What bolt ons can I get for a 99 5.0 awd these days?

[yeahokay]

I need a little more power (for towing), I live in a mountain region and have some big hills. I can pull up hill in 1st and 2nd gear pretty easily, but 3rd gear, jsut seems to stall.

So what is available (besides torque master headers, I dont want that headache of an install). Everywhere I look everything seems to be for the 4.0.

 

[410Fortune]

You should consider 4.1 gears you truck currently has 3.73 gears

You may also consider deleting the awd in favor of true 4wd which will give you rwd which is better for towing and will give you some power back

After that you need headers if you want more power as the stock manifolds are a choke point

 

[yeahokay]

where I live the awd is a good thing to have, is it possible to get 4.10 gears for front and rear differential? Will that help with my 3rd gear performance?

 

[410Fortune]

If awd is good 4wd is better
The awd is robbing your towing and passing power, costing you fuel, front tires, and front wheel bearings. The 4406 4wd conversion is awesome for this. But you know it requires some work and some driveshaft so it is not for everyone

You can find 4.10 front diff and rear axle yes, I often upgrade v8 trucks by swapping to factory 4.1 axles.
Many v6 trucks, Eddie Bauer, sports, sport tracs came w 4.10

You asked what works
I’ve done a few of these 5.0’ovet the last 25 years
Awd is the first thing I ditch on my rigs
Especially if you are towing and in the mountains

Breathing mods won’t do you much good with the factory exhaust manifolds

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’ll buy that it eats gas and tires, but I don’t think it has any effect on the wheel bearings. I’m at 160k on both factory wheel bearings, and my plow truck had 240k on one of the factory wheel bearings. I ran 31s and a plow for 10 years.

 

[yeahokay]

I think I’ll be keeping awd at this point, did the v6 awd’s still have 410 gears? I’m not positive here but is the front diff the same on 4wd and awd? I wouldn’t think it would be but better to ask.

As for the headers I just don’t know about dropping $1k on that.

 

[Turdle]

But that's the bolt on that you need. Nothing else will help really. Gotta get it out before cramming more air, and fuel to go with it, in.

Yes, the v6 versions have the 410 gears, yes the front diff is the same up to 2010 ranger

 

[C420sailor]

Not all V6s have those gears, just to clarify. Don’t want you going home with a set of axles before you realize you have new 3.55s

 

[Fix4Dirt]

OBX makes headers too. less expensive, but if money is an issue my understanding is it gets the job done. outside of that id then go w/ 410s (found in 4wd v6 explorers usually with the bigger 16" rims is my understanding), then you can go for the other mods to make more power like a CAI or exhaust, but outside of that then the next thing id do is drop a cam in, then better flowing heads, etc etc

if i was to go for max power w/o boost what id do in order

1. make it true 4x4
2. TMH or OBX headers
3. 410s
4. CAI
5. cat back
6. good cam (COMP imo)
7. trickflow heads (though there are many companies out there nowadays!)
8. bigger MAF and TB

outside of that, can stoke it to a 331 or 247 (id suggest 331 vs 347 tho) and put a blower on it

this isnt power, but if its a boat, a limited slip helps on the ramp
this also isnt power, but id throw a shift kit and j mod the trans if yours doesnt already have j mod

one note on my hypothetical setup is that according to a neighbor who builds stangs for a living, he said the 347s dont last as long, so he'd go 331, and aftermarket aluminum heads while better, he said the gt40p is more durable, so there is the tradeoff power vs durability

 

[DintDobbs]

Just find axles in a scrapyard and look on the door sticker for AXLE CODE D2. This is the 4.10 geared limited-slip differential. You will need both front and rear axles as a pair, I take it you already know this.

I hate to say it, but have you considered a heavier vehicle for towing? Being completely honest, these trucks are light trucks designed for light duty. If it's struggling that much to tow through the mountains, perhaps a heavier truck better suited for the job would be a better expenditure of the money?

