Jack's 1993 Explorer build thread

[Four0Sport]

More pictures..

First some pictures of the rear bumper and d-rings

I truck bedlined the bottoms of my doors in prep for sliders.. I know ive been talking about them forever but a friend is doing it and I gotta wait for a free weekend.

'95+ mirrors compared to the originals

The new and very neck/ghetto battery hold down. I couldnt stand thinking about the battery getting bounched around and hitting the hood.

And finally.. one of the better things I've done.. I added a second trans cooler. The cooler came off of a 2nd gen from a yard and was fairly simple to drop in. I had to bend part of the mount bracket, then used a speed nut clip and bolt I had laying around from the accident and bolted it to the side of the support. The temp stays steadier around the 150-170 degree mark while driving, doesnt jump up and down quickly like before. I can deffinetly tell that it is helping.

 

[Willard]

So, did the electronics in the mirrors hook up like normal? I'm assuming you have power mirrors, it appears you do.

 

[Four0Sport]

They use the same plug harnesses. I was expecting to have to cut and splice, luckily I didnt have to.

 

[black91EB]

What kind of bedliner did you use, and how was it applied? I really like how it looks.

 

[Four0Sport]

i just used duplicolor rattle can bedliner. the roll on stuff is too expensive.. although it goes on thicker and has more texture. 2 cans of aero bedliner did my rear bumper inside and out with 3 coats, all three of my wiper arms, the bottoms of my doors.. it goes a long way.

 

[black91EB]

i just used duplicolor rattle can bedliner. the roll on stuff is too expensive.. although it goes on thicker and has more texture. 2 cans of aero bedliner did my rear bumper inside and out with 3 coats, all three of my wiper arms, the bottoms of my doors.. it goes a long way.

Definitely going to have to look into that. Of course, mine's black, so it won't show as good a contrast, but it would provide some good protection, and when I build that front bumper, it would be great for that.

 

[Four0Sport]

I picked up everything for a trans filter change at work the other day and woke up to no rain and dry ground so I figured I might as well get it over with. The trans was shifting fine, no problems, just really brown stinky fluid! I picked up Max-Life fluid and a Pro-King filter and a drain plug kit to add to the bottom of the pan.

Surprisingly everything went great with the change, no hang ups besides the plate on the pass side that clips around the pan, that thing was a PITA. Is it just a heat shield? I dont have it clipped back on the pan, its hard to maneuver around the cat. I did not find any metal shavings in the pan, or the dipstick plug. Maybe the trans was serviced by the previous owner afterall.

I put 4qts of fluid in, let it idle to temp then took it for a driver around the neighborhood. Shifts are smooth, all gears engage when they should, no slipping. You dont know how much of a relief that was to me. All I've ever heard were horror stories about changing filter/fluid in auto trans. I know I have only replaced about half of the fluid, which is why I added the drain plug. I can go back later and drain the fluid, and add fresh fluid to it again. Hopefully by that time I have a remote filter installed, If I can ever find one at a reasonable price!

Thanks to the site for all the useful info that helped me do another job myself!

 

[Tbars4]

...How was the oil bath???..

...The tranny plug should have came stock but, it will now be a lot easier for future work...

 

[Four0Sport]

you know.. i drilled a small hole in the bottom of the pan while it was still on the truck and let 'most' of the fluid drain b4 i dropped the pan. When I did drop the pan most of it actually landed in the drain pan, and the ground i was working on. later when i was reinstalling the pan i laid the back of my head in a pool of old fluid. my hair should be shiny for months!

 

[Four0Sport]

 

[Four0Sport]

I finally decided to remove the warrior shackles and get rid of the rake.. I'm happy with how it turned out.

..and a gratuitous flex shot from a run this week

 

[Four0Sport]

Went out and replaced the rear bumpstops with longer ones, looked at the front and found something everyone with a lift dreads.. my drivers drop bracket has rubbed agaisnt my front diff. Very slight groove in the housing, little bur on the bracket. I fought with the factory bumpstop for over an hour.. eff those things. On my way now to pick up some more Energy bumpstops and FINALLY get this thing right. I didnt enjoy taking the coil spring off to get at the bumpstop, so the passenger side is gonna have to wait.

I forgot to mention.. I completely ditched the front sway bar. I was tired of fighting with clevis pins to get the links unhooked and have been driving around for over a week w/out them connected and feel comfortable enough to not need it anymore. We'll see how long that lasts.

 

[Four0Sport]

Ballistic Fab u-bolt spring plates were painted and installed this morning. The bulky factory ones are no more. Meeting with a guy I met on another board about building my rear bumper/tire swingout tomorrow. He does great work and the price was too reasonable to pass up. Will get pics as things happen.

 

[97sprt4x4]

have you tried pulling with the d rings yet? i'm thinking of doing that if it works, i'm just kinda skeptical of the bumper bending horrifically if any force is applied.

Thanks,
justin

 

[Four0Sport]

i havnt pulled anything as heavy as another vehicle.. and i havnt gotten stuck yet and needed pulled out. but if you place the mounts on the insides of the frame rails and reinforce theback with a plate you should be fine.

 

[97sprt4x4]

thanks, i think i may do this over the winter provided nothing breaks between now and then. you're truck is quite impressive, all the little things you've done to it make it very different from anything on here. keep up the good work.

Justin

 

[Four0Sport]

thanks for the compliments!

 

[Four0Sport]

Went and picked up my new receiver bumper/tire swingout from a friend I met on a local Jeep Forum this past Saturday night. The design was a combination of the builders concerns with having the swingout on top of the bumper and clearance with the hatch handle and rear wiper and my idea of having the hinge on the front face of the bumper to ensure a tight fit and less stress on the swingout hinge. I got the idea from looking at lots of pictures of bumpers members on this site have built and bumpers made for various models of Jeeps.

Needless to say I am very happy with the way it all turned out. Main tube of the bumper is 1/4" thick square tubing, swingout pieces are 3/16" square tubing, d-ring mounts are solid bar welded through the bumper on both ends, swingout is gusseted by the tire mount for more strength. Im considering trimming the quarters flush with the bottom of the hatch for a cleaner look.

 

[black91EB]

Went and picked up my new receiver bumper/tire swingout from a friend I met on a local Jeep Forum this past Saturday night. The design was a combination of the builders concerns with having the swingout on top of the bumper and clearance with the hatch handle and rear wiper and my idea of having the hinge on the front face of the bumper to ensure a tight fit and less stress on the swingout hinge. I got the idea from looking at lots of pictures of bumpers members on this site have built and bumpers made for various models of Jeeps.

Needless to say I am very happy with the way it all turned out. Main tube of the bumper is 1/4" thick square tubing, swingout pieces are 3/16" square tubing, d-ring mounts are solid bar welded through the bumper on both ends, swingout is gusseted by the tire mount for more strength. Im considering trimming the quarters flush with the bottom of the hatch for a cleaner look.

That looks very nice. I like the simple design that does nothing extraneous. (big word for the day ) What is that thing on your driver's side taillight?

 

[Four0Sport]

tag light for the license plate.. mounted on a bracket cut out of an old charcoal grille stand. how much more 'redneck engineered' could it get? lol