Possibly my next project

[aeaglenfitch]

98 mercury mountaineer SPORT

i just rolled my 98 mounty, my baby. body shops told me it's totaled just because of the slight damage to the roof. told me i should buy another one and transfer everything over.

here's what im thinking...

one thing i havent liked about the mounty is the length from axle to axle, it's kind of a pain off road. the explorer sport appealed to me. im assuming the sports also come with at least 4.10's and LS correct me if im wrong. anyways here's my idea, i'll buy a 98-01 sport and transfer all my upgrades over AND all the mercury parts, grille, emblums, seats, steering wheel, trim.

eh? eh? what do you think?

oh, i've wondered, will the mercury grill fit in with the explorer fenders? or are they different?

 

[snoborder42]

I know that this swap has been done, i saw it on here sometime. If i remember correctly, then entire front end has to be swapped over, nothing from the expo is the same as the mounty. I say go for it, a Mounty sport would be sweet.

 

[mounty71]

I'm pretty sure the grill and lights will fit on an explorer, its just those two little body pieces right underneath the mountaineer headlights that you need also, where the explorer has a single body piece that goes across the entire front end.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

so the grille and all that should swap right over and i may just need to weld on a new cross thing and that's it?

 

[FROADER]

The grill is basically upside down so the fenders are different too.

Here is a perfect example:

Clarkkent's Merc grill with explorer galss fenders. The curve is different because the grill is upside down.

Oh and you don't like the wheelbase because you only have a 2" lift with 31s.

 

[Four0Sport]

when i wrecked my 97 I thought about doing a mercury front end, i still think i may go with the mountaineer bumper cover. anyways.. when moutaineers first came out they shared explorer headlights, turn signals.. so the fenders were the same. when the moutaineer came out with your front end the fenders, header panel, lights and grille were different. basically to swap your front end on an explorer sport you should only need to swap out the header panel and use your fenders. I would throw in years to mark the changes but I dont know them off the top of my head. I had this all figured out when i was fixing my front end but opted the cheap way out and just threw on parts off an identical explorer. hope this helps.

 

[Regulator_XLS]

gears are different and sports have a mono leaf.

 

[jah81592]

When you mention this may be your next project, will you be swapping over the 5.0L drivetrain and everything. Will you sell your engine? If so how much? Shoot me a email or I will continue to check this thread. BTW I like your tuner!LOL.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

ok i remember someone saying something about a mono leaf a while back. whats the difference, pros? cons? and if it's bad can i put in my mounty leafs?

thanks james, i enjoyed my tuner too until i wrecked lol. i actualy dont have a 5.0 i wish. i cant afford to get one either. i've got my ol 4.0 with 155,000 but it's in great condition.

i dont like the wheel base because i'd have to shell out 1,800 for the lift. dont have to lift as much with a shorter wheel base. which is safer and cheeper lol.

so, dont most sports come with 4.0 4x4 with 4.10's and LS? manual transmission is more common in sports too huh. will my 4.0 bolt up to a manual easy? and james, how much would it cost to have you tweak my tunes for the new truck? and possibly new tranny?

 

[Turdle]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141138

 

[kert0307]

ok i remember someone saying something about a mono leaf a while back. whats the difference, pros? cons? and if it's bad can i put in my mounty leafs?

...

so, dont most sports come with 4.0 4x4 with 4.10's and LS? manual transmission is more common in sports too huh. will my 4.0 bolt up to a manual easy? and james, how much would it cost to have you tweak my tunes for the new truck? and possibly new tranny?

The leaves will swap over from the mounty. The mono leaf will probably flex better, but it will be kinda saggy, even with shakles.

My 2000 sport came with 4.10 gears, 4.0 Sohc auto 4x4 stock. Open diff though, but that means its easier/cheaper to put in a "lunchbox" style locker

 

[RubySlow]

I like this one
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174211&highlight=5.0+sport

 

[mounty71]

Clarkkent's Merc grill with explorer galss fenders. The curve is different because the grill is upside down.

In that pic the grill and fenders dont line up well because he crashed his truck a while back. But they used to line up perfectly...

 

[aeaglenfitch]

so you're saying the explorer and mountaineer fenders ARE the same?

wellll it's good to have some steps to follow, i knew i couldn't have been the first to do it but i had never seen or heard of it before i thought of it! i get some originality points there?

i would love to swap in a 5.0 but that'd be a bit much for me at this time. im only 18.

it looks like both of those mounty sports were rigged for street, this is where i'll be different. mine's gona be for wheelin!

i'll deffinatly be reading up on those two threads, thanks for pointing them out.

as soon as i commence the project i'll post a thread in the big project section

 

[aeaglenfitch]

will the front doors of a regular mounty fit on a exp. sport?

did the sport only come with the 4.0 OHV? or was there a sohc option?

will a manual tranny from a sport bolt right up to my 4.0 sohc? what about a 5.0?

are the back seats of the sport the same as the full size?

 

[sjr033]

My '01 sport has 3.73 and a LS, 4.0 sohc. The 4.10 and LS was an option. I do not have a mono leaf. It is a factory leaf pack. The rear seat is different. It is a 50/50 split. I think yours is a 60/40?

 

[Four0Sport]

doors will not fit. sport doors are about 4 inches longer give or take than 4 door ex or mountaineer doors. you do realize that an explorer sport is only 10 inches shorter than a 4 door? i guess 10 inches is 10 inches though. and a mountaineer sport would be unique. I use to always joke with my honda buddies that i was gonna do a JDM front end swap on my explorer... i dont know how cool a b4000 front end would look on an explorer though.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

will a manual tranny from a sport bolt right up to my 4.0 sohc? what about a 5.0?

 

[FROADER]

So i just compared pics of the explorer to mountaineer. The fenders are the same. Not sure why I thought they were different.