What's in store for Rick's Pumpkin?

[Rick]

Maybe you guys can help me decide, because I'm stuck! The old Rick wants more power and more rockcrawling ability. The new Rick says more power is great, but why more rockcrawling ability when you haven't had it offroad in 5 years?

I do have a couple projects going on with it right now. I just replaced the vacuum boost and master cylinder with an electrically boosted MC from Jegs. The reason for this is due to having lost power brakes several times over the years in really sketchy situations. It's not that hard to stall a manual trans vehicle on a steep hill climb. With this setup I will have power brakes as long as there is juice in the battery. The pump does not run continuously.

I also bought some new Mastercraft seats to replace my worn out Beards. Unfortunately they mount differently and I have to redo seat bars that are tied into the rollcage.

I keep going back and forth between going bigger, and going smaller. I have contemplated returning it to 1st gen trim, and have also thought about updating the current 2nd gen look by doing body work fabrication to properly mounting the front fenders so that the gaps will finally be aligned.

Then there is that anemic 160hp engine. I've been thinking about a 4cyl Ecoboost, but I'm not sure what my options for transmission and transfercase would be. A 5.0 swap is always a possibility, but doing something more up to date interests me more than the tried and true 5.0.

Another issue with all this is that I don't even feel comfortable driving it in tough terrain since I lost a significant portion of my vision in one eye. My 3D vision is still there, but it's just not the same as it used to be. I'm fine on pavement, but uneven terrain is another story.

Decisions, decisions!

This video is now 8 years old.

 

[Josh P]

351W is my vote. Do you prefer manual or automatic transmission?

 

[Turdle]

For the amount it's driven, get quite a bit of power, eliminating transmission woes, get modern. Electric. I know I know blah blah it would be better. Put a motor at each axle, electric brain becomes locking center diff

 

[Turdle]

Just think, no more hauling drive shafts

 

[timtimtimajim]

An Ecoboost build would be a lot of fun. Wonder if you could use a 2.3 with transmission and transfer case out of one of the new Broncos? Haven’t seen it done yet, but have been thinking about it for an eventual second Explorer build.

 

[Rick]

351W is my vote. Do you prefer manual or automatic transmission?

I have always run a manual off-road. An automatic would take some getting used to but its not out of the question.

 

[Rick]

For the amount it's driven, get quite a bit of power, eliminating transmission woes, get modern. Electric. I know I know blah blah it would be better. Put a motor at each axle, electric brain becomes locking center diff

I'm not against electrics for commuters but I'm definitely not ready for an electric 4x4. 4 motors would be great but I dont want to worry about charging out in the boonies.

 

[Turdle]

I'm not against electrics for commuters but I'm definitely not ready for an electric 4x4. 4 motors would be great but I dont want to worry about charging out in the boonies.

Just rent an air BNB in town with a dryer outlet.

The one we rented had a welder outlet in its garage.

Creative use of electric campsite hookup could also be a possiblity.

Hear me out a minute.
This rig has internet clout. Modernizing it to the ultimate level would get a lot of attention in the process, maybe even some help .

A motor at each wheel also become regenerative braking.

 

[Josh P]

There's a Jeep XJ that the guy hooked a Tesla electric motor to the transfer case. That single motor is almost 600 hp. Something like that would be cool. Theres aftermarket support for charging and the controller.

 

[Rick]

I saw this at SEMA. Super compact package with 400HP+.

 

[Rick]

EV conversion at SEMA:

 

[Rick]

Tremec won't just sell you one of their kits. You have to become a certified installer in order to purchase one, or have it installed at a certified shop.

 

[Josh P]

You could make it like a hybrid, a small engine under the hood driving an electric motor to charge the battery as needed, then plug in at home.

 

[Rick]

You could make it like a hybrid, a small engine under the hood driving an electric motor to charge the battery as needed, then plug in at home.

Too much crap, then I have to deal with two fuel sources.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I've yet to wheel it but on road the 2.3 and 10 speed is amazing. I've driven one with a manual (in a Stang) and that's more than quick too. I'm not a huge turbo fan offroad (dunno we've always had NA 6/8), but they definitely have potential!

