My 2000 Explorer 4 door XLT

[96eb96]

Today 11-27-2020 I installed a new battery in this black 2000 4 door Explorer.
The old battery came with the silver 2004 Explorer I bought in 2016, then was swapped into the old blue 98 2 door Explorer that rusted to pieces and I just had towed away, then was swapped into this 2000 Explorer before I junked the blue one. LOL.

The old battery was dying a slow death and I wanted a new battery so I don't have to worry about it in the cold winter months ahead.
I hate old style batteries that leak gases out the top and corrode the terminals which can lead to having to replace the battery cables.
So I picked up an AGM style battery with the Diehard name on it(part number 65AGM). It cost me 202.97 after taxes and discounts from Advance Auto.
List price was listed as 219.99, I took the core with me so I didn't have to pay that. I got 10% off the battery with a discount code DH10 and had a $10.00 speed perk coupon for a total of $31.00 off. New price was 188.99 but uncle sam had his hand out for $13.98 (Taxes). New total 202.97

I hope this battery lasts!

10%? I never get out of there with less than a 25% off. Unless batteries are excluded.

 

[4pointslow]

Batteries are excluded from the two 25% off codes I used today for other parts. BF25 and itsjusta6 both are 25% off codes.
BF25 is for black friday and itsjusta6 is from one of my favorite YouTube channels named Itsjusta6.

 

[96eb96]

Batteries are excluded from the two 25% off codes I used today for other parts. BF25 and itsjusta6 both are 25% off codes.
BF25 is for black friday and itsjusta6 is from one of my favorite YouTube channels named Itsjusta6.

There used to be 40 off 100 for batteries, I don't know about AGM though. This was years ago.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, most batteries are excluded from bigger discounts. I recently bought an AGM battery to replace my first Diehard AGM that just lasted five years. This one I got 10% off from Batteries Plus locally, it was on sale for around $220. So with discount and taxes, it ended up just under $220 I believe it was.

 

[4pointslow]

I was lucky enough to find used step bars on EBay. I am so happy that I will be able to use this vehicle to pick my sister up and take her out to lunch/dinner in the future when the Corona virus is under control. She will be able to use them to get up into my truck.
They came from Arkansas, and they are in good shape except for some fading. Maybe next summer I might paint them.

Before

After

Before

After

 

[4pointslow]

Seat Update.
A while back I received the lower seat cover from TheSeatShop.
I am very satisfied with their products, I got the lower cover, some hog rings, and the hog ring tool.

My seat was in bad shape, there were broken springs or whatever they call those things under the cushion. LOL
I took the passenger side seat apart and made one good seat out of the two, I will rebuild or replace the passenger side seat at another time.
I have the old seats from my 98 in this truck now anyway. I still need the manual lumbar adjuster thing that has a cable coming off it and a big black knob that you turn to adjust lumbar because it is broken and driver and passenger sides are not normally interchangeable. I will look for that part later when I remember to.

For now I just wanted to show a comparison of before and after.
Before:

After:

 

[4pointslow]

Seat Springs?
For a lack of a better word I will call this a seat spring.
Before and after trying to rebuild one from two different ones.
If anyone knows where to get new ones please let me know.
I measured 11 by 11 inches if I recall correctly.

Before:

After:

 

[EB4X]

Seat Update.
A while back I received the lower seat cover from TheSeatShop.

NICE...................... What did that set you back ? Link?
Have same seats / color .....and JUST drivers seat bottom is poor (as expected) ....the rest of my seating is near mint.
Maybe you'll want to do your arm rest now? ...(got this for mine).....just $11:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-...0001&campid=5574912417&icep_item=302590245318

 

[4pointslow]

TheSeatShop's website is
Factory Match Replacement Leather Seat Covers | The Seat Shop
Ford stuff here
Browse Products by Vehicle Make, Model and Year | The Seat Shop

Seat covers like these are not inexpensive, but for the longest time all I could find was tan.
Its nice to know that the Medium and Dark Graphite are available.
I bought just the lower in vinyl $139.00, there is a leather/vinyl mix too which matches the factory materials but is $209.00
Imagine doing top and bottom of both front seats, would set you back a few bucks. At least they are available though.

