f150 trail explorer

[ferp420]

this kinda showed up at my house back story as I know it

my friend is addicted to buying cars from cars for kids actions well he's on his 7th or 8th rig by now lol well he bid on this one and I took a liking to it and well here it is


more pics

 

[ferp420]

it turned out it had no keys so a quick visit with the lock Smith and whalla keys
put a battery in it and that damb thing fired up but wouldn't idle but I was able to drive it off the trailer
after a bit of tinkering I got it to idle and run it longenuff to though a code
cloged EGR valve and sure enuff the intake and EGR was plugged solid and the EGR had a heat shield that covered the part were it connected to the exhaust and it wasn't even connected and probably why it tossed the code I'm guessing that's why they parked it and donated it
anyway I'm waiting for new intake gaskets to put it back together and should be ready to smog

I'm sure there are some problems I haven't figured out yet and I'm sure the DMV is gonna kick my teeth out when it comes time to register it lol
my Subaru is taking a beating I've welded the suspension mounts back in twice and I'm bending struts like pretzels and it's a lot of fun to wheel but it is what it is and there's no way around that at this time at least that I can afford
converting the tow pig to a desert runner would cost to much and would be a ton of work I'm just not up for and is kinda useless to me now since I'm not towing a 10k 5th wheel around the state anymore
and since these rigs are a dime a dozen these days it's about 1/3rd the cost to build it up to what I need it to be and so the slow build of my new trail rig is starting now lol

 

[OSRC]

Nice! I like it!

Got a pair myself...

 

[ferp420]

Nice! I like it!

Got a pair myself...

I had no idea how cheap those things are
I was looking at rebuilding my 87 and doing some upgrades like
auto to manual swap and
4wd solid axle conversion
that would cost almost 10k to do it right mostly machining and rebuilding costs
this truck even if I have to rebuild/replace the motor and or transmission I would be in it for about 3-4k

anyway truck runs good now and is drivable the damb tires were shot and I had 2 blow outs driving around the property it turns out the wheels and tires I bought for my roo project fit nicely on it so I'm running them for now maybe a better fit than the Subaru

there are some noises I need to track down sound like there coming from the accessories on the front when I put the scope up to the AC compressor I here a lot of noise but it's not spinning with the AC off so that's most likely not it
nothing from the oil pan so not thinking rod knock and valve covers are pretty quiet too so probably not valve train slop ether
all the sounds come and go so catching it while it's doing it is gonna be key

 

[ferp420]

quick update on this rig its running good and registered that hurt $1137 oooohhhh my butt i did manage to get a really nice old lady to help me out and knocked a bunch fee off first guy hit me up for $1500 damb i dident have it so i went to a different dmv
i still have to smog it though
the first time i got it on the road it strugled to hit 55 i figured i would try a tune up and sure enuff the passenger side still had the original plug in the back under the firewall the next plug was a champion and the rest were motorcraft platnums but every one was toast im surprised it even ran

anyway got some new 33x11 tires on it and found out the rear axle leaked like a sive oil leaked out as fast as i poured it in lol so reseal the rear diff cover and a new front pinion seal and its leak free new rear breaks and shes drivable i might be doing a axle swap sooner than later but for now its drivable lol
i bought a 3/2 lift kit for it but not sure if im gonna install it or not the 33s fit nicely with just a crank of the tortion keys

 

[hnoroian]

my Subaru is taking a beating I've welded the suspension mounts back in twice and I'm bending struts like pretzels and it's a lot of fun to wheel but it is what it is and there's no way around that at this time at least that I can afford

You need to quit bombing down those high desert roads… but they sure are fun! Glad to see the truck moving along.

 

[OSRC]

Getting to those rear plugs is an absolute bear. I just changed all mine out except for the last one - I just couldn't get to it. They all look pretty good so I think I'm okay

 

[ferp420]

a few pics of how it looks now

 

[ferp420]

Getting to those rear plugs is an absolute bear. I just changed all mine out except for the last one - I just couldn't get to it. They all look pretty good so I think I'm okay

right on for what ever reason mine came right out the 100 tooth ratchet helps though especially when you can only get a 1/4 inch of movement out of the ratchet

ive herd horror storys about these engines and the spark plugs but it wasent to bad ive had way worse

 

[ferp420]

You need to quit bombing down those high desert roads… but they sure are fun! Glad to see the truck moving along.

no way man the subaru is to much fun out here infact it probably will spend more time off road as the truck takes on the daily driver dutys

 

[grob23]

Looks sweet with the newer Ford wheels! Are those 5 on 5 1/2?

 

[ferp420]

Looks sweet with the newer Ford wheels! Are those 5 on 5 1/2?

thanks yo
there 5x5 jeep wheels that i stole off of my Subaru lol but i might have to swap out the rear end here pretty quick and my other axle is a 8 lug so the roo will most likly get its wheels back soon and ill get some 8 lug wheels then adapt the front from 5 lug to 8 lug
not ideal its only as strong as the 5 lug adaptor but hay its only a 1/2 ton

 

[grob23]

8 lug conversion would be awesome, and the used aftermarket wheel selection is way more plentiful (around here at least)

 

[ferp420]

i took it to the smog station it passed emmisions wise but the computer wasent ready
on the way home the rear axle decided it had enuff and locked up i was able to get it to free up and creept it home in 4wd at about 25-30 mph for 40 miles though the desert lol anyway axle swap is happening sooner than i had wanted but it happens
it looks like the only bad juju wasthe shock mounts so i cut them off once the axle is in place ill bolt it up and tack the brackets back in in the right place then pull it out again and weld the piss out of them

 

[ferp420]

damb spring purches are off so im gonna have to cut them off next ah the joys of a axle swap also the joint is slightly off so im gonna need to track down the right ujoint lol
the good news i guess is the gear ratio matches the front so im not going to have to buy a new front end of change gears down side is i wanted the lower gears oh well good for now since i dont have the money to do this swap

 

[ferp420]

it turns out the new axle had a much longer pinion shaft so when i went to put the driveshaft back in um well it was a no go

so i had to shorten it since i dont have to tools to do it right i sent it out i know kinda lame but it is what it is anyway took 2 inches off the shaft and added 2 inches of lift and the shaft is just right yay
its all back together took it to the smog station got my pass then across the street and got my tags so its all legal now
only took 8 months and 1200 in fees to get it registered lol ouch but its done now

also picked up a load of fire wood lol alot of gas to come home with a empty bed

 

[ferp420]

i still need to deal with the front end so the wheels match but thats down the road
i dont really like the new rims ill keep looking but the price was right and they even had the right size tires lol not that there that good but they work for now till i can swap my good ones over and theres alot of little stuff to fix still but hay it runs and drives