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So how do you go about making power with a Ford 302 Engine?

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
Sooooooo, Not sure how a stock Explorer ECU would deal with Nitrous...

They use Cam and Crank Sensors and a Spindle, no Dizzy, and no timing marks on the Crank sensor or anything, so you can't really play with that.

I don't think its wise to toss nitrous at a VERY early OBD2 ECU setup in hopes that it can deal with it. I'd imagine the MAF would just see a fuckload of air, and the ECU would just pig it out to try and deal with it.

So this comes full circle to, you will be spending $1000 or more to tune it....

To the OP: If you want to tinker with it, I would really recommend against tinkering with the motor on that thing to be honest. Stick shift swap, Solid Axle swap, lots of other fun things to do, but that engine, in that setup is a loosing battle, and I'm talking from direct experience.
 

1996BlackBauer

1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 AWD
Oct 20, 2014
60
0
McHenry
Give me a little bit to read all this info, and I will reply in a bit with some answers and Questions, BUT just to get this out there, I will be running this setup in a 2WD Explorer Sport, not my current rig. There is one right off the top of my head though, what about an aftermarket ECU? Or running parts from Mustangs? like I said before I don't know a whole lot about making power with this engine, but I am always willing to experiment, and try new things. In the end though just want to have a fun reliable Explorer I can beat the snot out of.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
Fun facts:
Muatang 'front dress' is too deep to clear the radiator on the explorer, so you cannot use mustang water pumps, blowers, Etc. Even the water pump bilt pattern is different so you can't use an electric water pump...

The coil pack mounts over the CPS on the explorer, which limits blower options.

2wd explorers have a unique wheel base only to them. Even a short bed standard cab ranger is longer than an explorer sport. With that, there is not a bolt-in driveshaft that I'm aware of that will work for a 2wd explorer sport.

My 4 cylinder ranger driveshaft with a 4r70 slip yolk fit perfectly behind the 2wd 302 setup.

Explorer sports still have torsion front suspension, which makes them ride pretty poorly when lowered.

The 5 speed m5odr2 that comes behind the 97+ 4.2 v6 f150's bolts up to the 5.0 SBF and sits nicely for explorers sitting position in the cab.

Explorer sports despite being shorter than the smallest ranger still has 400-600lbs of weight over the ranger on it.

White explorer sport gauge clusters can be re-pinned to read correctly for v8 setups.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
I haven't had any time to post in the last few days, but finally got a minute.


Power for me is dependent on how much I need to run 12's a slightly modified 2nd Gen Explorer. whats your username on EF? I have been on there since early 2011, so I know the site very well, but I don't remember a thread about that in my searches. I ultimately know I will sacrifice driveability for power, but I don't want to go to crazy, so finding that happy medium will be pretty hard.


I have the same user name. I used to pretty much run the Need for Speed section on EF for a while back in the day. James Henson was the "V6 guy" and I was the "V8 guy". I haven't posted steadily on the forum for about 5 years now. Still, there should be a TON of tech threads on this in there as long as Rick (owner) didn't lose the database over the years.




The cam those came with those are weak as fuck. Like, absurdly so. Bang for buck, valvetrain and an HO cam wake it up pretty well. Header options are limited for the Exploders, but they're out there. Bit pricy though.

Those, along with a free flowing exhaust will get you in the ~270+/- range.

There are a few sources for bolt on roots kits. On one of which, the 4r70 would likely give out long before your stock bottom end with a good tune.
Hope all that helps. I had been digging extensively into this when I was first plotting swapping my Ranger. Have fun man.


I agree that the stock cam was pretty weak, but the off the shelf cam choices are pretty weak too! Most of the Ford letter cams are weak as all hell. I wouldn't even bother with one unless you get one hell of a deal, and do the install yourself.




Please note: the explorer ECU cannot handle an aggressive cam, even E and F code cams give it problems.

Please note: you are looking at a grand to get a baseline tune loaded into that thing, no one does it.

I'm well versed in this. :-(

I put down 250whp/300tq with a 5psi m90 (xcharger), this got me a 13.8 in a ranger.

