Mounty71's 4x4 Long Travel Build

My pride and joy, the Mounty:

Video:

It's a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. I acquired this fine vehicle in 2003 with just 32,410 miles on the ticker, and it was in pristine condition, having been driven by an elderly couple, and always serviced regularly at the same dealership it was delivered to from the factory.

This thing has gone through a series of different suspension setups, but currently it has:
Solo Motorsports 4" extended D35 TTB with D44 outers, and custom radius arms
2.5x12" King coilovers with 2.5x12" secondary King reservoir shocks
4WD conversion with BW4406 manual transfer case
2.5x18" rear King shocks outboard of the frame
custom ordered Deaver leaf springs with 12" 2AM Fab shackles
Full-width 8.8 rear with stock disc brakes, Blue Torch Fab diff cover/truss
4.56 gears front and rear, lunchbox front locker, limited slip rear
roll cage through dash and firewall to engine cage

(previous front suspension setup)
Long Travel front end 5" wider per side with 2.5x8" Sway Away coilovers, Dixon Bros. shock hoops
2.0x2" King bumpstops
Full heim steering
3" Procomp lift spindles
homemade lower rear A-arm crossbrace, lower A-arm mount weld-washers, upper A-arm gussets
8" limit straps
removed swaybar

(performance)
MAC performance muffler with turn down tip
MAC performance intake

(exterior)
front bumper with removable light bar, with 4 Hella 4000 55w HID conversions
custom rear receiver and swing out spare tire carrier w/ gas can
clear corners
McNeil fiberglass fenders
removed running boards
5.0 emblems
color-matched grill surround with mesh grill
clear LED light in rear bumper

(random)
ABS defeat switch
Icom race radio
recovered center console in black
fog lamp-hi beam mod
added tie-downs in cargo area
rear hatch interior handle
4x4 Ranger front towhooks
driveshaft "loop"


COMING NEXT
3-link rear suspenion
add 2.5 or 3.0x18" King bypass shocks to the rear
switch front smooth body shocks for 2.5 or 3.0x12" King bypasses
rear fiberglass
35s

Newly lifted on 31 BFG M/Ts:

After its first offroading:

Almost stock:

 

[mounty71]

Dood you need some penetration in a bad way there.

I know i need some practice, i've only welded a few times. It's my roommate's welder and he wasn't here to give advice or help out.

 

[mounty71]

A couple of updates...i've only been driving on the streets since i got the rear end done, but tomorrow the truck is going to see dirt for the first time with the new setup. I've honestly been a little unhappy with how it all turned out, starting with my shocks being a little too short since they are the "short body" version (which i didn't realize until i got them home and measured), and then lowering the bumpstops would mean the truck would bottom out earlier than it should. Also, i think i measured wrong so the bumpstops aren't low enough to keep the shocks safe from bottoming out, and i didn't want to ruin brand new expensive shocks.

So to sum up, i have a deal with a guy where i am going to trade him my shocks for his Fox 2.0 12" shocks, which should be a better length for me. But for this weekend i am back to the white rockets in the stock location, which gives me more uptravel than i need, but only about 1.5" of droop travel. So the rear's going to be off the ground a lot The trade should be within the next couple of weeks.

Also i added a couple of tie down points right behind the rear seats. I've been wanting to do this for forever, but just always forgot and never got around to it. I have some huge washers on top and bottom of the sheet metal, with lock washers underneath too, and another washer over the carpet, so it looks really clean and will be plenty strong. I kept them as far to the sides as possible because i sleep in the back a lot.

 

[techieman33]

Have you thought about using e-track in the back instead? you would have lots of tie down point options, and it wouldn't take up any sleeping space.

 

[mounty71]

I've never heard of it, i'll search for it. But this was under $4 and about 20 mins of work.

 

[techieman33]

stic-o did a write up, I'll see if I can find it.

edit: here it is
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170657&highlight=e-track

 

[mounty71]

Well my friend convinced me that the bilsteins i had were, in fact, a better option than a longer shock, i just had to redo the mounts. So i'm using the stock upper and lower mounts, and i should have around 3" down travel and 8" up travel when it's bumped and strapped correctly. I had the upper uniball eyes switched out for bushings with the stock-style bar pin mounts.

I'm also having a hell of a time dealing with a broken hatch door. First i replaced the yellow plastic clip that attaches to the handle, then broke the linkage that attaches to that so i replaced it, then realized the handle itself was broken inside the door, so i replaced the handle, but the yellow clip continues to slip out of the handle when i pull it. There seems to be a lot of tension on the handle for some reason, so i think it's either the mechanism that releases the latches, or the latches themselves. For now i've just left the interior panel off and have been reaching inside and pulling the linkage, but that's getting to be a pain.

 

[mounty71]

In the quest to make my truck a reliable DD and offroad truck, i've finally tackled a few much-needed modifications. I got some upper A-arm gussets from BTF, lower A-arm mount weld washers from Ruff Stuff, boxed in front bumpstops mounts with rear ranger bumpstops, and a homemade lower rear A-arm crossbrace. My roommate helped me with a lot of the welding since these are things meant to prevent future damage, so i don't want these to fail.

A-arm gussets

Weld washers

Bumpstops boxed in with rear ranger bumpstops (previous offroad abuse had slowly started to crush the bumpstop mount upwards, which is why i boxed them in)

And the A-arm crossbrace

I also have some 90* fittings waiting to go on my rear 7100s so i can finally mount them in the stock location.

