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I am an avid Explorer fan. I bought my Explorer
from an older lady during the summer of 1995. 1 could tell the Explorer
was in good shape and had probably never been in four wheel drive. I drove
the Explorer stock for about a year and a half. By this point, I was sick
of seeing larger Blazers and Suburbans blow by me on the trails.
My first modification was 8" Mickey Thompson Wheels
and 31x11.00x15 Mickey Thompson tires. The truck now had a wide stance
and could aggressively tackle some of the trails with the big boys. After
having to hack out my fenders from tire rub, I decided to put on some sort
of lift. I bought a 3" body lift and the truck soon took on a larger image.
With the body lift alone, I could fit 33x12.50x15 mudders and not really
worry about tire rub. By this point, I had caught the "build-up bug."
I soon started working on the drivetrain such
as gears, brakelines, and tow hook. The next step in the buildup was the
installation of the James Duff lift kit. I chose the small lift so it remained
well mannered on the street. This kit was great on the street and performed
well in the thickest of mud and the steepest of rock crawling. I have just
recently bought a 4" Trailmaster lift that I will be installing soon. By
placing 2 Superlift coil spacer steel disks under the front coils, I will
gain .5" for a mere $25, and it shouldn't affect safety due to the welded
coil retaining plate I had welded in for safety issues while driving on
the interstate.
I started a 4x4 club commonly referred to as "Carolina
Mudders." We are comprised of about 19 members all over North Carolina.
Eleven of the nineteen members have Explorers from mild to wild. We try
to go trail riding every weekend and occasionally make it to Telico in
the mountains. Unfortunately, we can't ever seem to be able to get all
11 Explorers together at the same time. We usually have about four running
together each weekend, and sometimes up to eight. The club has trucks from
Cherokees to Tahoes to Landcruisers.
UPDATE It has been about five months since I originally submitted the photos of my Explorer. Since the submission of the original pictures, my 1993 Ford Explorer Sporet has gone through a series of upgrades to make it a great bit more capable in the worst of trail conditions. The first and most drastic change was to upgrade my original 2.5" james Duff kit and 3" body lit to a new Superlift 5.5" Suspension System. The suspension changeover was very simple and I had little problems. I installed (3) Superlift coil spring plates under each coil to add an additional 3/4" lift. Superlift shocks and steering stabilizer handle the bumps. When it came time to install the new brakelines, I chose the Skyjacker lines based on reputation for being durable and kink-free. The suspension works very well in combination with the 3" body lift. I installed the largest and most thoroughly tested suspension combination I could find in efforts of being not only the largest but the most well built Explorer on the trails. The engine compartment now has a KKM Tru-Rev induction unit that drastically increased my low end power. I installed Jacobs ignition wires which have given the truck the most dramatic power increase for the least amount of money ($70). I have added a front differential skid plate (yellow) that hs saved the casing on more than one occasion. For added stance, traction and overall stability, I purchased a set of 35x14.50-15 Super Swamper Thornbird tires. The tires are wonderful on the trail and provide unlimited amounts of traction on rocks, sand. and the steep clay hills found in North Carolina's mountains. Although great off-road, they are extremely noisy on the road and tend to wobble at high speeds. The Explorer often frequents Uwharrie National Park and Telico. Although not a wonderful rock crawler yet, it has proven itself in the mud, sand and all around North Carolina style trails.
1993 FORD EXPLORER SPORT 4X4
SUSPENSION
EXTERIOR
WHEELS & TIRES
INTERIOR
ENGINE
AXLES
MISC.
FUTURE MODS
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