1992 Explorer Eddie Bauer 4x4 (56k NO)

[Freshmeat]

Here are a few shots of my Explorer, both when my fiancee gave it to me as a project back in July and a few leading up to the current state. It's been a fun ride and it's about to get a whole lot bigger- I recently picked up a kingpin Dana 60 out of a 1988 F350, which will get rebuilt with 5.13 gears and an ARB locker. The rear will most likely get a Dana 70 or a Sterling 10.25 with welded spider gears. In addition, a buddy recently took his trail rig to 42" tires, so I'm getting his barely-used 38.50s- a pair of boggers for the rear and a pair of SXs for the front, since boggers suck at steering.

Bone stock...



A little lift, 34x10.50s, and lots of trimming...



Took it on a few trail rides... the very first ride resulted in frying the A4LD, at which point I jumped at an opportunity to convert it to a manual transmission (lots more work than I expected...)









Bent up the front bumper on a sloppy night ride, so I had the local off-road fab shop build a new one with D-rings and a stinger... Clayton turned it into a jungle gym as soon as I got home with it and still uses it as a ladder to climb on top of the Ex.





The Dana 60 ready for a rebuild, gears, and locker...



The next step will be to pull the front center section so I can weld the spider gears just to have a little more fun until I go with the one ton axles. I have a feeling it's going to result in an explosion of some parts, but hey- that's why I'm going to the D60, so I can beat the crap out of it without worrying about breakage.

The axle build-up will be very slow, as I'm about to buy a house and I'm saving up to pay for my own wedding. It doesn't help that my son's mom hasn't provided a dime to help support our son in almost two years. I'm hoping that will change come February, when we go before the judge for what should be the final step in the all-too-drawn-out custody case (it's in the bag.) We'll see what happens. As long as I maintain custody, I honestly don't care whether she pays, but as a parent I think she should be held responsible for some of his expenses. I digress...

I'm hoping to take out the Explorer again in the next couple weeks- should have some new action shots at that point.

What do you guys think? I've definitely built this one a lot better than I did my old wagon and Town Car. One of those things where we learn to do it right the first time, I guess.

[packman]

Nice!!!! Finally, somebody using an SUV the way it was meant to be used. Good for you teaching your son what 4-wheeling is all about. You might need more lift with the 38" tires that you plan to install. To me, your current tires look awfully close to hitting your fenders. Other than that, good job.



Packman

[Freshmeat]

It'll have about 4" more suspension lift when the 38s go on.

[79lincolnlover]

Nice Explorer & Welcome Back to GMN!!

[87gtVIC]

Really nice. I love the pictures!

[Pirate]

Wow, I had one of those the same year as a daily driver (customer dropped it off at my house for me to track down a non-existent intermittent problem), and same color. I absolutely loved the front seats in it. I would have bought it had I known that he was going to sell it, he practically gave it away without telling me it was for sale.

[Freshmeat]

Thanks for all the complements, guys!

I've put A LOT of work into this thing... rebuilt all window motors, rebuilt the transfer case shift motor, replaced numerous switches and sensors, complete transmission conversion, Dynomax catback, new coils, custom leaf packs, custom bumper, upgraded headlight bulbs, ten hours just trimming the front fenders and two more rolling the rears... and I'm sure I've forgotten plenty of other stuff.

Found a ride taking place this weekend so hopefully I'll get to take it out again. This thing is a blast, especially as well as it handles off-road... haven't been hung up once that a comparably- or better-equipped Jeep didn't have the same trouble.

[Jonathan]

I like it!

[moneypit]

34s look a lot smaller onn that thing than I expected!

Are you going to narrow the D60 or go with full width front and rear?

[Freshmeat]

I'm going full width front and rear. I could narrow the 60 and easily find a stock axle shaft to fit the shortened side for cheap replacements, but it's not that easy with a rear axle, so I'll just keep 'em full width. It'll end up being about 12" taller than stock (6" from tires, 6" from lift) when I'm done, so I'd rather keep the extra track width anyway to improve stability. I'll end up right around 80" from wheel face to wheel face once it's all said and done. The current set-up has me just over 72" face to face. Going up four more inches on the suspension and five more inches in the tires, I think an extra 4" on each side would look just right to keep it all proportionate.

...and this is post 3,000. Sure feels good to be back.

[Lincolnmania]

nice explorer!

monster dana rears lol.......got a 60 and a 70 in my 87 w350

[P72Ford]

Thats awesome. Did any of these ever come with 5 speeds?

Most of them around here have rotted rockers. Keep us posted on the changes you make.

[moneypit]

Originally Posted by P72Ford

Thats awesome. Did any of these ever come with 5 speeds?

Yep. Good luck finding one, though. It's the only way I'd own one cause the A4LD is a super-turd.

[87LongroofCP]

Actually, the 5spds are fairly common, but only with the 4.0 V6

[pantera77]

Originally Posted by 87LongroofCP

Actually, the 5spds are fairly common, but only with the 4.0 V6

Yea, my 98 has that combo. Gutless but fairly reliable.

[Freshmeat]

Ranger/Bronco2 M5OD fits as well as the FM143/145 from the 2.9. The 4.0 M5OD is the strongest of the options, although it has its own set of failpoints. I was lucky to have found the 4x4 5spd Navajo when the transmission crapped out.

Final drivetrain goal is an EFI 351 with a ZF manual transmission for the 5.xx first gear and overdrive. Obviously the front will be a D60 and the rear will most likely be a D70 for the 35-spline shafts.

This weekend I'm going to disassemble the TTB D35 to weld the spider gears, eliminate the inner C-clip, open the shaft windows in the arms, and install the stupid-strong Spicer 5-760X joints with full circle clips. Lots of work for an axle I'm not keeping, but I want to make sure it's going to hold up until the D60 is ready. The axle should be more than able to hold up to the skinny 34s and if it doesn't, it'll be much easier to replace the shafts with that C-clip eliminated.

[Freshmeat]

Picked up some new additions yesterday...



I also assembled my 12-ton hydraulic press tonight. Tomorrow I'll disassemble the shafts and start clearancing them for the full circle retaining rings for the U-joints, then hopefully Thursday I'll reassemble all the shafts... and hopefully this weekend I'll be able to put the whole front axle back together.

[Freshmeat]

I bailed on the one ton axles and 38.50s. I really like it being in its current general size- if I put the big axles and big ass tires I won't be able to have as much fun on the local trails and beyond that, the Jeep guys would have too easy of an excuse in that my rig is severely modified and that's why I'm superior.

So I'm going to pick it up a couple more inches, possibly go with a slightly larger tire in a 35x12.50, and work on a few other minor mods, like electric fan, removable doors, and fun stuff like that.

We had a HUGE trail ride this past Sunday- official count was 66 4x4s total. It was a fantastic time... both Ashley (wife) and Clayton (son) came along and we all had fun- she was taking pictures, he actually napped in the middle of it, and I beat the absolute crap out of the Explorer. I didn't skip a single obstacle and I didn't get assisted through anything at all- there were LOTS of Jeeps, including some much more heavily modified, that couldn't say the same thing.

Here's probably my favorite shot from the day- it even exemplifies the TTB instead of a solid front axle, which adds to the stockish effect of the whole build.

[Freshmeat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjDxES8AvYI