My boring DD build

Totalled · Sep 15, 2007

Guess what I just ran into....

:shaking:

My parts donor was a 1990 Ranger.

1992 explorer/ranger masters are 1992 only. The clutch line for it is one year only also.. But I think I can make the 1990 clutch line work. The 1991 uses the same line and master as a pre 1991 and older ranger. The 93/94 explorer use yet again a different master.

fawkin Ford. :shaking: :shaking: :shaking: :shaking:

I severely lucked out today and just went to pick a part hoping there would be a 1992 ranger or explorer there. There was a 1992 5 speed explorer 4 door. Someone had already took the trans... and they cut the hydraulic line.

So I got the master.

1st hard part is over...

To get the clutch pedal in without pulling the pedal support... you have to unbolt and drop down the e-brake pedal, then unhook the main wiring harness connector at the firewall and pull it back out of the way to have room to slide the clutch pedal in which has the pivot pin welded to it. PITA but less so than pulling the whole damn dash and steering column loose to swap the pedals and support as an assembly.

Totalled · Sep 16, 2007

Wiring, starter, drive shafts, Y-pipe, cats, seats and I can take it for a drive.

:thud:

Totalled · Mar 7, 2009

been driving it for while now. Swapped out the column plastics for those from a manual trans rig, removed the shifter and indicator from the cluster.

Most recent upgrade was a '97 disk brake rear axles swap.

100% bolt in. The splodoor stops now.

Hooking the parking brake back up was fun... My research on 91-94 rear disk swaps turned up people who did it saying you only needed the intermediate cable from the newer truck to hook up the e-brake... well, that's not the case for a 91 or 92 explorer like mine. I tired to hook up the intermediate cable last night and no matter how hard I pulled, it was about 2" too short to connect.

Turns out, in 93 ford changed the e-brake pedal assembly and how its cable hooks into the intermediate cable. So, today I went and got the e-brake pedal assembly from a '93 and it's intermediate cable since when I was pulling its pedal, noticed it uses the newer style of attachment at the rear cables.

91/92, older BII/Ranger:

93 and later:

The '93 pedal has a clock spring in it that lets the cable be drawn out when you pull on it to hook up the intermediate cable. It had about 8" sticking out vs the 6" of my pedal cable. Sweet. There's the distance I was short. Yeah, not so much.

Turns out the bolt holes are in different spots and it won't bolt into a '92.

issed:

So, I noticed the intermediate cable from the '93 was about 1.5" longer than the '97 cable I got when I pulled the master cylinder and rear axle.

I also noticed that the '97 attaching clips were about 1/2" longer than the '93 clips. Sweet. That should make up the distance using my original parking brake pedal assembly.

So I swapped them onto the '93 cable and put it in. Yep. That worked. :cheer:

Next weekend, I swap in the '97 master cylinder and see how much difference it makes compared to the original disk/drum master. It already has noticeably more stopping power just with the rear disk swap.

heep70 · Mar 7, 2009

Great job! Poor bump doen't get any attention. :looser:

Jaydog · Mar 7, 2009

Great write up on the technical stuff Pat. Lookin good

Totalled · Mar 7, 2009

Oh yeah, I put diamond cuts in it too.

Probably will be putting a manual shift t-case into when it gets warmer since the electric shift got cantankerous with me this winter.

Totalled · Dec 10, 2010

1.5" lift and Goodyear Duratrac's.

toyzuk · Dec 10, 2010

looks good man, finally got rid of the schwab mudders. i love the look of the dura tracs.

Totalled · May 15, 2011

Put a washer under each front spring seat today to level it out.

The way gas prices are I might end up doing some trails in this during the summer...

:shaking:

Chevyjoe · May 19, 2011

let me know when you want to sell it, that thing is clean!

Totalled · Feb 20, 2012

T-case shift motor finally gave me the finger at 190,000 miles.

Now with two shifters.

The dash lights wiring is stupid simple. I got the 1354M out of a 92 explorer. It had a seperate wiring harness for the light switch on the t-case. It just runs down the harness that goes to the rear along the frame rail to the t-case, and the other end plugs into an existing plug on the driver's inner fender.

WA-Wheeler · Feb 20, 2012

How you like the exploder? Everyone I have worked on was a pile but I'm thinking its more of neglect then anything else.....

whitetrashfab · Feb 20, 2012

I have the hard to find shift boot and tray for a 5 speed/manual t case if your looking for one? I think pick-a-part has one out there on a green ranger more towards the chop shop also... Looks good.

Explorers are good rigs but most of them have been beat to death... They were the number 1 cash for clunker rig so theres lots of them in the junkyards for parts:redneck:

Totalled · Feb 20, 2012

WA-Wheeler said:
How you like the exploder? Everyone I have worked on was a pile but I'm thinking its more of neglect then anything else.....

If you take the time to fix the flaws, they are a reliable rig that takes a beating. The 4.0 has good torque.. very torquey behind a manual trans. Full frame, the 8.8 all you Jeepers want :flipoff: TTB for the whoops and more room inside than a cherocar.

Works great for mild wheeling, hauling the dog, parts, tools, junkyard runs, and moving the car trailer from one end of town to the other.

WA-Wheeler · Feb 20, 2012

Totalled said:
If you take the time to fix the flaws, they are a reliable rig that takes a beating. The 4.0 has good torque.. very torquey behind a manual trans. Full frame, the 8.8 all you Jeepers want :flipoff: TTB for the whoops and more room inside than a cherocar.

Works great for mild wheeling, hauling the dog, parts, tools, junkyard runs, and moving the car trailer from one end of town to the other.

Don't be hatin on the cherocar's..... if you need to get to the store and back they work like a charm :fawkdancesmiley:

On a side note only time i have ever seen a speedo over 400,000 miles was on an exploder.

Totalled · Feb 25, 2012

Trans has a gear whine... Ordered up a Zoom clutch and flywheel, and Hurst shifter. Gonna swap it for the '99 4.0 trans I picked up a couple weeks ago.

Shifter and clutch came in.. flywheel won't be in till monday. Put the shifter in tonight to try it out. Holy **** does it reduce the throw... I think I went from 12" on the 1-2 shift to 3". :wowwow:

Totalled · Mar 3, 2012

4.0 trans is swapped in. Much nicer to drive in town now. Gotta get used to the higher 1rst gear. Don't have to slip the clutch really, but I can't just let the pedal out at idle like I used to either.

greenie · Mar 3, 2012

that's a clean one!
i still DD a '96 5.0 with 180,000 miles, bought with 114,000 for a family hauler, and its now used for my business. i swear by the particular drivetrain under mine, as i know they've had bad years. only thing iv put on it is an alternator so far. gets 16 mpg with a v8/auto/awd which still amazes me for a '96 SUV. hard to keep the paint on a ford though...
I really dig that grill. might have to look into one for the "roundy" chassis. love the stick shift:awesomework:

Totalled · Mar 4, 2012

Thanks. You might think about converting the AWD to an actual t-case. It is said to improve mileage: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726

Totalled · Mar 10, 2012

Made an extension for the shifter. The stick that comes with the Hurst ends up shorter than the stock shifter, and it felt like I was reaching farther forward than I'd like. Now it's pretty close to perfect. I found on other RBV sites people had the same complaint. One common extension used was 2.5" up, 1.125 back, so I tried that and made the extension from .25 plate today.