1997 Explorer XLT
~~ UPDATED 2/7/04 ~~
I own a 1997 Ford Explorer XLT. It is a 4x4 powered by a 4.0L V6 SOHC engine. As I bought this truck used (with 60,008 miles) I wasn't able to customize it to my specifications. With the exception of a few items such as a sun roof and a trailer hitch (which I later added) I am very happy with the way the Explorer came from the factory.
As to the V6 SOHC engine, I am very impressed with its performance thus far. Many Explorer owners have opted for the 5.0L V8 engine, but after owning the V6 I'm sure it was the right choice for me. While the V8 has more power for towing and carrying heavy loads, the SOHC V6 has more pep and for normal driving, performs much better.
I owned the Explorer for about 10,000 miles before I began to modify it. During this time I got used to the strong and weak parts of my truck. While driving it stock for this period of time I had only two real problems with it. I began to hear a clunking noise from the rear end of the truck. Upon bringing it back to the dealership I was told that the rear differential had to be replaced. At this point I really didn't know too much about the workings of cars, so I asked no questions, and the part was replaced under warranty. In retrospect, I would most likely have questioned what went wrong, and have inquire about what was going to be put in. In addition to that the IAC motor had to be replaced, along with other regular maintenance.
My first round of modifications was to improve the stock lighting and audio. The stereo felt weak and lacked bass. I had no interest in having some thumping, blasting, obnoxious sound system, all I wanted was a solid crisp sound to play my CDs and listen to the radio. What I opted for was a new 4+1 channel Sony Xplod amplifier and an MTX Thunderform 10" subwoofer hidden in what used to be a storage basket in the rear compartment.
For the lighting I've gone through a few different combinations, but I'm very happy with my current setup. When I had my brush guard I had a set of Hella 500 driving lights, which were excellent, and I highly recommend them. I also had a set of cheap PIAA 001 fog lights which were useless, and not worth even their small cost. However, when I removed my brush guard I opted for some smaller driving lights, and fog lights that fit into the stock location. For the driving lights I chose PIAA 1100x crystal ion driving lights, and for the fog lights I chose Hella 530 fog pattern lights. They are both excellent, and work very well. In addition to the auxiliary lights I upgraded my headlight bulbs to Sylvania Silverstars, and they are great. They're very bright and very inexpensive; I highly recommend them to everyone. I also installed an upgraded headlight wiring harness, which provides more power to the upgraded headlights. I had heard great things about this product, and thus far it has worked well for me too.
Next came the desire to get some bigger tires under my truck. In addition to wanting better ground clearance and a more aggressive tire tread, I really wanted to get rid of the classic rear end sag and to have my Explorer look a little bigger. My considerations were that I wanted to keep a ride close to stock and that I would have to deal with snow in the winter time. With that in mind, and a limited budget, I installed Warrior extended shackles, an add-a-leaf, and a 2" torsion twist to match. I later replaced the rear leaf springs with 2" lifted springs to do away with the extended shackles, which I thought were ugly hanging out from under my bumper. With this setup I was able to accommodate 31x10.50r15 AT tires with plenty of room to play.
At this point my shocks needed to be replaced, so I decided it was a good time to get some off road quality shocks. I chose the Rancho 5000 shocks for the front and rear. They have been okay, but I'm not totally satisfied with them. They ride a little bit stiff for my taste, and they are beginning to wear out after only about 15,000 miles.
For a few months the 31's went on my Jeep, and I put a set of 235/75r15 Michelin M/S tires on the Explorer. The Michelins are great tires. I had no problems in the snow this winter, and I will be sad to give them up for my new tires. I no longer have the Jeep, so I'm back to working on the Explorer and my next plan was to add a body lift and 32x11.50r15 AT tires.
