i need your opinions please

[raptor86]

i have an 01 explorer 4.0. XLT. Can anyone tell me if i have an electronic transmission or not? thanks.

while im at it, maybe you guys can give me some advice. I got this suv and i have no major complaints except that i feel like a soccer mom. I got this truck off of my stepmothers lease becasue atleast i would have peace of mind of knowing the owner and what happened to it. But theres nothing i can do to it, cant lift it or anything. TO make things worse, its gold/champagne. Not the toughest color in my opinion. I use this vehicle to commute to college (34 miles each way) go skiing, messing around offroad a lil and hauling my dirtbike. I do a lot of highway driving. When i was young, i always saw how most guys had muscle cars or trucks and women had the vans and sedans. Back then, both suv's and pickups were included in the category of trucks. Now if your driving a new style suv, your no different than if you were driving a ford taurus or vw jetta or something...just another average various purpose vehicle with all sorts of people driving them and no specific image behind it. yes there could be a soccer mom driving an f-250 and yes there could be an extreme sports pro in a minivan, but whre i live, when u see an suv, soccer mom/yuppy comes to mind....if anything comes to mind at all. I dont wanna sound like some ungrateful A-hole either. ITs just that 14k is being paid for a vehicle either way...wouldnt it make more sense to get one that matches my lifestyle/is associated with my lifestyle and i can atleast be proud of. Maybe im just being stupid or having a severe case of ADD i dont know about. O and before this X i had a 94 s-10 blazer....that was a truck and nobody argued with that. NOw, if i tell people i hae a truck, when they first see it there like, o its not a REAL truck.

i am considering selling my X and purchasing either a chevy colorado or toyota tacoma w/manual trannies. What do u guys think. Id appreciate any comments wheter they be positive, neutral, or negative. I need to figure this out. O, and a pickup gets 23 mpg highway....my X gets 17 if im lucky.

 

[huskyfan23]

It does.

 

[raptor86]

thanks...i assume your saying "it does" to the tranny part of my post. Please correct me if im wrong. Thanks for the quick response!

 

[dman726749]

why cant you lift it, just a little 2" lift and some 31's will make it stand out and look a little more 'manly'

 

[raptor86]

if i could do that i would. But i dont think u can on 01's. I did a decent amount of reading. I was actually about to buy a rear lift kit at pep boys but then i realized the rear shocks were mounted to the frame so it wouldnt work...or something like that. My friend is the car genius and he was so psyched until he realized the non conventional truck design of my "truck" I was gonna put a 3 inch lift and do the torsion bar twist.

 

[dman726749]

i beleive you can add some shackles to the leaf springs and do the tt, i see no reason why not, the suspinsion was the same from 95-01

 

[ZachMan]

Advice:

I've owned

1994 F150 reg. cab 4x4 (5.0L)
1999 Chevy S-10 ext.cab (4.3L)
1993 Chevy Blazer 4x4 (5.7L)
2000 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 (4.0L, lifted, locked, etc)
2004 Chevy Z71 ext cab (5.3L)

Now I just got my 2000 Explorer XLS 4X4 and couldn't be more happy. It was cheap and its a good ride for the money. I am 22 and currently looking to buy a house and could care less what others think. I don't see any Explorer being "girly" and this is from a Big time Chevy/Jeep man. So Isay unless your having problems keep the X.

BTW, good luck on that Taco getting 23 mpg, lol. Please don't get a Colorado, they are way overpriced IMHO and have you sen how low the frame actually is? Look at where the rear springs attach to the frame, lol. My $35k Z71 was $4k more than an ext. cab Colorado 4x4 ext.cab, all thanks to A. good rebates and B. Colorados being WAY overpriced, they are very cheap inside also.

