Well, I'm a little giddy now. My neighbor came through with a set of oxy/acetylene torches. Weather is iffy the next two days, but Sunday/Monday shouldn't be bad so I may actually get some progress here.

 

Spent some time on a beautiful Saturday this weekend on the project. Transfer case is out. I realize that the CV portion of the front shaft separated and the "dome" remained in the t-case. I saw a rebuild kit for this online. Anyone used one/recommend a specific one?




That actuator motor looks like it's seen better days. I'll make sure it works well before putting it back together.




And, of course, the beast oxy/acetylene kit from my neighbor (construction guy - they make bridges)

 

FINALLY got another day where it didn't rain and I didn't have something else planned for me. Transmission is OUT




Clutch and flywheel removed (I have all new parts - flywheel, clutch kit, slave, master).



I'm going to replace the oil pan gasket and rear main seal before reassembly. I'm aware of the "remove the engine" for access. I will work it out - one of my neighbors used to work in a transmission shop and I've been leaning on him for tips/tricks and he has volunteered to help on that project. He works for beer and lawn mowing

 

Nice job you're doing. Did you also got the instrument cluster from the explorer, and what model year was the explorer?

 

Thanks. It’s been hard work and as with any project, every step reveals several more items. I’m sure it will be a solid runner/driver when I’m done.

As for the dash - the cluster is what was in it when I got it. I replaced the bezel around it out of an Explorer Sport Trac. Exact year I don’t recall as it was last September when I pulled it. I’m pretty sure it was an 01 or 02 though. Definitely "1st gen" sport Trac from what I recall.

 

Got the pilot bearing out today. Puller from autozone tool rental did the trick. $25 “purchase” and fully refunded on return.

 

Got to actually make some progress today. The last piece of disassembly I wanted to do was to replace the oil pan and rear main seal. I was only going to do the pan gasket, but on closer inspection, the old pan was in pretty rough shape




I did not remove the engine. I removed the three bolts that hold the front axle in place and lowered it as far as I could to get a few inches. I actually started that on Friday, but the capture nut with the small ear on it that wedges against the frame had lost its ear at some point so the nut was just spinning. Unfortunately, it was the one in the boss by the pumpkin that I really didn't have direct access to. It is a 21mm nut on it. Not enough clearance for a socket, no good access for a regular box or open end wrench due to the angle. An offset box wrench would be perfect there and fortunately, I have a full metric set..BUT - the set goes in 1mm increments from 6 to 20, then skips right to 22mm. None of the local hardware or big box stores stock something like that, but I found one on amazon that was 21mm/23mm Free overnight shipping and I had it Saturday night. After church today, I went out and had the nut off in 2 minutes.




I needed just a little more so I removed the motor mount nuts and jacked the engine a few more inches until I could get clearance to get the pickup past the baffle in the pan. So the pan came out, and I spent some time cleaning the mating surfaces well.


Compared the two pans and they are identical. Old pan looked good on the inside. No sludge and no milkshake. The oil I drained out seemed pretty clean overall.


Used the drill/course thread screw method and removed the rear main seal.


New one went in with little drama. New gasket, new bolts and sealer in the right places at the corners and the new pan is in place.


I also cleaned and resealed the shift rail plugs while I was waiting for my buddy who was helping me to come home.

We have a family thing tomorrow, but I hope to get a couple hours on Rick in the morning. I'll pull the axle back into place, bolt down the engine mounts, get the pilot bearing in and, if I have time, start attaching the clutch components (new flywheel, clutch plate, etc.

It's been a year-long project with several months elapsing between spurts of progress. Life happens and all. Maybe I'll get to drive this beast some day.

 

Productive couple of hours this morning.

I did the final torque check for the oil pan. Changed the filter and put fresh oil in it. I tightened down the motor mounts and got the axle back in place and tightened down.

Biggest visible progress though is that the pilot bearing, flywheel, and clutch are installed.



Getting there

 

Some progress today. Got some buddies to help remove the bed so I could work more easily on the fuel and emissions lines. The good news is that the fuel lines actually cleaned up ok so I did not need to replace those. The evap lines had a lot of rot on the metal parts so I replaced those today.

The rear half was mostly in tact with the forward most metal piece of that very crusty. I ended up getting some 1/2” PCV line, cutting a few inches off the metal on the rear half and running all new hose to the engine bay. I used plastic wire loom and electrical tape to buffer it on the curves and run points and zip tied it in place along the frame. I’m happy with it and I’m pretty sure it’s solid. I’ll know when the thing does it’s tests.

A couple of photos.

 

Got the broken exhaust stud out. That was pretty well welded into place. Now that I have two clean holes in the flange, it’s getting through bolts to reassemble. Threading exhaust bolts into case iron is not a recipe for “hey, this comes off easily”.

I dragged the fuel tank, skid plate and the cross member for the transfer case out of storage. Thing s are progressing.

 

Been button up some small/loose ends. I needed to move the rear brake hose from the rusted out piece of the old bracket onto the bracket on the new frame. Of course, the fitting was stuck pretty well around the line. Fortunately, there was enough there (not stock lines - replaced with ni-cop at some point previously) and there was enough slack there that I cut it clean and put on a new flare. Used the cheap HF kit (14 bucks with my Inside Track coupon).

My first flare



Also, my new fuel filter came today so I put that in.


I think the transmission will go in Tuesday or Wednesday night. I am losing this weekend to another family event (helping my mother in law move) so my progress for the week may be limited.

 

Spent some more “busy work” today after work/before dinner.

Slave cylinder is on



And I spent some time cleaning the mating surfaces on the transmission and on the transfer case.


My neighbor is going to help me get the transmission installed on Monday. Moving this project another notch toward the finish.

