sniderexciderr's ford expedition build

[sniderexciderr]

ok this will be a long and drawn out build. but it is starting to take shape.

so far i have lifted the expo 2" with aluminum blocks in the rear and turned up the torsion bars to level it out. cut the fenders out and added 37/12.50/16.5 tires on centerline wheels. so far i have a few issues to address.

1. there is a bracket on the passenger side front wheel well that holds the A/C lines for the rear A/C. it doesn't give me much room at all and hits the tire if i'm cranked to the right and hit a bump.

2. i need to add longer shocks. the up travel feels ok but there is hardly any down travel.

this is a pic of the tire/frame clearance

pic of the rear inner fender after it had been cut. i added rubber to the cut fender for looks.

driver side pinch molding trimmed down.

the 2" block installed

 

[sniderexciderr]

i have to fix an exhaust manifold problem in the next week or so but after that is buttoned up next will be yukon 4.88s and hopefully ARB air lockers. as soon as i can get the cash saved up

 

[sniderexciderr]

up coming event, rear bumper tire carrier. this is the tire carrier builders kit i ordered from A to Z fabrication. they didn't have the lug pattern i needed so i'll have to drill some holes for the lugs.

this is the setup for the lock i don't know if i'm going to use it or not i guess i'm supposed to weld the short piece of steel to the allen bolt for a "T" handle.

 

[Bella PSD]

Were did you find those BFG Baja 37's? They are kind of hard to find. I run the same tires on my Ford. Yours look new!

Louie

 

[sniderexciderr]

i got them from a friend. he maybe got them from a surplus or something. they were still on the mil beadlocks with runflats in them.

 

[sniderexciderr]

now it sucks, no really i can hear it.

so today i had some time to waste, so i decided it was time to work a little on the air filter/intake. since i cut out the fenders the engine has been sucking in som water when it rains. and on top of that my filter was way past due. i had an intake in my ford lightning parts bin so i grabbed a few things a big filter, there was some rubber fittings hose clamps, and a 90mm maf i figured i'd try out. the maf and ecu didn't get along so i ended up just using the stock maf. in the future i plan on building a snorkel this is pretty much just something i did to keep it from sucking in so much water straight from the wheel well.


so first things i removed everything after the elbow in the intake. i'm not sure if they are all like this or if the guy that owned this before me just did it for some reason but the ribbed section was glued really good to the elbow section so i ended up having to cut it off.

next i cut a section of pvc and used the dremel to make a hole for the IAT sensor then used a rubber grommet for a nice seal.

this is it all put together using the aftermarket maf.

and it installed but with the factory maf.

when i decide exactly how i'm going to go about building the snorkel and sealing up the electronics i'll add it to this thread. let me know if anyone has any good ideas about making a container for the air filter. i was thinking maybe some pvc big enough that the filter will fit inside and a few end caps. its still in the developmental stages. i don't have much room in that area unless i can relocate a few things. i do however have a pretty good idea of how i'm going to do the actual snorkel part. though.

 

[sniderexciderr]

*update*

ok so i have been busy working on changing the heads on the expedition. there was a setback when i broke the passenger side timing chain guide, while taking off the old head. had to wait for the part. while i was waiting i did a few things.

this is how the engine currently sits.

the outer part of the snorkel, i got a little carried away with cutting the fender, but oh well. for mounting it to the fender i used "L" shaped brackets and welded the bolts to them then welded them to the tube. the bracket in the pic is the one for the door pillar. i plan to seal up the weather strip around it with silicone. there is actually an inner and outer weather strip on the door, so i'm not too worried about it leaking much especially once the silicone is on there.

and the beginning stages of the winch bumper. ran out of cutting wheels so i've been using the torch to keep things moving. kind of sloppy looking, but it turns out the same after its welded in place.

 

[sniderexciderr]

Tube Bending.

i plan to bend some tube for the front bumper. i have access to a ram bender but i don't want to deform the tube at the bends and this is the method i was thinking of using.

Make a "sand mandrel" if no mandrel is available. Put overlapping, crisscrossing layers of duct tape at one end of the pipe. The number of layers used will depend on the size of the pipe. Generously tape the end to withstand pressure, with no fewer than eight to ten layers (which cover every angle). Fill the pipe with water. Add sand slowly into the pipe to displace the water. Make sure that there are no air bubbles by tapping it with a hammer while the sand is added. Pack the sand down and add more wet sand until the pipe is filled. Dry the top of the pipe off to tape the end with a generous amount of duct tape. Take the pipe to the bender without damaging the taped ends. Be aware of the pressure built up in the pipe--it can come out with a lot of force.

has anyone done this?

 

[SuperCal]

Looking good and making me miss my 98 expedition...

 

[sniderexciderr]

THE TRAIL WHALE LIVES!!!

So, I got the engine back together and started it for the first time this morning. I was having some trouble getting it to fire. Checked the fuel, fuel pressure check! checked for spark, no spark. I went straight to checking all the wiring. looked, looked, looked. couldn't see anything. Beat my head off the hood, cried in the corner for a few minutes. referenced my "ford bible". then crawled under the truck and found a sensor that was unplugged. plugged it in tried the key and it fired right up. My intake gasket is leaking coolant around the thermostat so tomorrow i'll see what i can do about it other then that everything seems good to go. I got some more work done on the front bumper. i'll try to post some pics tomorrow.

 

[socal4x]

looking forward to seeing those pics

 

[waylenson]

So it never got fixed

line-x murfeesboro

 

[Raul B]

in for updated pics....