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Pugly

The Good, The Bad, & the Pugly :D

1994 Purple Explorer XLT 4wd


I decided to have a registry for my "Other" rig so I can post things done and have a reference for it.

Pretty much stock drive train.

4.0 OHV-A4ld-1354e.
D35 front 4:56 Yukon gears, Aussie Locker.
2nd gen disc 8.8 rear 4:56 gears, Spartan Locker.

Front C-Clip eliminator Mod.

Slight lift with 2" Skyjacker coils & rear F-150 hybrid leaf packs.

3" PA body lift
Helpful thread with pics for the front body mounts
Pics of front body lift mounts

Swapped to manual hubs.
Double U-joint XJ steering shaft.

33" x 12.5" x 15" Cooper Discoverer ATX3, mounted on 15"x10" AR Outlaw1 alum wheels - full size matching spare.

Shocks:
Front Rancho 9000xl
Rear Rancho 9000xl
Duff Stabilizer shock.

Sway bar quick disconnects front & rear.
Custom tube sliders w/kickouts

22" LED light bar.
18w amber fog Led pods.
55w rock lights--2 front--1 rear over diff.
8 LED pods for rocker lights.

Full brush guard.
2.5" Fender Flares.

TTB Diff guard & Skid plate.

Custom roof rack with 48" Extreme Hi-Lift jack.

Flipped Tow hitch & front hooks for tow points.

Cobra19 CB & rear hatch mounted firestick antenna.
Rear view HD camera.
JVC DVD/CD/MP3 Head unit with 7" HD Monitor.
Sony 6.5" front speakers.
Rockford Fosgate 5.25" component rear speakers.
8" JL Audio sub in 2001 enclosure with 500w amp mounted on enclosure.

Custom made center console with CB/Rear view color monitor/2-12v outlets/ in-out temp display. D cell Maglite mounted on cargo panel. Truck bed liner on cargo floor.
Custom Cargo storage box with topside spare tire mount.

'99 Eddie Bauer Front Leather buckets.
'94 Limited Rear leather split bench.


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puglyrti1.jpg

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puglysnewseats.jpg

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Anybody remember which brand for the newer plastic dpfe to buy?

I remember some posts on some other threads saying one brand is crap, and throws a cel, and not to use it. I need to buy one today.

My Google search foo isn't working today, and I can't find those posts.

Edit: Just went to the salvage yard and got a couple of these for dirt cheap. Motorcraft DPFE are $100 around here, and special order at ALL the stores. I recently paid $75 for an aftermarket unit, and it throws a CEL. Heck with paying another $100!! JY saves the day, no more CEL. :)
 



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Thanks to simple maintenance, Pugly has been doing great, since the last post here in June. No issues, no mods, just plain old DD use out of her. Still runs like a champ. Trans is still strong as ever, but I want to keep it that way, so...

I have decided to replace the 35" BFG AT's with a new set of 33's. Those will be better suited for the 4:56 gearing, and local city road use this thing sees. She struggles a little on steep hills with this current combo, and MPG's suffer. She only gets 13 mpg or so, same as it's been since the 35's was first installed, many years ago. I almost had a set of good 80% tread General Grabbers for a hell of a deal, but the deal fell apart at the last minute. Soooooo Close! lol

Anyways.......I have my choices narrowed down to a few brands, and all are in the same price range, -/+ $20/ea.

So these are what I'm considering. I still want an aggressive tire, but nothing crazy. The BFG AT KO's have worked very well in all conditions, except thick mud. Pugly rarely ever sees mud. Snow, ice, rain and some dirt roads is it. Obvious choice is a decent set of AT's.

Every now & then, this happens. For this reason, I do not want a normal street tire. :D

94 snow 2.jpg


Ok, so here is what I'm looking at now. In no particular order here.

All Terrains:

Cooper Discoverer AT3

cooper dicoverer at3.jpg


BFG AT KO2

BFG Ko2.jpg


Falken WildPeak AT3

falken wild peak at3w.jpg


BUT........ this Cooper EVO MT is looking pretty tempting to me as well, but no idea about it's HWY manners. I really don't want another set of road screamers, and hard to balance tires, for this old gal sitting at 277k miles, but...... if those are within acceptable limits, then I would consider these. They remind me of the old BFG MT's lug pattern, which is kinda classic. Not the exact same, but damn close.

cooper evo mt.jpg


Any input from those with any experience on any of these tires, is greatly appreciated. Please help me out, if you can share any pro's or cons.

Be another 2 weeks before I pull the trigger on a new set.

Thanks EFer's!!
 






Cooper AT3 all the way

DO NOT run the Falken
Do NOT run the MT if you wish to get any sort of mileage from these tires
MT simply do not wear well on the road the compound is tooooo soft.

Lots of Cooper fans up here in the PNW, they have been making some stellar tires for the last 5 years now...they will outperform and outlast those BFG's
 






I have liked the several Cooper tires I've used up recently. I would like to try the BFG since many people say they wear great. But my last 98 came with the new AT3 Winter Cooper, and they are lasting longer than expected given what should be a softer rubber.

