New from Central Virginia

[Brandon96]

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[parad1mg]

Welcome to the forum Brandon96!

Warrior shackles - ebay.. search explorer shackles.. you just have to buy bolts for 'em

TT - http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67200 <<read this.

Remove the front skirt - lie on your back facing up to the lower valance and start unbolting it.. you just need a regular socket wrench with an extension..

offroading lights - buy some hella 500 FOG lights at walmart if you're in a hurry.. they are the cheapest around.. with wiring it, use the output from the stock fog lights as a trigger for a relayed harness to power your lights directly from the battery (link for relay applications > http://www.the12volt.com/relays/relays.asp ) .. When you get to buy a safari bar, drill some holes and install your lights on them..

and finally some offroad rims, and larger tires - summit racing sells affordable black steel wheels.. after reading the link for max tires=lifts link, you might wanna stick with 31's before going any further without proper or sufficient lift..

and yeah, this thread might get relocated..

 

[unclemeat]

Welcome to the site Brandon. Stick with the 31 is good advice. bigger tires more money.

A body lift is a good cheap way to fit bigger tires. The best invisible off-road mod is traction devices. At least get a good quality or if you have a limited slip diff. replace the clutches, or even consider a lunch box locker for the rear diff.

 

[Brandon96]

ahh yes unclemeat, I've got an Aussie Locker on it. I definentally recommend this setup. It's shockingly quiet on the road compared to the old locker I had on it about a year ago (which failed and for some odd reason was not under warrenty). Forgot to mention that...

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome brandon and nice explorer what series flowmaster do u got. And do u got aim or yahoo.

 

[Brandon96]

I've got a 40 Series, Delta Flow. No I do not have Aim or Yahoo, sorry.

 

[Brandon96]

Oh Crap...

Two questions for the experts... (Yes, I've searched around, a TON)

1a. I bought two Hella 500's with 55w bulbs, I'm assuming I can use the stock fog light wires? Connect positive to positive, ground to ground?

1b. How do you get the air box (houses the air filter) out of a 1996 V6? I understand the two little rings that it pops out of at the bottom, but theres a plastic scew of some sort, no clue how to explain it, attaching it to the inside fender, it's tough as crap to pull out, am I doing it right just by yanking it? I'm about to take a pair of pliers to it and ripping it out.

2. I've read all the posts about wiring your fog lights to be able to switch on and off with just the parking lights on. To anyone who has already done this... My understanding is (on my '96) I cut through the Dark Blue / Light Green wire, connect a 12 guage wire to it, annnd where do I find the brown wire coming out of the parking lamp assembly that I need to splice into? Might just be me... But it's no where to be found for me.


P.S. I've begun my little high school project

Done
-removed from skirt = $0
-Safari bar / brush guard /tail brush guard = $100
-New Offroad lights = $60

To-Do
-TT Lift
-Warrior Shackles

 

[parad1mg]

use the output of the stock fog light wiring to trigger a relay that'll power your fog lights..

first get a 30A relay from pepboys.. they have the cheapest one around so far.. on the relay you'll see 4 or 5 pins sticking out of it from the bottom..

here's a quick reference to what i'm saying:

85 - coil
86 - coil
87 - output
30 - source

you want to wire it up this way with your fog lights:

85 - ground/negative
86 - positive output from stock fog lamp socket
30 - positive from the battery
87 - positive wire of your new fog lights

so the positive wire of your fog lights go to the 87 terminal of the relay and the other wire (negative) of your fog light connects to ground..

make sure all your ground connections are good and not loose..

you'll be able to use your hella 500's just like your old fog lights with the stock switch..

got it?

 

[parad1mg]

here ya go.. its a dusty diagram i found in my old files but plainly put, this is the core diagram for aux wirings..

i just thought this would be useful if posted to the public..

the only difference to what i said earlier is that the on/off switch would be the output socket from your old factory fog lights.. you just have to splice/tap/cut it and you're good to go..

 

[Brandon96]

Ahhhh, I see the light now.. alast, one question, the 30A fuse, coming from the battery... where is that located in the explorer? Like I mean, the wires I need to connect to '30' and '85', where, physically, do they come from in the explorer? It's 1.27am here, I could just be not thinking straight.

 

[parad1mg]

the only thing that you'll use from the explorer is the car battery.. you have to buy all the wires and fuses.. the 30A fuse isnt really needed but its a plus to have.. its just an extra failsafe incase something happens.. you can get the fuse and holder assembly in an autoparts store..

same with the relay.. you have to buy it also..
here's waht it looks like by the way..

measure the length of wire that you'll need and get the wires from home depot.. ask a homedepot employee to find you a 16 gauge copper stranded wire..

 

[Brandon96]

Bought the hella fog lights and all the components, I'm installing it in that manner, hope it works! Bar bought, need to make brackets to install, bought a cheap 1998 bar for my 1996 a little sweat and DIY brackets, I don't mind getting it to fit.

QUESTION!
I assume most of you have exhaust systems on your trucks so I should get some response to this, but I'm clueless. The only work I've done on exhaust is hacked the stock muffler off and put a flowmaster on it. It sounds bad arse (yes I just used that term) but it's got too much, resonance sound, if you know what I'm talking about? that annoying bass you get from a rice car, but atleast it's really deep. I want more of a bellow, like thet baad idle sounds you get from larger Liter engines. What Can I do to obtain this? Is it the Cat. that makes that resonance sound? what is a silencer? is there anythign I can remove to get a louder, deeper bellow from it? I live in central virginia, not too many strict smog restrictions here, but I do want to pass inspection. Without loosing performance preferribly!
ANY help would be greatly appreciated

-Brandon