We all love our Explorers here, but upgrading this and that and the other just to overstrain the drivetrain, suspension, and frame doesn't seem like the wisest decision, monetarily. Consider a Durango or Tahoe or Expedition (if you want to keep it in the family) as options. I know the 4R70W is a toughie, but the transmission might not be your weakest link in the chain. I see it in the overlanding community particularly, but it applies to everyone - buy a light truck, spend huge amounts of money to "upgrade" it into a wannabe version of the heavier truck they should have bought in the first place, way overload it with more stuff than a 1/2 ton should carry, and then wait until physics destroys it. (Bonus points for the "overlanders", then they complain about poor vehicle quality.)

I grasp the fact that you're asking about upgrades for your Explorer, just consider the facts before you spend the money.

 

[yeahokay]

yea the explorer might not have been the best option. It does the job I’d like just a little more go out of it. You have all talked me into the headers at this point. Does any know if the obx are in stock in places or is it order and wait a year? I’ve sent obx an email their distribution page shows no dealers and a google search did not find anyone selling the explorer headers. If there is no wait at all I’ll go obx if there is a long wait I’ll go TMH.

 

[410Fortune]

Have been looking at header availability myself
I don not see obx or maximizer headers for our 5.0 avail anywhere
Not in months


Let’s hope it’s temporary
They still list them on their website

Robert is apparently still building the tmh in batches of 10, I’ve heard of people speaking with him recently
Some customers have been waiting over a year!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Have been looking at header availability myself
I don not see obx or maximizer headers for our 5.0 avail anywhere
Not in months


Let’s hope it’s temporary
They still list them on their website

Robert is apparently still building the tmh in batches of 10, I’ve heard of people speaking with him recently
Some customers have been waiting over a year!

The horrors of his customer service have put me off of ever purchasing anything from him. There’s absolutely zero reason you can take almost 1000 from someone and then not return an email.

 

[410Fortune]

We need to make an ef 5.0 header there is still enough demand to sell 10-20 sets a year maybe more

 

[yeahokay]

no response from obx but the headers are no longer on their website. Maybe they are done with them. I’ll just keep an eye out for used ones.

 

[410Fortune]

One of my favorite mods for the 5.0 is the intake spacer!
This is something you can do rather easily and on the cheap.
It adds an inch of length to all 8 intake runners which is good for low end torque
It also keeps the upper intake plenum much cooler by separating it from the engine longblock. The cooler the air charge the more power you make. Plus it’s nice to have a cooler to the touch upper intake instead of scorching hot

Aluminum or plastic spacers are available
I usually buy the 1”
You will need two additional bolts unless it is an explorer specific kit. They are 5/16 18 pitch 7” in length I get them from bolt depot.com

With the 98-01 5.0 trucks some “finaggling” is required on the metal egr line. You will also have to modify the coil pack mounting tripod (becomes a bipod) . Grinder makes short work of this

 

[yeahokay]

Thanks for the spacer suggestion, I’ll for sure plan on that soon.

I have a question about the 4wd conversion. Is there any reason I couldn’t put locking hubs on the front to engage and disengage the awd instead of 4x4? I know the whole driveline will continue to spin but at least it won’t be spinning the wheels.

 

[Mbrooks420]

You wouldn’t really gain anything, and the truck would roll in park.

 

[410Fortune]

There are two ways to unlock the front diff while driving
1. Use v6 front diff from 95-97 v6 explorer that had cad, center axle disconnect. The differential has a big bump on it and you will need to do some work to make your v8 oil pan clear it. Also you would have to hook up the cad system (switches and vacuum) or make a cable
This diff disconnects the passenger axle shaft so the front d shaft will no longer spin when in rwd

2. Introduce knuckles hubs bearings and cv axles from a 98-99 ranger and then delete the pvh (vacuum hubs) and run some rugged ridge or mile marker hubs. I am not a fan of these hubs, they are super duper weak. However this mod exists and people have done It

Now your awd truck will roll in park, it will actually slowly creep down a hill and relocate itself over nite

Better off just installing a 2wd 4hi 4low 4406 t case in my opinion
Having the front shaft spin does not hurt anything,
Maybe just a little fuel milage

 

[yeahokay]

Ok thank you for the great explanation of why not to do that. In my head it sounded like it could work.