My 2000 5.4l Eddie Bauer 4x4

[Mediamonkey11]

Speed dents like on a golf ball. Makes it go faster.


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[ExplorerTom]

Speed dents like on a golf ball. Makes it go faster.

Something. Hasn't improved my mileage.

Today I "muted" the brake lights.

Before:


After 3 light coats:


Should allow plenty of light to shine through and now the contrast from a muted red appearance with no light to a bright red appearance with the brake lights on should be even more obvious than before.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Painted my faded grey grill today. Before:

It's not the best before picture. But it stood out as grey against a black truck.

After:


Also replaced a burnt out bulb in the high mount brake light.

And went to the junkyard and got a bunch of these that will severe useful in a future project:

 

[ExplorerTom]

Small change today.

Before:


After:


Painted the stuff on the rear window. They were faded pretty bad before. Sides are next.

 

[RGTFanatic]

Man, I can't tell you how much I dig this thread. What a great job you've done with this Expy!!

I'm a new member here, but been driving my '02 for the last 9 years. FWIW, I spent countless hours through the years trying to clean up my original headlights with minimal success at best. I tried just about every store bought "kit" that's ever been sold.

I was hit in July, forcing me to buy a new set of headlights and fog lights. I can tell you that the new Depo sets that I bought we surprisingly affordable and have given me incredibly clear night vision for the first time. I know I spent less on both sets of lights than I did on all the useless headlight kits I bought over the years.

Anyway, thought I'd share...............

 

[ExplorerTom]

Those lights do look pretty good. I might go wth some replacements but I wanted to try the nearly free method first. It helped but it's not great. The light output before was horrible and now I can at least see that I have my headlights on.

I'd also like to mount some aux lights behind my grill similar to yours. I had a set of Hella 500's on my Mariner that I liked a lot.

Thanks for the complement on the thread. I do it so hopefully others get inspired or motivated to fix up or maintain their Expeditions- and create their own thread to document their progress.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Did the Gotts mod today. I've been thinking a lot about what to do there: Gotts or K&N intake system with the "cold" air box. I've run various kinds of intakes over the yeas short ram, cold air, my Explorer even has a snorkel.....but ultimately with one of those intakes you are running a filter that flows great but doesn't necessarily filter the best. Decided Gotts was the best compromise and is very inexpensive.

I couldn't find the thin walled 3" PVC so I spent some time on my bench grinder. It's not the prettiest thing, but it fits through. I may go back and shorten it just a touch.



I also put in a new NAPA Silver air filter. The one that came with the truck (8500 miles ago) was looking dirty and starting to rip around the plastic cone at the front of the filter. Driving impressions are favorable. Throttle seems more sensitive. Not really a whole lot of sound difference- even high in the RPMs that I can tell.

Also replaced the front rotors. I've been getting some pulsing and steering wheel shake for awhile now. The rotors that were on there were pretty rusty and probably fairly old. I went with the NAPA Premium rotors and so far everything is nice and smooth. I also took this opportunity to paint the calipers. Just cuz.


(I see these wheels just about everywhere now)

I also painted the 3 fasteners for the right side rear window:


It's subtle but there is a difference. Now that they are painted, they blend into the window better now. I'll do the left side one of these days.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Those with a 1st gen and the 3rd row and dogs will probably like this one. I have a 50 lb mutt and a 65 lb golden retriever. To be able to take them anywhere, that 3rd row needs to come out. And with it out, the seat tracks are exposed. I had been covering them with some floor mats from a different vehicle but I wasn't happy with that.

A junkyard near me has a decent selection of 1st gen Expeditions. I found one without the 3rd row option and the same color carpet as mine. Score.

The carpet by itself would probably work just fine, but I also want to add some tie down points. So I picked up a piece of OSB, made a template out of cardboard and went to work with my jigsaw.

It's not completely done. I want to add those tie down points, some straps to help remove the board and trim it a little more.

