Racing explorer tips?

[mr.frenchy]

This weekend I'll be racing a '96 explorer in an "off-road" competition called full metal mayhem. It's sort of like a cheap truck challenge type event, indoors, so probably tight turns, a couple jumps and who knows what obstacles...
5 timed races over 2 days.

Thing is, I've never had an explorer and It's getting delivered friday night, the night before the races start.
I know it runs, the rear end howls and it has 400k KM's. I'm trying to get the VIN so I atleast know what engine, gears, etc.. are in it.
I might grab a spare rear diff from an auto wreckers if I can find out what gears are in it. The truck is basically getting destroyed this weekend, so don't want to spend any real $$$ on it, but also want it to have a chance at finishing all 5 races if possible, or live to race another event like this!


What I'm after is more specifics about known issues and breakage and/or any tips on easy lifts.
I might just sawzall the fenders and throw in some 31" MT's. Will they rub on tight turns?

Spare driveshafts with u-joints a good idea?
Can I cut some exhaust off or do they need the backpressure?
How would it perform in front wheel drive if I remove the rear driveshaft before the rear end completely blows?
How do these front suspensions like the jumps?

I will probably remove all 5 doors, side glass, running boards and as much interior as time allows...
Any other tips or tricks appreciated!

 

[trj360]

31s fit stock but you might want to do a torsion twist and sawzall if you're going to be jumping. You can leave the rear suspension alone. You should probably take off the spare if you don't need it, or relocate it to inside the truck and use tie straps to hold it down if you are going to need it. Also, the front plastic valence on the bumper will probably come right off after one jump so you may want to remove that before the competition.

Looking forward to seeing the truck after you've gotten it ready for the race...and afterward!

 

[mr.frenchy]

Yeah, I'll be taking some pictures. Before, During and after

Thinking I should disable the airbags too.
Can I just cut the wires under the steering wheel cover somewhere?

 

[techieman33]

Do not cut the wires. To disarm them you have to disconnect the battery, wait at least 30 minutes and then pull the fuse. Cutting the wires could set them off. Also I wouldn't do a torsion twist as it could limit your travel, and if your jumping you need every bit you can get.

 

[dersch6221992]

idk if you are afraid of rolling it or not. but if you are worried about that at all i would deffianlty not take all the doors off. When you roll it this could cause a week point and flatten the roof onto you. Taking the front 2 off and then the glass off the back hatch would be a good idea. Also you could kick out the windshield (more fun) or just take it out properly. drop the running boards (bolts underneath i believe? if not look on a forum on here because it is on here. also the bug shield should pop off

Cant wait to see pics!

and thats a pretty nice explorer to be trashing but o well! itll be sweet

 

[techieman33]

idk if you are afraid of rolling it or not. but if you are worried about that at all i would deffianlty not take all the doors off. When you roll it this could cause a week point and flatten the roof onto you. Taking the front 2 off and then the glass off the back hatch would be a good idea. Also you could kick out the windshield (more fun) or just take it out properly. drop the running boards (bolts underneath i believe? if not look on a forum on here because it is on here. also the bug shield should pop off

Cant wait to see pics!

and thats a pretty nice explorer to be trashing but o well! itll be sweet

I wouldn't bother with the running boards, your not saving much weight, and they'll smash up pretty easy

 

[mr.frenchy]

Good points! Thanks.

I'll leave the rear doors, at least one roll/flop is quite possible.

Running boards, I dunno... Normally I'd take them off, but the crowd likes to see carnage

This looks like the Ltd model ? So 4.0l and selec trac, correct?
Run it in 4 low ?

Going to make a trip to the wreckers, any advice on spare parts to gather?
Front Axleshafts, driveshafts, suspension components ?

Apparently the course has some concrete culverts and road baricade blocks as obstacles

Thanks again!

 

[Doomie17]

run it in 4hi you cant go over like 30 or 40 in low.

 

[mr.frenchy]

run it in 4hi you cant go over like 30 or 40 in low.

"Can't" or "shouldn't"?

Will need 4 low for some of the obstacles, I'd rather not have to stop and mess with Tcase, doesn't shift on the fly does it?

 

[trj360]

"Can't" or "shouldn't"?

Will need 4 low for some of the obstacles, I'd rather not have to stop and mess with Tcase, doesn't shift on the fly does it?

Auto trans I'd say 4hi unless you are rock crawling.

 

[gavin]

Also I wouldn't do a torsion twist as it could limit your travel, and if your jumping you need every bit you can get.

torsion twist does not effect travel all that much, it only changes the static height. You won't get as much down-travel, but it's not like it won't droop as much. And up-travel will only be slightly limited due to added tension from the torsion twist.