After doing some research I elected to go with the 2" body lift as opposed to the 3" kit. The reason for this was not that I didn't want the extra height; it was because of the complications that arise with the 3" kit. I really didn't want to have to worry about the steering extension, brake lines, and other things that are affected by the extra inch. There is no body lift kit made for the second generation Explorers, so for both the 2" and 3" kit modifications must be made to make them fit the 95-01 Explorers. For the 2" kit, I bought the Performance Accessories 2" kit for 91-94 Explorers. The only modifications that had to be done were drilling out the body mount bushings with a 1/2" drill bit, and buying nuts for the new body mount bolts. The reason for this is that the bolts supplied are only threaded 2" up and you will run out of threads when putting the new bolts in. This problem is easily resolved, and the kit installs with few problems. The only problem that I ran into was getting out the forward most body mount bolt on the passenger's side. It had to be cut because even after heating and lubricating, the threads were too corroded to come out. All in all, the installation took about seven hours and went relatively smoothly.
Although the pictures don't show it, I have fixed the front bumper. I added some washers behind the upper mounts on the relocation brackets and it leveled the bumper off some. It's not 100% perfect, but it's much better than in these photos. The rear bumper is another story. I'll be waiting until spring to make up some brackets to move it up, and then I'll deal with the hitch.
My next improvement was 32x11.50r15 Cooper Discover AT tires. I'm very happy with their performance thus far both on the roads, highway, and some semi-off road paths. They were pretty cheep, and they look nice too. I'm satisfied.
That's it for now, my next mods will be to get some more power out of my 4.0, and try to make it more efficient as well.
The first stage of the plan involves improving the intake and exhaust. For the intake I chose the KKM Tru Rev Sport Induction kit. I made this choice for a few reasons, mainly money. It costs about $100, while the K&N will set you back about $260. It is supposed to be just as good, if not better than the K&N and for well under half the cost I decided to give it a shot. I got it installed in about 10-15 minutes, and took the truck out for a spin. Not too much difference, but it sounds pretty good under acceleration. I expect the performance gain to be much more noticeable once the exhaust is done too.
For the exhaust I chose the Gibson Stainless cat back kit. This kit is a bolt on, and can be done by yourself. I wanted an exhaust system that would be freer flowing and give me some added power, but was also modest in its tone. I have no interest in having my truck sound like a wannabe race car. At first I was going to go to an exhaust shop and have them put in a muffler a bend a 2.5" pipe to fit, but the guy wanted $350 to do it, and the Gibson kit was only $345, and it is stainless. Also, I think the Gibson will have a sound more to my liking than the flowmaster or magnaflow options I had at the exhaust shop. I ordered the kit from Summit Racing.
I got the exhaust system installed this week and it is really great. FedEx had problems delivering the package to my house so I had to go down to the Bronx to pick it up. That was the worst part of the install. As far as getting the old stuff off, I spent little time with wrenches, realized there was no hope, and went right to the sawzall. It worked like a dream. I had to buy new bolts for the flange connection, because I cut mine and the kit didn't come with any. Why would you want to reuse those old rusty bolts anyway?? I don't understand that.
The install of the new kit was very easy. It fit with no problems or rubbing. The instructions mentioned that I may have to move some things, but I didn't. It sounds great and it really is just what I wanted from it. The sound is deep, but not stupid on the v6, and it's louder than stock, but not unreasonable at all.
The second stage of my project will be an Apten computer chip. I will be taking part in the upcoming group buy. More details about this to come later on.
Mods:
New 2" lifted leaf springs
2" Torsion twist
2" PA Body Lift
32x11.50r15 Cooper Discover AT tires
Rancho 5000's (front and rear)
KKM intake
Gibson stainless exhaust
PIAA 1100 dichronic driving lights
Hella 530 fog lights
Sylvania Silverstar headlights
Urgraded headlight harness
Python remote start
Sony Xplod Amp
MTX Thunderform 10" hidden Sub
Class III hitch
Uniden Bearcat Scanner
Mobil 1 synthetic oil
On the way:
Apten chip
15x8 rims
~~ UPDATED 2/7/04 ~~
I own a 1997 Ford Explorer XLT. It is a 4x4 powered by a 4.0L V6 SOHC engine. As I bought this truck used (with 60,008 miles) I wasn't able to customize it to my specifications. With the exception of a few items such as a sun roof and a trailer hitch (which I later added) I am very happy with the way the Explorer came from the factory.