 

[raptor86]

thanks for your opinion. Yeah, the colorado was just a thought because i dont need major truck capabilies of a full size pickup...just like to know it has some capabilities when needed. What about the Yota? Ive never heard complaints?

btw, what i saw at Pep boys (please excuse my lack of vocab) was basically a larger size U bolt for the leaf springs and basically a block of steel to put in between to act as a spacer. My friend thought it would work but then he said something about the way the rear shock were mounted it was be a PITA!...I dont dislike my X, but right now....its too girly for me. If i could lift it, i would be happier.

 

[dman726749]

the blocks would lower your explorer, what you need are warrior shackles..they mount to the fram and leaf springs to lift the truck..cost about 60 bucks and cranking the torsion bars is free plus and anliment...do some searching around there is tons on info about lifting your truck like this.

 

[IAmTodd]

You need to do more reading. Every shock is mounted to the frame. Thats its purpose. Doing the 2 inch torsion twist(search for it) and adding shackles and add a leafs(search once again) you will obtain two inches of lift and be able to easily clear 31" tires and 32" tires with minor trimming.

 

[BBQ_HotDogs]

My advice to you is to keep the Explorer until you get out of College, then when you are working and getting a decent salary and paying for you own home, then you may consider getting something different. But stick with what you got now. Dependabilty is #1 priority when you are still in school. Plus insurance payments change everytime you get a different vehicle. I beleive they cost more for a pickup than certain SUV's.

 

[ExplorerSportNu]

NOw, if i tell people i hae a truck, when they first see it there like, o its not a REAL truck.

I consider my X one bad looking pimp a@@ motha fu@ka, IMHO. I don't think the chevy colorado looks very "manly" at all, small looking truck IMHO. Now I wouldn't mind a toyota tacoma, those are pretty nice IMHO. As far as your xploder, 3" lift with some 33's you'll be good to go

 

[raptor86]

yeah i dont want u guys to think i DIDNT search about lifts. I actually spent atleast an hour or so reading up. But from what i could figure out (my mechanical ability when it comes to road vehicles is limited) the only thing i could do was by those add a leaf's which supposadly made my ride stiffer as well, or go to a junkyard and find old f-150 leaves... the f150 leaf swop isnt practical at the moment plus there was so many possible things to go wrong. 1. the amount of lift depended on the amount of abuse or "load" the truck/leaves had with the owners cause if they sag it wouldnt be much help anyway. Then you had ot make sure you kept them in order from drivers side to passenger side and not confuse them. Then there was something else a lot of guys said they were replacing (i forget what it was)while doing the conversion because the original ones were worn out.

as far as the lift kit i was explaining, on the package it said it was for a 3' suspension LIFT and it seemed to make sense to my friend. Maybe it depends where you put the metal spacer/shim.

the whole wait til college ended thing was what i was planning. Im working full time and going to school full time. id rather not have the new truck payments. But where i live i see almost as many suv's as i do cars. its pathetic. these yuppy soccer moms in their escalades, hummer H2's, navigators, tahoe's, etc. I guess its a pet peeve of mine and i was just starting to have an overload.

 

[glfredrick]

as far as the lift kit i was explaining, on the package it said it was for a 3' suspension LIFT and it seemed to make sense to my friend. Maybe it depends where you put the metal spacer/shim.

You need to spend some time on your back under your truck... Just jack it up and set it on some nice $25.00 jack stands from Wally World, and then take a look around under there. Everything will start making sense when you see it instead of listening to your "car expert" buddy that sounds like a Ricer dude...

The reason that the "lift blocks" won't work on the Ex is becasue of the way the springs mount to the rear axle (note that leaf sprung cars and trucks are about evenly divided in the way they mount - some mount the springs UNDER the axle housing, some mount the springs OVER the axle housing). If the springs are UNDER the axle housing (Like the Ex) then adding the blocks will LOWER the truck. If the springs are OVER the axle housing (Like the Ranger) then they will RAISE the truck. Very simple once you see where the blocks go (between the spring and the axle housing).

So, it all comes down to who you are going to believe...

Some parts monkey working at Pep Boys that drives a Honda or the guys on this forum that have lifted and modified Explorers in every concievable way...

Your choice...

