Anyone tried using an Explorer?

[ExplorerTom]

Yep, made the river.


Went up Hacket Rock just fine. Here's coming down what was the tough spot at the top:



The ledge at the bottom I didn't even attempt until I was SAS'd:

And even then I banged my rear bumper.

What's more impressive was getting to the top of T-33a with IFS and open diffs. I ran it alone while trying to beat the rain storms that caused the flooding in that area (literally started the evening after I ran the trail) so I didn't get any pictures.

You should swap over to a manual transfercase. I did mine and love it.

 

[Mike.rider]

Sounds great!
Do you have any measurements of before and after front wheel travel?
Do you take it on any of the harder trails? (We use Moab Rim trail for a warm-up when we go to Moab but I will be (relatively) happy if I can just get it out of Metberry Gulch near Divide Co. under its own power without winching/towing (rated as an easy 4 out of 10 level trail)...
...so far, in stock form, mine fails miserably on our "try out the mods" hill (stock/near stock; flatties, CJ's, TJ's, XJ's, Grand Cherokees, old Wagoneers and Cherokees, old Blazers, all manner of Toyotas (except RAV4's and their ilk) and TTB Rangers do it pretty easily) tire lifting, classic (close tread block) all terrains and open diffs are this Explorer's biggest problems thus far.
Trying to keep this one civilized so I will likely not go with tires bigger than 32" (measured) in diameter (partially compensated for with 4.10 gears) they will be mud tires though, and no lift...

Enjoy!

Travel is 14" in the front and rear of my ranger.

It's a multi purpose rig and always surprises me, most of our trails are rated easy, moderate, difficult. Have run most moderate and a few difficult trails with no issues.

A lot of our difficulty comes from offcamber sections so the added track width makes a big difference.

But like you said lockers make a big difference. I have a torsen front LS and an ARB rear locker. Combine that with lots of wheel travel and 35" tires and the truck gets around pretty good.

Have yet to make it to Moab so not sure how it would do.

The small rocks I have played on have not been an issue.

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[Happy Joe]

Yep, made the river.
Went up Hacket Rock just fine.

The ledge at the bottom I didn't even attempt until I was SAS'd:
And even then I banged my rear bumper.

What's more impressive was getting to the top of T-33a with IFS and open diffs. I ran it alone while trying to beat the rain storms that caused the flooding in that area (literally started the evening after I ran the trail) so I didn't get any pictures.

You should swap over to a manual transfercase. I did mine and love it.

Impressive! I have spent a lot of time on those trails.
Any details on the manual transfer case? (I would definitely like to eliminate the shift motor (although I got mine working last night; how long it continues working is a gamble. Started thinking about spline counts an a deep reduction 231/241 late last night).
I really miss a 5 speed manual (don't like having to ride the brakes down hills) but that will have to wait for next year if I do it at all...too many project hanging fire this year.

Travel is 14" in the front and rear of my ranger.

It's a multi purpose rig and always surprises me, most of our trails are rated easy, moderate, difficult. Have run most moderate and a few difficult trails with no issues.

A lot of our difficulty comes from offcamber sections so the added track width makes a big difference.

But like you said lockers make a big difference. I have a torsen front LS and an ARB rear locker. Combine that with lots of wheel travel and 35" tires and the truck gets around pretty good.

Have yet to make it to Moab so not sure how it would do.

The small rocks I have played on have not been an issue.

Thanks! (for the wheel travel measurements).
If you have a chance to make a trip to MOAB.. DO IT; ...4wd heaven (and the off road cycling is pretty good too)...
do you have any details on the torsen front L/S ?
I have, so far, only found lunch box lockers that (Might) fit my front Dana 35 (an ARB for the rear is on order),
What year/generation is your Ranger, its probably time, for me, to inventory the scrap yards for a front diff.
...need to measure the front wheel travel on my explorer, for future reference if nothing else.

Enjoy!

 

[ExplorerTom]

My manual transfercase is a 1354 from a Ranger. Bolts right up. You'll need a different front driveshaft (maybe take the Ranger's) because the way it mounts to the transfercase was different. At least for my 1997.

I only ride my brakes on the steepest of downhills. 4.56 gears and 4lo is pretty nice.

 

[Happy Joe]

Thanx!...
I need to make a run to the scrapyard looking for 4.10 rear 8.8 axles so I will keep an eye out for this too.
I'll snag the driveshaft off the Ranger.


Enjoy!

 

[Mike.rider]

Thanks! (for the wheel travel measurements).
If you have a chance to make a trip to MOAB.. DO IT; ...4wd heaven (and the off road cycling is pretty good too)...
do you have any details on the torsen front L/S ?
I have, so far, only found lunch box lockers that (Might) fit my front Dana 35 (an ARB for the rear is on order),
What year/generation is your Ranger, its probably time, for me, to inventory the scrap yards for a front diff.
...need to measure the front wheel travel on my explorer, for future reference if nothing else.

Enjoy!

No problem, also stock wheel travel is around 8"

Check this out for diff info.

https://torsen.com

They are a gear style LS and work very well, transparent on the street and great grip when in 4x4. Used in many OE applications.

