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Jack's 1993 Explorer build thread

Heres a quick rundown of my 1993 Ford Explorer Sport

4.0L OHV
A4LD auto trans
4.88s
narrowed hp 44 with spartan lunchbox
8.8 with powertrax no-slip
roughly 6" of overall lift
trans temp guage
rear tube bumper
custom front winch bumper
Rugged Ridge 10.5lb winch
38.5x14.50r15 TSL SXs on DIY TMI beadlocks
internal roll cage
corbeau reclining seats
no glass
dents
scrapes
good times

winter project: extended radius arms with ballistic joints

My 93 2dr was the first vehicle I bought and paid for myself which is one of the reasons I still have it today. The other reason.. do I need to explain? We all know why we have our trucks. I got the vehicle when I was 19 as a daily driver to school and work. This is the oldest picture I can find of the truck, and I already had started putting money into it.

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I wasnt a big fan of the deerprints so I had a set of 5 spoke steelies from an old BII of ours powdercoated black and put on a set of 30x9.50 TA K/Os. Winter was coming and I had had other explorers with auto hubs fail on me when I needed them so off they came and on went a set of Warns. The truck looked great with the wheel/tire combo and the factory black trim, cant find a pic though.

When I got the truck it had 85K miles on the odometer, a few years and 45K miles later the engine finally gave out. The truck sat for a year or so but I couldnt get rid of it. A friend from work helped me get ahold of a 90K mile 4.0L and $600 later (including install and other parts) the truck was back on the road.

Found another good deal through a friend on some 31x10.50 BFG Long Trails mounted on American Racing 15x8 Outlaw IIs...

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But I had a very slight rub at full lock.. so I had to lift it a little, right? RoughCountry leveling springs and Warrior shackles were on it the next week.

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Those springs were stiff.. I took it for an alignment and they said I needed drop brackets before they could align it. Dissappointed I drove home, with horrible camber. Thats when it hit me.. If I need to buy drop brackets I might as well buy a 4" lift, and some shocks, and a pitman arm, and some AALs and get some 4dr leaf packs from the salvage yard and.. well you get the idea.

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As you can see.. everything held together during the first 'test run' of the new suspension.

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I dont drive my 93 every day.. gas is too much for the 50 mile round trip drive to work. That doesnt mean it sits at home though. Ive taken it on a few trips this summer and take it out on the weekends to have some fun.

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I have been a member of this site for some time now and I felt it was time for me to jump up to Elite and make a contribution after all the help, advice, feedback and knowledge I have gained from the other members. It wasnt till I found this site that I thought I would be able to do this kind of work myself, and with everyones help I have. I'll keep this updated as changes are made.

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- Jack
 



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I was going to install the locker today, but got caught up doing work on my dads tow rig and now I gotta go in to work.. shouldnt have answered the phone..

In the meantime, heres a few poser pics from this past sunday.

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Looking good. :D:thumbsup:


How's the Monte?
 












I went to start it up and the cheapo wal-mart battery in it was dead! grabbed my spare optima, and it was too low to start it! ..its jealous

That's aggravating.
 


















Got the locker installed over the weekend.. along with the SOLID diff cover I purchased, and the BallisticFab optima box I got from my fiance as an early birthday present.

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...You are going to love having a locker after running open as things will now seem effortless...I do miss the art of picking lines while wheeling open though..

...How do you like your new Optima box???...I do find it unique that 2 guys from each side of the country, on the same Forum, installed the same battery box on the same weekend and didn't even no about the others plans...Great minds think alike...:D
 






lol.. did you install one too? It fit great after cutting off the 4 outside tabs. I did however have to drill right where the factory tray angles down into a dip. grade 8 5/16" bolts did the trick, wasnt too bad to get a washer and nut and box end wrench underneath the tray either.

I've done some pretty amazing things and surprised quite a few Jeeps wheelin open, cant wait to see where the locker takes me!
 












Just thought I'd share this youtube video of a club run from 3/28. I dont know why I tried to take the high part of the trail.. but there was a definite pucker moment in there. It doesnt look like much from the video but that turn is a wicked obstacle.

 






the 4.10 LS 8.8 is in.. let me tell ya, the truck feels like a whole new beast. rpm's are low enough now that the TC lock-up engaged, I can use 4th gear, and the disc brakes are a big improvement even w/out adjusting the booster rod or changing out the MC. ..still waiting on the front R&P to get here though.

the front and rear bumpers I have on my truck have weighed it down, alot. I'd say I lost over an inch and a half of height over the past year. my ford dealer and rockauto want too much for f-150 spacers IMO, the daystar coil spacers are ~130, can I run 6" lift springs with my 4" drop brackets? if so.. and the only problem would be camber, I'm still using stock bushings so it should be able to be corrected with adjustable bushings. thats the big question for today guys.. hope someone out there can help me out!
 






Go with the washers for the spacers. I got mine at tractor supply for around ten bucks. I think the diameter of them was 3". I couldn't see paying $130 for spacers or how ever much for f150 coil seats..... the washers do the same thing. As for the degree of bushing, I left that up to the alignment shop.

Glad to see you got lower gears and I bet your tranny is thanking you for it!!!! I am guessing you have limited slip in the rear now and lockerless?
 






yeah.. sold the locker to a member on this site. its so nice to be able to DD the 93 again, no shakes, jerks.. better acceleration, no slowing to a crawl on hills on the interstate. if Motive Gear would have been on the ball I would have the D35 R&P already installed in the new center section I got.

actually.. im looking forward to tearing the front end down, havnt done that yet, and with the TTB it wont be as heavy! just going to pull the axle shafts from both sides, unbolt the axle pivot for the dr beam, take the coil spring nut off, RA nut off, and pull the whole beam off.
 






its been almost 5 months since i last posted.. geesh.. well i've been busy. heres a quick rundown: got rear ended in my 97, they totaled it, got married, honeymoon, moved..twice, re-geared the front of the 93, head cracked..replaced heads, and the truck is now with the guy who built my bumpers. should have it back this weekend or next and will deffinetly have some pics to share.

oh, had to buy the wife a car to replace her subaru while we get a motor put it in. so i am BROKE, once i get the explorer back and swap out the drop brackets with the skyjackers i picked up the modifications are over for a while.

pics soon
 
























coil spacers are made.. painted.. ready to go on with the Skyjacker axle pivot brackets hopefully this Thursday. getting some help from a friend with a garage and lift. i totally underestimated how heavy that front bumper and winch are. alignment the next day, rotate the coopers to save the unevenly worn fronts and i should be ready to break something else. in the meantime heres a random pic

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Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
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coil spacers are made.. painted.. ready to go on with the Skyjacker axle pivot brackets hopefully this Thursday. getting some help from a friend with a garage and lift. i totally underestimated how heavy that front bumper and winch are. alignment the next day, rotate the coopers to save the unevenly worn fronts and i should be ready to break something else.

Almost a year later.... any updates lol.
 






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