Lift coming soon :-) Now it's time to really dig in

[SammyM00782]

Hello out there in 1st gen world! I've been here before with a few questions as I've had to get this truck road worth for a DD. I originally had a brake problem with the truck where the pedal would pump up nice and stiff engine off and go to the floor once you started it. Well, after many tries at removing the drums to check them I finally got them removed to find the rear brakes were adjusted all the way in, bell mouthed like crazy and someone put the assembly back together wrong. That was awesome lol. Replaced all that jazz and all is well. Anyway, my 4" superlift superunner kit should come in shortly and now is the time to really do what needs to be done. I have a few questions from those of you who have already delved into your Explorer in these areas.

Background:
1994 XLT 4wd
147,000 miles
Still a lot of original stuff remaining except A/C and 90% of the suspension parts, brakes, some steering.

Here's where I'm at:

I think I have bad Ujoints..with one or both hubs locked the steering wheel will wander back and forth but unlocked everything is cool. The sizes and placement descriptions I see don't help and I'd like to have every single one upgraded before the kit gets here. Does anybody know the proper cup size or even a part # I can cross ref? RockAuto has "Super Strength" u joint and that sounds like a good idea to me. Greasable of course, I'm not that lazy.

Has anybody replaced all the driveline fluids and can remember what they used such as gear oil viscosity and traction lock additives?
Transfer case could use some lovins too, any recommendations there?
I also have a bunch of Sonnax parts, VB and pan gaskets and a shift kit to go in but I THINK I need checkballs.

I'm up in the air on tire size...looking at 31x10.5 because I don't think a 4" lift can support 33's. Am I wrong? Would I need to cut my fenders at all? Stock rims most likely if that helps. We'll see after Englishtown tomorrow.

Am I missing anything? This is my first offroader and I have confidence in it's ability to satisfy what I can actually do here in NJ...legally anyway. I'm not big on destroying parks

Thanks everybody, you've all been a great help for me. I never got to work on these because when I was turning wrenches they were still under warranty lol.

 

[natenkiki2004]

U-Joints are pretty standard. You can buy them online or take your old one into a parts store and they'll match it and get you a new one.

I've heard that Federal Mogul (Moog) is the only non-Chinese manufacturer left, they're made in Mexico. I hate to use them, their quality has gone downhill but I also hate to use Chinese parts. I used the Napa Premium (Moog rebrand) u-joints on the front driveshaft and it's been good. I just did u-joints in a Suburban and had both Napa Premiums there too and 1 wouldn't seat in all the way. Turns out, it wasn't machined properly, you can find reviews about that specific model having problems online. Maybe a bad batch, going back to Napa & got a new one that worked perfectly fine. Take that for what you will. Most any u-joint will be fine as long as you keep it greased and try to avoid submerging it under water.


As for fluids... I'm happy as a clam with the Mobil 1 LS Synthetic 75w-90 I put in the front & rear diff. Got it for about $7.20/quart at Advance Auto Parts with a coupon (they frequently have $50 off $100 coupons). I have a rear limited slip and with just that fluid, it's been chatter-free, quiet and performing flawlessly. Quite possibly the original clutch packs in there but they still lock up just fine. I had Walmart cheapo 80w-90 with a bottle of the Motorcraft slip additive in it before as a flush. There has been absolutely no noticeable performance difference between when I got it, the flush and the Mobil 1. For the price of the Mobil 1, it's a good offering. If you're going to do heavy offroading or hauling, I'd probably spring for the 75w-140 synthetic front & rear. It might hurt MPG and you'll pay 2x the price for it but your ring & pinions will thank you.

On the transfer case, it takes ATF and I'm a fan of Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic ATF. Drain it out (make sure you can get the fill plug out too), fill it up, drive it a few hundred miles then do it again. Then, you're good for a long time.

 

[SammyM00782]

U-Joints are pretty standard. You can buy them online or take your old one into a parts store and they'll match it and get you a new one.

I've heard that Federal Mogul (Moog) is the only non-Chinese manufacturer left, they're made in Mexico. I hate to use them, their quality has gone downhill but I also hate to use Chinese parts. I used the Napa Premium (Moog rebrand) u-joints on the front driveshaft and it's been good. I just did u-joints in a Suburban and had both Napa Premiums there too and 1 wouldn't seat in all the way. Turns out, it wasn't machined properly, you can find reviews about that specific model having problems online. Maybe a bad batch, going back to Napa & got a new one that worked perfectly fine. Take that for what you will. Most any u-joint will be fine as long as you keep it greased and try to avoid submerging it under water.


As for fluids... I'm happy as a clam with the Mobil 1 LS Synthetic 75w-90 I put in the front & rear diff. Got it for about $7.20/quart at Advance Auto Parts with a coupon (they frequently have $50 off $100 coupons). I have a rear limited slip and with just that fluid, it's been chatter-free, quiet and performing flawlessly. Quite possibly the original clutch packs in there but they still lock up just fine. I had Walmart cheapo 80w-90 with a bottle of the Motorcraft slip additive in it before as a flush. There has been absolutely no noticeable performance difference between when I got it, the flush and the Mobil 1. For the price of the Mobil 1, it's a good offering. If you're going to do heavy offroading or hauling, I'd probably spring for the 75w-140 synthetic front & rear. It might hurt MPG and you'll pay 2x the price for it but your ring & pinions will thank you.

On the transfer case, it takes ATF and I'm a fan of Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic ATF. Drain it out (make sure you can get the fill plug out too), fill it up, drive it a few hundred miles then do it again. Then, you're good for a long time.

Thank you for your input, I apologize for the delay...seems Gmail put this in the spam folder.

I honestly don't know how hard I'm going to get with off roading but if it's passable and in my way I'm going through it. The only difference with the u-joints I see is 1 3/16 caps and 1 1/16 caps so, I'll just have to remove them, get the calipers out and be certain. Place descriptions locate both sizes in any component so no help there :-\ I was going for all Moog greasable super strength joints just as a precaution against failures. Why not right, few extra dollars never hurt anyone.

 

[madbutcher]

You can run 31's on a stock first gen.. so i would go with 33's. If you need to trim it will not be mutch.. I think 33's looks small on mine with 5.5" of lift

 

[RangerX]

Your axle gears should determine your tire size, not your lift height.
What gear do you have? Are you going to change it?
Running 33's on any factory ratio with an auto trans will mean death to your trans.

 

[Maniak]

You can run 31's on a stock first gen.. so i would go with 33's. If you need to trim it will not be mutch.. I think 33's looks small on mine with 5.5" of lift

Our 1992 could fit 30x9.50 on the stock rims with stock suspension but not 31x10.50 on 15x7 rims..

When we did the Duff 2.5" lift we could run the 31x10.50's but the 32x11.50 on the 15x7 rims would rub if we moved the suspension much.

Adding the f-150 spring seat under the Duff 2.5" kit allowed us to fit the 32" tires...

From my many years on this forum I can say that most people cannot fit 31x10.50 on stock rims on a 1st gen explorer. On a 2nd gen explorer they can.. It is possible that if you used bran new springs etc on a 1st gen that you may have a better chance of fitting the 31x9.50 tire but it'll be a tight fit and you wont' get much suspension travel before you start hitting things.

~Mark