I upped the boost to 8psi, and got a Comp Cam kit that was recommended for the obd 2 5.0, and could never overcome it shifting into 4th waaaay early with the tuning software I was using. Pulled hard, sounded wicked, but couldn't bring myself to spend half the trucks value into a professional tune for minimal gains.



I ran an E cam in my 2000 5.0 V8 Explorer for about a year before I wrecked it. The EEC-V computer ran it just fine, but the cam really didn't produce a heck of a lot of power. If I did it over again, I would not have bothered with doing a cam in a stock displacement 302. Just FI.

It will not cost him a grand to get a baseline tune loaded into that thing; including the SCT flash tuning device. It may cost upwards of $1000 including the flash tuning device for the final dyno tune, but not for a simple base tune.



This is going to be a boring for anyone who isn't an explorer/ranger person, so here we go:

Problems you will encounter with trying to modify the RBV Chassis:

#1, Tuning Options are extremely limited. You are best off going with a standalone like Megasquirt or something of that type. Looking at a grand easily, or a grand to have a professional actually make a fresh SCT map.

#2, Cam Options, Explorer ECU's cannot deal with more than 116* or 112* of LSA (I'd have to hunt it down to confirm), or they won't hold idle.

#3, There is only a SINGLE option for exhaust headers, they are from Torque Monster and they are $800 and take 2-3 months to have made to order. Nothing else fits, its been tried over and over and over.

#4, The Transmission Tuning, there is some kind of fail-safe in the ECU that knocks you into 4th gear 1000RPM earlier under WOT than you do for 1-2-3 shifts. This even happens WITH a tune loaded.

#5, Only a SINGLE bolt-on FI Option (Xcharger, which is what I had), which is an M90 blower which is obviously extremely limited, and are out of production (read - Rare). When they pop up you can get them for about $2k used. I had an EXTREMELY good experiance with my Xcharger minus the limited tuning options.

If I were to do it all over again, I'd buy the Headers immediatly since they make a sizeble impact, then I'd have someone fab up a STS Turbo kit and get it tuned professionally. Its worth noting that would put you into the 6K+ range easily just to get a correctly running turbo setup on your truck, which is likely worth less than half that (No offense, my ranger was $800), and you won't be able to take past about 450whp without putting a hole through the block.

I had about $3500 into my truck between the blower setup and assorted parts. I used a "Sniper" Tuner (less well-known option), which was crappy, but worked well enough that the truck ran wonderfully minus the WOT throttle issues that were basically going to cost me another grand in a professional tune to deal with (if it could even be dealt with at all).


I disagree with certain parts of your post.

#1. Sure, there aren't many tuners who specialize in the 5.0 Explorers, but that certainly isn't a reason to move to a standalone. There is no need for the average person wanting to make around 400rwhp or so to swap from the EEC-V processor that's in the truck already.

#3. Technically two options, though the other one has went into obscurity and wasn't that great to begin with. Ford Racing used to offer headers for these trucks for a while. However, I agree that the TM headers are the only viable option. They are a nice piece of work, and I liked how they fit when I built a 1998 H/C/I 5.0 Explorer.

#5. There's two bolt on options for the 5.0 Explorers that I am aware of. You already mentioned the Explorer Express X-charger, but there is also the Powerdyne centrifugal BD-11 kits too. Also, in addition to this, you can use a Powerdyne XB-1A gear-driven head unit with the Powerdyne system too if you don't want to deal with rebuilding the belts and bearings in the BD-11 units every 5,000 miles. I installed a Powerdyne XB-1A superchrarger on my 2000 Explorer because I wanted the capability to make more power and didn't feel like rebuilding the BD-11 often.

The reason you had issues with tuning is because you had that sniper-tuning crap on your truck. It is absolute cookie-cutter tuning garbage. I don't intend to give any offense, but that sniper tuning stuff was junk for anything more than basic boltons. Using a proper professional tuning platform like SCT is a different ballgame and will net considerably more tunability.


His exploder would have the r70 and an 8.8, the rear will take anything his stock shortblock can give but the trans absolutely will not. If OPs is AWD, he'd be better off swapping to RWD or a Ranger 2 speed t-case.

Das is correct. As mentioned, the oe manifolds are stupid restrictive. They went tubular in latter years which helped, but was still far from optimal.