Now i just need to put this back where it belongs

 

[mounty71]

Got my shocks revalved and the 90* fittings installed for free by a friend, and finally got the shocks on tonight. Took it around the block and hit a couple of big dips going pretty fast and it handled much better. I love the fact that i'm using stock upper and lower mounts! Anyway, here are a few pics of how they fit, with just enough room for the spare still.

I also noticed that i'll need to get new rear limit straps and relocate them. Apparently they've been rubbing on the rear tires and are severely frayed now.

And i updated the first post by organizing my modifications a little better, and updating my future mods list to better fit the direction i'm going with this truck.

 

[mounty71]

Just gonna update cuz i feel like it, whether people are keeping up with this or not. Went to truckhaven with the group this past weekend and the truck did great. No issues with the front end whatsoever. I LOVE these new bumpstops i have up front, much more progressive than the stock ones, i never felt a harsh bottoming out in the front once. They are super cushy!

Rear end did well too. Only remember feeling it bottom out hard once, and it was REALLY hard. I lowered my bumpstops from the frame about 1/4" with some big washers, but when it bottomed out the bumpstop crushed up around the washers, and one of my shocks bottomed out completely. Luckily the shock's ok, but i'm either going to lower the bumpstops a little bit more with some pieces of plate, or put a little bump pad on top of the axle so it won't bottom the shocks out.

Overall i'm very happy with how my truck is turning out. Each trip i go on just further justifies my feeling that i don't need long travel. I don't really want to go much faster than i do already, and this thing can handle some pretty big whoops, bigger than i would have expected with a nearly stock front end. One thing though is that after about 15 mins of hard driving, my shocks (even the new 7100s) were burning hot to the touch. Down the road i may upgrade to 2.5s.

I'm going out again in 2 weeks, so before that i just have to charge the rear shocks with nitrogen, redo the rear limit straps and bumpstops, and an oil change.

 

[carlover]

2.5's front and rear and you'd be golden. I just hope riding in mine doesnt give you the itch for LT hahaha. It is a huge difference, but my advice is keep it simple, and have fun with it.

 

[mounty71]

keep it simple, and have fun with it.

These are the words i'm trying to keep in the back of my mind. So many people build their trucks up and then say afterwards that they wish they kept it simple and that they had more fun that way also. I'm already at the point where i'm getting a little nervous to go any faster, so there's no need for LT in my case. I'm sure if i had the money for a full build i would do it, but because i don't i'm going to keep it under control, just focus on keeping it reliable and strong where it matters, and still have just as much fun.

 

[carlover]

Yeah the faster you go the more you need to build it. If you went LT or started to push it youd need a cage. I kick myself sometimes for going as far into mine as i have. But then again i havent even gotten to use it yet so thats a big reason why. Im sure i will have a different opinion in a few weeks hahaha.

 

[mounty71]

I agree, and i may even want to do a mild cage before ever going LT, but most likely not with this truck.

 

[mounty71]

Added some new rear limit straps today and relocated them away from the tires, and also added some raised bump "pads" on top of the axle so the rear end bottoms out a little bit earlier.

And the most exciting update of all...got my trunk door fully functional!! Really happy about that. Next up is an interior handle for the trunk door.

 

[mounty71]

Just got back from the Barstow Cleanup, glad my truck made it home. It needs some work after the run this morning. We were on the way back to camp to pack up and head home, and i came up on 2 or 3 huge whoops that i was not expecting, so i hammered down. Went off the first one and the rear bucked, front end landed at the bottom of the next one which launched us again. We were close to going over, so close actually that my front license plate scraped the ground. I was pretty much looking straight at the ground. The back end slammed down really hard twice, which somehow bottomed out the right rear, even after adding a raised bump pad on the axle for the bumpstop to hit. It bottomed out the shock, which bent the bar-pin that goes through the bushing, and the bar-pin came out of the mounts, and in the process i crushed the reservoir hose and lost all the oil. I think the shock is ok aside from needing to replace the hose, but i need to take apart the rearend again and cycle everything because after this trip and the truckhaven trip, something isn't right. The front end is also way WAY out of alignment, and the truck wanders and sways all over the place. I'm hoping it's only the alignment and not a bent spindle. It was an interesting drive home.

I'm also pretty sure i should look into replacing my power steering pump, and i think my diff is leaking a little from the diff cover. Which is not a big deal because i haven't replaced the gear oil in a long time anyway. And the leaf springs need a rebuild badly, i just don't have the extra money for that.

My friend in another guy's truck got a good video of me going down Outlet Center Drive in Barstow, so when i get it i will post it here.

 

[carlover]

Those whoops can really sneak up on you, trust me i know. Check your lower a-arm mounts also if you really slammed it around. check for cracks or bends. If you dont have a cross brace you should look into getting one of those too.

 

[mounty71]

I quickly checked everything out after getting back to camp and i didn't see any problems on the front end, but i'll go over everything again closer this week. And i added a crossbrace a few weeks ago, glad that i did.

You didn't make it out to the cleanup did you? If you did i didn't see you, i only saw brandon from afar once. I'll get those springs from you some other time i head up your way.

 

[carlover]

No i didnt make it out. Had to work, and am taking it easy since i might need knee surgery soon.

 

[mounty71]

Video from the Barstow Cleanup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2naUZERyvo

I was doing 45-50 after i sped up, the beginning was a bit bouncy haha. Faster's smoother. Looks like i could use even more compression in the rear. Sean, what were your shocks valved at? Mine are 255/70. And the video was cut short because there was a cop coming up on the guys filming and he was holding up traffic.

 

[IZwack]

Looking good there