Maybe a new explorer owner

[jaykillman]

Alright, heres the deal. I am a proud dodge ram owner right now. I have a 1500 4.7 with ALOT of mods on it. leveling kit, intake, debadged, exhaust, blacked out taillights, chip, grill, cab lights, and more... Heres pictures

I love it, but a big issue is that is a 2wd. Now my brother has an 04 explorer 4wd that I see a lot of potential in. Its stock except for the sound system. He already said he would be willing to trade vehicles with me. But I gotta take some time before I make a desicion. I love my V8 power and the convinience of having a truck, but the 2wd kills me lol. The things I plan to do if I get the X is 5%window all around, debadge, big tires and biggest lift possible. maybe some engine stuff

Now maybe yall can answer some questions to help me make me desicion. How hard is it to fabricate the body lift to fit 3rd generation explorers?? What is the rear wheel horsepower and tourque in an 04 4.0litre?? How much hp, tq, and mpg can be gained from mods such as intake, exhaust, electric fan, etc... And are there torsion bars that can be cranked along with the suspension and body lift???

Sorry for typing so much but this is a big desicion for me. I really appreciate any help in advance. Maybe you guys can also post some pictures of your own explorer so I can get some ideas.
Thanks alot

 

[Thelt]

You have come to the right place. There is a guy on here who sells spacers that mount on top of the struts to give you up to 3.5" of lift up front and 2.5" out back. There are no torsion bars it is coil springs all around. A couple of guys on here have used a body lift made for a Ford Ranger to get another 3" of lift. As far as I know nobody makes a body lift for a 3rd generation explorer. You can go with 265/75/16 tires on stock Explorer, that works out to 31.6" tall. Expect some rubbing with that though. I have 2" of lift front and back and still scrub sometimes on full lock turns. If you get 6" of lift you can go with 285/75/16s which is about 33".

I am not up on the engine mods but there are guys on here who are. The V6 puts out 210 hp stock. I find it to be adequate for my tastes. The truck weighs a good bit less than a Dodge Ram so you may not notice a big drop off in power, unless you built your 4.7.

Look at the sticky threads at the top, they are full of good information.

 

[chris's2005]

Hi and welcome, this is my 2005 XLT, it has a 3/2.5inch front and rear strut spacers and the modified body lift. the tires are procomp 265's.

 

[jaykillman]

Yeah my ram has about 330 engine hp with my mods. But The explorer keeps up because of how much less it wieghs.

And thats the exact color of my brothers. looks great. I cant stand the stock explorer ride height. but thats prolly bigger than my truck. How hard was it to install that body lift?? Could I do it with simple tools? I know a bit about installing lifts too cause i instaled my leveling kit and helped my buddy with his suspension lift. But I am limited to tools

 

[shadowless127]

IMO, if I were you, i'd just trade in your RAM for a V8 05. You'll notice the lack of torque going from the 4.7L to the 4.0L. That and I think he's going to get the better half of the trade, even though your RAM is 2wd.

The 4.0L can be made to go fast if you have the money and want to spend. You can do a remote STS Turbo, but thats a lot of money and R&D.

As far as lift, you can prolly go 6-8" with a combination of a body lift, spacers, and custom coil springs.

 

[conig]

IMO, if I were you, i'd just trade in your RAM for a V8 05. You'll notice the lack of torque going from the 4.7L to the 4.0L. That and I think he's going to get the better half of the trade, even though your RAM is 2wd.

The 4.0L can be made to go fast if you have the money and want to spend. You can do a remote STS Turbo, but thats a lot of money and R&D.

As far as lift, you can prolly go 6-8" with a combination of a body lift, spacers, and custom coil springs.

x2. i have a 4.0 now and had a dak with the 4.7l i did have most available mods and i feel the pain of not having that motor everytime I pass.

 

[chris's2005]

The body lift was pretty easy to do, i was limited with some tools and help. the BL took me 16 hrs by myself and im 18 with not very much mechanical know how

 

[jaykillman]

My truck is not worth much as a trade in. All the mods take a lot off. So does the fact that it is not a hemi, or 4wd. And the new model rams are coming out. There are also a lot of scratches on my truck due to the paint from chrysler sucks, especially black. I already checked with the dealership and it is not worth it.

Me and my brother are going to settle on an amount of money that he is going to pay me as well because we both agree that he is getting the better trade.

I am going to miss the power if I do this, but I will be happier with 4wd. If it gets too bad, Ill save some money for the turbo. I didnt know there was a turbo for the 4.0 but its good to know there is

 

[CALDWELL]

stock 4.0's 210hp / 254 tq for a v6 its got some balls... depending on the money you would be willing to spend on ( BOLT ON ) upgrades

IM GUESS !!!! on this...

INTAKE - TB SPACER - HEADERS - EXHAUST - TUNE - and some smaller upgrades... i bet you could pick up about 50 HP ? somewhere in that range maybe more idk im just guessing...

after XMAS is over im hoping to pick up about 20 HP with a TUNE INTAKE and EXHAUST

hope you take the trade X's are pretty fun !!

 

[jaykillman]

Just a thought...anybody have 4.56 gears on their explorer, or 4.10s?? Im wondering if that would be a good idea

 

[Thelt]

Mine has the tow package so it has the 3.73 gears and limited slip. Non tow packages come with 3.55.

I have been happy with the power output from my Explorer. The only time I really wished for more was when I was towing a camper. Under normal circumstances it has been fine. I drove a 4.7 V8 Tundra before this Explorer and it was not much drop off in power. Of course I am 37 now with 4 kids so I do not hot rod like I did when I was younger.

 

[Thelt]

I only did 2" lift spacers and 265s so mine is mild compared to some guys on here. I think it helped the looks a lot though.

 

[JTX]

Let me know if you wanna get rid of the blacked out tail lights. I got stock ones to!

 

[chris's2005]

Let me know if you wanna get rid of the blacked out tail lights. I got stock ones to!

me, my black ones i would love to go back to stock, just wished i didnt sell them


never mind i just saw you elite page and saw the dodge

 

[conig]

Just a thought...anybody have 4.56 gears on their explorer, or 4.10s?? Im wondering if that would be a good idea

I'm considering 4.10's the 2nd gens with the sohc could be ordered with 4.10 it does not seem the millaige is thatr worse for these guys.

 

[briwayjones]

I love it, but a big issue is that is a 2wd.

Since you like modding have you just considered converting your Ram to 4wd? Just get a donor truck that's wrecked in the back and convert yours?

 

[jaykillman]

Since you like modding have you just considered converting your Ram to 4wd? Just get a donor truck that's wrecked in the back and convert yours?

Im an OK mechanic but I dont want to take up that task. If I had some extra money to pay someone to do it now that would be a different story. It takes some serious $$$ for the labor. And parts.

 

[jaykillman]

I'm considering 4.10's the 2nd gens with the sohc could be ordered with 4.10 it does not seem the millaige is thatr worse for these guys.

If you do it tell me how it is. I know a lot of guys on the dodge ram forum put 4.56s in and loved it. A lot quicker off the line and improved gas mileage in the city, like 3mpg. Im just wondering how it would affect a v6

 

[briwayjones]

In an Explorer for DD and for mileage I wouldn't lower than 3.73. If you do a good amount of highway driving I would go 3.55.

 

[conig]

with the 3 inch larger 265 it will land right about 3.73 3.71 to be exact.