"Red Bull"

Red Bull
(Bandit #7)

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

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

 

[MrQ]

And Red is going back to Bandit Customs. I have to pull the engine, the oil leak is from the pan gasket and I believe there is a bad lifter or valve on the driver's side head that I can't fix. The ticking sound changes everyday, sometimes it's loud and I have a lot of power loss, other days it's barely noticeable and the power is enormous.

Until I get everything solved on that engine I am just going to swap in a low-mileage 5.0 for now.

On the upside, I did acquire a "new" tow rig. Meet "White Elephant" - 2012 F150 XLT 4x4 with the 5.0:

 

[MrQ]

I'm taking some time off working on Red. Just focusing on my job and other things right now.

But he's safe in my garage.

 

[MrQ]

After sitting in the garage for almost a year, I cranked Red over, put insurance back on the beast and started driving around. Not a lot's changed, I just missed my friend.
Got some work still to do, but if feels good to be packing mud into the wheel wells again.

 

[MrQ]

14 months later... Not much has changed. Couple of times I took Red out last year to stretch his legs proved disastrous with one instance where the rear driveshaft nearly fell off.

He has also constantly been plagued by misfiring issues and low power. Turns out that aftemarket headers and bare spark plug wires don't mix well and I was arcing pretty badly off the headers. I wound up replacing all of the wires and further insulated them. I also changed out both coil packs, because #8 was arcing so bad it melted the plug on the pack. This seems to have restored the power for now.

Red also still likes to dump power steering fluid all over my floor from an unknown leak. I am loathing tackling this one because I suspect it is from the rack.

On the upside, I replaced the wiper arm that was damaged when the hood flew up a few years ago and I replaced a missing seal around the cabin electrical plug that has been dumping hot air from the exhaust on my feet ever since I first got the truck 12 years ago. And I replaced the u-joints in the rear driveshaft that had turned to rust, which now seems to have caused a driveline vibration at higher speeds.

All things considered, one of the biggest plusses so far is I no longer have to worry about emissions testing in Texas starting this year. F*ck you P0401 code!

As you can probably tell, I still have this love-hate thing going on with Red. Unfortunately for my mental well-being and my wallet, I still haven't realized the cognitive dissonance that is keeping me from classifying it as one of the most toxic relationships I have ever had with a vehicle.

 

[Rick]

As you can probably tell, I still have this love-hate thing going on with Red. Unfortunately for my mental well-being and my wallet, I still haven't realized the cognitive dissonance that is keeping me from classifying it as one of the most toxic relationships I have ever had with a vehicle.

I have this issue with all of our vehicles.

 

[CDW6212R]

I hope you keep after it, they are worth it when they are working well. I flog my 98 Limited AWD every day at work. I don't like to see it hit 4000 and 5000rpm every time I take off, but I need to, to get up to speed fast after every mail box I stop for. So my transmission is amazing to do so well after 238k miles, the steering rack and brakes, you name it they all take a beating and keep going.

I feed my truck fresh oil every 4k, lots of tires and brakes, all fluids, wash it once a blue moon, ignore the dents, and thank it for the hard work. Give it a chance, it will reward you in the long run.

 

[410Fortune]

P0401 have you replaced the dpfe? The old
Metal ones have a high failure rate the newer plastic ones fail waaaaaay less

Red is a *****in truck I would love to have that sucker! Hang in there