 

[Brian1]

I would vote to keep the 2nd Gen front clip and fix the body lines. Its somewhat of an iconic part of the build and the front tube work is rounded to match. Go back to the squareness of a 1st Gen and the tubework wouldn't look good and would also need to be redone.

It's not that hard to stall a manual trans vehicle on a steep hill climb.

You need more gearing. Maybe add a doubler or swap the 1st gear set in the M5OD to the lower gear set at the very least. What is your current crawl ratio? I'm going to guess around 71:1? The doubler is one of the best mods I made to my trail Explorer to land me around 107:1 and it is much more controllable and is a huge help with the lack of power and torque the 4.0L puts out.

As far as repowering it, I would be on the fence about it. Offroad you don't really need it unless you are running through sand dunes or doing high speed runs through the desert washes all the time. If you are cruising it a lot on pavement over bigger distances then I could see the benefit. For myself I have thought about repowering my original Explorer because I do a lot of long distance highway driving as part of my trips but for my trail Explorer that gets trailered over those distances and then used for general trail use and short commutes from town/camp to trailheads the 4.0 does just fine.

 

[Rick]

I would vote to keep the 2nd Gen front clip and fix the body lines. Its somewhat of an iconic part of the build and the front tube work is rounded to match. Go back to the squareness of a 1st Gen and the tubework wouldn't look good and would also need to be redone.

Yes that is a fact. I would probably try to find an old Smittybuilt bumper and add a winch as I had before to bring it back to V1. I don't think that's going to happen. I have actually been thinking about doing a 2nd gen bodyswap to start with a clean body that hasn't been flexed back and forth a million times. It would definitely need another pumpkin orange repaint if I go that route. To fix what I have would require a ton of body work.

You need more gearing. Maybe add a doubler or swap the 1st gear set in the M5OD to the lower gear set at the very least. What is your current crawl ratio? I'm going to guess around 71:1? The doubler is one of the best mods I made to my trail Explorer to land me around 107:1 and it is much more controllable and is a huge help with the lack of power and torque the 4.0L puts out.

I'm fine with the crawl ratio of the rig with the 35" tires 4.3:1 transfer case and 5:13 gears. If I went to 40s, that would have to addressed.

My issue isn't with crawl ratio it's with 160hp on the road. It is the slowest thing I've owned by far.

As far as repowering it, I would be on the fence about it. Offroad you don't really need it unless you are running through sand dunes or doing high speed runs through the desert washes all the time.

Wheel speed is extremely helpful on loose hill climbs.

 

[toypaseo]

Crate 5.0 are cheap (?)

Some sort of turbo diesel (?)

 

[Paul]

Interesting topic. Having had the ability to execute a “reset” when I moved the good stuff from my ‘91 Sport to the ‘94 ‘Ho, also went through a bit of decision-making on what the new rig was going to be once built.

I was a bit guilty of amassing too much of the “latest and greatest must have” off-road accessories that at the end of the day was beginning to limit the capabilities of the Sport. Did I really need the roof rack? ARB fridge all the time, awning, rock lights? The list goes on. . .

Coupled with the goal of slimming down the excesses, another consideration was how was I planning to use the ‘Ho? In my mind, I’m still 30, and while that is only half-right, I still want to run some of the tougher Moab trails (Cliffhanger, Metal Masher, etc.) so the rig still needed that level of capability, but conversely, there are extreme trails that I haven’t run yet, and with my aversion to body damage, probably never will, so the idea of bomb-proofing every component was never really a requirement.

Case in point: 44 outers. I’m still a fan of the TTB and even now I consider getting with a shop to upgrade to the 44 outers and upgraded hubs, but I’ve run some hard trails and never broken the Dana 35, so why bother?

It all comes down to how you plan to use the Pumpkin moving forward. . . , especially considering any physical limitations. King of the Hammers? Behind the Rocks? As is, probably still gets it done. Agree with Brian that 1st Gen front clip would require new tube work.

Dunno if any of this commentary is of assistance, but those are my thoughts…

Or . . . Keep the Pumpkin as a time capsule and grab a clean 1st Gen and start a brand new build. . .

GLWB (build),

Paul

 

[boominXplorer]

I vote make it a driver. Something you can enjoy on the street as well as off road. 2.3 ecoboost would be nice to have with the 10 speed.