New to Mods

[descending13]

Hello I just got my 98 Explorer Eddie Bauer and was wondering what some of the first mods I should do for horse power. It has a 5.0 302 V8 with AWD. (cheaper things first)

 

[celly]

Hello I just got my 98 Explorer Eddie Bauer and was wondering what some of the first mods I should do for horse power. It has a 5.0 302 V8 with AWD. (cheaper things first)

-air intake (MAC is a good brand)
-upgraded exhaust from cats back (your choice of muffler, new pipes)
-custom tuning a la SCT (Search for "Henson Performance; site sponsor and all around great guy)

(these are the three mods that I got pretty good bang from and know of others who have too)

You're the proud owner of a 302, so you also can use "Torque Monster Headers". Do a search on this forum. Google it too. These are a great mod, but not on the cheap side (but well worth it).

Welcome to the site. Best Exploder resource on the planet. Stick around!

 

[Electrohacker]

people say a lot of power is wasted in the AWD system.

if you want to you can do the 4406 mod and change it to 4WD and maybe even explore a way to manually lock and unlock the front hubs

 

[descending13]

Thanks very much I am new to working on cars but ready to get my hands dirty.
It has about 139,000 on it.

Should I seafoam?
Do you recomend switching to synthetic oil?
Best spark plug brands?
To supercharge or not?

 

[descending13]

Thanks but for now I'm gonna stick with the AWD.

 

[askingxforxit]

The search button is your friend.

And supercharging is VERY expensive

 

[celly]

Should I seafoam?

Do you recomend switching to synthetic oil?

Best spark plug brands?

To supercharge or not?

Yes

Yes

Motorcraft/Autolite

No (you said you wanted to do this cheaply)

 

[descending13]

Celly thank you. You seem to have all the right answers and fast response time.

 

[descending13]

Hey Celly whats your opinion on how to seafoam (gas,oil,pvc), and should I do it before changing the oil and plugs etc.

 

[celly]

Celly thank you. You seem to have all the right answers and fast response time.

Thanks, but someone else said it better. The SEARCH tool is really your friend. This site has been in existence for a long time and I get all my info from the archives and only ask "what is the best?" type posts when I can't find the answers elsewhere. The site has a built in tool (the one I use) and a Google enhanced one (which I rarely use). Both are effective.

You really should search around some more to see if my answers are the right ones. Others would beg to differ on all the advice I just gave you. When I'm researching any mod, fix, whatever, it's nice to get as much info as possible to arrive at my own conclusions. Give it a go. There really is a LOT of good info out there. This site has a lot of members and gets a lot of hits so the archives are rich with good info.

 

[celly]

Hey Celly whats your opinion on how to seafoam (gas,oil,pvc), and should I do it before changing the oil and plugs etc.

Seafoam and then change your plugs, IMHO. Plugs can get fouled. I trashed a good set of Motocrafts last spring by doing just that. Not everyone has had the same misfortune, but it happens.

On the 5.0, but far the most effective "deep cleaning" method is PVC Method. There is a superb thread on it in the archives. Make sure to read it from beginning to end before attempting it. It's kind of a pain to do, but once you figure it out, it's not bad.

I won't do induction method anymore after the plug fiasco. On Seafoam's site they suggest using it in your gas tank more often and you'll get the same results over time. People just like to see the smoke. What's funny is all you're seeing when you see smoke is the Seafoam itself. It's not as if you're watching deposits and what not burning off. It's purely psychological. If people don't see a lot of smoke, they feel cheated.

I don't do Seafoam in the oil, so can't help you there. Lots of varying opinions on using it in the crankcase. I may dump some in just before dropping my oil next time.

Seriously though. Tons of Seafoam threads in the archives including the one I already mentioned to you.

Good luck. I like Seafoam personally and do find it's effective, spark plug fouling notwithstanding.

 

[Electrohacker]

I wold add some to the oil just before your next oit change, like a hundred or so miles before. then I would drain the oil leave the plug out and leave it drain for like an hour, then put it back together with a new filter, blah blah blah and add your new synthetic oil. everything I read says DO NO MIX OILS, so I recommend letting it dribble as much as it can to get it all out

I switched to synthetics at my last oil change marker (213K) and have not leaked or burned or any adverse affects, just make sure your engine has never had a weird oil issue and you should be good

 

[descending13]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[TekMan05]

Add another for seafoam. I've used it twice on my Ex. back before an oil change in '08. It did foul my spark plugs , then I used some again last Augus I think. It didn't foul them out that time. As far as exhaust goes. Many ppl use dual in/ single out mufflers with 2.5'' piping diameter. Me I have a 40 series dual in/dual out muffler with the same diameter. I like it and haven't noticed much if ANY at all as far as low end grunt lost. These are Sturdy trucks. Just flush all of the fluids check the tranny fluid and you should be good. I was in your same shoes when I joined. And since then I've learned alot. Even though this forum is for Explorers it helped me learn about vehicles in general and now I can do some things on my mustang as well because of what I learned here. I'll try to help anyway I can as I'm still learning new stuff about these Beasts of machines as well

 

[descending13]

Thanks for the info on the pipes.

 

[descending13]

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