I'd stay n/a or go low boost. No spray.


That 4R70W (AOD-E) transmission is actually pretty rock solid at the 400rwhp level. Just do the J-Mod or a shift kit and it will last just fine. The stock rear end is an 8.8", I forget if it is 28 spline or 31 in those. I think it is a 31 spline, but I could be confusing it with the 8.8" rears in the next generation Explorers. Either way, those 8.8's are strong.

They went with tubular manifolds in the later years? I don't recall this, and I had a 2000 Explorer, but it has been so long ago I may not remember it right.

Spray is just fine in these trucks, just as any other power adder is. The key is in how you control it. I have cammed, supercharged, sprayed, did heads, custom intake, and just about everything else for the 5.0 Explorers and as long as I did my part in the configuration and tuning stages then there were little issues as long as I remained aware of the limitations of the stock engine. If you are going to spray it, then control it progressively. If the OP ends up wanting to go with boost then staying around 9 psi will net decent reliability and power. In an Explorer Sport, that will net 12's as long as everything else is up to the task.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
I have had 4 different kits. the expense of nitrous isn't the kit itself. It's refilling the bottle over and over. I don't want to piss away $5 every time I want to show off and slam the pedal for 10 seconds. For a car that isn't being built to race or isn't seeing significant amount of time on the track. 100hp doesn't feel like shit once you already have a motor making some steam on its own.


I agree that the cost in nitrous doesn't not just come from the initial setup, but from the $40 per fill up each time. Still, while spraying around 100 shot, it would take quite a few bottles to equal what this guy would have into a supercharger or turbo system. There are advantages and disadvantages either way the guy goes.




That's kind of the beauty of nitrous. You only subject it to really hard abuse when you are at the track. Not when you are bored cruising the highway.


I agree, sometimes, being able to turn the power on and off manually is a nice thing.




Sooooooo, Not sure how a stock Explorer ECU would deal with Nitrous...

They use Cam and Crank Sensors and a Spindle, no Dizzy, and no timing marks on the Crank sensor or anything, so you can't really play with that.

I don't think its wise to toss nitrous at a VERY early OBD2 ECU setup in hopes that it can deal with it. I'd imagine the MAF would just see a fuckload of air, and the ECU would just pig it out to try and deal with it.

So this comes full circle to, you will be spending $1000 or more to tune it....

To the OP: If you want to tinker with it, I would really recommend against tinkering with the motor on that thing to be honest. Stick shift swap, Solid Axle swap, lots of other fun things to do, but that engine, in that setup is a loosing battle, and I'm talking from direct experience.


The stock Explorer EEC-V ECU handles nitrous just fine. You aren't retarding timing manually with these trucks by loosening the CPS, but in the timing tables in the tune like you would any other newer vehicle.

Running a wet shot is the better way here if the OP really wants to do nitrous on his truck. I never advocate spraying pre-MAFS with a Ford hot-filament MAFS, so dry is out IMO. You take a huge chance of killing the MAFS by doing that. Sure, some guys have gotten away with it for a while, but thermal induced contraction on that little wire is just not a good thing when making it transition from about 200* to negative temps in a split second.

So, wetshot of nitrous. There will be no issues with the MAFS having to read any more incoming air charge than normal. Install the nozzle before the TB and after the MAFS and IATS and all will be well.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
Give me a little bit to read all this info, and I will reply in a bit with some answers and Questions, BUT just to get this out there, I will be running this setup in a 2WD Explorer Sport, not my current rig. There is one right off the top of my head though, what about an aftermarket ECU? Or running parts from Mustangs? like I said before I don't know a whole lot about making power with this engine, but I am always willing to experiment, and try new things. In the end though just want to have a fun reliable Explorer I can beat the snot out of.


There is absolutely no reason to run an aftermarket ECU in your truck if you aren't going to be exceeding the power limits of the stock engine and drivetrain. In your case it would be an absolute waste of time and money.



Fun facts:
Muatang 'front dress' is too deep to clear the radiator on the explorer, so you cannot use mustang water pumps, blowers, Etc. Even the water pump bilt pattern is different so you can't use an electric water pump...

The coil pack mounts over the CPS on the explorer, which limits blower options.

