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Post number 3327 has been selected as best answered.

Whats In A Name?

It was hot humid august night. The winds have all but vanished. I was doing my best to keep the sweat out of my eyes. The A/C was dying in my 94 Explorer, lovingly named "Pugly", and there was no relief in sight. I decided it was time to stop throwing good money into bad. I was gonna do the unthinkable,.......I was going to commit the most heinous crime of them all! I was going to trade Pugly in for a newer model! Oh the heart break! The insanity of it all! I couldn't believe the thoughts were even going through my head.

I managed to get the old girl back home, to her resting place. She seemed at ease in her familiar surroundings. I had to come up with an explanation to let her know of my evil plan. So i just gave her that old wink and grin that she likes to see from me as we made it back home from another day of adventure in the treacherous Midwestern terrain. I did my best in hiding my cynical thoughts, as I walked around to her rear flank and gave her that little pat on her bumper, as I always have when we part for the night.

The next morning I gave her a real good bath, cleaned behind her mirrors, and brushed her grill. She still looked pretty good for her age. Oh sure she had the tell tale signs, gravity has got its firm grip on her, and I am not the best cosmetics guy in the world. she didn't seem to mind too much, she still kept her nose up and drove with pride.

After looking at many vehicles I just could not find anything that had the same feel as my old girl. Then it happened! Was I seeing a mirage? Was I so desperate to find another rig that I was blinded by insanity? I found my replacement! I quickly made a sale with the owner, and brought it home.

When I pulled in the driveway, my heart sunk as I looked into the yard to see my 94 looking at me in disbelief. She was sunning herself in the grass looking all shiny and then, she just looked away from me. My heart was tearing in two. I parked the new rig, and walked up to her and gave her a soft spoken "Hello". No reply. I tried to tickle her mirrors, no response. The tension was so great, you could have cut it with a 32 count fine tooth hacksaw. I had to explain to her that she gave me great satisfaction for many years, and we made a terrific team together, but the time has come for her to just relax and enjoy her final days. She finally revved up, and understood, her days as my work horse has ended (so we thought).

I introduced her to her daily driver replacement. The shiny new(er) next generation of her kind. The 95 Explorer XLT. She warmed right up to it. Before you know it they were swapping stories. Now I had to ask her for help. I needed a name for the new ride,
so I went to find her, and what did I see? Those two were grill to grill in the driveway. rubbing chrome! I had to get the water hose out and break them up! Sheesh, she was acting like a girl at the prom dance! I let the name thing drop for awhile.

The new(er) Ex needed to get its shots, and a physical. When I got the word on it's health, I about had a coronary. "What do you mean Doc"! I yelled. "Your kidding right"? I asked. The Doc just shook his head and gathered his tools. As he walked away, He said it had a 50/50 chance of survival. My stomach knotted up, my teeth ground, my heart raced, and I could feel the energy build up as I let it all out, "Why! Why! Why did this have to happen"! I screamed.

The prognostic exam from the doc was as such. It had a blown steering rack, the shocks were gone, the brakes were non existent, front sway bar was cracked in half, the 3rd brake light was out, none of the windows or the moon roof would work, the door locks were broke, the rear end LS clutch pack was burned up, the tires were all in need of replacement, the spare was a Firestone recall and flat, the engine had a nasty tick to it, the TPS was shot, the MAF was corroded, the battery had a dead cell in it, the hood shocks were not working, the rear hatch lock was jammed up and you couldn't open it with out a key in the lock, The carpet was stained to no repair, the rear window wiper didn't want to work, and we could not tell what year its engine swap came from. it was a mess, to say the least.

I went in the house to get my gun. I was gonna just put it out of its misery right there and then. I suddenly realized I was out of ammo, from shooting at the jeep that was in my field. I went to the computer to find a place to buy some cheap ammo, and I stumbled across this website, explorerforum.com that said it could heal any ford Explorer no matter what the problems were! I jumped for joy, I could not believe the things I was reading! I wore out the search button, asked a bunch of questions. I quickly broke out my pen and paper, feverishly writing down things as I was learning! I had found a cure for everything that was wrong with my new transport. It was a Godsend, an angel from the SUV heavens!

I sprung into action. I worked day and night, Pugly was right by my side the entire time, helping me in any way she could. I never seen this side of her, and was really amazed at how well she handled the pressure. She gently squeegeed the sweat out off my fore head with her soft wiper blades as I worked away. After an entire weekend of work, I collapsed. I needed some rest, and so did the 95. The sun crested over the hills, and awoke me to a new day. I shuffled my feet to the window facing the driveway, peeled the drapes gently back, and peered out at the 95. WOW!
It had a its color back, and was looking great! Now as the time went on, (and most of my paychecks), and the selling of almost everything I own, for funds to get the 95 to its former glory.

After some time to reflect on this name thing, I strolled up and whispered into Pugly's passenger side mirror, and she giggled with delight.

I climbed up onto the front bumper in my pajamas and robe half opened, with a cup of coffee in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other, I raised my arms with out stretched hands and proclaimed the new name of the 95.

BEHOLD...........THE BLACK HOLE!!!!!!!! (Then the neighbor yelled at me to close my robe)



The End................(or is it just the beginning?)


Actually, only some of this really happened. :D




View attachment 324381
 



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Gman, about the shifter plate. There are 4 dimples in the plate. Draw straight lines to all of them and cut it out. I have a pic handy somebody gave me for when I cut my xfer case shifter hole.

CIMG0001-1.jpg


Hope that helps.
 






