My 93' Explorer Restoration Project

[cerberusaardvark]

one thing i found after i had all my hardware in place was that the ride height was super equal without the addition of the one inch extended leaf spring shackles included in the kit. after i had the kit 100% done, i had it towed to an alignment shop so they could correct the camber and everything. after having the truck back for about a month, or about 500 miles, one day i happened to be walking up to it and i noticed the front tires had gone all crazy pointing in different directions.. so my advice would be to not forget about getting it re aligned and re tightened. i also had a lot of luck re tapping the RA studbolt holes. mine were so rusted that when i finally got them to give in it warped the boltholes on the way out. after i re tapping them, i could tighten he studbolts all the way to the quick with just my fingers. i would recommend re die-ing the threads on the studbolts as well to clean off all the nasty crud, so that way you get a true torque read when you put them back together. one other thing i did was leave off the front differential bolt that gets covered up by the radius arm. did that because i would like to add in a locker at some point in the future without having to tear everything back apart. couple other things i did while the front differential was out was replacement of the axle seals (jeffs bronco graveyard) and installation of the c clip eliminator. that front pig is a pain to get to so while its out, take advantage and do a little tlc. one thing i over looked was while the rear leafs were out and apart for the add a leaf i neglected to have leaf spring keeper bands placed around all four leafs (including the add a leaf). nbd but now im too lazy to go back and do it.

 

[adamsbro2]

Looking Awesome Bro!!! I am actually quite jealous of the double shocks and new buckets i might have to spring and get some myself. I am impressed at the patience you are having and taking the time to clean all the frame parts and paint everything, As you know I didn't do that! I am planning on going back and getting it "EVENTUALLY" but who knows when that will actually happen. Keep up the great work you are one to look up to!!!

 

[Suicide77]

Thanks for rooting for me man, when I get it done I'll drive it up so we can compare both the lifts. As far as the coil buckets and dual shocks I think they would work good on your super lift kit. Instructions are pretty straight forward and you wouldn't need to remove the axle (although it is nice). Also, maybe when the chevota is up and going or if you have a free weekend we can hit the underside of you truck and do some rust proofing!

so my advice would be to not forget about getting it re aligned and re tightened. i also had a lot of luck re tapping the RA studbolt holes. mine were so rusted that when i finally got them to give in it warped the boltholes on the way out. after i re tapping them, i could tighten he studbolts all the way to the quick with just my fingers. i would recommend re die-ing the threads on the studbolts as well to clean off all the nasty crud, so that way you get a true torque read when you put them back together

Thanks for the heads up man! Definately something I will watch out for! Where did you buy the tap for the threads? Who would carry one that size?

 

[RobertFord]

Awesome posts! All the pics are great! Keep up the good work

 

[Suicide77]

Ok, here's a new one for you guys, and perhaps I will start a second thread just to see if it will generate any more helpful responses. I sheared the transmission mount stud (bolt/rivet?).

Any advice? Does the mount assembly just bolt up and drop out? Any help GREATLY APPRECIATED! At the very least I plan on going to pick an pull tomorrow to try removing the bracket and get a new radius arm stud.

 

[Suicide77]

Well ended up being an easy fix! Also, got to kill two birds with one stone while I was there; pulled out an axle stud to replace my rusted to bits one.

Ah, now back to work!

 

[Naasau]

Nicely done, sir.

 

[NHarris]

Good work and easy fix there!
I also like one of the tags "rust."
If you ask me, your truck is pretty darn clean for a 93.

 

[Naasau]

Yeah it is. We're all very jealous.

 

[Suicide77]

You guys are too kind! Thanks Again!

 

[Suicide77]

Alright, I've got some good news to report today! To start out, I was at the point of needing to mount the radius arm brackets. Well, as always, I saw some rust and decided to take care of it.

...and as always I got a little carried away and just did the whole thing.

Next was getting the brackets perfectly lined up. The instructions said to be 5" back from the body mount. After holding things up and seeing how it would fit, I determined on my truck it would have to be 4 1/2" back to get the transmission mount to line up properly. After C-clamping everything in place it was time to get drilling. I have a regular drill, but with the 1/2" bits being almost 6" long and the drill itself being an additional 8" long I was unable to line it up to any of the holes. The solution: a Milwaukee Right Angle Drill!

And once again, the only thing with this kit is that sections of the frame are double walled and the bolts don't address that. So, I added two bolts on the driver side that were a half inch longer. The passenger side was fine as is. Here in the picture you can see my dilemma.

After drilling it out things lined up nicely. Here is the passenger side bracket.

Finally, after re-measuring and re-measuring we lifted everything in place (with the help of my dad) and torqued everything down to specs (definitely a two man job).

And a close up of the mount.

Hopefully I can finish the passenger side shock mount tomorrow and then start putting it back together!

 

[wood1]

Dude, I can't believe I haven't seen this until now. I am very impressed with your work and your write-up. You are definitely giving this old girl a new lease on life.

Keep up the great work!

 

[adamsbro2]

It's looking awesome bro!

 

[Suicide77]

Thanks Guys!!!

 

[Suicide77]

Well I got some more positive progress done on the Explorer. Tedious, but necessary, was lining up the passenger side shock mount to be right on 5" from the coil bucket. Not a horrific task, but simply put, it is a pain to clamp this little guy in place.

After drilling it out I got the bolts on. Once again I went with grade 8's from the hardware store.

And yes, I know. I plan on repainting and touching up everything that the WD-40 and wrenches mess up Lol. Lastly, I also got the driver side beam bracket put on.

Now I haven't torqued this bracket down yet because I noticed the kit didn't include washers for this bracket. It is set up to go just straight bolt and nut on metal. Does anybody know why??? I kinda want to put washers in there, and there is definitely enough room. Any ideas? Would putting on washers hurt? Thanks Again!

 

[Naasau]

Nope, Wouldn't hurt a thing. Do it.

As for the shock mount, I forgot to share a secret, I took a thick walled piece of pipe and cut it down to 5", then square on both sides using a lathe, afterwards I tightened it down with the hardware they gave me to the bucket, which gave me a positive lock on its location, then I clamped the bottom to the frame rail and drilled.

... I probably should have mentioned that earlier, sorry.

 

[Suicide77]

Smart man, definitely would have helped :S But I manned up and just measured, measured, measured again, and measured just to be sure. Funny as hell you mentioned this now though, I got a good laugh out of it!

Also, to recall the original question; thanks! I think I will go ahead then and torque it down with the washers. 90 foot pounds alright? I notice everything but the studs and radius arm anchor bolt seem to be 90. Thanks Again!

 

[NHarris]

Close to being finished yet? : I know its a time consuming process...

 

[Naasau]

I went a bit heavy, and when I upped it to grade 8, I aimed for about 110 ft*lbs.

 

[Anime]

For whatever it's worth, the rubberized undercoating isn't a very good idea on wheels, or anything else that gets really hot. When that undercoated wheel is mounted, and the brakes are used and the wheel gets hot, that undercoating is going to get real gooey or even runny. At best it will wind up just sticking to the drum/disc it's mounted to making it a hassle to clean off so you can re-mount the clean wheels, at worst it will fly off everywhere and you'll have splatter all over the tire, fenderwell, and maybe even the brakes and bodywork.

I realize the thought behind undercoating a wheel that spends it's time as a spare tire under the back end, but it's just not the right coating for the job if the spare is ever used. It'll certainly be a PITA to remove the undercoating from the wheel, but less work than cleaning up the mess if you want to find out what happens the hard way.