The 8 Year Project

[johncharlesb]

The goal here is simple, simple simple... no big travel numbers, no big shock structures and no spare hanging off the back or taking to cargo space.

I've been driving this thing for the past few days and am REALLY liking it... I still need to mess with the leaves a little but it drives and rides great. I'm gonna have a hard time giving this back to my brother.

The early Explorers are great trucks and pretty practical at hauling gear or people without draining the wallet.

Thanks for the shock info, it looks like an excellent all around set up. Are you running sway bars on the street, and if not, how is the sway?

[SteveG]

Are you running sway bars on the street, and if not, how is the sway?

The sway bars are disconnected at the moment but are still on the truck. Sway is not bad at all. A fast swerve or sweeping turn definitely reveals excessive sway but overall, road manners are pretty damn good.

Travel is limited, so I think the stock sway bars will live just fine with the current set up. Once the truck is somewhat dialed, I'll connect them both and see how it does. I'm guessing it will make already decent (relative) handling even better but we'll see.

[SteveG]

Air shots or it's all smoke and mirrors.

I'm all about smoke and mirrors!

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Lol

[SteveG]

A word of advice. If your brother stored his leaves outside in the weather for about six years, tell him to pull them apart and clean them before he takes them to you for install! What a pain!

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[SteveG]

Also, if your leaves have Poly bushings, verify that the inner sleeves are the correct length. In addition to being completely crapped out, it looks like these were way too short to begin with.

A friend had some coated Chrome Moly tube that I had turned down to size. Hopefully, the leaves will be going on for the last time (for a while, anyway) this weekend.

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[philofab]

Just tighten the spring bolt until the hangar deforms to the sleeve size. Thats what everyone else does.

[ChaseTruck754]

Yeah - I never understood how people sell these bushing kits with the inner sleeve/tubes being about .250" too short or more!

And Philo - it's a bit harder to deform the 1 ton hangers when you step up & use those. Especially after the weld washers are burned in place.

[philofab]

And Philo - it's a bit harder to deform the 1 ton hangers when you step up & use those. Especially after the weld washers are burned in place.

Bigger impact and more air pressure.

[ChaseTruck754]

so that's the trick... Good to know!

[SteveG]

I need to start shaking this thing down, so I decided to take the family to Big Falls above Lake Lopez. It's about 20 miles from the house but takes about an hour of drive time plus a short hike to get there. The drive is not very rough or fast but involves a bunch of water crossings with lots of rocks and a few turn outs that include deep ruts and lots of flexing of suspension... all worked well. The shocks still need tuning but so far I'm really happy with the way the truck feels. It is easy to drive and very forgiving on big bumps and ruts.

No fun photos, but I got lots of the road and a few of the hike. The road is long, slow, curvy but a pretty nice drive. I'm hoping to get back out there soon but first thing in the morning right at sunrise when it's still cool and misty.

I didn't really get any good photos of the water fall and pond but you can look them up online. It's a super easy hike and cool place to visit. It would definitely be cool to hang out in on a hot summer day.

[crisis88]

Awesome!! We have to take a trip out there sometime.

Looking good.

[SteveG]

There are TONS of hiking tails around the lake. The summer can be harsh but if you're going somewhere wet like Big Falls, the destination can be a treat. Hiking out there when it's cool is perfect. We once went Geocaching in the area during a light rain and had a blast... good times.

[johncharlesb]

It looks like a good time, and good to see the Explorer coming together.

"Lots of Salamander in the pond and in the creek along the way."
Those are California newts; they have a potent toxin in their skin. They can be handled, but one should avoid any contact with cuts in the skin, touching your mouth or eyes after handling, and hands should be washed.

[SteveG]

Good to know, John. One of the girls was trying to touch one.... Thanks for the info.

[Kel Fab Creations]

Cool pics! Looks like a nice place.

[SteveG]

I took a couple photos for a friend and figured I'd post them here, too for the pic-whores. Ha!

[philofab]

What happened to your factory tow package and spare?

[SteveG]

The spare (31") will go back in once the shocks are dialed. The receiver won't fit with the longer springs. The shackles run into it. I haven't decided what to do about that. Maybe just leave it off and Jeff can just bumper tow... like he has been.

You can't see it in the photo, but I cut the webbing between the two halves of the shackles to allow them to swing back further without running into the bottom of the frame rail. I also heated the cross member and pounded the hell out of it to make room for the shackles to swing back.

[SteveG]

I got a bit more work done today. I've been trying to tune out a bit of harshness out of the rear suspension. It really wasn't bad but I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to street ride. After many rear shock valving changes, I faced the fact that my issue was most likely in the springs and not the shocks. So, out came the leaves for the third time. This time to add slider pucks to the ends of most of the leaves... 11 per pack. Hopefully this will be the fix for the rear suspension and FUN testing can begin.

Before:

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During:

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After:

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