As to the V6 SOHC engine, I am very impressed with its performance thus far. Many Explorer owners have opted for the 5.0L V8 engine, but after owning the V6 I'm sure it was the right choice for me. While the V8 has more power for towing and carrying heavy loads, the SOHC V6 has more pep and for normal driving, performs much better.
I owned the Explorer for about 10,000 miles before I began to modify it. During this time I got used to the strong and weak parts of my truck. While driving it stock for this period of time I had only two real problems with it. I began to hear a clunking noise from the rear end of the truck. Upon bringing it back to the dealership I was told that the rear differential had to be replaced. At this point I really didn't know too much about the workings of cars, so I asked no questions, and the part was replaced under warranty. In retrospect, I would most likely have questioned what went wrong, and have inquire about what was going to be put in. In addition to that the IAC motor had to be replaced, along with other regular maintenance.
My first round of modifications was to improve the stock lighting and audio. The stereo felt weak and lacked bass. I had no interest in having some thumping, blasting, obnoxious sound system, all I wanted was a solid crisp sound to play my CDs and listen to the radio. What I opted for was a new 4+1 channel Sony Xplod amplifier and an MTX Thunderform 10" subwoofer hidden in what used to be a storage basket in the rear compartment.
For the lighting I've gone through a few different combinations, but I'm very happy with my current setup. When I had my brush guard I had a set of Hella 500 driving lights, which were excellent, and I highly recommend them. I also had a set of cheap PIAA 001 fog lights which were useless, and not worth even their small cost. However, when I removed my brush guard I opted for some smaller driving lights, and fog lights that fit into the stock location. For the driving lights I chose PIAA 1100x crystal ion driving lights, and for the fog lights I chose Hella 530 fog pattern lights. They are both excellent, and work very well. In addition to the auxiliary lights I upgraded my headlight bulbs to Sylvania Silverstars, and they are great. They're very bright and very inexpensive; I highly recommend them to everyone. I also installed an upgraded headlight wiring harness, which provides more power to the upgraded headlights. I had heard great things about this product, and thus far it has worked well for me too.
Next came the desire to get some bigger tires under my truck. In addition to wanting better ground clearance and a more aggressive tire tread, I really wanted to get rid of the classic rear end sag and to have my Explorer look a little bigger. My considerations were that I wanted to keep a ride close to stock and that I would have to deal with snow in the winter time. With that in mind, and a limited budget, I installed Warrior extended shackles, an add-a-leaf, and a 2" torsion twist to match. I later replaced the rear leaf springs with 2" lifted springs to do away with the extended shackles, which I thought were ugly hanging out from under my bumper. With this setup I was able to accommodate 31x10.50r15 AT tires with plenty of room to play.
At this point my shocks needed to be replaced, so I decided it was a good time to get some off road quality shocks. I chose the Rancho 5000 shocks for the front and rear. They have been okay, but I'm not totally satisfied with them. They ride a little bit stiff for my taste, and they are beginning to wear out after only about 15,000 miles.
For a few months the 31's went on my Jeep, and I put a set of 235/75r15 Michelin M/S tires on the Explorer. The Michelins are great tires. I had no problems in the snow this winter, and I will be sad to give them up for my new tires. I no longer have the Jeep, so I'm back to working on the Explorer and my next plan was to add a body lift and 32x11.50r15 AT tires.