Regardless, the front end has crap for travel anyway, so losing an inch or two wouldn't be terribly devestating.

"Can't" or "shouldn't"?

Will need 4 low for some of the obstacles, I'd rather not have to stop and mess with Tcase, doesn't shift on the fly does it?

I've never seen a t-case that will shift to 4-LOW "on-the-fly"
they always reccommend/require putting the vehicle into park/neutral

 

[Carguy3J]

What a waste of what appears to be a nice looking vehicle. As nice as the body looks, even if it needs a rear, it's a keeper. There's gotta be something else far more "already beyond repair" that you could use. At the very least, I'll bet a lot of people would be very happy to have had the parts that you are going to destroy.

If you were at least making this into a real "racing" vehicle, that was designed/intended to be used regularly/repeatedly in many competitions, say over the course of a season or two of racing, at least it would be put to some good use. As it is, it sounds like what you are doing is a glorified demo derby/one shot deal. Any time someone knows ahead of time, that the vehicle is definitely going to be destroyed, that's not racing. That's just "let's destroy sh#t for a few cheap laughs"

 

[storlied]

From the pictures and the talk of 4hi/lo you have the 4.0L V6 engine.

 

[techieman33]

What a waste of what appears to be a nice looking vehicle. As nice as the body looks, even if it needs a rear, it's a keeper. There's gotta be something else far more "already beyond repair" that you could use. At the very least, I'll bet a lot of people would be very happy to have had the parts that you are going to destroy.

If you were at least making this into a real "racing" vehicle, that was designed/intended to be used regularly/repeatedly in many competitions, say over the course of a season or two of racing, at least it would be put to some good use. As it is, it sounds like what you are doing is a glorified demo derby/one shot deal. Any time someone knows ahead of time, that the vehicle is definitely going to be destroyed, that's not racing. That's just "let's destroy sh#t for a few cheap laughs"

The body has some pretty bad cancer looking at the pics, and it has 400,000km on it. So it would probably cost a small fortune to get it back into decent shape, and these things are a dime a done so it's not worth it. At least someone will have some fun with it and it'll go out in a blaze of glory before it gets crushed.

 

[storlied]

Just be safe is all I have to say. You should make a video. ^_^

 

[dersch6221992]

Good points! Thanks.

I'll leave the rear doors, at least one roll/flop is quite possible.

Running boards, I dunno... Normally I'd take them off, but the crowd likes to see carnage

This looks like the Ltd model ? So 4.0l and selec trac, correct?
Run it in 4 low ?

Going to make a trip to the wreckers, any advice on spare parts to gather?
Front Axleshafts, driveshafts, suspension components ?

Apparently the course has some concrete culverts and road baricade blocks as obstacles

Thanks again!

I meean if your going to be hitting some concrete barriars. See if you can find a cheapo pushguard or any type of heavy duty bumper. In my area (detroit) you can get a cheap brush guard off craigslist for like 40 to 50 bucks. And once on there just weld the **** out of it and cross brace it.

where is this competition? i have never heard of anything of this such

 

[gijoecam]

Regarding the 4wd, if you're running in 4high, you'll want to lock the t-case in full-tme, but being a 96, you won't be able to do that with the switch alone. Search for 'Comprehensive Brown Wire Mod' and follow the instructions. That will allow you to run in true 4high (not 4auto).

You should be able to run in 4low up to roughly 60mph indicated (at redline in OD). If you're running oversized tires, that may help with your acceleration, but will limit your top-end. The cooling system probably won;t last long at those RPMs, so I would dump the antifreeze and run straight water with water wetter to get the best cooling protection.

Being that you'll be jumping, I'd definitely twist the t-bars for added up-travel. Yes, it'll make it more tippy, but it'll likely help save the suspension from busting itself to smithereens on landing. A good sturdy skid-plate between the front crossmember and the front of the frame would probably help keep the front end from digging in if you stuff the front end on landing.

Must see video and pics of this beast... send her out in a blaze of glory!!

 

[Spdrcer34]

Are you disabling the air bags? Is that standard procedure in these type of events for you?

Ryan

 

[gavin]

Are you disabling the air bags? Is that standard procedure in these type of events for you?

Ryan

if he plans on hitting jumps, who in their right mind would want the possibility of the airbags deploying on the landing? I sure wouldn't.

 

[carlover]

Ive been to and seen lots of videos on this type of event. Out here it's called Tuff Trucks. You will pretty much destroy this thing within the 1st race or two if you drive it hard. you will probably break the ball joints, youll for sure bend and crack the lower a arm mounts, tear out the upper a arm mounts, and or destroy the frame. It could get ugly really quick with no roll cage or any real safety equipment.