2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

mounty71
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:02 am
Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
Location: Bay Area, Norcal

2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

I have these grand (dumb) plans of converting my 2WD A-arm Mountaineer to a 4WD TTB dual-purpose truck. I've been lurking around for a while but recently made an intro thread in hopes of gaining some knowledge and hopefully finding some parts, but got a lot of interest in my truck in its current (perfectly functional) state, so I figured I'd just start a thread and catch everyone up before the nonsense starts.

It's a 2000 with the 5.0 liter, and it currently has a 4.5"+ front kit I pieced together.

Specs of the kit are: 1" upper and lower uniballs with the upper arms pivoting on 7/8" heims, 3" Pro Comp lift spindles, full heim steering, and 2.5x8" Swayaway coil overs and 2.0x2" King hydro bumpstops. I also adapted some used Dixon Bros. shock hoops and built my own cross brace over the motor.

The rear is a full-size Bronco 8.8 with the stock Mountaineer disc brakes, 4.56 gears, Eaton L/S, and Blue Torch Fab truss/diff cover combo. Suspension consists of custom Deaver leafs and 12" shackles with relocated pivots in the frame, and 2.5x12" Swayaways mounted outside of the frame rails.

The interior is pretty much stock except for the Icom race radio, iPhone Ram Mount, and a couple of fire extinguishers. I'm a sure a cage will come eventually.

This thing is incredibly fun off road and does okay with just 12" of suspension travel front and rear, but I've always wished it were 4WD and I also dream of even more suspension travel. For 3 years I've been going with friends on an annual Rubicon trip and decided I don't want to be a passenger anymore, so I will soon be ripping the entire front end off in favor of TTB. I chose TTB because I saw a 4x4 LT Ranger in person and it was just too low for my liking, and the only manual hub option is a weak stock-replacement that I have no faith in, unless I go with a full-on BTF race kit, which is tempting but I will still have the low ground clearance. I chose the D35 specifically because of the lighter-weight 3rd. And I got a good deal on an entire front end.

I've been gathering quite a few parts, including an entire D35 front end with D44 outers, 4.5" extended, trussed and tigged by Solo Motorsports, with a geared and locked 3rd. A friend helped me amputate the front frame of a junkyard 1st gen Explorer, and at this point I think I'll be able to graft the crossmember onto my frame rails. If not I can use the crossmember and beam mounts as a jig to build something on my own. Also scored the steering box at the junkyard, and have purchased a 4WD transmission, front and rear driveshafts, all the heims for steering, uniballs for the beam ends, a selection of coilover springs, 5 Alcoas, radius arm brackets, and other misc. parts. My rear 12" shocks will become the front coilovers, and I'm still undecided on what to do to upgrade the rear. The rear currently only gets 12" of travel and I want more, so I bought some 18" piggyback SAWs for the rear, but I'm not sure I want to cut into the body for them, so I also have some cantilever arms I may use with some shorter shocks instead. (Pat's Bronco has been a bad influence)

So the next Rubicon trip is mid-September, and I will probably be doing one last trip with my truck for my birthday in April, so that won't leave me much time. To add to that, the shop I will be working at is 1.5 hours away so I will be limited to weekends only. I don't have high hopes of my truck making the Rubicon this year, but I'm going to try my best.

I'm still in need of a quite a few things. I'm currently looking for everything from the knuckles out, and I'm looking into my manual hub options, so if anyone has recommendations, please help! As much as I've read about hubs, I'm still a bit confused about everything I need between hubs, lockouts, and brakes. I also need 14" SAW secondary front shocks (figure I should build the engine cage once the way I want it), and things like skid plates, shift kit, new rear rotors, oil filter relocation, maybe a new oil pan, TUBING, bearings, u-joints, etc.

Picture overload, here's how it currently looks:

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http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... lvs2gc.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... z0hgkn.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... iocevv.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... qbclbu.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... mha9xz.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... z0hgkn.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... bosbkp.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... t5xdy2.jpghttp://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... ku6wn6.jpghttp://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... zb2kgf.jpghttp://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u122 ... 226dd5.jpg
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mounty71
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:02 am
Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
Location: Bay Area, Norcal

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

So the pictures got messed up, how do you edit a post on this forum?
VintageIronFab
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by VintageIronFab »

Lol you don't - no edit
http://www.vintageironfabworks.com

77- "Victoria"
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mounty71
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:02 am
Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
Location: Bay Area, Norcal

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

Well here are the rest of the pictures I tried to post:
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Nick
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by Nick »

Thanks for starting your build thread. Such an awesome ride!
"If at first you don't succeed, it may be cheaper to buy it."
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otter
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by otter »

What's up Matt? Truck is looking good.
SC150
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by SC150 »

Someone on here did a TTB Mountaineer a while back. Saw it up for sale on Craigslist maybe a year ago for around 10k. If you could track it down, I'd say sell yours and buy that one. Probably save a lot of money, sweat and headaches. That's coming from a broke, lazy, and mechanically inept point of view, though.

http://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/view ... ountaineer
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Wrightracing.net
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Post by Wrightracing.net »

How is that tire swinger working for you? I like the design with the platform, but the extra weight concerns me over time.
mounty71
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

VintageIronFab wrote:Lol you don't - no edit
Don't think I've been on a forum without that feature. Guess I'll need to remember that! And no multi-quote option either?!
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SteveG
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by SteveG »

This thing is so cool. Thanks for sharing.
Sho nuff,
SteveG
mounty71
Posts: 64
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:02 am
Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
Location: Bay Area, Norcal

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

Hey Pat, hope you and the family are doing well!