2wd explorers have a unique wheel base only to them. Even a short bed standard cab ranger is longer than an explorer sport. With that, there is not a bolt-in driveshaft that I'm aware of that will work for a 2wd explorer sport.

My 4 cylinder ranger driveshaft with a 4r70 slip yolk fit perfectly behind the 2wd 302 setup.

Explorer sports still have torsion front suspension, which makes them ride pretty poorly when lowered.

The 5 speed m5odr2 that comes behind the 97+ 4.2 v6 f150's bolts up to the 5.0 SBF and sits nicely for explorers sitting position in the cab.

Explorer sports despite being shorter than the smallest ranger still has 400-600lbs of weight over the ranger on it.

White explorer sport gauge clusters can be re-pinned to read correctly for v8 setups.



The Mustang front dress actually has been swapped into the Explorers before, but if I recall correctly Bill had to run an electric fan. Perhaps there were other things he needed to do too, but that was what allowed him to run a Vortech S-Trim blower from a Mustang on his 96 X.

It is not exactly hard to relocate the coil packs to open up options for these trucks. Simple wiring and relocation bracketry.

There are many folks who ran the stocker driveshafts just fine at the power levels this guy will probably be running his build at. No need for something custom just yet.
 

Donnie

Ethanol Junkie.
Jan 31, 2012
2,891
40
Uranus, Sol System
I agree that the stock cam was pretty weak, but the off the shelf cam choices are pretty weak too! Most of the Ford letter cams are weak as all hell. I wouldn't even bother with one unless you get one hell of a deal, and do the install yourself.

That 4R70W (AOD-E) transmission is actually pretty rock solid at the 400rwhp level. Just do the J-Mod or a shift kit and it will last just fine. The stock rear end is an 8.8", I forget if it is 28 spline or 31 in those. I think it is a 31 spline, but I could be confusing it with the 8.8" rears in the next generation Explorers. Either way, those 8.8's are strong.

They went with tubular manifolds in the later years? I don't recall this, and I had a 2000 Explorer, but it has been so long ago I may not remember it right.

Mostly agree. I'd definitely only swap OE cams if I were joe blow and already pulling the front half to do the timing kit. Elsewise, I'd do it if it were me, because IDGAF and could knock it out quickly. lol. Cheap Pah and a smooth idle ftw.

Again, I can't remember exact numbers. But one example I recall was an HO cam swap, exhaust and headers (as far as physical modification go), netted the guy ~275.

Concur, as said, his 8.8 will take anything he can throw at it.

On the R70, I've never fucked with them in performance or aftermarket settings. But off the shelf in lightly driven stock applications, I've seen more terrible problem children when I was still wrenching for that dealer than I could count. Always was a "Coin toss" as far as what I'd find with them... I'd put one in my Ranger, but I'd still be wary of it. :dunno: I am glad to hear he'd be starting with a RWD exploder. Saves the trouble of swapping to RWD or to a 2 speed t-case.


Good posts man.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
There are many folks who ran the stocker driveshafts just fine at the power levels this guy will probably be running his build at. No need for something custom just yet.

He is talking about a 2wd sport getting the drivetrain, is the driveshaft behind either of the v6 setups the correct length to work behind a 4r70?

I know sniper was shitty, but I purchased an SCT and their support couldn't get even a baseline loaded.... Their support is horrific from what I experianced, so that left the crappy sniper tuner, or having it professionally done for my truck.

The Centri blower setup you are talking about was sold by ford racing wasn't it? They briefly sold an option as well I remember.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
And for nitrous, the OP is clearly new to modifying the motor in this thing, you'd trust him doing his own nitrous tune without risking the motor

If I were to do it all over again, I'd buy a 95 ranger or Mazda B series.
Emission exempt, new interior, chassis that allows for more header options, cheap motor mounts (94-95 convertible mounts iirc), and the full support of he fox-body aftermarket, and you can swap out the front clip and bed to make it look more modern.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
Long and short, this is not a super motor mod friendly platform for people who are new to the game.

If I'm waaaaay off and he has modified other things and knows what he is getting into, rock on. I just would hate to see someone run into the same pitfalls that others already have.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
He is talking about a 2wd sport getting the drivetrain, is the driveshaft behind either of the v6 setups the correct length to work behind a 4r70?

