I decided to by our old K9 vehicle (see other thread) and have been doing some little things to it. Given the engine has already had timing chains replaced and a few other things done to it, and also the transmission replaced, it was a steal at $2500 (107,000 miles). Just thought I'd share my tasks..


1) Replaced the rear diff oil (75w140 Mobil 1)

2) Cleaned the interior. It had a BAD doggy smell but 4 hours with the ozone generator and it's all gone. Zero odor now..

3) Picked up a center and overhead console from the salvage yard that was like new but tan. Painted it SEM graphite to match my interior. (K9 vehicle didn't have either console) and will be installing it this week. The overhead console has Homelink, so that's a plus. ($100 for everything)

4) Also replaced A-Pillar trim, the famous rear cracked panel, and the broken rear hatch handle / license plate trim. (Another $80)

5) Fixed the holes in the roof from the old antenna's and such (Eastwood No Weld Hole Repair Kit - AWESOME! - no welding so headliner didn't have to come out..)

5) I still need to get all the decal residue off and have a 3M Stripe Remover to take care of that

6) Replaced the radio / control bezel. The old one had some screw holes an was missing the RH air louvers. The new one is, well, like new.

Future plans are to pull the K9 cage and powder coat it black (I still use the cage for my dogs)

I'm also considering a 'stealth' treatment; hot rod black (see Chicago PD SUV) for this spring when the Black and White theme gets taken care of.

I'm installing my 2m ham radio w/14" roof mount antenna and adding a LED off-road light bar. Most likely will re-install the bull bar also.

In the end, it should be pretty nice. I figure all in I'll have around $4500 into it counting parts and paint (I'm doing the painting).

As she was when I got her (I'll add the console pics and others as I move on)






Left View..





Rear View. Can just make out the cracked panel. Trim below broken also but hard to tell.





Right view





Front view sans push bar





Interior - notice no console





Again - no console. (Also have replaced the bezel with one that looks like new and has both vents..)





View of the K9 cage from the front seat

 

we have a 2002 also....... been a GREAT vehicle for 10 years... Now its a standby.. bought her an EDGE for running around town.. EXP has held up great over the years.

 

I have a 2002 XLT 4.6 that got rolled about 1 year ago, as I have time I am taking it apart it only had about 89K on it when this happened. I have 2 2005 Explorers XLT that have almost 200K on them still run very well.
One thing you need to do is put a Ford oil package in your rear end it is called XL-3 - Additive Friction Modifier it is only about 3 oz and cost around $8. Listen to the rear end before you put it in and again after you put it in, it works well in almost any gear box.

 

I used Mobil-1 Synthetic 75w140. It says it has a friction modifier in it. I'm wondering if I need to add the XL-3 or if it's possible to add too much?

 

The XL-3 is necessary in 2002 - 2005 it is more than just a friction modifier. I know of transmission shops that will add a couple bottles of XL-3 to your transmission and call it repaired. Must be good stuff I use it in all my gear boxes and they run quite an cool.