It's been many years when I've last done a clutch, but the ones I did you had to make sure the proper side of the clutch disc was facing the flywheel. Some of these discs have springs that stick out further on one side.

Just noticed you have the exact tires I have, except mine are 33s and love um.
Over 4 years on them.
To bad you can't use my American rims. They are Black spokes that I can't use anymore since I'm going with a 5 on 5.5 pattern. 2 are off now and later in a couple weeks the others will be off, might even have a spare also.
 






Gman, about the shifter plate. There are 4 dimples in the plate. Draw straight lines to all of them and cut it out. I have a pic handy somebody gave me for when I cut my xfer case shifter hole.

CIMG0001-1.jpg


Hope that helps.

Can the dimples be seen from under the rig looking up at it? You are referring to the trans shifter correct?

If you have a picture, that would be great, thanks! :thumbsup:

Edit: For some reason the pic didnt show when I replied to you...weird....lol

I see it now.
 






It's been many years when I've last done a clutch, but the ones I did you had to make sure the proper side of the clutch disc was facing the flywheel. Some of these discs have springs that stick out further on one side.

The clutch I have is put together somewhat already, hopefully it is the right way as is. I will look at it further. Thanks for the tip! Mucho Gracious!

Yeah, I have been looking for a set of affordable used wheels for the newer tires. No luck yet. I would love to have the 058 eagle alloys. After having these around they have really grown on me. Too bad they wont work...ah well.

I did happen upon a killer deal for a set of 35x14.5 boggers on 15 x12 alloys for $350 about 2 miles from me, if anyone is interested. Trail tires only though, as one of them has a few knobs worn off.
 












UPS truck pulled up and dropped off 4 new STEEL shock bearings with retainer snap rings!

Trans swap should be buttoned up soon, and then the front can be torn down to replace the bearings.

Here's to wheeling in the next couple of weeks!:chug:



Summit must have felt bad for me, they sent along a care package with coupons, summit decals, new catalog, a Schick 5 blade razor (wtf?), and a note saying they are sorry for the mix up. :D
 






summit must have felt bad for me, they sent along a care package with coupons, summit decals, new catalog, a schick 5 blade razor (wtf?), and a note saying they are sorry for the mix up. :d

lol
 


















Question time.

I have been thinking of how the stock steering rack is going to handle the 35" tires. The tie rod ends are already a bit small/weak for oversize tires. This rack is relatively new but, most of us know that when wheeling with a stock IFS set up, the rack is weak.

Does anybody know of a direct bolt on Heavy duty rack for our 2nd gens?

I searched for hours it seems. There are some very nice HD tie rod conversions made for FJ's, Chevys, and others.

This is leading me to believe there is someone out there that has done this before on our racks.

The steering is already stiff with the 33", it is just going to be worse with the 35". I want 2 things out of this.

1st) Stronger steering for tight spots and at idle. (Hydro?)

2nd) Stronger tie rod ends.

Here is a HD tie rod set up I found for an FJ.

2010-02-26110545.jpg

P1011576.jpg

P1011588.jpg

P1011589.jpg

P1011613.jpg




If the tie rod end breaks inside the rack out on a trail, it is almost impossible to repair or tow in a situation like that. The rig would have to be abandoned until a new rack and the proper tools are retrieved to do the repairs. I really don't like that option.
 


















Yeah, I did this once...

410710120123.jpg
410710120125.jpg


What I did to keep that from happening again was to make some protectors that would keep it from being able to bend. I don't have any pics of them, yet...
I made some new ones last year that I've procrastinated getting installed. I think they are at my storage unit. I'm heading there after this post to go look for them so I can photograph them for you. And of course I need to finish installing them on my truck. :D
 






That is a sad tie rod for sure. Good thing it just bent and didn't break at the ball inside the rack. That is my fear. Even so, that is a not a fun fix on the trail. I feel for ya John.
 






Ok, this is a crude design and I still need to drill the bolt holes, grind down the sharp edges, and paint them. But this is a much cheaper functional solution than buying the Dixon Brothers tie rods.

My solution is just some angle iron and flat iron welded together to surround the stock tie rods and keep them from being able to bend.

Top side
CIMG0211.jpg


Bottom side
CIMG0212.jpg


Together
CIMG0213.jpg
 






That is a sad tie rod for sure. Good thing it just bent and didn't break at the ball inside the rack. That is my fear. Even so, that is a not a fun fix on the trail. I feel for ya John.
That was on a trail near Las Cruces, NM. We got it bent back in place and I drove home to Houston before replacing it. :) The CV joint was toasted from the extreme angle. :p:
 






Hmm, that will stop them from bending, but wont the stress be transferred to the connection in the rack? I really think that is a cool idea for the rods themselves. They just clamp on the rods?
 






Hmm, that will stop them from bending, but wont the stress be transferred to the connection in the rack? I really think that is a cool idea for the rods themselves. They just clamp on the rods?
Yes, they just clamp on.

Well when you stay with IFS and run 35" tires you just have to accept that certain things are going to wear out faster than normal, right? I'm already on my 2nd rack. My original rack developed a crack in the housing. But, I actually drove it a year or 2 with the crack. It just leaked fluid sometimes. :D I kept a quart of fluid under the hood in case it got low. :D
 



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LOL!
I'm on my 2nd rack as well...:p:

Everyone screams SAS, and I am understanding why more & more. But I am still not swapping over on this rig yet. ;)

I can live with C/V axles and hubs going out more with the 35", but the fear of the rack & tie rods going out, I can't live with.
 






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