The tire swinger is definitely heavy, especially with a full gas can, but so far it's been okay. Kind of a hassle getting into the back now but wouldn't be so bad if my truck had the roll-down window that Broncos do. Sometimes I wish I didn't have it, but overall it's more practical to have it. I did the platform below the tire so I can set the tire up there first, then reposition and mount the tire. I'm short.

I've seen that white Mountaineer before and talked to the owner, and yes the smart thing to do would be to buy his if it's still for sale. But I'm way too attached to mine to get rid of it. I wish I weren't but I know I would regret selling mine the second someone else drives it away. Plus stashing parts, doing the build myself, and then putting it to the test is part of the fun of this hobby.
mounty71
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Location: Bay Area, Norcal

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

Accumulating parts is the best! Image

Anyway, I need to figure out hubs at this point, but first I need to settle on knuckles and snouts. Here are a couple shots of the snouts I have, 5-bolt from I believe 91-94, but it looks like 94-96 knuckles because of the bolts for the calipers? I got these pictures from a friend who has my front end at his house, which is 1.5 hours away, so I can't just go look at them. Could someone confirm what I have?

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Unfortunately the guy I bought my front end from dropped one of the knuckles and says he bent one of the caliper mounts, so I need a new knuckle. I'm debating whether I should just replace the 1 bad knuckle or get new 6-bolt knuckles and snouts, since it seems to me like it's easier to source 6-bolt parts? And by easier, I mean that with only 1 variation of 6-bolt snouts and I think 3 variations of 5-bolt (is that correct?), there's less of a chance of mixing up parts?

Regardless of which snouts I run (won't be the 87-88 oddball short ones), since I'm just starting with bare snouts I can just use any manual hub kit, right?
mounty71
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Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:02 am
Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
Location: Bay Area, Norcal

2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

Bump, anyone care to offer some insight on what I have and what I should get? I'm hoping to hit the junkyard this coming weekend. The Warn Premiums seem to be the hub of choice here?
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tcm glx
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by tcm glx »

I may have a set of spindles and knuckles (5 bolt) here in a few days if you need em..... shoot me a PM.
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johncharlesb
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Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by johncharlesb »

This thing is bad ass. The tire carrier looks stout. I am on the fence over building a carrier, or keeping the tire underneath the bed.
cs_drums
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2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by cs_drums »

What size tire is it currently running? In the pics above.
mounty71
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2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

33x10.50
HotRod82
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Bronco Info: 99 Explorer -Dixon Front, Giant 64 rear.

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by HotRod82 »

Sweet! I'm debating which way to go when I ditch the dixon kit on my explorer. TTB or A-Arm, I like the simplicity of the TTB, but the a-arm drives so well it's hard to walk away from. I'm looking forward to seeing how your front end comes together. What are you planning for the rear? I'm running a Giant 64 kit mounted outside the frame and getting a full 18" of travel, it really works well. Totally jealous of your 5.0, my 4.0 sohc is a total pig.
mounty71
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Bronco Info: Mercury Mountaineer
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2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by mounty71 »

You got that gold explorer from the guy in Arizona right? I love that thing and have referenced it many times. My shock hoops actually came from that guys totaled Ranger. The other option I considered was BTFs fully fabbed A-arm kit but I just wish you could achieve more ground clearance with 4wd A-arms. For the rear I am torn with what to do. I got a good deal on some 18" shocks at the swapmeet that I can cut into the cab for, and I also got a good deal on some some cantilever arms at the swapmeet that I might try to use with some shorter shocks, and it cut into the body at all. I just need to figure out a way to fit the arms outside the frame.
HotRod82
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Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:27 pm
Bronco Info: 99 Explorer -Dixon Front, Giant 64 rear.

Re: 2000 Mercury Mountaineer Build

Post by HotRod82 »

That's funny, small world. Really cool guy in Tucson, he put 100's of hours in building my explorer and he did a pretty decent job. I didn't realize BTF made a full race 4x4 kit. My idea was to use a Camburg Race kit from an Edge Ranger which has the same mounts and geometry as a 4x4 explorer. Then have Camburg (or someone) make me a 4x4 spindle that would accept a D44 snout so I could use full size brakes and lockout hubs. I could keep my third member and 930's but I'd need custom axles. Running the Dixon kit with 35's I haven't had any real ground clearance issues, my lowest point is the rear third member. Admittedly, I'm not much of a rock crawler though.
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