I can tell you how to and in what order you need to do this without spending money needlessly. This is the right time to modify your 96, because everything you would want is available. The problem I ran into was not everything I wanted was available and had to wait thus it cost me alot more than I wanted it to.
plus had I done it in a different order I would have done things differently.

[Edited by Ray Lobato on 12-08-2000 at 08:19 PM]

 

[mattadams]

by the way, High Country is still my top dog here in town. After waiting since May (wow, 7 months already) for ARB to get the locker warranty situation figured out, High Country themselves finally cut me a check, said they felt bad because I was having to wait so long to get ARB to sort there stuff out. I'd say take it there, they'll charge you more on labor but trust me, it's much better to pay more one time then pay less several times (hence Dick Cepek who basically did very few things RIGHT on my installation)

 

[Anime]

order

F'in Bob..this is just my opinion but there might be a good order for basic mods:

1. lift/sus
Decide how high you wanna be and what size tires you think you want...I advise this first so you can actually see how high the difference is from stock.

2. tires/wheels
seems like an obvious next step...after you got the height you wanted to clear your tires, do the tires next to make sure they fit and look like you wanted, again this is so you can compare the ride, stability, etc to "stock", and the height and handling differences with new (larger)tires compared to stock.

3. gears
depending how big you went, this also seems obvious so you can use the previous mod to determine the gears you want/need..depending on the tire size you got, you then choose the gears for your purpose.


after that, go nuts...do whatever else you think goes well for what you do with your ride, winches, recovery equipment, racks, lights, bumpers, etc etc.
Its nice to have this stage last since you can buy stuff that fits the new version of your truck and not have to sell something that doesnt fit because of the new lift, tires, etc...and you don have to relocate stuff that rubs, hits, etc either.

Have fun with it..hope to see it all decked out soon!

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

Jonathan,

I'm same age as you so I know what you're goin through , but I'm turnin mine into a streeter. I'm gonna start saving up till I can really do some work on the engine. Then I'll get some bigger tires, just in case, because Bucky occasionally sees the mud. Plus it has the air suspension so thats all the lift I need. But in a few years I'll have a lifted X-plorer, just not this one...

BTW, go with 31's. Goober has 4 inches and 32's, and it looks really sweet.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

You could install either one yourself, one just might be harder than the other. Surely theres a shop somewhere close that doesnt charge that much that can put it on. But if you take your time and do it carefully you can put the 3 inch on. Now that I thought about it, if you go with 2inches I'd get 31's, and if you get the 3, yeah, go with 32's. Depends on how much suspension travel you want.

 

[F'in Bob]

Thanks Ray...

...for the detailed questions and answers. I want a truck that could go anywhere and hang with anyone. But that would have its limitaions, like my budget. So far my budget is flexible. I can afford to do some here and there. I'd like a 2" body lift, 33's and gearing to match...

Thanks for all the replys. I did see a Ranger at Discount Tire in Littleton with Goodyear MT's 33 x 12's. It looked pretty tough. But he has no travel room left...

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi Bob,
With some OME shocks and springs along with a 2" body lift all you would need is a locker in the back,in addition to the gears and your 33's will take you just about anywhere.
This would be a very good setup that would take you through any 3+ trail and even a few 4's.
One more thing I would suggest for the future would be a AtlasII T-case.

The most expensive thing is the gears and locker. I always say this in one breath because they go hand and hand, and if you ever think about getting a locker, the time to do it is when you are putting in the gears. If you are gonna do 4wheeling GET A LOCKER/LS. Without one, your are seriously hampering your traction.
Really the thing to do is gather all this stuff so you have it all before you start puttimg it on, then take it to get your gears and locker. Once back home put your body lift on then the springs and shocks then the tires and your ready to take on Moab.

[Edited by Ray Lobato on 12-12-2000 at 11:30 PM]

 

[Perry]

Hey Ray Lobato,
Can Bob do the lift first without doing the gears and lockers?
I told him I would help him with the lift so he could save money for the gears. I don't think the order would matter, but I do agree you do the gears and locker at one time. Saves on labor.
With the 2" body lift, do you have to do anything with the radiator or wiring???
E-mail me with things we need to watch for on the lift.
we3schw@att.net

 

[F'in Bob]

Good ideas...

...absolutely planned on doing the posi at the same time as the gears. Thats the way I did it on the 5.0 and it does save time and money. Was thinking an Auburn in the back and not sure for the front...its only money...can't spend it when you're dead!

 

[Ray Lobato]

Originally posted by Perry
Hey Ray Lobato,
Can Bob do the lift first without doing the gears and lockers?
I told him I would help him with the lift so he could save money for the gears. I don't think the order would matter, but I do agree you do the gears and locker at one time. Saves on labor.
With the 2" body lift, do you have to do anything with the radiator or wiring???
E-mail me with things we need to watch for on the lift.
we3schw@att.net

Perry, Sure you can. A 2" body lift will only cost you $70.00. that's the cheapest thing to buy.
I would really suggest investing in some OME springs and shocks. I know I sound like a salesman, but I'm telling you, those things will make a tremendous improvement in ride and articulation for the rear. Ask Paul Gagnon how he likes his, or Tom Wilks. If they made 4" lifted springs, I would definately buy them.
On the body lift, yes you have to move the radiator and fan shrouding. I don't think any wires had to be moved. You will have to fab your own bumper brackets.
Gerald told me that he had to stretch his metal brake lines at the top where they come from the master cylinder, but I didn't have that problem. Make sure you liquid wrench those bolts before you get ready to take them out.