ld50 Explorer mods revisited

[ld50]

The "spacers" Are actually a stock spring seat used in the older F-150s. It just happens to fit under our springs, and measures just shy of 2 inches.
I don`t think they come in various sizes since it`s an actual part.

 

[Minivek]

Cool! thanks a lot, After reading your write ups, you kinda a feel like you just have to modify something so I'll start out simple, I had to replaced all the bushing on my X anyway so thought I might take advantage of it and lift it a little. The next one on the list is the body lift, buy I'll need new tires or else it looks kinda sucky

 

[kpgli84]

Absolutely Great post ld50
i have been slowly modding my explorer as well, next step for me is a set of F150 spacers and warrior shackles (waiting for the shackles to be delivered from the states).
I saw earlier in the post that you have gone out with the herd of turtles in the past. i went out with them a few weeks ago and had a blast. Great people to wheel with.

Thanks for the great peice of reading, and a few great ideas.

 

[ld50]

Thanks!
I did wheel with the Herd a couple times, they are a nice group. I just stopped going for purely selfish reasons. -I didn`t want to go to meetings in Surrey, and I kind of like wheeling in a smaller group when I can.
Good luck with the Explorer!

 

[ld50]

Update!

The ex is still holding up well, but I have a something going on..

- my OME springs have softened, regretfully, this brought my left side lean back with a vengeance. I did the trick of swapping the springs side for side the other day. This brought the lean to only about 1/2 an inch to the left while before it was leaning over an inch. My thought is that the springs are so soft they just can`t hold it level anymore, all I can do is keep swapping to try and fight it. I guess it`s a trade off to have these really great springs that flex like crazy but allow more lean. Don`t know what else to do except bolt some weight onto the right side, lol. oh well it`s not that bad now.

~

 

[ld50]

Update again!

Should come clean about mounting my rear shocks to my old anti-sway bar mounts. Wasn`t a good idea for me, my shocks would extend to the stops while wheeling and this eventually broke the mounts. I welded some new mounts to my old shock mount skid plates, raising the mount point slightly and since it`s a little further out I should have full suspension travel without stressing the shocks.

picture to follow..

 

[Tony H]

Wow, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Where can I get that "Splint Mesh"?

 

[ld50]

Hey Tony, boy I tell ya that`s the most asked question I get

The mesh may or may not be available through a first aid equipment supplier. However, with advancements in splinting happenning everyday, all the "better" systems these companies come up with are replacing the expanded aluminum mesh -whether they really are better, or marketed as such.

Now it might be a matter of someone having a stash somewhere that they will give away. I personally haven`t seen the mesh in a while.

PS. sometimes things Canadians like to use are outright poo-pooed by our Yankee brethren, especially if it be of Canadian origin!, I.E. The Robertson screwdriver vs. the philips. Could be that US first aid companies simply never used expanded aluminum mesh. -Anyone know for sure?

 

[ld50]

The rear shock mounts

As I described, the rear mounts to the old anti-sway bar mount points weren`t such a good idea, so I welded some angle iron to my Warrior skid-plate/shock mount, and mounted to that.
If you are familliar with the Warrior part and my write-up, I had gone through several modifications to the design, finally just mounting to my axle (sway-point).
Before welding the angle iron onto them, the mounts Warrior had on the skidplates were fully removed.
The mount point is now a little lower than the anti-sway point due to the fact I believed it to be just barely over-extending, which lead to breaking of the sway bar mount hole, OR I could be full of crap. Either way it has not broken on me yet, but time will tell. At least now it is more likely that the shock will tear apart before the mount does.

 

[Tony H]

Hmmm, I was looking in a Home Depot and they had some mesh stuff for covering over the Gutters of a house and I think the Mesh is also used when doing Cement work. I was thinking that it might not hold up.

I know a Surgeon, I gotta ask him. Thanks

 

[Kirby N.]

That shock mount is really low slung I think. I mounted mine simularly, but up about 3" to the center of the axle tube.

 

[dutch724]

Mesh Stuff

Still looking for the mesh that ld50 used for his grill.
anyone know anything about this (what would work for the same thing)?
Thx,

 

[ld50]

Kirby, don`t forget I have OME springs, which are about 2 inch of lift PLUS Warrior shackles. Could have saved some exactness by buying longer shocks but I`m trying to keep stock size, which is tricky..

ps. that gutterguard stuff would work as mesh if it is actually aluminum.

 

[Kirby N.]

Oooh- I understand if you are trying to save some cash by keeping those shocks. When they sit lower it can be a challenge to get a long enough travel shock and mount them up out of the way. You sould ditch those OME springs and go back to stock springs with a spring over. I ran my duff lift with f150 spacers and a SOA in the rear for a while. Rode awesome, flexed more awesome. No shackles hanging down either.

 

[ld50]

Phase 2?

The station wagon is off the road for a while, uninsured whilst I repair the rust and consider putting my full width axles on.

My rockers have been rusting from inside for quite a while..

(no my tire is not bent, it`s the angle)

 

[buckshotmudder]

wow that is some serious rust

 

[Brian1]

I know its been 2 months but if you havent fixed your rockers yet this may be of interest to you: http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/SRrockerPanels/RockerPanels.htm

 

[ld50]

Thanks Brian, those are some solid rockers that guy has. I`m repairing mine, I have one side done, but I got a lot of other things on the go. Wanted to have mostly just mods in this thread, but I might write up my rocker repair later.

You can see my progress here:
full size axle thread

 

[badmonkey]

Truly a great thread!!!! I will be sure to check in on a regular basis.
All I can say is..............Thanks, Great Job!

 

[DistortedCloud]

Any more updates ld50?