We have snow here since yesterday, my first white Christmas ever. I have new snow tires yet to be mounted, it's very early for us to get any real snow. Tomorrow will be "interesting."
 






I ran the Cooper AT3 tires for a while on my diesel tow rig that saw dirt on a few occasions. Good tire, no complaints here. Cooper in general is a good brand but I'm not a fan of the Evo MT. The tread pattern doesn't look great and I bet they will be very noisy, especially as they wear.

Ive heard great things about the Falkens but haven't run them personally. I know they weren't the best tire around when they first came out but they have made great strides the past few years to bring a better tire to market IMO.

Not a fan of the BFGs, Ive never gotten a pair to last very long so I quit buying them.

Any consideration to the Toyo AT III? That is what I replaced my Cooper AT3s with on the tow rig and I really like them so far. Good ride, quiet and good, all-around traction.
 






Any consideration to the Toyo AT III? That is what I replaced my Cooper AT3s with on the tow rig and I really like them so far. Good ride, quiet and good, all-around traction.
Well, a full set of 5 of those about $300 (b4 fees/taxes) over budget for a full set of 5. So nope. LOL! There are a bunch of others I like, but they are just out of my price range right now.

I'm staying under the $200/ea price to fit the budget of $1k for a full set of 5. If I only got 4, then a $250+ tire would work, but I like a full size matching spare, so it don't.

I still have to pay for mount & Balance on top of that too. Best price here for that is about $30/ea, because all these pansies nowadays, think anything bigger than a 235 is a monster tire, and charge more. SMH...

I have had awesome luck with the older BFG AT KO's, and wish they still made them. These new KO2's reviews are all over the place, both good and bad. Shame. Same goes for the Wildpeaks. People either love them, or hate them.

I am leaning to the Coopers right now, but still have time to think it out. :D

Thanks guys! Merry Christmas!
 






Have you looked at Mastercraft tires? I have a friend that has bought the same 33s 5 at a time for his truck 2x now. He has a matching spare that he rotates in to extend the milage. He got around 50k out of the last set and uses them for farm use a good bit. They balance pretty good too. They come at a pretty affordable price

I got a set of coopers on my mud beater ranger. 75mph on the hwy is smooth, haven't worn them down much to get any crazy noise out of them.

Whatever you to do not buy any Achilles

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Love my AT3s on the van. When the tires of the 91 explorer wear out, that’s what will go on there, too. I also had them on the 2010 Explorer and they worked great for daily driving and my trips to the snow in the local mountains or Mammoth.
 






Boomin....I haven't looked at them Master craft's. I know nothing about them, but will do some research. I think an AT will be the best choice for the type of use this rig gets. Basically a work rig that hauls tools/materials to & from job sites, and the occasional road trip.

Froader, I have yet to hear anything bad on the Cooper AT3,... anywhere. People I know that run them, love them.

Not ever personally owning any of these tires is why I ask. I have owned, abused many All Terrains & Muds, including hybrids, over my life, but none of the tires I mentioned. I really do appreciate the feedback guys!
 






Just to add I have Cooper AT3s on my tow rig f250. My only complaint is they grab grooved pavement funny sometimes. I've only had them about 6 months 3k miles so no big experience but I really like the deep tread for a load rang E a/t.

Then again I had michelins the last 50k miles and it always rode great. Got stuck in wet grass before though....

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Well, a full set of 5 of those about $300 (b4 fees/taxes) over budget for a full set of 5. So nope. LOL! There are a bunch of others I like, but they are just out of my price range right now

Yeah, I hear you on that one. Cost is one of the main factors when I buy tires. Just so happened the size Toyos I got were within a few dollars of the other brands I was considering.

A friend I go on adventure trips with swears by the Mastercraft tires, both the AT and MT as he had them both on different trucks. They are made by Cooper, it is basically their private label tire.
 






Can you find a full sizer spare on Craigslist?? Who needs a new tire for the spare unless you are going to rotate it in?
 






Wow, I have not yet researched the Mastercraft. Christmas and all. That's very interesting that they are a Cooper brand. Good to know!

I do plan on full rotation. I have a full set of 5 wheels for them. I have a 2* positive castor issue on this rig, and the tires need rotated fairly often. By using a 5th wheel in the rotation, that helps a bunch. This rig is also locked front & rear, and matching tread depth/rotation #'s need to match as close as possible.
 






Welp........ Sams Club had a low price on a set of tires, and if ordered before 12/31/20, there is another $40 off to boot. Ordering from them, and paying another $20 for all inclusive Road Hazzard Insurance, made it a no brainer for me. I don't have to deal with being held hostage at home for delivery (porch pirates), loading them up, setting an install date with a tire shop, and paying their $30/ea install price & no roadside coverage.

I went with the Cooper Dicoverer AT3 XLT's. After road hazzard, mount & balance, install, & tax, I was only $36.50 over budget. 3-5 days out, as they had to order from their warehouse. I call that a win.

