Jack's SAS version 3.0

[Four0Sport]

wow ok it's been a while since i updated this.. sadly, there isn't too much to update. the 10.25 is ready and the 60 needs wedges welded on before it can go under the truck. The atlas and assist steering are also waiting to get put on the same time as the axles.

but don't worry.. it's all still happening.

 

[rpenner54]

Have you thought about out boarding the ear spring like a ranger now that your going full width? It would drop the rear down some but it might make you a bit more stable?

 

[Four0Sport]

Thanks to Ryan for getting the pics back up and running.. now lets get this thing back on track.

I loaded the Explorer, 40" MTRs, 60 and 10.25, and totes full of parts on the trailer and hauled them all off.

Don't worry, I didn't sell it. There are just so many things you can do with a baby garage and no fabrication skills lol

To help aid with the work being done I modified a stock ps bracket to accept a saginaw pump using the PSC 5.0 adapter ring.

 

[DUDER 1]

Do you have part numbers for the pump and 5.0 bracket. Thank you. Also what size tires are you running.

 

[Four0Sport]

Here is a link to the thread that got it started..

Saginaw power steering pump conversion journey

Currently the truck has 38.5x14.50r15 TSL SX tires under it. I will be running 40x13.50r17 MTRs later.

 

[DUDER 1]

Thank you sir

 

[Four0Sport]

I am going to throw a lot of info into one long post to get this caught up to speed.

As some of you know I took my Explorer to a 'reputable' shop to have some work done that I thought could get done faster than if it sat in my baby garage for a year. I was wrong, they had it well over a year, and went over budget, and didn't get it done. So I went and picked it up in March. They did do a good job with the front triangulated 4 link, coilover mounts, artec truss, artec hydraulic ram mount, trans crossmember and my overall desire to have the front pushed forward and truck remain the same height or lower than before. kudos to them. But in the end I was left with a half finished rig.

So I trailer it home. Bummed. Not wanting to touch it. So it sat. Then the dealership I worked at got bought out. That didn't turn out very well for me so four months later I put in my 2 weeks notice, and use my remaining pto one of those weeks. Excited to work on the big dumb ford again I pull it into the garage.

The very next day this happens..

Yay a baby! Boo I only got the hvac box swapped to a non ac box before Ryan decided to join us. lol

So to recap. Made huge mistake taking it to a shop. Get it back. Mad at myself. Change jobs. Decide I like it again. Start to work on it. Baby comes. New job. Wanna get it to EJS in 2020.

 

[Four0Sport]

So yeah, my goal is to have it at EJS in the spring. Longggg way to go so I have been trying to get small jobs knocked out on it whenever I get the time.

One of those jobs was to relocate the battery as the passenger tire will try to occupy the same area as the battery tray when turned at full bump. To do so I knew I wanted to mount the battery in the cabin behind the passenger seat but I needed to relocate the underhood power and ground cables. To do so I bought some marine power and ground junction bar thingys from Amazon. I wanted to mount them somewhere that would not leave them in a position to be crunched, beat, mangled or lost so the pass side inner fender rail was chosen.

I was luckily able to route most of the cables to this location without much modification to the cables. A couple did need some help getting to their new forever home and I replaced a couple that looked worse for wear. Now I had to get power from the battery to the engine bay. I honestly routed cabled 125 times before I found how to keep them safe and hidden.

I drilled a well placed hole on the fender rail structure allowed me to feed the cables down through the cab where the door wiring was ran from the factory. The cables then exit the kick panel and run along the door sill to the battery. Not too shabby I think. I may have patted myself on the back.

After a little snafu with the fender mounted solenoid wiring and a phone call from my home boy Ryan Yost the truck started for the first time in about a year.

Next up is finishing the PSC steering system. Here is a teaser from when I was mocking up parts and testing for fitment.

Short list of what needs done still..
mount ps cooler and reservoir
mount orbital and steering shaft
run lines to ram
brake lines
rear suspension
front and rear shafts
drive it to make sure stuff doesn't fall off

 

[RockRanger]

Can't wait to see it back on the trail.

 

[gmanpaint]

They really pushed that axle forward a bunch! That far up, with the full width, is going to be awesome on the trails.

