Quote:
Originally Posted by TheEnemy
If you do the t-case swap put manual locking hubs on the front, to keep the drive line from spinning all of the time.
Cooling: Keep in mind air in---> air out, plan a path for the air to go after it has gone through the radiator. With proper venting you can increase cooling even when you decrease air into the radiator with grill blocks. I vented the hood of my CJ and saw a 10F decrease in engine temps. With an automatic you might seriously consider an aftermarket cooler, I have seen many rigs overheat only because they were using the stock radiator based transmission cooler. The front skid/bash plate you posted will help to provide a low pressure area to suck the hot engine air down as long as there is a place for it to flow from the radiator.
Tires: I have seen many HT tires crack under prolonged abuse from rocky roads, mild AT's are probably your best bet. Though I have seen even HT's go rock crawling and perform well, just not so sure how long they would hold up to it.
Air: Get a good (not walmart) quality air compressor that connects to the battery, air down to 20-30 PSI when on the trails then air back up to road pressure when you are done. The ride will be much smother, and it will cause less erosion to the trail surface.
Underneath: tuck everything up as high as practical/needed, it will help with the break over, keep them from getting hit by the random rock, and get them out of the airflow more. Well placed tubing can provide excellent protection while minimizing weight gain and you can put a lighter skid/belly pan in between the tubes. (depending on how hard you wheel) A compromise on the full belly pan/skid plate is to do it sectional with the front curved up to divert air and to help not catch on obstacles.
Edit: the Vast majority of my being stuck is my center skid plate getting hung up because it protects the transfer case that hangs down way lower than it should.
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Great ideas and insight... I have considered an aftermarket tranny cooler, plenty of people do them with these awd explorers. And I actually started a thread here about radiator ducting and hood venting... So that will definitely be something I'm gonna look at doing. It's great to here that you did it and saw a 10 degree difference! Just a matter of making sure I design any front skidpalte/bumper mods to work with my cooling needs... Exactly as you are touching on with your advice/thoughts.
I have actually been looking into an under the hood compressor. Since I haven't had A/C in like three years, I figure I could mount it in place of the a/c comp. If I start to do legit trails with her, then I need have the ability to air down and ensure I survive the trail and the drive to and from on the hwy!
I am lucky, that the bulk of the explorers dangly bits are tucked up high from the factory... It's one of the reasons I started looking into the aero modding section of this site
. I plan on eventually doing a combination of aero belly pan, bash plates, and true skid plates/sliders. Really don't need a full on rock bouncing belly plan under there
As far as tires go... I'll be making a thread or adding to this one with some great insightful tire stuff for offroading. Things that go against the grain of the 4x4 scene, but that have been working all over the world in the overlanding community.
EDIT:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post448180
~C