Am mounting them on a used set of wheels that was previously on the other rig. Will be selling the current 35"x12.5"x15" BFG AT's with 8.5" dual pattern alloy wheels to help recover some of the costs. ;)

Oh, forgot to mention, Pugly recently got all new clear headlight housings and some high powered bulbs. OH.... and swapped in the Purple Limited Grill too. lol
 












Well, it took a while, but the new tires are on.

Made a deal with them to mount the tires ahead of time, and dropped off the wheels 2 days ago. Appointment today was the soonest they could get the rig in the shop to install them on the rig. Said they had to do the install, for the road hazard warranty.

Arrived today, and the techs looked at the rig, then looked at the lift they use, then looked at me. LOL They got rid of traditional post lifts, and have some new fangled types of low lifts that, according to them, will not go high enough for this rig. I pointed out the floor jacks they had, and asked what's wrong with those? They must all have been new, and said they never used them, and not sure how to use them on my rig. Umm..... OK, that was enough for me.

I loaded them up, and took them home. Had them installed in 30 mins. Used Hub Centric rings on the fronts only, as the locking hubs fit thru them nicely. The rear center caps wouldn't fit thru them, so no dice there. Used brand new Anodized Black Chrome lugs to finish it off.

The tires was there when I dropped off the wheels.

Coopers at Sams.jpg


Pics all came out blurry, and it got dark out before I seen them. These will have to do for now.

The new Blue letters out, on the used set of 10" AR Outlaw 1's that was previously on the other rig.

Coopers 1.jpg

Coopers 4.jpg


So like me, with old age Pugly is now 1" shorter.
 






HAHAHAHAHAHAHA 1" shorter, I love it!!

My BII with hubs locked, during winter, commuting to town and back (this means 2 miles of 4wheeling through slush and snow, then 1 mile of ice road, then 10 miles highway to town with hubs still locked) gets 11.6 mpg :)
I have 5.0, 4.1 and 35's
However I do not have any lack of power or struggles going up hills HAHAHAHA instead I have more power then a BII needs.
11.6 mpg with hubs locks, gotta pay to play!!
The good news is I got similar mileage when it was a 4.0

New tires look awesome! good choice
 






I like those, good choice and another new Cooper model tire.

LOL, I lost an inch myself some time ago, it was a checkup at the doctor where they told me. I was concerned about my weight, not my height. Drink more milk I guess.
 






Thanks 410. :) I know these are only 2" smaller in diameter, but man, they look tiny compared to the 35's. They do look better mounted on a 10" wheel tho. I'm curious to see what the new MPG's will be. Drat....Speedo is going to change. I might have to swap the VSS gear out. This 4.0L is surprisingly spry. It has always amused me how much get up & go it has, for what it is. Should be a bit better now with the smaller tires. 70 MPH cruising on the HWY, I will find out the MPG change this weekend.

Don, I hear that. I need more of the good stuff it seems. I Found out yesterday that I really need more Potassium. Right calf muscle cramped on me so bad when putting on a tire, that it felt like it was going to break my bone. Seriously. Lower leg was curved inward, and my foot was stuck sideways, like when the ankle turns. Talk about painful. It lasted for minutes, and got tighter and tighter, until it stopped. Nothing like seeing an old guy flopping around on the ground, like a fish out of water. I love Banana's, but hate them in the home. I do not drink a lot of milk either. A Gal gets half drank, before it goes bad on me. Time for supplement pills. This old age **** is for the birds.

Going to hit up a car wash today, and clean the blue off. Too cold here to bother hooking up my power washer. LOL

Out of curiosity, I checked into the BFG 35's I just removed.
The good: New they have 15/32 tread depth. Four of them are 12/32, and One is 15/32 (spare).
The bad: DOT Born on date, says 2010 on 4 of them, & 2014 on 1.

35 BFG KO fresh off the rig.jpg


The DOB really surprises me. These were brand new when I bought them. A few years later, I bought a matching spare. These show no sign of age, whatsoever. Not a single symptom of dry rot anywhere, on any of them. Still have the little nipples on some of them even. There are no chunks in any of the treads (Rock rash). No Cupping. They look new still. My only guess as to why, is they don't get much use, but just enough to keep the oils in them evenly dispersed, to avoid aging poorly. Was hoping to sell them for a decent price, but that DOB is gonna hurt the sale. :(

I was hopeful, thinking this might fit under the rig, and free up some room inside the cargo. I forgot tho, I had removed the stock tire winch. :( If I replace the winch, and if the tire fits, I think I will need to coat the wheel with like 3 layers of carnuba wax, or something else that will help protect from road grime.
 



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Find a cheap vinyl paint, there are a few companies that make it for wrapping anything, body, wheels, mirrors, or interior. It comes as a brushable or sprayable material. That kind of product will save wheels from road salts. I have a ruined 99-01 Limited wheel from being used as a spare, I also never take that out(I fix flats on the car). I would point you to ALSA paints, but they aren't the cheapest.
 






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