New to the forum. Hi from Phx.

[Emiliojr]

Hi to everbody. I need something that can get good mpg and still be a descend 4x4 rig. Driving my diesel everywhere is killing me. Well right now I found me a 1994 explorer 4x4 4 door. Looking to do a 4 or 5 inch inch with 33 inch tires with 4.56 gears and some sort of cheap lockers or LS. It has to be highway worthy and still be able to pass emissions. One issue I have is the 4.0 v6 and the stock axles. Is the 4.0 a good engine and can the stock axle handle the gears and 33 inch tires. It's not going to be a rock crawler or 4x4'ed hard core. It's will be used on my hunting and fishing trips and to take my kids out to the mud holes and some trails. I plan on driving it everday to work so I can park my Ford 08 4x4 CC dually. I can do all my own work except for welding. I have my bro for that.
Thanks for any help!!

 

[Rick]

Is the 4.0 a good engine and can the stock axle handle the gears and 33 inch tires. It's not going to be a rock crawler or 4x4'ed hard core.

Welcome to the forum Emilio. I'm also in the Phoenix area.

Yes the 4.0 is a good engine and your stock axles will handle 33s. When you bump up to 33s you'll have to readjust your wheel bearing lock nuts periodically. With the bigger tires they tend to loosen.

Here's a link to my '93 Explorer. http://explorer4x4.com/tech.html The first page shows the build with 33" tires. Stage 2 shows what it looks like now.

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah no problem on the axles & engine (I have 35x12.50s on mine). 4.56 is a great ratio for 33s.
Get a stickshift if you want decent MPG though, from what I've seen there's anywhere between 3-8 MPG difference between stick & auto on these things, depending on your driving habits.

FWIW, if you tighten the front axle outer wheel bearing locknuts to 250ft-lbs (instead of 150), they should stay tight better (this only if you have manual locking hubs, the auto hub nuts have a key that prevents them from turning).

 

[cloaked_chaos]

I'm glad to see more people in the Phoenix area with explorers. Maybe we can do a Crown King run soon?

 

[Emiliojr]

Well I found a 1992 explorer 4x4 4 door. It's got high miles (190K)but everything looks straight and works. I haven't bought it yet because I still have a few questions. It's has the 4.0 with an auto. Was really hoping for a stick but everything I find is auto. What type is the auto trans and do they come with OD. After I buy a explorer I'll have about $4000 to spend on it. I'm not doing a SAS yet. That will be way later. So plan is to get a 6 inch lift with a 2 inch BL. Then getting the extended rad arms, 5 35inch tires with steel wheels. Maybe 4.88 or 5.13 gears with LS rear( or rear select) and locker up front. Rear bumper with tire carrier. That to me seems like alot of tire and gear for that auto tranny and transfer case. Are there any up grades that can be done to either of them. Will the driveline need to be replaced or extended as well. What type of rpm am I looking at doing 65mph. I know the TTB front end since I had a 87 FS bronco with 6 inch lift and extended arms. I sold it and have being want to get into something smaller and lighter and better mpgs. I've looked at durangos, jeeps, 4 runners, and pathfinders but they all still seem to be over priced. Plus all I have ever owned is Ford trucks. If any of you guys have a rig setup like I explained email me some pics.
Thanks for reading.
Emilio

 

[cloaked_chaos]

Take a look at this explorer. It already has a ton of mods, has very low mileage on motor and tranny and is a 5 speed. The best part is they are only asking $3,000
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/3236843643.html

 

[4x4junkie]

So plan is to get a 6 inch lift with a 2 inch BL.

Why so tall?

A 4" susp. lift + the 2" BL is all you need to comfortably fit 35s (maybe just a tiny bit of fender trimming at the corners). With more considerable trimming you wouldn't even need the body lift at all, just the 4" susp.

Auto trans will be the A4LD (4-speed OD).
A lot of guys badmouth this trans, however from a few reports I've seen, it seems the factory cooler is probably to blame for a lot of it's failures (and the bad image it maybe doesn't deserve).
Throw a good-sized external cooler on it and it'll probably do just fine (though one with already high miles might not have a whole lot of life left in it to start with).
35" tires should be no problem for it as long as you have 4.88 or 5.13 axle gears (takes the load off everything upstream of the differentials).

Take a look at my BII (link in sig right below). Similar enough to what you're looking at getting you might be able to get some ideas for your setup maybe.

 

[Emiliojr]

I wasn't sure a 6 inch lift would be enough for the 35's when out 4 wheeling. I'll skip the 2 BL lift. I'm not really a fan of them. I'll def get a bigger cooler for the trans and maybe add a oil cooler as well.

 

[4x4junkie]

Be sure to get a Skyjacker pt# FA600 drop pitman arm (or swap out your steering for something better altogether) if you go the 6" suspension lift. The pitman arms that come with pretty much every 5.5"-6" lift are not enough for the lift (jacking the steering linkage geometry all to hell).

That's why I mentioned a 4" susp. + 2" BL, not quite as many headaches with it.

 

[Emiliojr]

Does super lift make the x over steering for the small broncos, explorer like they do for the full size bronco.

 

[Rick]

Does super lift make the x over steering for the small broncos, explorer like they do for the full size bronco.

They make it for the Explorer too:

http://www.superlift.com/accessories/superunner.asp

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah I have that steering setup on mine. You'll have to modify it to make it work properly with a 6" lift though (dropping the centerlink down to where it belongs). Contrary to it's marketing, it does not work well with lifts above 4".