I know sniper was shitty, but I purchased an SCT and their support couldn't get even a baseline loaded.... Their support is horrific from what I experianced, so that left the crappy sniper tuner, or having it professionally done for my truck.

The Centri blower setup you are talking about was sold by ford racing wasn't it? They briefly sold an option as well I remember.



You are correct. When thinking about the driveshaft I totally forgot that he plans to swap this stuff into a Sport. I keep looking at the avatar and it throws me off. He will need to have the stocker DS modified to fit or get an aftermarket one if he so desires.

I have been tuning Fords with SCT for almost 10 years; and for a few of those years I bothered doing it professionally. I have experience tuning GM's with HPT for almost as long. In my experience when it comes to sheer tuning power, SCT is hard to top as a platform. However, as with anything in life, if you have a dealer that is incompetent, then it's hard to make good progress. SCT offers little direct support for the end-user besides very basic stuff, because they expect the individual will get support from their dealer/tuner. Keep in mind that not all SCT dealers are certified EFI recalibrators, but many are. I don't know what your particular issue was, but it isn't hard to get a baseline tune in a vehicle with SCT. What did they say the issue was that prevented it in your case? Were you trying to flash it with an Xcalibrator unit or chip it with an Eliminator chip? Do you remember who you talked to? Was it your dealer or someone at SCT? That really sucks that you got screwed like that. It should have never happened, honestly.

The Powerdynes were offered separate of Ford Racing by many other places for quite some time. Ford Racing offered them and tried to bill them as "Ford Racing supercharger kits", but it was just a BD-11a kit with a Ford Racing sticker added.




And for nitrous, the OP is clearly new to modifying the motor in this thing, you'd trust him doing his own nitrous tune without risking the motor

If I were to do it all over again, I'd buy a 95 ranger or Mazda B series.
Emission exempt, new interior, chassis that allows for more header options, cheap motor mounts (94-95 convertible mounts iirc), and the full support of he fox-body aftermarket, and you can swap out the front clip and bed to make it look more modern.

Nitrous isn't that complex, and people got to start somewhere. However, I obviously wouldn't trust him to do his own tune for a FI vehicle unless he had quite a bit of experience with tuning N/A EFI vehicles already; and was ready for the next step. However, that's where an SCT dealer would step in. I happen to be good friends with the premiere EFI calibrator that supports the Ford Explorer platform, James Henson, so I could probably assist the OP in making contact with a good SCT dealer/tuner who has experience with tuning the Explorer EEC-V processors and other oddball combos. Last I recall, the X3's are selling for about $389 which also comes with 3 custom tunes. Obviously a full dynotune or at least datalogged street tune would be in order after all new hardware is in place, but the base tunes would get the OP started, especially with nitrous tuning which is easy as hell! When I first started to learn EFI tuning James was the one who mentored me while I did initial tuning on my 2003 Kenne Bell supercharged Explorer. Jerry Wroblewski from SCT (formerly) was a godsend too, but that was only due to my needing programmer level access to rewrite the base architecture code (that no tuner has access to) to entirely eliminate the transmission and fuel system from the tune so I could run standalone. Setting system switches didn't cut it.



Long and short, this is not a super motor mod friendly platform for people who are new to the game.

If I'm waaaaay off and he has modified other things and knows what he is getting into, rock on. I just would hate to see someone run into the same pitfalls that others already have.


Actually, while there are some loops one needs to go through, I do not consider these vehicles hard to modify to get power out of them. Sure, there aren't as many options as a Mustang that has 100's of cookie-cutter mods and thousands of people who have modified them, but there is still a good base to build from and a a very experienced user-base if the OP knows where to look.

When I first started modifying vehicles for power, it was on that 2000 5.0 Explorer. My first mod was a shift kit, the next was the E cam and RR's, after that it was nitrous for a little while and then stepping up to that Powerdyne XB-1A supercharger system before I cut the project short after rolling the truck on the interstate while on road trip to FL. I cut my teeth on these odd-ball trucks so it isn't an entirely foreign concept to explain to someone else, as long as they understand that there will be some extra complexity to the project because there is not wide-sweeping support. Again, if this guy just ends up doing basic bolt-ons, 100 wetshot of nitrous, and an ECU tune then it will not be that complex of a project. Hell, the 5.0 V8 and trans swap into the 2 door Sport would be more a pain than that; and we both know how easy that is!
 

