someone please help!!! 3" BL on 1st gen gone sour!

[udmsvt]

update: 6-1-03

ok, sorry i havent updated in a while but havent had much time.

progress so far, got the pasanger side jacked up and blocks in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th position. the second position has no head or stem, i plan to crawl under there with a sawzall this week and besides the new bushings are being shipped from atlanta as i type this. the 5th position has no head but does have a stem, so i placed a small floor jack on the rear bumper and jacked up enough to slide a lifting block on top of the stem. i have had many peoblems with the fact that ford revamped many or the bushings so some i had to drill out and others i had to come up with something generic. i did get the e-brake bracket mounted and the e-brake is reattached and working. no more fan shroud...i cut away at ut so that the bottom idnt rub before i realized that the radiator now sat 3" hiogher so the top of the shroud rubber the intake..so i just removed it! (now i have 2 sitting in the garage because the other ex doesn have a fan shroud on either)

i also spent 2 days on the front bumper. i had to trim part of my frame up front and the little plastic piece between the bumper and the sill...but its on and looks ok. hopefully tomarrow i will get pics up and finish re-installing the airdam (removed for ease of bumper installation) as well as the trim strip with fog lights. it all depends on how i feel...i hit my knee pretty bad on the edge of the frame and was hobbling so bad i couldnt drive to dinner.

new problems encountered:

1) steering feels realy tight, either its hanging up or the u-joint just has to break in to the new angle, but not sure yet...got me to the gas station though!

2) shifter hits the center console bad in 2nd, 4th, and reverse....i have the shift boot removed because i cant get into those gears with it on, maybe some trimming or swap out for 91-92 console with single cupholder?

3) rear bumper looks horible, but another member has some brackets for sale so i am hoping to get them to bring it up.

 

[tomblin1]

Hey udmsvt,

Glad to hear you are nearing the end. I really lucked out and did not have the problems you are having when I put my 3" lift in last weekend. My 93 has spent the last 7 years in So Cal so very little corrosion.

Anyway my bumpers are a pain also, I had brackets in the kit but they are utterly useless. I am fabricating my own.

Steering Issue: My Ex was not drivable on the first test drive. The upper rag joint was cracking, did not look safe. I was able to find a lower steering linkage from a '91 Ex Sport that had an upper U-joint. This almost solved my steerin problem. Only a little off now. Friday I am having someone help me notch the firewall to completely straighten the shaft, Equals steering will be fine.

Good luck with the rest of your process.

 

[udmsvt]

even thoughmine was garaged often, it still spent its entire life in michigan and i have dome to the conclusion that the guy before me had a few accidents in it. i dont really know what my steering shaft looked like before and i dont like how tight it is, but people keep telling me to break it in so i will be comparing it to our 91 before i break it in.

 

[udmsvt]

its show and tell time! 6-2-03

ok, general photos (keep in mind i still have 2 mounts to replace)

the front bumper

the 2nd position mount still to be removed

the 5th position bracket still to be removed

the e-brake bracket

the shifter hitting the console in 2nd

4th

Reverse

and, lastly, my steering shaft....doe this look right?

 

[njsjfonline]

I'm sure some had to post this

http://www.explorer4x4.com/bodylift.html

I hope. In here there something about the shifter.

 

[udmsvt]

my kit didnt come with a dropdown bracket for the fan shroud, a shifter extension or a steering extension. i made do with the shifter by modding the shifetr boot and plastic ring. i just removed the entire fan shroud and i am still woking on the wierd steering. anybody know how much that kit in the link ran? i looked all over and the one i got seemed to be the same as all the others, but apparently i got the"shaft" so-to-speak!

as for progress, got the aridam back on (with some trimming and bending) as well as the trim stip with fog lights and trimmed the shift boot and plastic ring to re-install (will get pics of that soon). still waiting on parts from ford but i took it for a test drive and it did ok. steering a little wierd still though.

here's pics of the trim strip and air dam:

 

[udmsvt]

another update...6-10-03

ok, been working on it and got the 5th position mount off and replaced. i cut and cut with the sawzall then i looked at the new part and realized that the top part doesnt thread so i just ground off the piece of metal on top and pried the bushing off the top and the bottom fell right down. all i have left for the mounts is the #2 mount on the pass side which is structered the same as the rear so i will try to get the grinder in there next chance i get (it started pouring)

my rear bumper is also off, as i am wainint for lift brackets from fortknoxx on the site (i sent the mo out a week ago)

i am also still waiting for my shifter extension from macromotive.com and my rims/tires just shipped out freight today.

wow, i wish i wouldve bought the PA kit instead, or nothing at all, although i did contact trailmaster about getting a steering shaft extension because i dont want to swap out the one from our 91 but it scares me to drive it right now.

 

[udmsvt]

update....6-16-03

ok, sorry no updates for a whule but i am on day 7 of 9 straight working, and the last few days i had off i was eith er busy or it rained...

havent gotten much done lately, but i recieved my new bumper brackets (will post pics in next few days), recieved shifter extension and am having trouble getting shifter off, but i will stop by sears tomarrow, and also recieved and mounted my rims/tires (see pic). i had to remove front mudflaps and front left rubs bad, so i will need to trim, but they look ok.

i have friday, sat, and sun off so i hope to finish then...will keep everybody posted!

 

[udmsvt]

ok, some updated pics:

look at the height dif. between our stock 91 and my 93 sport!

how far the tire stick out:

 

[Ken Cooke]

Rear bumper solutions...

I did a 2" body lift on my Ranger (with plenty of rust) which I bought in Lansing, MI back in '96. The install was a pain in the neck, but 12 hours later, I was ready for the trail.

