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"Red Bull"

Red Bull
(Bandit #7)

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Specs:

1998 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
5.0 V8
4R70W
4.10 D35 Open
4.10 Ford 8.8
Manual 4406
BFG All-Terrain's 285/75/16 (33's)

Mods:

Engine

302 bored .030 over (306)
XE264HR Cam
Dual Valve Springs
OBX Headers
Machined GT40P Heads
Red Powder Coated Intake, Oil Pan, and Valve Covers

New:
Injectors, valve seats and seals, lifters, pushrods

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Steering
2003+ Sport Trac Knuckles
Mevotech TTX TRE's

Brakes
Sport Trac Brake Upgrade:
-12" Rotors (Front)
Ceramic Brake Pads

Lighting
6000k 30w LED's
Clear Headlight Corners and Lenses

Suspension
Warrior Shackles
Add-A-Leafs
2" Torsion Twist
1" Body lift
Bilstein 4600 Shocks
Mevotech TTX Ball Joints and Upper Control Arms
Extended swaybar links

Interior
Limited Steering wheel with redundant radio and digital temp controls
Digital HVAC
Custom leather upholstery (red leather in place of perforated leather)

Electronics/Communications
CB Radio

Exterior
Custom chili pepper red Paint PPG concept
Tupperware removed and holes welded up
"Serious Explorations" license plate frames front and back
Cut and re-welded front fenders 5" to clear larger tires
Limited Color Keyed Front Grill
Painted Rear Bumper
Chopped front bumper bed-lined

Sound
JVC KW-NT300 Nav/DVD/CD head unit
PAC adapter for steering wheel controls
Kicker DS68 6x8 Coaxial speakers
OEM 8" sub
SiriusXM

Exhaust
Flowmaster Super 44

Replaced:
Fuel tank
Cats
Tailpipe
Leaf Springs
Steering Rack
Inner Tie Rods
Front 4.10 Diff
Water Pump
CPS and Synchronizer
Radiator
A/C System
Front O2 Sensors
Muffler
Wheel Bearings
Multiple Fuel Pumps
Motor Mounts
Transmission mount

Rebuilt
Transmission
Engine

Kris' Old Registry
 



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Damn I'm going to be in Chicago for Christmas and New Years, but that still puts you almost 2000 miles away! :eek:

In any case these are load range E tires with fairly hard rubber, 10 ply sidewalls, and are incredibly heavy at 81lbs (with steel wheel) each. On my light (comparatively) Explorer they were not the best ride. Plus my heavy foot, a V8, a locker, and these tires already destroyed a 4.10 8.8 with little effort.

I have a picture around here showing that the sidewalls were strong enough to lay my entire front suspension on them with only 35 psi. In other words, they would probably ride like :censored: on your ranger.
 



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yes I wont put 10 plys on a ranger, been there done that!
8 plys are perfect for long wear and plenty of sidewall strength
Put those suckers on craigslist they should go quickly
 






yes I wont put 10 plys on a ranger, been there done that!
8 plys are perfect for long wear and plenty of sidewall strength
Put those suckers on craigslist they should go quickly

That's my hope, because, as of right now, there is no room in the budget for the OBX headers.:frown:
 






Annndd... I just pulled a 180 on what I said above.

I found a ridiculously good deal on the OBX headers ($546 shipped) and I just could not pass that up. :bounce:

Dear god, I can't keep to a budget to save my life. :banghead:
 






Got some time this weekend to put the front suspension on. Went with the Mevotech TTX ball joints, control arms and tie rod ends. All the nuts came with loctite, zinc hardware, special clips that are easy to put in and remove for the castle nuts, dust caps for all the zerk fittings. All in all, very impressed with the build quality.

Install was a bit of a pain, without any weight from the motor the suspension was fully articulated. Took a ratchet strap and undoing the torsion twist to get the knuckles in. Bilstein shocks were not even close to making it in, though. I am going to need to find a way to extend the shock. Fortunately the rears are designed for a 3" lift so I should be good there.

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All the old suspension and steering out.
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Also put in the new steering rack and the 4.10 front diff.
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That thing is a b!tch to get in, I have no idea how people were able to do it with a 5.0 in the way. :crazy:

@Kris Guilbeaux was kind enough to de-rustify the Sport Trac knuckles and put POR-15 on them to keep the rust off. Then I threw on the bigger discs. Calipers will be getting replaced with the larger ones from a Sport Trac as well. Red is going to stop on a dime. :D
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Old vs New rotor size comparison
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My helper, Cody
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Machine shop also called, the block is ready and it only needed .030 over. Whew! Pistons and rings on order. Build date on the motor is Thanksgiving weekend.:bounce:
 






oh come on the rack and pinion is a real treat to install :)
I did a write up on that for my old 96 build, I was still in Littleton CO that was like 15 years ago.
Put the rack all the way to drivers side and install the pass, then turn it all the way to pass and install the drivers side, easy easy.
Of course I think I had to jack up the engine a lil too

keep up the good work!
Don't pull those Bilsteins apart by installing a shock that is too short. been there done that.

