V8BoatBuilder's Off Road Buildup: Spring 2008

[V8BoatBuilder]

Here are my plans for my 1997 Mountaineer V8, and the official buildup thread.

The Goal: Fitting Interco TrXus MT 33x12.5R15 with style and offroad prowess.

The Plan:
Front Suspention: Superlift 4"
Rear Suspention: SOA, stock springs, warrior shackles.
Rear Axle: Originally belonging to IZwack, it's a 1998 with 4.56 gears and SOA perches. Limited Slip.
Front Axle: 1995 Explorer, with Central Axle Disconnect. Being regeared to 4.56. Open, perhaps an Aussie Locker.

New tire mounted on rear axle:

New 33" TrXus MTs vs 31" BFG ATs:

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

New (to me) front axle:

Looks really clean in there! SCORE.

There was no oil stain around the pinion, and the yard let me grab all the valves and harness for the CAD control. It's an identical system to the front of my Dad's 99 Isuzu Trooper, which works real well. Although on his truck, Isuzu mounted the two valves on the axle and they corrode like nobodies business. Under the hood is a much better setup.

I posted on Craigslist looking for a shop to do gears, and someone recommended a place right down the road from me. He quoted $250 for labor, and $300 for Yukon 4.56 gears and the master install kit, with all new bearings and seals. Seems fair to me.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Subscribing. I can't wait to see the results.

A SOA warning-

This is with the 4" superlift and SOA, stock shackles. I cranked the bars all the way, never could get it leveled out.

I ended up going back to SUA, F150 leaf springs and shackles. May go to Superlift springs soon.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

A SOA warning...I ended up going back to SUA, F150 leaf springs and shackles. May go to Superlift springs soon.

That's a pretty hefty difference between the front and rear. I like the idea of SOA for ground clearance, so we'll see. Unfortunately my stock shackles are AWOL, so it's my warriors or getting a set from the recycler.

When you went SOA, how was your brakeline length? I'm glad the driveshaft still worked.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

This is my solution for extended brake lines:

Just a 12" piece of hardline. Works great- even at full droop SOA, I didn't have any problems.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Just a 12" piece of hardline. Works great- even at full droop SOA, I didn't have any problems.

Clever

 

[techieman33]

That's a pretty hefty difference between the front and rear. I like the idea of SOA for ground clearance, so we'll see. Unfortunately my stock shackles are AWOL, so it's my warriors or getting a set from the recycler.

When you went SOA, how was your brakeline length? I'm glad the driveshaft still worked.

You can get new stock shackles for about $17 each, or maybe just cut the warriors shorter and drill new holes.

 

[Hokie]

I'll be curious to see how your truck does with 4.56's and 33's... thats alot of gear for the torquey 4406'd V8 driveline

I've got 4.10's with 32's and I'm going back to 3.73's. Offroad its amazing but onroad I'd like to lower my RPM's for better MPG's

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

I'll be curious to see how your truck does with 4.56's and 33's... thats alot of gear for the torquey 4406'd V8 driveline

I've got 4.10's with 32's and I'm going back to 3.73's. Offroad its amazing but onroad I'd like to lower my RPM's for better MPG's

My original plan was to get matched set of salvage yard 4.10 axles, but 4.56 seems like the way to go. The Mountaineer is no longer my Daily, I'm rocking 25mpg in my 4cyl Ranger. I'll be using the truck for 1) Offroad and 2) Towing, so even if the gearing means I'm turning a high RPM at 65-70 mph, I'll have the power when I need it down low.

For those of us who like numbers:
4R70W 1st Gear Ratio: 2.84
BW4406 Low Gear Ratio: 2.72

Using the calculators at: Dead Link Removed

Crawl Ratio with 3.73: 28.81:1
Crawl Ratio with 4.56: 35:25:1

Need to do a little more 'figuring to add tire size into the equation, but:

The truck originally came with 29" tires and 3.73s. With 31s, that brought the "effective ratio" down to 3.49. With 33s, it'll bring it down even further to 3.28. Regearing from 3.73 is a necessity for high-torque applications.

