Ford Explorer lift kit project 2nd gen DIY how to lift for AWD and 4x4 

The rear leafs are a great idea!

Good info here!

Im almost at 300k! Long live Vulcan motors!

Great tip!

Thanks!! This little truck is still going strong. A friend of mine bought it a few months after this video. He drives it every day, but it selling it soon for a commuter car.

@@TheGaginator I'd like to buy it! I live in South MS. I'd be glad to exchange numbers if he wants to sell it.

It became a recreational vehicle. Tell him not to sell it he just needs to buy a daily driver now. I recommend a Buick Regal or any car with the GM 3800. Find one that is on the 2nd tranny and go for 500k miles in quiet comfort and economy.

Glad I could help

Good info to look into, thank you!

@@TheGaginator DON'T DO TRANS FLUID FLUSH ...JUST BASIC DRAIN AND FILTER....flush can remove residue that is actually "working as sealant' on all the old seals...flush can break them loose = trans rebuild...happens a lot! That 4.0 ohv engine is one of the longest lasting engines ever made....yes, not much power but good bottom end torque. RU-vid: Ford Explorer 400,000 miles to see several ohv's reaching 400,000. I had Ranger with same engine that I beat and it ran like a top at 257,000 + plus miles when I sold it....zero internal engine work done / needed...just DON'T over heat it!...change thermostat as preventative step. Does yours have the L.S. rear end? ....door sticker axle code will show D2,D4, or L73 if so....

I got Cherokee shocks for the front when I lifted my explorer. They are a longer length and bolted right up.

@@TheKingOfHalo do you have part numbers for what you used? I've heard about this on forums but wondering what you used and how much lift you got in the front?

NICE!! My truck rode WAY better with the new rear leafs for sure. 31's are the best size on this truck. 33's are too much for sure. My one regret on this one

I believe you can buy the extra leaf spring kit from somewhere.

Glad it helped, Good luck!!

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Thanks for the comment! My advice is to upgrade gears for sure. After putting alot of miles on the 33's, the lack of power is pretty frustrating haha. You can get a 4.10 front diff from a ranger for cheap on ebay, and then swap out the rear ring and pinion.

Updated!

The most I ever had on one was 285K. still running well when I sold it

@@TheGaginator That is comforting to hear! Spent nearly $4k having the transmission & transfer case rebuilt, along with servicing both differentials. Have a bit invested now, so I really hope to hit that 300k mark. 😇

Thanks!

Exactly

My explorer has the ohv and it’s coming up on 300k miles

@@alexsmith3470 Have you had to replace head gaskets or head(s) ??

You are right from what ive heard! I have a 1994 model with 245k miles on it myself

@@TheGaginator I had '94 Ranger / same engine... had sold it just shy of 248k was running like a top with no internal engine work needed / done.... sold it to get same engine Explorer like this with 4WD.... youtube: Explorer 400,000 to see many reaching 400k

Thank you!

Thanks for the kind words!! Still 15's yes. 31's would have been a much better choice for sure. There would have been no trimming. Also, the 33's KILLED my highway power. Almost unable to drive 70-75mph in overdrive.

@@TheGaginator I have the 5.0 engine in my 98 mountaineer. It makes 215 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Do you think it could do well on the highway with 33s? Or would it still struggle?

Correct! Just be carful on the rear not to use too large of shackles. longer shackles affect your pinion angle. This truck still drives great, and is about to be for sale now

@@TheGaginator gotcha, thanks a lot for the reply. I actually picked up the same (I think) ones as you, the Autocraft brand 3 point shackles.

Nice! it makes a huge difference

Thanks for the comment! Parts listed above ^

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Hey there! That is awesome that you did brakes! Most people would not attempt that these days. Id say the best things you can do are just regular maintenance items at first to learn how to use tools more efferently, and understand terminology and how things work. See if you can find a factory service manual on eBay for your specific vehicle. It will have TONS of good information on items to work on, and EXACTLY how to do it step by step. Pick a job like throttle body gasket, spark plugs, intake gasket, serpentine belt, etc and go for it!!

Great find! That shock has the same compressed height, and 2 inches more travel. This WILL let your CV axles over extend so be careful

That is some good info, Id like to see that

Thanks! No I did not use any wheel spacers. I chose a wheel offset that was as extreme as i think i would go.