After doing some research I elected to go with the 2" body lift as opposed to the 3" kit. The reason for this was not that I didn't want the extra height; it was because of the complications that arise with the 3" kit. I really didn't want to have to worry about the steering extension, brake lines, and other things that are affected by the extra inch. There is no body lift kit made for the second generation Explorers, so for both the 2" and 3" kit modifications must be made to make them fit the 95-01 Explorers. For the 2" kit, I bought the Performance Accessories 2" kit for 91-94 Explorers. The only modifications that had to be done were drilling out the body mount bushings with a 1/2" drill bit, and buying nuts for the new body mount bolts. The reason for this is that the bolts supplied are only threaded 2" up and you will run out of threads when putting the new bolts in. This problem is easily resolved, and the kit installs with few problems. The only problem that I ran into was getting out the forward most body mount bolt on the passenger's side. It had to be cut because even after heating and lubricating, the threads were too corroded to come out. All in all, the installation took about seven hours and went relatively smoothly.
Although the pictures don't show it, I have fixed the front bumper. I added some washers behind the upper mounts on the relocation brackets and it leveled the bumper off some. It's not 100% perfect, but it's much better than in these photos. The rear bumper is another story. I'll be waiting until spring to make up some brackets to move it up, and then I'll deal with the hitch.
My next improvement was 32x11.50r15 Cooper Discover AT tires. I'm very happy with their performance thus far both on the roads, highway, and some semi-off road paths. They were pretty cheep, and they look nice too. I'm satisfied.
That's it for now, my next mods will be to get some more power out of my 4.0, and try to make it more efficient as well.
The first stage of the plan involves improving the intake and exhaust. For the intake I chose the KKM Tru Rev Sport Induction kit. I made this choice for a few reasons, mainly money. It costs about $100, while the K&N will set you back about $260. It is supposed to be just as good, if not better than the K&N and for well under half the cost I decided to give it a shot. I got it installed in about 10-15 minutes, and took the truck out for a spin. Not too much difference, but it sounds pretty good under acceleration. I expect the performance gain to be much more noticeable once the exhaust is done too.
For the exhaust I chose the Gibson Stainless cat back kit. This kit is a bolt on, and can be done by yourself. I wanted an exhaust system that would be freer flowing and give me some added power, but was also modest in its tone. I have no interest in having my truck sound like a wannabe race car. At first I was going to go to an exhaust shop and have them put in a muffler a bend a 2.5" pipe to fit, but the guy wanted $350 to do it, and the Gibson kit was only $345, and it is stainless. Also, I think the Gibson will have a sound more to my liking than the flowmaster or magnaflow options I had at the exhaust shop. I ordered the kit from Summit Racing.
I got the exhaust system installed this week and it is really great. FedEx had problems delivering the package to my house so I had to go down to the Bronx to pick it up. That was the worst part of the install. As far as getting the old stuff off, I spent little time with wrenches, realized there was no hope, and went right to the sawzall. It worked like a dream. I had to buy new bolts for the flange connection, because I cut mine and the kit didn't come with any. Why would you want to reuse those old rusty bolts anyway?? I don't understand that.
The install of the new kit was very easy. It fit with no problems or rubbing. The instructions mentioned that I may have to move some things, but I didn't. It sounds great and it really is just what I wanted from it. The sound is deep, but not stupid on the v6, and it's louder than stock, but not unreasonable at all.
The second stage of my project will be an Apten computer chip. I will be taking part in the upcoming group buy. More details about this to come later on.
Mods:
New 2" lifted leaf springs
2" Torsion twist
2" PA Body Lift
32x11.50r15 Cooper Discover AT tires
Rancho 5000's (front and rear)
KKM intake
Gibson stainless exhaust
PIAA 1100 dichronic driving lights
Hella 530 fog lights
Sylvania Silverstar headlights
Urgraded headlight harness
Python remote start
Sony Xplod Amp
MTX Thunderform 10" hidden Sub
Class III hitch
Uniden Bearcat Scanner
Mobil 1 synthetic oil
On the way:
Apten chip
15x8 rims
Makes a great difference for sure.....but I do miss my nitrous kit a little. 