1996BlackBauer

1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 AWD
Oct 20, 2014
60
0
McHenry
HOLY SMOKES!!! I LOVE THIS SITE!!!

For a little bit more info about me and my background, I am currently an apprentice at a Buick GMC dealership, so I know cars, my dad raced cars(IMCA Modifieds, and street stocks) as I was growing up, so I have lived the life for the most part. I am fully confident on my ability to tackle any job no matter what it is, even if it is something nobody has done. A lot of times I can do an entire job without asking for help, or looking how to do it. I am in no way afraid to go out of the box to meet my goals.

My ultimate plans for the truck is to lower it 2 inches. Get rid of the fuel tank for a fuel cell between the frame rails in the rear. Brake upgrades, possible custom rear setup, with a Sport Trac front caliper/rotor upgrade(they are larger). I would also like to relocate the battery to the rear aswell, to free up space for more POWER!!! Finally I want to make my own set of headers, because I feel that the TM ones are too damn expensive. Further down the road I want to do a 4 link, and swap in a 5.0 Coyote engine, just so I have a super fast Explorer that nobody else has.

I do have a few more things, questions, and some answers.

what are you guys talking about when you reference E or F cams?

As for the Mustang parts being to long? to fit in the explorer, I have no problem either moving the rad, or swapping to an electric fan. Same with the coil packs, those can be easily moved out of the way.

As for the stock manifolds, if anybody cares, the Tubular manifolds where from '96-'97.5, after that they went to cast, which flowed better.

As for nitrous, there seems to be a lot of talk about it, I am not opposed to a super charger or turbo charger, but I don't know a whole lot about them. what I really want is a quick, reliable truck, that I can just mess with people in, lol. This has been a really helpful thread guys, I am open to any more info, or criticism. I also do frequent the Explorer Forum quite often, but there is so much info on the site that I may pass by some of the most important info, I know its all there though.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
1,321
Wheaton, IL
HOLY SMOKES!!! I LOVE THIS SITE!!!

For a little bit more info about me and my background, I am currently an apprentice at a Buick GMC dealership, so I know cars, my dad raced cars(IMCA Modifieds, and street stocks) as I was growing up, so I have lived the life for the most part. I am fully confident on my ability to tackle any job no matter what it is, even if it is something nobody has done. A lot of times I can do an entire job without asking for help, or looking how to do it. I am in no way afraid to go out of the box to meet my goals.

My ultimate plans for the truck is to lower it 2 inches. Get rid of the fuel tank for a fuel cell between the frame rails in the rear. Brake upgrades, possible custom rear setup, with a Sport Trac front caliper/rotor upgrade(they are larger). I would also like to relocate the battery to the rear aswell, to free up space for more POWER!!! Finally I want to make my own set of headers, because I feel that the TM ones are too damn expensive. Further down the road I want to do a 4 link, and swap in a 5.0 Coyote engine, just so I have a super fast Explorer that nobody else has.

I do have a few more things, questions, and some answers.

what are you guys talking about when you reference E or F cams?

As for the Mustang parts being to long? to fit in the explorer, I have no problem either moving the rad, or swapping to an electric fan. Same with the coil packs, those can be easily moved out of the way.

As for the stock manifolds, if anybody cares, the Tubular manifolds where from '96-'97.5, after that they went to cast, which flowed better.

As for nitrous, there seems to be a lot of talk about it, I am not opposed to a super charger or turbo charger, but I don't know a whole lot about them. what I really want is a quick, reliable truck, that I can just mess with people in, lol. This has been a really helpful thread guys, I am open to any more info, or criticism. I also do frequent the Explorer Forum quite often, but there is so much info on the site that I may pass by some of the most important info, I know its all there though.

Torque Monster headers are not that expensive to be honest. Hand made, Dyno Proven. E and F cams are basically just "Ford Racing" cams that are especially common/cheap.

