ok, listen to this.....

[toddious]

so i found out that there is a 4wheel parts in orlando, so i drove there today.(totally pumped to drop however much it was gonna cost to get the 33" tires, the rims, my new shocks, AAL, 3" BL, and a few PIAA lights) and everything went terrible.

It started good, i asked the guy if he'd hook me up with a deal if i bought a bunch of stuff, and he said yes, so i started "shopping".... but when we started getting into the computer to order parts, it all fell apart.

First of all, he went to look up shocks. As soon as he got to the Explorer page, he said i had a problem. in the book his shock application chart said "fits anything but explorers with ARC", but didn't say anything about what could be used with ARC. He said he didn't know what to do, but that he'd recommend going to a Ford dealership, and asking them.
So then, i ask him about the AAL, and he says that it says "cannot fit explorers from '95,'96 or '97". Shot down again.
Then when i ask about getting a BL, he had no idea what to do, because you could only order BL's for ex's up to 1994, and i said that i had been told that you use the BL kit for a Ranger and modify it, and he said he had no idea.

So i left, totally discurraged, but went straight to the Ford dealership. I pulled into service, and asked the guy whether or not i could swap out my ARC for regular stock shocks, and he said "oh that would be quite a project, i don't think the mounts are the same.... blah blah blah, but i'd try asking the guy over in parts just in case"

so i go over to parts, and the guy i talked to (totally cool guy by the way, gave me directions to 4x4 shop he recommended), and he gets into the computer looking at the parts and whatnot for my truck, and the computer said that he could put the regular shocks in in place of the ARC, and that since it had leaf springs in the back and not coil, it shouldn't be a problem.

so i really have no idea who's right.

What does anyone think i should do???

 

[Critical_Level2]

The info I have read on this forum is that you can replace the arc with reg shocks but you need to disconnect them, aal's should fit because the leaf springs in the four doors are the same from 95-01, and just search for the body lift mods and you can find all the info you will need.

 

[jimbo74]

you just need to disconnect the arc system.. it does use standard leafs... add a leafs will fit fine from 91-01 explorers...replace with regular shocks... you will need a ranger bodylift from 98-00

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

oh my the humanity....i stoped reading after this was said "whether or not i could swap out my ARC for regular stock shocks,"

hohmmm

 

[Robb]

Like I said before..............ditch the damn ARC crap!! Everything should mount up the same. Take some pics of how your ARC stuff mounts, and I will compare it to how my non-ARC mounts. I bet they are the same, but it will be a good reference.

The AAL stuff is a joke. They are all the same.

The body lift stuff you need to look up here. Search for it.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by jimabena74
you just need to disconnect the arc system.. it does use standard leafs... add a leafs will fit fine from 91-01 explorers...replace with regular shocks... you will need a ranger bodylift from 98-00

ok, so regular shocks should mount right in place when the arc system is taken out? also, do AAL's come in different sizes? and i've even hear of doing double AAL for more lift, is that possible? or would it just make the ride harder?

also, is there modifications necessary for the ranger body kit?

it would be great if people had part numbers

 

[GaSouthern1]

Like everyone else said, ditch the ARC crap, it is worthless if you want to make you truck wheelable. You will be able to use everything that a standard X can and you will be happy just like everyone else.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by GaSouthern1
Like everyone else said, ditch the ARC crap, it is worthless if you want to make you truck wheelable. You will be able to use everything that a standard X can and you will be happy just like everyone else.

so why did both 4wheel parts and Ford service bay tell me otherwise? (not to try to undermind you guys on the board at all)

 

[jasonb]

because 4wp doensn't know what they are talking about when it comes to explorers... and neither do ford places. why else would they both have to look up every part on computer....

 

[jimbo74]

they deal with many vehicles, not many people with the same vehicles..... you know what? we are all wrong, we lied... you cant lift your truck......

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by jimabena74
they deal with many vehicles, not many people with the same vehicles..... you know what? we are all wrong, we lied... you cant lift your truck......

thats not what i'm saying, i just don't want to buy the wrong parts.... i'm sorry, don't mean to make you guys feel that way

 

[GaSouthern1]

THis is after all a board FILLLEd with explorer info, follown the info you see on this board period.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by GaSouthern1
THis is after all a board FILLLEd with explorer info, follown the info you see on this board period.

now you just sound like a nazi haha

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by toddious

it would be great if people had part numbers

eh hem, board "FILLED with information"... haha

 

[GaSouthern1]

well go forbid you do some of your own research....search the board, I know for a fact that people have put the part numbers up. Just seach for Rancho RSxxxx whatever model you want.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by toddious
eh hem, board "FILLED with information"... haha

notice the "haha".... i'm not sure what that means to georgians, but to everyone i've ever met, that imply's a joke.

 

[GaSouthern1]

Yeah, I guess it is a georgian thing.

But the board literally is filled with all the info that you need and everything that you asked has been said before. I am not trying to be an ass, just trying to make your search easier so you dont have to ask a question that has already been answered at one point.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by GaSouthern1
Yeah, I guess it is a georgian thing.

But the board literally is filled with all the info that you need and everything that you asked has been said before. I am not trying to be an ass, just trying to make your search easier so you dont have to ask a question that has already been answered at one point.

well, that brings up a point that i have wondered for a long time. if the board is made up to help people that have questions, why do people get mad when you ask questions instead of looking up all the info through a search. sometime search's take an insane amount of time(especially when you are dealing with a certain part for a certain vehicle), so i think it's simpler to just ask your questions through a post, and then someone that easily knows the answer, someone who has dealt with the problem before, will be able to answer it with no problem.

 

[GaSouthern1]

Well the thing is that you are probably making your searches too narrow. You have nothing on your car that is specific to it. Arc, as far as I know, mounts to the same places that a normal shock and all the mounts are the same. All you need to do is unhook ARC and get the shocks that everyone else is using (part number wise) and you will be fine.

The reason that people get fed up with repetitive questions is that they are just that, repetitive. If people would just put forth some effort and search, you would be able to find all you need to know. It is not that people are mad at you, it just gets old after a while when the same questions are asked almost daily.

 

[toddious]

Originally posted by GaSouthern1
Well the thing is that you are probably making your searches too narrow. You have nothing on your car that is specific to it. Arc, as far as I know, mounts to the same places that a normal shock and all the mounts are the same. All you need to do is unhook ARC and get the shocks that everyone else is using (part number wise) and you will be fine.

The reason that people get fed up with repetitive questions is that they are just that, repetitive. If people would just put forth some effort and search, you would be able to find all you need to know. It is not that people are mad at you, it just gets old after a while when the same questions are asked almost daily.

but that exact question "whether or not regular shocks could bolt right onto ARC explorers" was debated over for at least a couple days with about 10 people giving me opposite answers.

I'm sorry, i just don't always understand people explanations, and they contradict other peoples answers sometimes, so i can't always know who to believe, which is why i sometimes "rephrase" questions.