Thanks for the comment! I put the shocks in the description

@TheGaginator 🤙🏻 found it after I asked lol. Got a whole rebuild happening, but she's Still strong as an ox for 26 yo and 223,000+ miles

Probably not. It is about to be downgraded to 31inch tires actually. It is just a road truck now. One of my buddies owns it now

I think it turned out great! Just needs a regear now

Thanks for the comment! I just updated the video description with part numbers for you!

@@TheGaginator Thanks for the update with the part numbers, greatly appreciated.. What was the outcome with the stud extenders/spacers you were going to play with? what size was the best and what material did you make them from?

I am ready to buy new tires for my 98 mountaineer and I want 31x10.50.15 A/T tires. Did you get yours to stop rubbing? And if so how did it go? In all, what exactly did you end up needing to do to make it work?

@@braxtonmorgan2125 actually it was fairly simple, I found out it was rubbing on the factory running board just inside the front wheel well, so I took a cutoff wheel and trimmed it back. It took about 5 minutes for both sides and no problems since. Good luck.

Good info here!!^

Nice! The v8 explorers are great until it comes time for maintenance There is no room in the engine bay! Haha. Id still take the v8 or the v6

Ha awesome!! This truck is still daily driving around. TXarms owns it now in Ft worth. Right, you do NOT need a lift key

@@TheGaginator would you be willing to do these to mine? Obviously I’d pay just don’t trust anyone and shops are sketchy lol I want to re do the front end stuff and then as well replace the rear springs and add a leaf and shackles as well this is gonna be my daily next year after my lease is up. If not have anyone you recommend?

The autoparts store local to me always has them. If you google "universal lift shackles" you will find them

Ooh i dont remember the cost. Between $600-$800?

yes you can just crank the keys if you want. You can use stick height shocks in the rear if you want, the fronts must be stock height or the cv axles will bind if the shocks allow the front to droop too much. You can get whatever leaf springs you want really and adjust the front to match

Good info, but its very important not to go longer than 1/2'' over stock full extension unless you have longer CV axles, or they will bind and bad things will happen

THIS^ I would not buy the keys again

No, the stock keys give the same lift. Is your front end really bumpy/jumpy, or just loose feeling? I rebuilt the entire front end of my truck at the same time as lifting it. ball joints, tie rods, etc.

Thanks! What year is your truck?

@@TheGaginator 97 explorer torsion front end. i actually got longer shocks from rancho, it says to get them if you have 1-3 lift in the front.. should i switch to regular length?

@@Jaycal559 Did you replace the stock camber bolts? I replaced them with AC Delco bolts that actually allow for camber adjustment. My tires are even with the back when I get an alignment now.

I sometimes use a bench vise, but often use a shop press

I think you answered your question. You just dont want to extend the suspension to the point of cv axle bind

Hey there! So cool that you own the Explorer now!! No I never did, but the front and rear diffs are super cheap and easy to find luckily. I'd recommend going down a tire size if you are not going to regear,

It is going to live it's life as an offroader now, so no longer a street queen. 31s would be ideal if its a daily driver, but 35s is where it will grow into. :)

Yes you can easily swap the springs over the axle. It will gain 4inches of lift minimum. I would not go solid axle in the front. It's easier and more cost effective to buy a different rig

It's true, the SOHC is much less reliable

The one time 95 Explorer Expedition Sport 4x4-is it OHV or SOHC?

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Everything i purchased came from skyjacker, rockauto, or the local parts store

No, i found they are not necessary

I dont know about his. But my 2 door was less then 500 to lift in a similar manner. Its at 400k km the original engine made it till last year, trans made ot 6 more months, was swapped with a manual, both jobs combined was less then 2000 usd, and the engine was an sohc (notoriously less reliable then the 5.0 and the ohv 4.0)

@@abccanada6248 Tks for letting me know. Hey there are 2 engines options 4.0L? So both are the inline 6? Which 1 is the more reliable?

Thank you!

The ebay parts seem just fine for moderate wheeling and mostly on road use.

He has driven the truck for a few years, and I think he's had a really good experience with the truck.