 

[4pointslow]

Yesterday on 04-03-2021 this 2000 Explorer passed state inspection.
I was surprised because someone had changed the engine in this thing from a 4.0 SOHC to the 4.0 OHV engine, and I ended up having to buy a used PCM off eBay for the OHV engine so it would run correctly. The used PCM has a different vin number since it is from another vehicle and the eighth vin which designates the engine is a X(OHV 4.0) instead of an E (SOHC 4.0) now.

I checked and all the monitors were ready and there were no codes.
When I first put this PCM in and drove it I ended up with a P0420 code, I thought the cats may have been damaged but I just cleared the codes and drove it until now and the code never came back. It is possible that the cat was "fouled" or coated with carbon which could have been blocking it from working and after driving it longer with the engine running correctly that it cleared up.

I may swap back to the original SOHC setup if I can find a donor 2000 4 door, but I am in no hurry.

 

[96eb96]

Yesterday on 04-03-2021 this 2000 Explorer passed state inspection.
I was surprised because someone had changed the engine in this thing from a 4.0 SOHC to the 4.0 OHV engine, and I ended up having to buy a used PCM off eBay for the OHV engine so it would run correctly. The used PCM has a different vin number since it is from another vehicle and the eighth vin which designates the engine is a X(OHV 4.0) instead of an E (SOHC 4.0) now.

I checked and all the monitors were ready and there were no codes.
When I first put this PCM in and drove it I ended up with a P0420 code, I thought the cats may have been damaged but I just cleared the codes and drove it until now and the code never came back. It is possible that the cat was "fouled" or coated with carbon which could have been blocking it from working and after driving it longer with the engine running correctly that it cleared up.

I may swap back to the original SOHC setup if I can find a donor 2000 4 door, but I am in no hurry.

View attachment 329155

I don't think trucks this old store the VIN In the PCM. And I think you can have 2 monitors fail and it will pass. (98 could be 1, not sure).

And NJ don't care about any safety stuff either, and a 2 year sticker :lol:. NY checks safety and emissions every year. Some places will test your parking brake to failure by hitting the gas.

 

[4pointslow]

2000 explorer PCM's(and 1998's) do store the vin in the PCM, it is referred to as the VID block.
The monitors cant fail, but they can be not ready which means they have not run yet.
My parking brake works great as all the parts including cables are brand new,
I put a lot of work into this thing when I first got it last year to get it road worthy.

 

[96eb96]

2000 explorer PCM's(and 1998's) do store the vin in the PCM, it is referred to as the VID block.
The monitors cant fail, but they can be not ready which means they have not run yet.
My parking brake works great as all the parts including cables are brand new,
I put a lot of work into this thing when I first got it last year to get it road worthy.

I replaced a lot of parking brake parts and cables but it is never 100%. Maybe the foot lever is bad. Sometimes it won't catch. Or the passenger side cable or linkage binds.
Aftermarket brake cables also gave me problems. Some didn't fit out of the box. Others failed (sized) in a year.

Others had issues with it too.

 

[4pointslow]

When I bought my first Explorer which was my old blue 98 four door, I had to do all the brakes and parking brakes.
I couldn't get it to work properly, the parking brake pedal was going down too far and it wasn't holding.
Then I looked up the procedure for replacing the parking brake shoes in the Ford workshop manual and found that you have to reach underneath and pull the parking brake cable and then shove a small screwdriver into the pedal mechanism to take the tension off the system when replacing and adjusting the parking brake shoes.
Ever since then I have not had any problems repairing them, they only go down about 5-6 clicks and they hold nice and tight.

Now my 2001 Ranger with drum brakes, I ended up getting the wrong cable for the passenger side. The cable is about 2 inches too long so the parking brake engages almost at the floor. It does hold though, but in my mind I know it is not right. I was thinking about using one of those things that takes up slack in the brake cables by s shaping them. Either that or I will just order the correct cable and install that.

 

[CDW6212R]

Cool, thanks. I haven't had big troubles with mine, but I have wondered if there was a procedure to tighten up the cable and pedal assembly.