 

[black 4x4]

Just because of the hassle of pulling that third row seat out I've been looking to get a second gen expy or a navigator. Lately I've been pulling that seat in and out a lot and I'm sick of it.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Yes, luckily my 3rd row is rarely used, otherwise I would be seeing eye to eye with you. That thing is a monster to deal with.

 

[reece146]

Neat idea for the floor, Tom. I agree about the third bench. Luckily I'm in the same boat - removed it and will likely never use it again.

Did you have rust stains on the glass to deal with when you cleaned up the window bolts? Was looking around various things to remove the stains but figured I'd keep it simple and start with CLR since there's a couple jugs around the house already.

 

[ExplorerTom]

The bolts don't "stain" the window but they do create streaks from the water running off them. I hoping the fresh paint might limit that.

 

[bmrisko]

Tom, great thread which has made me feel compelled to register. Anyways, I recently acquired the '98 Eddie Bauer edition with 140k that has been in my family since my parents purchased it new. My parents still had the cost comparison notes I made for my them between the XLT and EB when they were determining which to buy. Pretty nostalgic...

Anyways, now that it is in my possession, I have been inspired to tackle a few little things here and there. It is just a weekend ride/Home Depot hauler, but I still want to make sure it is looking sharp and running good.

With that being said, what kind of paint are you using on all the exterior pieces (window bolts, handle, etc)? Mine are all faded, so that is something I definitely want to tackle.

I also received all of this today and plan on updating the aging and malfunctioning stereo system. I'm amazed what all you can get now for under $500 and the 5-channel amp will even fit under a folded rear seat, which was a must. I should probably just start my own thread as you have done...anyways I look forward to following more of your progress!

 

[ExplorerTom]

Thank you.

A stereo upgrade: something I really need.

As far as paint, I've been using Dupicolor black "trim and bumper" paint. The hitch got bedliner (probably Rustoleum). All I do to prep it is wipe it down with a paper towel soaked in brake cleaner.

 

[ExplorerTom]

We got a decent amount of snow here today. First time I've actually driven this thing on snowy/slushy roads. My AWD fuse #104 has been pulled since spring due to it kicking in excessively.

I tried to reconnect it this morning. I said "tried" because apparently I didn't count my open fuse positions very well and instead installed the "trailer brake controller" fuse. Obviously that didn't do anything for the 4wd system. I figured something else was up (seized shift motor, wiring issue or something else) and drove in 2wd. Once at work I rechecked the fuses and that's when I realized I installed the 30A fuse in the wrong location. With the fuse in #104, the 4wd system works as it should.

But I need to do the Brown Wire Mod. For a switch, I'm thinking:

While I know there's no "front locker", it still gets the point across.

 

[reece146]

Where are you planing on putting the switch?

I've been contemplating the panel to the right of the steering column but was going to use much smaller switches and make up a label plate... or something - that's about as much thought I have into it at this point.

 

[ExplorerTom]

^same spot actually. I haven't looked in to whether or not there's enough space behind there to work or not.

For a full sized vehicle like this, there really isn't a lot of open real estate to put extra stuff.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Changed the gear oil in both axles today. Wasn't too big of a deal. Rear fluid looked nasty while the front still looked pretty clean.



The get the cross brace off I had to remove the left rear tire so I could remove the lower bumper stop so the bolt could come out all the way.

My diff experience is pretty limited, but this carrier looks like an open carrier while my door sticker is H9 which suggests 3.55 limited slip.

Also painted the cross brace, the diff cover and a few other things.


The cover with RTV ready to go back in:


Filled them up with some Red Line synthetic.

Also working on installing my Hella 500 Black Magic lights behind the grill.

 

[reece146]

It's hard to tell from the image, can't really make out if it is open or not.

Does there appear to be any sign of stacks of disks or springs inside the housing?

What is the stock diff for a UN93 supposed to be? Clutch pack?

 

[ExplorerTom]

Meant to post this one. Still not the best due to the angle.



I couldn't see anything between the spider gears that looked like a stack of clutch discs.