My truck is a 2003 which is a gen 5 truck. I'm running the 4.0sohc motor with an M90 supercharger, Dixon brothers racing front long travel kit and deaver rear suspension with king shocks at all 4 corners.


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[Happy Joe]

No problem, also stock wheel travel is around 8"

Check this out for diff info.

https://torsen.com

They are a gear style LS and work very well, transparent on the street and great grip when in 4x4. Used in many OE applications.

My truck is a 2003 which is a gen 5 truck. I'm running the 4.0sohc motor with an M90 supercharger, Dixon brothers racing front long travel kit and deaver rear suspension with king shocks at all 4 corners.


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Thanx! again...
based on your previous post I was looking at
https://torsen.com/product/ford-dana-35/
...Now (within the next 5 minutes) I am going to call around to see if I can get a good price locally... this looks like the best alternative to a locker available; for this front axle....(OOPS; Torsen not taking calls on Saturdays)...

When I get the stuff to do the rear axle I will be giving Deever a call about replacing my tired leaves.
Looked at Dixon info online; looks like its 4" per side wider than stock... A bit too extreme for this project, IMO.

Enjoy!

 

[Mike.rider]

Thanx! again...
based on your previous post I was looking at
https://torsen.com/product/ford-dana-35/
...Now (within the next 5 minutes) I am going to call around to see if I can get a good price locally... this looks like the best alternative to a locker available; for this front axle....(OOPS; Torsen not taking calls on Saturdays)...

When I get the stuff to do the rear axle I will be giving Deever a call about replacing my tired leaves.
Looked at Dixon info online; isn't it significantly wider than stock?

Enjoy!

It has been a great option for the front diff they are cheap too ~550 shipped

As for the front kit, it is now being made by vegas desert fab and is 9" wider than stock. Putting the width at 80" which is right at the limit for our trails here in the NW.

Most guys run fiberglass but I chose to cut out my fenders and ad flares to make everything fit.

I also just finished swapping in an f150 8.8 axle in the rear to match the wider front track width.




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[Happy Joe]

Ordered the Torsen carrier (~ $525 w/shipping), likely a good choice as there don't seem to be any selectable lockers available for this IFS.

...the regrettable part of this project is that before it is done I will likely know how to modify a selectable locker to make it compatible with this Minnie mouse front end...

Enjoy!

 

[ExplorerTom]

Maybe it's me, but I wouldn't want the diff of an IFS locked. A Torsen or something would be fine. But not locked.

 

[Happy Joe]

server error!

 

[Happy Joe]

Other than the obvious structural weakness of the IFS I don't see any insurmountable issues. Selectable lockers can be switched off to turn corners and automatic lockers will let one tire turn faster in turns (if they are working correctly).
My experience on ice with automatic lockers; side hills and the interstate, even steep and highly crowned roads in town, has been in a word "exciting" and not something that I am looking to repeat; so I will avoid the lunch box lockers and Detroit lockers (even a tight limited slip can cause issues in the slippery).
Enjoy!
Edit; had to delete about half my response to get this to post...

 

[ExplorerTom]

On the street is the last thing I'd be worried about. It's on the trail where I wouldn't want an IFS locked. You get bound up trying to muscle up and over some rocks and you load up a front tire too much and BAM..... broken CV joint.

Now maybe it's more in my head than actual real world, but that just how I feel.

And those that I know that have front lockers RARELY use them. Like never in the dry. Only occasionally while snow wheeling.

 

[Happy Joe]

Have done that with solid axles in several vehicles... eventually I learned to gage the obstacle (and got used to changing parts on the trial)...
On CJ Jeeps I did eventually find that moderate traction tires (35 inch BFG M/T's) helped parts longevity... because they spin before my axle/joint gives up... (I'm sure that these tires can still break really weak parts/CV joints; one reason, in addition to my short legs, that I expect to go no bigger and 32/33's on the explorer)
Haven't broken an axle since I sold the boggers...even with the 73:1 crawl ratio in the CJ.

What I have done more than once is; get distracted and forget to unlock the front axle.... then curse the steering and poor handling until the next obstacle ...then turn off the front locker thinking that I am engaging it... drive up the obstacle (often with more effort that it deserves)... then engage the locker (thinking that I am turning it off) and cuss the steering....
Eventually I installed an "engaged" light to reduce this occurrence.

Enjoy!

 

[Happy Joe]

...Inventoried more than 60 explorers and Rangers (many parts interchange) in the local scrap yard; found one with 4.10 gears...
I will take the differential assemblies complete as that will reduce gear setup effort (probably won't have to mess with the pinion depth, just shim the new carriers side to side for good gear contact pattern and backlash).
Hopefully the axles will still be there today.
there are a number of other parts on this vehicle that I can get; skid plate, rear tow hook etc. so I will likely make several visits over the next month or so.

Another good outcome will be getting a stronger, 31 spline, better geared, 3.73, disk brake axle (compatible with 235-15 tires, have 4 new ones in the shed) rear diff, from my explorer, (after it gets 4.10 gears) switched into my 2wd Ranger which currently has tiny 24 inch tires and an abysmal (for a pickup) 3.08 geared 28 spline rear axle... will decide later this summer whether or not to convert the 2wd Ranger to 4wd.

Enjoy!