According to the "Recommended Gearing Chart" at Dead Link Removed
3.73s and 29s at 65mph puts me at 2809 rpm (in 3rd gear)
4.10 and 33s at 65mph puts me at 2720 rpm (in 3rd gear)
4.56 and 33s at 65mph puts me at 3018 rpm (in 3rd gear)

4.10 is pretty close to stock (-3.17% change) , and 4.56 is a +7% change in RPM.

But stay tuned... My GPS and "butt dyno" will follow me out the first time she's on the highway after the work is done.

 

[mounty71]

I'll be curious to see how your truck does with 4.56's and 33's... thats alot of gear for the torquey 4406'd V8 driveline

I've got 4.10's with 32's and I'm going back to 3.73's. Offroad its amazing but onroad I'd like to lower my RPM's for better MPG's

Ditto. You're the first one i've heard say that, but i completely agree with you. I regret going to 4.10s in my mountaineer. Not only that, the change wasn't worth the $1000+.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Ditto. You're the first one i've heard say that, but i completely agree with you. I regret going to 4.10s in my mountaineer. Not only that, the change wasn't worth the $1000+.

With buying the two new axles and getting one regeared, I'll be at about $1000 too. I want to make it count, and only do it once.

 

[ReDLiNeZL]

yea i was going to say going with the soa in rear itll be about 5.5" of lift

 

[Hokie]

4.10 is pretty close to stock (-3.17% change) , and 4.56 is a +7% change in RPM.

But stay tuned... My GPS and "butt dyno" will follow me out the first time she's on the highway after the work is done.

Oh don't you worry... it'll have plenty of giddy up!

With 4.10's and stock, crappy 30" Wrangler RT/S tires, I had no problems bringing the rear end out on dry pavement

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Progress... in gathering parts

Went up to visit Jay (SurrealNJ) to pick up IZwack's axle:

Came home to find this on my porch:

Opened them up (although fedex and heavy parts in only a cardboard uhaul box left the packaging kind of destroyed )

Everything looks OK at first glance, some of the drop brackets were hit with the grinder:

And this one is bent...

Tomorrow I'll unpack and study everything further.

 

[Rusty]

subscribing.. also wondering what the 4.56's will be like!

Should be fun!

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

I am excited to see how this turns out..

Now for the slight hi-jack... Any one wanna trade there 4.10s for some 3.73 I got you covered...

Oh don't you worry... it'll have plenty of giddy up!

With 4.10's and stock, crappy 30" Wrangler RT/S tires, I had no problems bringing the rear end out on dry pavement

 

[Hokie]

Did the Superlift front kit come from eBay?

I am excited to see how this turns out..

Now for the slight hi-jack... Any one wanna trade there 4.10s for some 3.73 I got you covered...

Too bad you're in Texas, you could've taken up my offer...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208649&highlight=front+range

 

[raynr]

Man I remember reading your posts for ideas back in the day before i even joined, like 7 years ago. Can't wait to see the end result, I've always wanted a set of 33" trXus on my ride, pretty much only heard good things about them, not to mention they look pretty sick too. I'm jealous of V8 torque, 4low, and 33s with 4.56s, rock on.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I ran into a similar problem with my superlift stuff except it was wayyyyy more bent and all four drop brackets were bent. Then FedEx lost some of my parts along the way, your boxes look great compared to what mine did.

If you have access to a press, you should be able to straighten that one bracket out. Or Summit can order and sell you individual pieces of the kit, all you need is the part number. I think those brackets were about $50 each when I checked.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

How does this work?

Torsion Bar Drop Brackets:

Something is missing, how do I (what do I need) to make this work with my torsion bar keys?

It seems like this the infamous 98+ torsion bar style where the wear pad is "up top" and the key does not have a wear pad like on my 97.

To all who have mounted this bracket on a 95-97 truck, what's involved in converting to the 98+ style?