 

[raptor86]

please give me a moment to clarify what i have said so far.
1. My friend...furthest thing from a ricer u can get. Hes actually a diehard muscle car ford guy. he convinced me to go to carlisle for ford nationals with him this year actually. hes 17, his cars all paid for himself and restore himself. (lincoln lsc and mustang notchback) He replaced the tranny in his lincoln in a day by himself at school and he has built from almost the ground up 2 5.0 style mustangs for close friends. ALl of which have 351's in them and are running perfectly. Two nights ago i actually towed HIS notch to his uncles so he could get started on his stang restoration and drop his 351 windsor in that he assembled himself. Hes the one that also did my disconnect AWD mod for me ( i think its called the "brown wire mod")

Most likely, what GLfredrick said was what my friend said and "I" just confused it. Kinda like how i sometimes say pvc valve instead of pcv valve (positive crankcase ventilation) Not to mention we assesed me X's lift potential at 9pm in the freezin cold.

SO you guys are saying i just have to add shackles and ill get my rear lift? or do i have to add add-a-leaf's too? thanks

 

[glfredrick]

No problem...

I would not have expected what seemed to be an uninformed decision about something like lifting an Ex from someone that is that familiar with Ford products.

Your Ex lifts the same way as any other Ford - shackles, if need be an add-a-leaf, and in the front, a torsion twist (and at that - not too much - or you loose the suspension's ability to travel - 2" is about the max).

That will fit some agressive 31's, which on the right wheels with a few additional parts will get the manly look you are gunning for...

 

[stubborn1]

Explorer + college = Road Trip Mobile

Who cares what other people "might" think about your Explorer. Look at it this way - you are lucky enough to have a car at college. When I went to college, I would guess only 30% of the people had cars there.

 

[raptor86]

yes very true. Road trips are fun and i do alot. i generally do about 45k miles a year.
the reason i have a car for college is because i commute to college, i dont dorm. I go to STony Brook in NY.

like i said, i know i am VERY LUCKY to have a vehicle for college and a rather new, expensive one at that. Im not asking for something BETTER or MORE EXPENSIVE, but rather something that is more purpose built and applies to my lifestyle and suites my needs better. its not that im ungrateful for what i have, it just seems that the money would be better spent on something else.

as for the TT, are u saying that when i gain ground clearance, i in turn, lose suspension travel? and i reallly appreciate the feedback from everyone. thanks!

o and btw, about the springs being under or over the axle, i looked under the X for two seconds and i completely understand what u mean..and my friend means. I definately just mixed up what he was saying. Its amazing what daylight what do for you!

 

[glfredrick]

as for the TT, are u saying that when i gain ground clearance, i in turn, lose suspension travel? and i reallly appreciate the feedback from everyone. thanks!

Yes... It is possible to TT and end up with zero travel - as you will be up against the bump stops. The cure for this is an expensive spindle lift which gives you both lift and travel - but most guys just go for the modest TT and do some "trimming" for tire clearance. You can also body lift for an additional 2 or 3 inches if need be.

GJarrett is running 35's on his EX with a TT, shackle and AAL and some trimming.

 

[raptor86]

yeah i guess ill just keep it for 3 more years. not sure if ill do the TT cause i dont like the idea of losing suspension travel.

btw, this is kinda a weird question but... i was changing my oil this weekend and let the truck sit with the hood up while it was draining for a while. I usually take off the oil cap and put it back on crooked so that air can get in, without having a big opening. well, this time for some reason i didnt. it was windy and since its fall the leaves were falling off the trees. As im putting everything back on to finish my oil change i thought to myself (as a couple leaves hit my head or go in the engine bay) what if a leaf fell in through the oil add hole? I looked inside wiht a flashlight and didnt see anything but what if this happened? Sounds like a stupid paranoid question im sure but i think it is possible. What kinda damage would this do? engine seems to be running normal. I just added my usual half quart of LUcas and closed the hood and decided to not worry about it, but im worrying about it. thanks