Once the body lift was complete, my stock bumper had this huge gap that was unsightly, and made the truck look unfinished. Whats worse, is I have a receiver hitch (drop down) - so, if I spaced the bumper up, then, I'd have this hitch sitting real low. I could swap out the hitch for a hitch that comes straight out rather than drop down, but instead I purchased a Smittybuilt tube bumper with the filler plate. This combo filled the gap completely, and you'd never guess that I have a body lift. Here is a photo of the rear of the truck - which has a 4" lift (front) and a 1.5" lift (rear) from add-a-leafs from my Rancho suspension. The tires tuck nicely into the fender wells with 33's, and although I'm getting new rear springs (when I have the money), my stock springs w/add-a-leafs flex very well...

 

[udmsvt]

yeah, i will get pics of my bumper tomarrow. it looks horrible even with the brackets. i am starting to look at getting a new one, maybe one with a tire carrier.

 

[Ken Cooke]

The Smittybuilt bumper that I have swiveled upward upon installation, making the gap completely unnoticable. The tire carrier was fabbed into place using bars that connect to the frame, and two flat mounts - cut out of steel bar stock.

If you want to run a tire carrier, just get yourself some rectangular steel bar stock, cut it to the length of your frame, and weld some connectors that will locate the bumper to your frame. Then, drill the holes to attach your Jeep-style tire carrier and you're done. Maybe replace the dropdown hitch receiver with one that comes straight out - to preserve your departure angle...

For a lack of a better picture Here's me next to my truck. Check how the square tubing was fabbed in place outside of the tube bumper. Steel forks attach to the frame, and also attach to the inside of those steel rectangular mounts (thru some holes in there). I can email you detailed photos of the whole installation so you can see what I mean. Anyways, here's me with my 180,000 '94!

-Ken

 

[udmsvt]

FINISHED!!!!

ok, finished up today. that last mount was a b!+*&! i ended up basically dismantling the grinder, jacking the body up and grinding off the top of the upper bushing piece by piece, by making slits along the side of the bolt hole, then would pull the ieces off with plyers. once off, i popped the bushing off the to and pulled the rest through the bottom.

as for that infernal shifter extension, i had to make seveal trips to 2 sears to end up with a t-30 3/8" torx bit to take the whole shifter off. the instructions for the shifter extension were crap but thanks to another board member, i realized i could just puond out the stud. then, i managed to put the pin in the wrong side of teh extension...twice and quickly learned that plyers really are a mans best friend....finally got it on, but since i had already hacked up the trim piece for the shift boot from before i had gotten rthe extension, i now need a new shift boot.

the 32s stil rub when i turn left but i have the sawzall in the back, i just didnt have time to finish triming (had tix to see 2 fast, 2 furious).

on a side note, my hood latch has been giving me trouble, and was nearly inpossible wheni was doing the lift. well, it just gave up and froze....i then learned how to dismantlye it through the grille and ended up moving the actual latch up about a half inch.

after a ful tank of gas and a nice wash, i am back on the road. i will try to get pics up soon, my family took the d-cam camping so i have to wait till they get back.

 

[Ken Cooke]

Congratulations on the B/L! You must be real happy to get your X up in the air... I have a set of 3.73 gears I can *give* you if you're looking to do a regear and don't want to shell out $$ for some 4.10s or 4.56s...Just let me know.

-Ken

 

[udmsvt]

hmm...3.73s. sounds tempting. out of curiosity, what would i be looking at to have those installed? what kinda shape they in? how much to ship to zip 48135? also, you dont per chance have an extra posi/LS do ya? i was thinking **cough** WHEN i regear, putting some sort of LS in the rear.

 

[Ken Cooke]

4.10s or 4.56s would be the better pick for true 4 wheeling, but, 3.73s would be more like a temporary remedy - especially if you plan on installing 33's or 35's in the future.

Installation would be $300-$400 per axle. That's why you might want to wait to install the 4.10s or 4.56s. Shipping would be around $30. I do not have a limited slip, although I know of someone who gave me his limited slip who wouldn't mind parting with it...

-Ken

 

[udmsvt]

i planned on getting 4.10s because most of my driving is highway but i also planned on 33s. i think i junked the idea of lifting any more but i want to get back to where i was (at least 14/17 mpg) before school starts. i had 3.27s with 30s, so i figure 3.73s with 32s would be about the same. let me know about that L/S...maybe we can figure something out. i also have to stop by the trans shop today for a better quote on the install. if i am looking at 7-800 for install, i'll just get the bigger gears and the L/S so i dont have to do it all over later (since it would take me a while to come up with that anyways) but if they can do it for 4-5, it may be worth my while because i could have it done sooner.

 

[Ken Cooke]

If you're planning on running 33's in the future (12-16 months from now), I would stay with the 4.56s - especially if you plan on running your truck in low range. If your truck is mainly for show, and you just go fishin' on Saturdays at the park, I would stay with 4.10s. With 32's, you're at a breaking point as far as gearing goes... 4.10s are a bit tall for 'wheeling, and 4.56s are a bit low for highway driving...

-Ken

 

[udmsvt]

yeah, see my girlfriend lives 50 miles from me and i end up with 18k+/yr so i pretty much ruled out 4.56s. 4.10s would be good for me because i want the milage and dont wheel much anyways....besides i am coming from 3.27s, so anything is better than what i am doing right now! i will call the trans shop this week and get back to ya on those 3.73s...but no matter what gearing i go, i need a L/S, not a full locker so if you could talk to that guy that would be great. i will also be getting pics up as soon as i can, i was busy all day today, close friend heads out to paris island tomorrow morning.

 

[Ken Cooke]

Just click this link, and email THUNDERHORSE, okay???
-Ken