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<td ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Editor</font></b>
<br><b><a href="mailto:explorer@4x4central.com">Rick Horwitz</a></b>
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<br><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font size=+3>Explorer FAQ's</font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(Frequently Asked Questons)</font></center>

<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Here you can find answers to some of the
most common questions I have recieved concerning the Ford Explorer. If
you can't find what your looking for here, you should try the "<b><a href="cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi">Explorations
Message Board</a></b>". This page recieves thousands of hits each month
and someone should be able to help you there, but first look here to see
if someone has already answered your question.</font>
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<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">If you feel I have left something important
off this page please email me: <b><a href="mailto:explorer@4x4central.com">explorer@4x4central.com</a></b></font>
<br>&nbsp;
<br>
<hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="70%">
<a href="#91-94">TIRE OPTIONS '91-'94</a> | <a href="#95+">TIRE OPTIONS
95+</a> | <a href="#springover">SPRING OVER CONVERSION</a>
<br><a href="#vibration">VIBRATION PROBLEMS</a> | <a href="#16">ADVICE
FOR 16 YEAR OLDS</a>
<hr SIZE=1 WIDTH="70%"></center>

<p><a NAME="91-94"></a><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#009900"><font size=+1>Tire
Options for the '91 -'94&nbsp; Explorers</font></font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#000000">The largest tires
that will fit on the these Explorers without rubbing are 30x9.50's Some
people have been able to fit 31x10.50's, but this really depends on manufacturing
tolerences. Anything larger will require asuspension or body lift. There
are many quality lift kits available for this generation of Explorers.</font></font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><a NAME="95+"></a><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#009900"><font size=+1>Lift
and Tire Options for the '95 and Later IFS Explorers</font></font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#000000">31x10.50's&nbsp;
are about all you can get. There is the off chance that you couldfit a
31x11.50. Yoko makes some, so does BFG under the Sport King/Mud King label.
As yet, no one has done a suspension lift and many of the companieswho
have tried have canceled the project...the way the rig is made with all-wheel
drive, the type of t-case, etc. , the market is too small for the aftermarket
to try to make lift kits.</font></font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#000000">At this time adjusting
the torsion bars for a slight lift, adding a leaf to the rear spring pack
and a good body lift are the only ways to get larger tires under the late
model Explorers.&nbsp;</font></font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><a NAME="springover"></a><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#009900"><font size=+1>Spring
over Axle Conversion</font></font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica">I've been running a spring over conversion
for three years now with no problems.relocating your springs to the top
of the axle will give you about 4. 5- 5.5 inches of lift using the stock
Explorer leaf springs. I reccomend having a new spring perch welded to
the axle rather than use the Superlift adapter. The Superlift adapter has
been known to be noisy as it shifts forward and back in the stock spring
perch. If you have new pads welded to the axle you will also have to make
a new lower shock mounting point which can be incorporated into the spring
mounting plate.&nbsp;</font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><a NAME="vibration"></a><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#009900"><font size=+1>A
Fix for Explorer Vibration Problems</font></font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica">The rundown so far with Ford: They offered
an in-warranty 'fix' that</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">included
a set of hydraulic motor mounts in the front, and a transverse</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">damper
in the rear. The damper kit attaches to a frame brace that's boltedon the
right side rail, and to a new bracket on the axle that replaces thecurrent
bracket with the metal damper weight in it. The new axle brackethas a weight
on it-- it's just moved and a bolt is added to tie in the endof the new
telescoping shock absorber damper.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Drivers who received this 'fix' report
mixed results. The lateral stiffness in the rear is better (higher), but
it may be too harsh for boulevard drivers. I agree with this assesment
after installing the back half of the</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">kit
on my 'boulevard' '92 4dr.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Since the initial in-warranty offering,
all the affected '91 to '94 cars</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">have
slipped out of warranty. The motor mounts are not available as</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">separate
pieces, and may not now be available at all. Ford has stopped</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">offering
the kit as a cure, since the dissatisfaction rating is so high onit. The
engineering is rumored to be done by Porsche, with the mountscoming out
of a Mercedes parts bin with custom engine brackets. FWIW.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">My Experience So Far: Eibach Springs has
been working on a kit to minimize</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">the
shake. They are looking to get Ford to offer it through dealers, sosome
of the pieces are off-the-shelf bits from Ford where possible. So farthe
mod list has--</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(1) A set of full-size Bronco radius arm
bushings to soften the front-end</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">impacts.
These replaced a set of polyurethane donuts I had installed at</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">about
70k miles. Results: definite improvement in impoact harshness, butadded
some washy feel to the front end. A net plus for the road car, though.&nbsp;</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(2) We added a custom made rear trans mount
that gets rid of a lot of the</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">mechanical
noise from under the seat. No direct relationship to the 60'ishcowl shake,
but better feel overall without that nagging noise/vibrationright under
your seat.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(3) The rear springs have the overload
leaves removed so the spring rate is</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">more
predictable in normal driving. Neoprene pads are installed in place ofthe
steel shims in the spring pack. This effectively lowers the totalspring
rate since they are thicker than the metal pads, plus there is somedamping
I guess. Net effect-- Better, but the butt is dragging and the</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">springs
won't hold up 4 passengers and/or the boat trailer (150# tongueweight).
I'd think carefully before I did this one again, and may go aheadand install
all the original stuff back in. In the meanwhile I have airshocks in the
inboard positions to help carry the higher loads.</font>
<br>&nbsp;
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(4) Ford factory "motorsport" shocks are
on the car now. The Eibach guys have a spring and shock dyno, and these
were the best commercially</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">available
shock for what they had in mind. Since then, Ford has stopped</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">production
of these shocks, so they are not a real option for the average</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">user.