2nd gen v8 Explorer is awesome in every way except for repairs and upgrades. They are a pain in the but to work on. Bronco ii never got a v8 i dont think

​​​@@TheGaginator I live at 8,000' MSL. Gotta have displacement. Easier to work on than a van with a V8, for sure! That's where I've been -- in the doghouse. I like the Ford Pony Truck Ideal. Big motor, small vehicle (park it next to a Super Durty and compare). LOTS of aftermarket 5.0 support. Heads, Cams, Intakes. It's a long-life pushrod V8. And, for some reason, the Ford Gaskets of the time don't seem to leak like my other New Millennium vehicles. I just spent 120 bucks to replace all 5 shocks. The cheapest truck I own. I'll never crack open the motor, really. It'll never go to 700 HP. But I like the idea of lowering it for cheap and using the AWD with a Turbo. ● But what I should do is convert it to a true 1/2 Ton Truck by grabing a Hi-Lo 4x4 Transfer Case and drive shaft from various other Ford trucks out of the junk yard. Then Shackle-Raise the rear leaf springs 1.5 inches and dial up the torsion bars to match. Add chunky 31s and I'm done. As soon as you change suspension on your Factory Vehicle -- any vehicle -- it becomes an RV and you have to reclassify your budget as such. $8k later and the tires are still rubbing in the parking lot. No thanks. Its got the F150 motor and tranny in a truck that has a wheel width of a Corrola. Siiick! I'd try a HCI and supercharger on this fantasy version. I usually prefer sitting in Fords but I'll always choose the Mercury, when available. No matter, the powerplant.

Good video. I'm making notes.

The only way to get around the issue of CV axle bind is to make a drop bracket setup for the front diff

On good ol eBay!

It should be the same setup on your 97 explorer! No one sells a ready made lift kit unfortunately

Go for it!

Thanks ✌️

HAHA!! yes 13:35

add a leaf is better if you tow, or have a fully loaded truck often. Shackles are good for an empty truck, and are easier

Yes you can use these same parts in my description on your truck

100%

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I dont know how to answer your question im sorry

You can do bad stuff for sure if you crank them too much. Especially if the ball joints / cv axles are not in good shape

@@TheGaginator my cv axles we're at right angles man it was bad

Nope, they have different suspension systems

Thank you!!

You mean the shock spacers? No they are not required. They will just give the front shocks a little extra travel.

@@TheGaginator okay thank you appreciate the video and very detailed information plan on doing this myself maybe I can keep you updated

No there is not. Part of the design of this system. The only way would be to remove the front driveshaft when you are not offroading

I have a 97 explorer sport 2 door with a manual trans and it has the knob on the dash to switch from 2h 4l 4h, I think a lot of the models of explorers come with different options around that time

Brown wire mod, look it up. :)

For sure I think it's worth it. If you do good job, it will increase the resale value as well

@@TheGaginator thanks man

It looks like it's going to vary per vehicles based on the CV axle quality. Some axles will extend further before binding.

@@TheGaginator When you added the collar/spacer did you lower the torsion bars down a little? To me the fully cranked up T bars make an awful ride quality, I can’t imagine how the torsion bars and spacers would feel

Use 15inch wheels. I would not go bigger than 31inch tires. These 33inch tires hurt the power too much.

Don't buy them. Just crank the factory keys

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Thats just the way Ford designed it...

DO IT!! Don't waste money on the torsion keys like did though. Just crank the stocks ones up, it does the same thing

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Most autoparts stores actually have them!!

You don't need to buy anything. Just crank up your torsion keys

Thanks!!

Bully steps! amzn.to/3AyMQky

Eh, it still works

yeah that was hard to watch

yes!

@@TheGaginator can you send me a link to find the added leaf kit

Geez i dont remember now im sorry. I sold this truck to my friend that owns TXarms a while back

Looks like the 69 series ​@@TheGaginator

Awesome! I do wish mine had the 5.0

8 inch wide procomp wheels from a Jeep TJ wrangler. I dont remember the offset now...

I hate my tranny in my 95 explorer I have to let off and let it clunk into 2nd

I may try doing a video like this soon. Thank you for the input!

Glad it was helpful!

I don't remember now, i sold the truck to my friend. I want to say 3 inches

That's right

Fort Worth Texas

I have updated the description with the parts that I used for this job. So far, this lift kit has been great for several thousand miles. Pulling a few trailers, and hauling some heavy things, as well as several family vacations across the country!

@@TheGaginator thank you so much I want to lift mine, I got a 2001 Explorer Eddie Bauer edition v6, you think it will work too?