 

Went to a local u-pull today. Got an overhead and a long console from a couple of Explorers. These are for a “next phase” though. Once it’s driving and usable I’ll do the interior mods.

 

After losing another weekend to family responsibilities I decided to take a vacation day on Monday to make more progress. My neighbor was off as well and offered me a couple of hours of his time, so Monday was pretty productive.

Picked up my exhaust pipe with a new O2 bung welded in from my mechanic (charged me like 25 bucks for that)
Replaced the front shocks. I hadn't thought about those until I was under there working on the oil pan and such and saw that they didn't look good at all. I put in Gabriel brand, which I've used on other vehicles before. Hopefully they do well.






MOST importantly (I think) is that the transmission and transfer case are both installed in the truck. My neighbor (who was a former Ford dealer tech and separately used to work in a transmission shop) saved my bacon on this one. It would have been a struggle to do this alone.



I also spent some "down time" to disassemble the front brakes, clean up the rust jacking and make sure it all moves. They are still ugly, but I think they will work. Plenty of pad and everything slides the way it should. Pistons pushed right in. I'm going to check the rears and then bleed them next (I have to bleed them as I opened the line to put a new flare on and move the hose to the new frame member).

"Rick" is getting there. Still remaining is to change the transfer case fluid, add trans fluid to the gear box, rebuild the cv joint on the front shaft, install both drive shafts, install the gas tank. I also saw some rotten vacuum lines while working on the brakes (including the one going to the passenger hub) so I'm going to run all new under there to be safe.

 

Cleaned, adjusted and bled the rear brakes today. One more item checked off the punch list.

 

Dumped the old fluid from the transfer case today and refilled with fresh Mercon V. Also filled the transmission with fresh fluid. Installed the shifter in the truck and installed the clutch master. Need to get it bled out now. I thought it was pre-bled but I also bought it a year ago so it may have gotten some air in the line in storage. I ran out of light so I didn’t investigate too far.

A couple more items off the list at least.

 

Well, the clutch is bled. I'm certain it is "air free". I disconnected the pressure line from the slave and you cannot move the pedal/rod. It's good and tight now. I ran two full reservoirs of fluid through the slave as well.

HOWEVER

The clutch pedal still stuck to the floor. While preparing for Hari Kari I spent some time playing with the pedals and saw that the brake pedal moved along with the clutch pedal. When I would tap the brake pedal, the clutch pedal would pop back up. So it would appear that there is an issue with the pedal assembly. I understand those bushings wear, etc.

I took the pedal assembly out (six bolts and the pedal linkages) and moving the pedals on the pin took a great deal of effort and made a ton of noise. I removed the c-clip, drove out the pin with a punch and spent some time cleaning the rod and the shafts there. I put it back together with the old bushings and it moves like butter now. I'll go pick up a set of bushings for it before I reinstall it in the truck.

Funny - this "pedal to the floor" issue was what took it off the road (previous owner) and landed Rick in my driveway. When checking it out, I never was able to get the clutch to disengage so I could get the truck in gear, so it probably still needed the clutch (or hydraulics at least) but I have to wonder if this pedal issue had been addressed before if I could have gotten it driveable sooner. Water over the dam.

Obligatory photos

 

Not much in the way of progress today. It's a work day and I'll be heading south to pick up the boss (ie the wife) from her mother's place shortly. I did go to Napa (not a sponsor) and order up the bushings to correctly rebuild that pedal assembly. I also received my silicone vacuum lines yesterday. I thought I had ordered all black, but the smaller i.d. lines came in blue. I used that for the lines running to the PVM hubs. Looks nice, I think.



That's about it for today/this weekend. Again, one more item from the punch list completed.

 

WMMR! I grew up there and am currently visiting

 

Welcome back to the area!

 

Rained today so my after work time was short. I did manage to get the skid plate that goes under the transfer case and the transfer case balance weight reinstalled before the skies opened up on me.

I also ordered a pack of bushings I hope will work for my pedal assembly. The NAPA set was too big unfortunately.

 

Are you considering treating the rusts under your truck too?

 

It is "on the list" as it were. I've been under there (a lot, really) and have scraped and banged and such and the frame is solid. Once it's drivable, I'll take some further measures like using a rust converting paint.

 

As noted previously, the pedal cluster needed some love. I had trouble finding exactly the correct bushings but I managed to get the correct size from Grainger.

So, I disassembled the cluster by removing the C-clip and driving out the pin with a drift and hammer. There was so much corrosion on the pin, the pedals would not move independently and would stick in position when they did move. I unfortunately did not take any "before" photos of the corrosion, but you can guess how bad it was. White powder typical of the aluminum/steel combo.



Once I got it apart, I used various methods to clean up the corrosion. My "whizzy wheel" with a lightly abrasive disc, wire brush, elbow grease, etc. I found that the terminal brush from my battery cleaning tool was perfect for inside the sleeve


New bushings are an exact fit as best as I can tell. The grey is the new, the "white" is the old. The bushings are labeled as "Polymer Flanged Clip Bearing" with 1/2" inside diamert and 9/16" outside diameter. Grainger part number 2NCG5. Manufacturer model number is MYI-08-08.


The new bushings came in a 5 pack - for $3.00. Not bad considering a new pedal assembly cluster is nearly $200.



With the assembly apart and cleaned up, I applied brake lubricant to the shaft and reassembled



I have some work to do (for my day job) so I will probably not install this until later this afternoon/evening. Hopefully, this resolves the final clutch issue.

 

Installed the repaired pedal assembly after I ate my lunch today. The stuck pedals issue is resolved and the clutch play feels great. I had my wife actuate the pedal while I was under the truck looking through the inspection port and I got plenty of movement in the release bearing.

Punch list item. Check.

Now on to the fuel tank and driveshafts and reconnecting the exhaust up front. Test drive in my near future hopefully.