Nate's 2005 Explorer XLT 4X4

Here's my X, so far, but first a little background story...

So this Jeep is what I was going to buy. I was a few thousand short of it. It was fully loaded. Exhaust, Intake, Lift, Wheels, Fuzzy Back Seat (J/K). I failed on that then looked at a sport trac and ended up with this Tan Explorer. She's come a long way in just 5 or 6 months of owning her. So...
Its a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT with 4wd. I bought it on Friday July 9th, 2010. It had 60K miles when I purchased it. It now has 67K. So far I love having it. Gas mileage isn't so great, but I knew that when I purchased it. I have modded it up so check it out. Enjoy!

Day I bought it,

First Mod...An upper billet grille and a lower billet grille

Clear Corners;

Her first mud bath, no running boards

Future Plans, TRUXXX lift kit, Cragar Soft 8's or some new wheels, tail light guards, LED tail lights, black headlights, and a bunch of other stuff I can't think of. Any comments or suggstions are welcome.

EDIT: Update!
A couple months later, and here she is...
4th gen mirrors, Bull Bar, Aux Lights, New Speakers, New Pioneer HU, Painted Billet Grilles Black, Tail Light Guards, 4.0L Emblem, Intake, Exhaust, HIDS coming soon

Here's how she sits today (january 2011):

 

[lynchy wa]

X2 Hhahahahaha

 

[NHarris]

Actually seeing where the exactly where the front is, from the cab, makes my truck feel bigger than it really is. I feel like I have an expedition now, not an explorer.

 

[NHarris]

I found some rims...18"

If I can get the seller to hold these for a week, and the off set isn't too off, these will be my new wheels. What do you all think of em?

 

[Ronin8002]

I like the style but wouldn't you want to go with smaller rims rather than bigger for offroading?

 

[NHarris]

I like the style but wouldn't you want to go with smaller rims rather than bigger for offroading?

Well I look for tires and there are no good 18's that are A/T tires. So Im kind of changing my mind as im not running H/T tires.

 

[Ronin8002]

gotcha.

Guess you have to balance between what you want for looks and what will give the best functionality, though I bet you could find some 16" wheels for cheap that would let you run the tires you want. Cragar Soft 8's come to mind but there are many others that aren't steel that would be fairly inexpensive also.

 

[NHarris]

I was actually thinking of American Outlaw Buckshot wheels. They're only $109.00 per wheel

 

[Ronin8002]

I just took a look at those...they are pretty sharp

 

[lynchy wa]

I saw some nice ones $79.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16x8...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23116b1117

 

[NHarris]

So I have always been a "fan" of the ironman triathalon. Because of that I've been thinking of rebadging my X's door with the 07 ironman badges and throwing a regular 07 XLT badge on the lift gate. Basically like the ironmans have stock. Any thoughts on this; should I or should I not?
Either going to do this or get the FX4 Emblem for the liftgate.

 

[Ronin8002]

I think that would be different Are you a triathlete? I've watched a few friends run the Ironman and it was awesome seeing them accomplish that.

Could you put that cool riveted looking fender moulding on there too?

 

[NHarris]

Im not a triathelete as that is one of my goals (to be in the ironman triath). The only thing that stops me is my bad knees.
Anyway, I want to get a set of bolt on style (riveted) fender flares and Im going to talk to my local body shop to see if they know who would custom make them.

 

[Ronin8002]

Bad knees as in the cartilage is worn away or bad as in they hurt during/after a run?

The second one isn't very hard to fix, the first one is more involved obviously.

 

[NHarris]

Usually hurts after running. Im sure having broken my knee and ankle a few years ago didnt help.

 

[Ronin8002]

PMd you Nate.

 

[NHarris]

Got your PM Ronin. Thanks!

Alright, so my 05 is going to be made into an Ironman. That means fender flares and everything cool. I may even get a cool Ironman back bumper and have that painted tan. Ordering Emblems Tuesday or Wednesday and then Im going to find someone to make me riveted fender flares.

 

[Ronin8002]

Lol it turned into kind of a long PM but hopefully that helps.

Sounds good on the flares and other trim....would be cool to see it on a different color X than the standard ironman red

 

[Kazer]

Got your PM Ronin. Thanks!

Alright, so my 05 is going to be made into an Ironman. That means fender flares and everything cool. I may even get a cool Ironman back bumper and have that painted tan. Ordering Emblems Tuesday or Wednesday and then Im going to find someone to make me riveted fender flares.

thats going to look pretty nice nate. will the regular ironman fenders not fit on a third gen?

 

[NHarris]

James;
That was a long PM. Still slowly reading my way through that. lol. Good info and very helpful.

thats going to look pretty nice nate. will the regular ironman fenders not fit on a third gen?

Well I'm not looking to get the plastic trim on there. I beleive the fender flares have a small peice of panel trim attached to them. Because that plastic trim is $600 per panel I dont want to spend $2000-3000 in plasticpanels.
The front wont work (I think) as the bumpers are different. Im not sure how to work that plastic trim under the grille. I need a new bumper on the rear anyway so the Ironman would work perfect.

So far my ironman build will include:
Gas Tank and front end skid plate
Custom wheels or Ironman wheels
Fender Flares
Tan 4th gen leather seats (if the harnesses fit)
Safari Rack
Brush Guard (tow hooks when I can figure out how to fit them)
Black headlights (orange corners eventually)
Ironman Badging
30" tires on 16 17 or 18" wheels
Possibly a locker and 4.10 gears.

My ultimate goal is to make a truck that is capable, yet it turns heads when mall crawling.

 

[Ronin8002]

Sounds like a great plan!!

Also, I told you a while back I'd snap a few photos of my upper control arm angles with the 1.75" spacers installed. Finally got around to it...here they are:

Not bad, and I never had issues. The knuckle will touch the spring at full droop and scrape against the spring, but so far I haven't hit terrain that flexes it out that much.

On a more exciting note, I've received my new BTF arms and have gotten 1 side installed so far