Sorry you went through that with the shop. What was giving them problems that caused the delay?

Trying to understand that rear upper link joint angle they did. Can't say I have seen it done like that. Edit: Never mind, was looking at it on the cell earlier, and it was a shadow making it look angled.

Overall, it looks like a beast!!

 

[Four0Sport]

They really pushed that axle forward a bunch! That far up, with the full width, is going to be awesome on the trails.

Sorry you went through that with the shop. What was giving them problems that caused the delay?

Trying to understand that rear upper link joint angle they did. Can't say I have seen it done like that. Edit: Never mind, was looking at it on the cell earlier, and it was a shadow making it look angled.

Overall, it looks like a beast!!

It sat outside of their shop for over 6 months. I had to ship them parts. They hadn't done anything like this to an Explorer. I'll stop there.

 

[Four0Sport]

planned on getting a few more things done today with the weather being decent but I found coolant around the timing cover again. seriously at a loss as to why. replaced the gasket 4 yrs ago. truck might have 5k miles on it since. odd how on the pass side it is leaking from the bolt.

I finally understood what Greg told me about the Atlas shifters being backwards so I fixed those and played around with ps reservoir placement again. I think a little cut and weld on the flipped Jeep bracket will put the reservoir in a good location relative to the pump and clear the hood. Only immediate issue I see is the engine oil dipstick tube will need to be massaged out of the way.

I put my best friend to work checking bolts under the truck. Little projects at a time..

 

[RockRanger]

so much better to follow built threads on a forum vs facebook.

 

[yostyexplorer94]

The forum is a good (maybe) motivational tool for me. It has been several months since I have done any work to mine. I read an updated build thread or two and I am ready to get back at it.

 

[Brian1]

planned on getting a few more things done today with the weather being decent but I found coolant around the timing cover again. seriously at a loss as to why. replaced the gasket 4 yrs ago. truck might have 5k miles on it since. odd how on the pass side it is leaking from the bolt.

Did you use a Ford Gasket or other? My Felpro timing cover gasket only lasted a year, so disappointing! I have had better luck with the green gasket from Ford. Another theory I have seen on here is the cover will sag down over time and can cause a leak because of the sliding surfaces. The bottom bolts through the oil pan should be torqued first to snug it to the bottom then the rest of the bolts can be torqued.

Glad you are getting back on it, maybe I will make it to EJS too. Hit me up for the camping info when the time gets closer.

 

[Four0Sport]

Did you use a Ford Gasket or other? My Felpro timing cover gasket only lasted a year, so disappointing! I have had better luck with the green gasket from Ford. Another theory I have seen on here is the cover will sag down over time and can cause a leak because of the sliding surfaces. The bottom bolts through the oil pan should be torqued first to snug it to the bottom then the rest of the bolts can be torqued.

Glad you are getting back on it, maybe I will make it to EJS too. Hit me up for the camping info when the time gets closer.

I used the felpro set also. Just weird it only started to leak after I started it without the belt on. The universe is weird.

Fingers crossed it's ready for ejs lol

 

[Four0Sport]

I spent a couple hours in the garage earlier and got the dorman offset ps pulley on the psc pump and all is right in the world as far as the belt lining up. Thanks to Ryan again for sharing a pn.

After that I found a small piece of steel and made a plate to mount the ps reservoir bracket to the flipped reservoir mount. This is as high as the reservoir is going to get without going through the hood. The angle from the outlet of the reservoir to the inlet of the pump isn't as steep as I had hoped but it is not horizontal so I'll give it a whirl.

 

[410Fortune]

tap water eats cooling system gaskets
If those bolts go into the water jacket they should have thread sealer on them
Sorry to hear about the troubles with the non explorer off road shop, good to see a healthy baby boy!!!

 

[yostyexplorer94]

It is great to see that bracket is going to work well for you.

 

[Four0Sport]

Christmas money was well spent on new idler and tensioner, cleaned up the saddle and the harness bracket and per someone else's Saginaw journey spaced the alternator. Ryan, I thought you were using the non ac explorer belt? as you can see, it is still too long. and my front dress is early style. that belt is still a couple inches too long. hmm. we will have to do some trial and error. Everything looks pretty though.