 

[96eb96]

When I bought my first Explorer which was my old blue 98 four door, I had to do all the brakes and parking brakes.
I couldn't get it to work properly, the parking brake pedal was going down too far and it wasn't holding.
Then I looked up the procedure for replacing the parking brake shoes in the Ford workshop manual and found that you have to reach underneath and pull the parking brake cable and then shove a small screwdriver into the pedal mechanism to take the tension off the system when replacing and adjusting the parking brake shoes.
Ever since then I have not had any problems repairing them, they only go down about 5-6 clicks and they hold nice and tight.

Now my 2001 Ranger with drum brakes, I ended up getting the wrong cable for the passenger side. The cable is about 2 inches too long so the parking brake engages almost at the floor. It does hold though, but in my mind I know it is not right. I was thinking about using one of those things that takes up slack in the brake cables by s shaping them. Either that or I will just order the correct cable and install that.

View attachment 329194

I've done the screwdriver trick, it puts slack in the cables so you can change them. Sometimes the parking brake works fine, sometimes it goes to the floor. There isn't really any adjustment except the star wheel at the pads.

It could matter if it is released quickly using the spring loaded mechanism or gradually using my foot as it comes back up.

 

[BajaBlaster]

I have been looking for a replacement for my stock 1998 4 door explorer that has rusted away pretty badly, and then had the timing jump out of time at 316,000 miles.
Last Sunday 8-16-2020 I found it's replacement. My new to me 2000 Explorer 4 door XLT. I paid 1,400.00 for it and found it on Facebook Marketplace.
Its a basket case but the body is not rotted on the wheel wells and rockers like all the other Explorers I have been looking at for the last two years.
Now there are two things I don't like about it already, it has a "moonroof" and it's only got the 4.0 OHV which is about 50 HP less than the 4.0 SOHC that I am used to.
I settled for this truck because of how good the body seems to be. Maybe I will end up liking the 4.0 OHV engine. Of course the moonroof leaks which is why I dont like them. More on that later. Anyway I am starting this thread so I can keep track of all the work I put into it.

View attachment 320407

Damn that black looks really nice I wish mine was black! I bought my white 2000 Ford Explorer XLT 5.0 AWD in very good condition with about 150,000 miles for $900 on craigslist. No issues (other than problems I created by running different sized tires) and it runs great. The only rust is some light rust on bottoms of rear doors. No dents or any other damage.

 

[4pointslow]

Congratulations on obtaining your Explorer, 900 is a great price.
Doors can be unbolted and new ones bolted on, I would much rather have rusted doors than rusted rocker panels or wheel wells.

 

[joney]

I have been looking for a replacement for my stock 1998 4 door explorer that has rusted away pretty badly, and then had the timing jump out of time at 316,000 miles.
Last Sunday 8-16-2020 I found it's replacement. My new to me 2000 Explorer 4 door XLT. I paid 1,400.00 for it and found it on Facebook Marketplace.
Its a basket case but the body is not rotted on the wheel wells and rockers like all the other Explorers I have been looking at for the last two years.
Now there are two things I don't like about it already, it has a "moonroof" and it's only got the 4.0 OHV which is about 50 HP less than the 4.0 SOHC that I am used to.
I settled for this truck because of how good the body seems to be. Maybe I will end up liking the 4.0 OHV engine. Of course the moonroof leaks which is why I dont like them. More on that later. Anyway I am starting this thread so I can keep track of all the work I put into it.

View attachment 320407

Looks nice. Lotsa work you did! I'm impressed you got 316 K out of your 98

 

[BajaBlaster]

Congratulations on obtaining your Explorer, 900 is a great price.
Doors can be unbolted and new ones bolted on, I would much rather have rusted doors than rusted rocker panels or wheel wells.

Thanks! and Good Call, I do not have the ability to do any proper body work myself but I can replace a door! I have never thought of replacing the entire door just because the rest of it is in such good condition but if I some matching white doors for a good price I will consider that. I love the fact that my explorer has the silver/grey plastic rockers and wheel well edges/fenders. I live in Minnesota so most vehicles this age are very badly rusted but I think the plastic pieces help protect the rest of the body tremendously! Actually my metal rear bumper is extremely rusted but I plan on hopefully cleaning it up and having it powder coated somewhere to protect it better, or replacing it with something cool and aftermarket.