Discussion with several new Edelbrock owners suggests that maybethose are
the ones to try next, especially since they are satisfactionguaranted.
The previous shocks were Gabriels, which were poo-poo'd by Eibach.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">(5) The rear shocks were moved outboard
of the frame in an attempt to get a</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">better
moment on the axle. I don't recommend this for any but the die-harduser,
since there's a lot of stuff to do to make it work. Net effect wasundetectable
to me, but the Eibach guys think it helps a lot.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Tires: I have BFG trail T/A's in stock
235-15 size. The now have almost 50k</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">on
them, and will probably last another 10 to 20k easily. Replacementswill
be Micheline LTX M&amp;S instead of the AT tread. I've seen severalExplorers
with 235 passenger car tires, and they look kinda wimpy. The</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">Michelins
look just like the AT's but the tread isn't as aggressive. Samelook once
you are moving, and same profile. Again, the local tire storehonors Michelin's
satisfaction guarantee, so no risk trying them. Reportsfrom many users
are all positive.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">The Car: '92 XLT 4dr 4wd, 128k California
miles on it now. Almost all</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">freeway
driving so stuff lasts longer than desert bashing or pothole</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">hopping.
I'm getting some creaks in the right side, at least that's where Ihear
them from. The door weatherstrip rubbers and latches need to bereplaced
to get rid of those noises. Everything else seems intact.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">The vibrations: I didn't know there was
a problem until I went to talk to</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">the
guys at Eibach about the vibrations and cowl shake they are trying tocure.
My car was delivered with 20psi front and 22psi rear, and rode OK theway
I drive it. Door sticker says 26, which I would put in when loadedand/or
towing. I have a sports car, and never expected sports car handlingfrom
the truck, by the way. The tires are at 30psi now, and the car shakesin
the cowl at 65. I may reduce the tire pressure some, but the shouldersare
wearing on the BFG's already from underinflation early in life, so thiswill
promote death a little more quickly. The smoother ride may be worthit.
The original rock-hard Firestones made it to almost 70k before theywere
replaced chasing the first radius-arm bushing shake, run at 20-24psitheir
whole lives.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Conclusions: A good set of new tires, freshly
precision balanced, is</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">better than
any set of used tires that are unbalanced. I may just pop for</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">the
Michelins this summer rather than suffer through another season of theshakes.
I will need better tread by the time winter rolls around anyway, soit's
a matter of cheapness wrt the miles left on the BFG's. Balancing theold
ones is $36 and an hour or more at the tire store. They won't let mehelp...I
promised myself that I'd get the Edelbrock shocks to try within the lastcouple
weeks, but I keep forgetting to go write a check for the $300 they cost.
My hand shakes...</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">That's the situation as I know it today.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">dr bob&nbsp;</font>
<br>&nbsp;
<br>&nbsp;
<p><a NAME="16"></a><b><font face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#009900"><font size=+1>I'm
16 What Mods Should I Make To My Explorer</font></font></font></b>
<br><font face="Arial,Helvetica">You will not like our response.&nbsp;
But this is the hard truth...</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Sell your Explorer (which costs over $.60/mile
to operate) and get some small, used, ugly</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">econobox
with a miserly 4 cylinder (that costs more like $.25/mile to operate).Explorers
are great, but they really cost a lot of money, both to buy parts forand
feed. Plus the modifications you will eventually want to make on your Explorer
can easily run in excess of $15,000</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Given your age, we would take all our "spare"
money (and all but the basics should</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">bespare)
and invest it in school, present and future.&nbsp; Get the hottest computer
(Pentium MMX, preferably Pentium II or even newer) you can afford with
the newest software, especially C and Java, and learn to program these
languages.&nbsp; Take any available money and put it in a growth stock
fund until you graduate from High School, then wait for a market high and
get out with the money invested in a BBB-grade bond or preferred stock
fund (about 8.75%) to provide income while you are in college or trade
school.&nbsp;</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">If you are headed to college, consider
this: Double major in college, that is do a full major in something you
love (e.g. Art, Photography, Music Classics, History, Anthropology, Biology)
and do a full major in something that will always provide you some good
income (e.g. Business, Computer Science, Engineering). It will take you
4 years plus one additional semester.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">If you intend to be an automotive mechanic,
you still need to invest in the training such as Community College, including
the computers, to be a good one these days. After this you will need to
apprentice and maybe work for a specific manufacturer or dealership. You
will be a step up on most toward building and modifying any fine vehicle.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">When you get a decent job after all this,&nbsp;
you need to save up one full years salary as a reserve.&nbsp; You need
to begin to buy a place to live on your own before you buy toys.&nbsp;
At the same time you need to be funding an employers retirement fund (e.g.
401k).&nbsp; If you are already working, even at a low paying job, you
need to begin a Roth IRA.&nbsp; Fund the entire $2000 per year into your
IRA and invest it into a growth stock fund...several after 10 years to
spread the risk in several stock funds.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Here's your choices...you can have a really
cool Explorer now that will probably be in</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">the
bone yard in 10 years and you will be $25,000 poorer and searching for
your</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">next "toy" car or you can be a
millionaire+ at age 40 and buy any car you want.</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">Go
to Costco and buy a book called "The Millionaire Next Door" and read it
cover to cover if you dont believe us.&nbsp;</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Were not your mom or your dad or your
guardian, who you probably don't like to</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">listen
to anyway. Yeah, we know we have bitchin' Explorers...but weve "paid the
price"</font> <font face="Arial,Helvetica">and I dont mean money</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">Sorry to sound so practical, but these
are the best modifications you can make at your ageright now...If you
are not convinced or are already dripping with money, then by all means
start building.&nbsp; Any modification will do wonders.</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica">"The preceding statement has been endorsed
by grouchy old farts with thin wallets and big payments."</font>
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