TTX is a good ball joint, not the most amazing thing ever created but def a step up in the right direction. I am getting good performance from them in Explorers and our Excursion.
I am still split though, for me its either Spicer, Raebestos professional or TTX, they all seem to hold up about the same with the TTX having the best materials and install.
There was a Canadian company called MAS making a nice ball joint then Dorman bought them up I think that may be where we get the "Pro Forged" brand........jeepers are loving the pro forged, I have not tried them yet.
 






I wound up feeding in from the driver's side through the CV shaft area (didn't have the shocks or knuckle in the way) pushed into the hole on the passengers side, twisted my tongue the right way and in it went. :D

The biggest pain was the driver's side upper control arm bushing bolt. There is a special place in hell reserved for the ford engineer who ran the brake and fuel lines along that shock tower. :angryfire:

Unfortunately they don't make the 4600 front explorer bilsteins in a lifted form. I'm looking at shock extenders.
 






Block is back from the machine shop! Don't it look purty? :D

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Super excited about getting this together. :bounce:
 






ooooh la la!
 






Good work, I did my front suspension Monday too. I was sore for a couple days in my knees and back, bent over all day doing the four CA's etc.

BTW, do not disconnect your front calipers if you haven't yet. The 01+ calipers are no better than the 95-01's, the pads are virtually the same size, so the brake power is the same with either calipers. I went through that upgrade back in 2006, I had the 03 Sport Trac calipers, and did not use them. It's also simpler to buy pads for the 95-01, and I've been using the Motorcraft heavy duty pads, on Amazon or RA for a good price.
 
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Good work, I did my front suspension Monday too. I was sore for a couple days in my knees and back, bent over all day doing the four CA's etc.

BTW, do not disconnect your front calipers if you haven't yet. The 01+ calipers are no better than the 95-01's, the pads are virtually the same size, so the brake power is the same with either calipers. I went through that upgrade back in 2006, I had the 03 Sport Trac calipers, and did not use them. It's also simpler to buy pads for the 95-01, and I've been using the Motorcraft heavy duty pads, on Amazon or RA for a good price.

Good to know. Those calipers are EXPENSIVE! I'm also thinking about keeping the old calipers for the rear when I do that brake upgrade. Pads are a lot cheaper, and the bracket doesn't change.
 






Over this past weekend I managed to get a few things done with the block and on Red.

I weighed and matched the pistons, rods, wrist pins, and rings. Sorry for the pink pen, I blame Russell :p

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However, I couldn't install them because I forgot I needed to press the wrist pins into the rods and I didn't have the right tools. :banghead:Having the machine shop do that for me.

I did get the crank and cam installed and timed though.

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I also managed to put the new headlights and LED's in Red and get the new BFG's mounted (Thanks @Kris Guilbeaux !)

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Also took some time to throw in the new evap core and the accumulator. I went to install the new condenser and it was bent. :mad2: Then I found out that the radiator I ordered was a single row :rant:So both of those are getting returned.

Hope everybody had a happy Thanksgiving!

Shameless plug: See me interview Kris in front of Red in a new video from Bandit Customs.

 












Yes, well 32.8" because they are metric. 285/75/16's.
 












@Kris Guilbeaux finished putting the pistons in the engine and installed the heads this week keeping everything moving until I can get back up there. Thank you so much!! :bow:

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There were some issues with getting the new valve springs/retainers/keepers on the valves, but thanks to @410Fortune getting back with me so quickly, they were able to be resolved fairly easily. :thumbsup:

They measured for the push rods and they came out exactly like 410's build: 6.3". It was a pain in the butt to try and find any in stock and that weren't astronomically priced. Amazon managed to have a set, but they won't arrive until the 17th at the latest. So now it looks like we' are going to have to stab the engine and put everything together without the push rods (leaving the upper intake off) until they show. Definitely cutting it down to the wire on this project. :crazy:

I need a drink... :drunk:
 






orders a round of beers and a few shots
I know the feeling!!

Well done thus far
When the kids are up later this AM Im gonna watch that interview
 






No progress really. The pushrods came in and were installed. I am going to try and head up this weekend when Kris is free to stab the engine. After that, it is all miscellaneous stuff.

I really need Red back, Stripe is acting up and I can't take him off the road for an extended period since I have no backup vehicle to get parts as needed. Having three vehicles was sooo convenient, but with the Ram gone and Red still on the operating table, I'm between a rock and a hard place. :dunno:
 






Some pics of the engine being assembled and installed.

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Engine back in its home.

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Looks great, well done in appearance and colors too.
 






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