Explorer FAQ's
(Frequently Asked Questons)

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 "Explorations Message Board". 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.

Tire Options for the '91 -'94  Explorers
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.
 

Lift and Tire Options for the '95 and Later IFS Explorers
31x10.50's  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.

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. 
 

Spring over Axle Conversion
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. 
 

A Fix for Explorer Vibration Problems
The rundown so far with Ford: They offered an in-warranty 'fix' that included a set of hydraulic motor mounts in the front, and a transverse 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.

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 kit on my 'boulevard' '92 4dr.

Since the initial in-warranty offering, all the affected '91 to '94 cars have slipped out of warranty. The motor mounts are not available as separate pieces, and may not now be available at all. Ford has stopped 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.

My Experience So Far: Eibach Springs has been working on a kit to minimize 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--

(1) A set of full-size Bronco radius arm bushings to soften the front-end impacts. These replaced a set of polyurethane donuts I had installed at 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. 

(2) We added a custom made rear trans mount that gets rid of a lot of the 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.

(3) The rear springs have the overload leaves removed so the spring rate is 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 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.
 

(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 available shock for what they had in mind. Since then, Ford has stopped production of these shocks, so they are not a real option for the average 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.

(5) The rear shocks were moved outboard of the frame in an attempt to get a 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.

Tires: I have BFG trail T/A's in stock 235-15 size. The now have almost 50k on them, and will probably last another 10 to 20k easily. Replacementswill be Micheline LTX M&S instead of the AT tread. I've seen severalExplorers with 235 passenger car tires, and they look kinda wimpy. The 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.

The Car: '92 XLT 4dr 4wd, 128k California miles on it now. Almost all freeway driving so stuff lasts longer than desert bashing or pothole 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.

The vibrations: I didn't know there was a problem until I went to talk to 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.

Conclusions: A good set of new tires, freshly precision balanced, is better than any set of used tires that are unbalanced. I may just pop for 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...

That's the situation as I know it today.

dr bob 
 
 

I'm 16 What Mods Should I Make To My Explorer
You will not like our response.  But this is the hard truth...

Sell your Explorer (which costs over $.60/mile to operate) and get some small, used, ugly 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

Given your age, we would take all our "spare" money (and all but the basics should bespare) and invest it in school, present and future.  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.  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. 

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.

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.

When you get a decent job after all this,  you need to save up one full years salary as a reserve.  You need to begin to buy a place to live on your own before you buy toys.  At the same time you need to be funding an employers retirement fund (e.g. 401k).  If you are already working, even at a low paying job, you need to begin a Roth IRA.  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.

Here's your choices...you can have a really cool Explorer now that will probably be in the bone yard in 10 years and you will be $25,000 poorer and searching for your next "toy" car or you can be a millionaire+ at age 40 and buy any car you want. Go to Costco and buy a book called "The Millionaire Next Door" and read it cover to cover if you don’t believe us. 

We’re not your mom or your dad or your guardian, who you probably don't like to listen to anyway. Yeah, we know we have bitchin' Explorers...but we’ve "paid the price" and I don’t mean money…

Sorry to sound so practical, but these are the best modifications you can make at your age…right now...If you are not convinced or are already dripping with money, then by all means start building.  Any modification will do wonders.

"The preceding statement has been endorsed by grouchy old farts with thin wallets and big payments."