You can lower a torsion bar truck 2 inches for free, but its going to ride like hell. Coil sprung trucks (98+ Ranger) offer some really good lowering options that drastically help improve the handling, but the 2nd gen Explorers never came with coil front ends IIRC.

Putting a Mod motor in these things is an absolutely HUGE task, I'm sure others will disagree with me, but there are 3 or 4 well documented ranger Modular builds, None of them are cheap or easy. A mild 302 will take good care of you, if you want to go obscure stuff a 4 banger Ecoboost into it, I'd love to see that done. Has more Power and Torque than the SBF in that thing.
 

1996BlackBauer

1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 AWD
Oct 20, 2014
60
0
McHenry
Torque Monster headers are not that expensive to be honest. Hand made, Dyno Proven. E and F cams are basically just "Ford Racing" cams that are especially common/cheap.

You can lower a torsion bar truck 2 inches for free, but its going to ride like hell. Coil sprung trucks (98+ Ranger) offer some really good lowering options that drastically help improve the handling, but the 2nd gen Explorers never came with coil front ends IIRC.

Putting a Mod motor in these things is an absolutely HUGE task, I'm sure others will disagree with me, but there are 3 or 4 well documented ranger Modular builds, None of them are cheap or easy. A mild 302 will take good care of you, if you want to go obscure stuff a 4 banger Ecoboost into it, I'd love to see that done. Has more Power and Torque than the SBF in that thing.

Thanks for the reply to my Question(s), The only thing is that I want 2 sets of TM headers, one for my Daily Driver, and one for the project, so that's just about $1600 for headers, yes I know that are very good headers, but to me that seems like a lot. Plus I would really hate to wait. I see about the Cams now too, I am glad to see they are easy to get, so far mixed reviews on if they will work with the factory ECU, but the worst that can happen is that I try it and it doesn't.

The T bars are pretty annoying lowered from what I hear, I have them cranked up on my Explorer, and really haven'y noticed the difference. But possibly lowering it is worse.

I'm pretty set in my head with the 302 swap into a sport, I do understand for the most part what has to be done, and I am not afraid. I know it won't blow the doors off of any TBSS any time soon, but that won't be the final version of it either. Just taking steps, and want a good project that I can do when I come home from work. I will become more serious when I get my hands on the New Coyote engine, and start mocking up the 4 link I want. I am thinking a full or part tube chassis will be needed. If I go that route I can then go to struts, or coil springs up front anyway. I have big dreams I know, but I will make them happen.

Hopefully by June I will be pulling an engine and trans with harness from the junk yard and start from there, I can't really see me affording a DART block, so I will just come close to maxing out the factory block, and stay on the safe side a bit.

I will of course will start a build thread here, and on the Explorer Forum, so that everybody sees what I do. I am always up for more criticism, and input as always.
 

rocket5979

Gearhead
Nov 15, 2005
6,576
18
Round Lake, IL
I agree with Dasfinc. Just keep to the 302 Windsor engine for the long haul. Swapping to the modular motors in that chassis is a big pain in the ass, and not really worth it considering what can be done to make power with the Windsor based 302 engines. Too often, people that are relatively new to building for high performance or extremely unique combo, will let their eyes get bigger than their stomach, end up getting in too deep, and eventually abandon the project because they are sick of dealing with all of the obstacles they face rather than enjoying the fruits of their labor. Don't go too big too soon.

TBSS' are not really fast in stock form. A Sport pushing close to 400rwhp will handily put an asswhooping on one. A friend of mine had a turbocharged sport that made 400rwhp for a while, before bumping up to more boost. During that time, he put a hurting on many other respectable vehicles on the street and at the strip.
 

1996BlackBauer

1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 AWD
Oct 20, 2014
60
0
McHenry
The 302 will always be my first engine choice, the new style one will come in a few years, maybe 5, I want it to happen, just to have the only one, but like I said, that wont be for a while. I think what I will ultimately do this year is buy and engine, trans, and harness, and build both up a little bit, possibly a shift kit for the trans, with maybe a rebuild depending on the miles. Then simply upgrade the bottom end of the engine clean up the heads a bit, and see how much nitrous it can safely handle, then possibly upgrade to forced induction in a few years. I want to have the Engine and trans ready to drop in before I find a decent truck to put it in.
 
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