Interior upgrade advice - 2001 4x4 Seats

[Rainjer_Dainger]

Spoke with the shop that has performed most of the service work on the Explorer. They haven't opened the engine up to diagnose the knock. It was said that the owner discovered the knock one morning after sitting overnight, turned off the ignition and had it towed to their place. They listened to the knock and said they would need to pull the engine to properly diagnose and the owner, given the cost, neglected to have them do it. I’ll have them start it up for a few seconds so I can record the noise, and I’ll post it to the thread. If it doesn’t work for my Ranger replacement, I’ll survive. I could leave the interior alone and rebuild the 4.0L, maybe end up with a backup to my backup… That’s why I come to this forum, to learn. I’ve attached some pictures of the Explorer.

 

[Brain75]

Man that's a clean vehicle, couple rock chips in the leading edge of the hood, no hail dents, excellent paint and body otherwise. Nice find.

 

[JoshT]

I suppose I could get really really ambitious and swap the engine, tranny, transfer case and front at rear diffs! Did I forget anything?

Possibly... Mostly the fact that those are IRS, so you won't be swapping that rear axle/diff into the Ranger. I'm not too sure if the front diff changed or not. You might be better off keeping your Ranger transfer case, it will bolt to the Explorer's transmission. At that time, both the 3.0L and 4.0L used the 5R55E, they just changed the bellhousing pattern to match the engine.

The previous generation center console was a better fit to the Ranger dash since it actually had the same dash. I think this generation of console has been used, but I don't recall how the results looked. Anything can be made to work with a little creative fitting and trimming, and some timeseven made to look good. At the price it's probably, worth it even if you pull the seats and scrap the rest. Even better if you do use other parts and can part-out some of what's left.

If you don't use the drivetrain, I'd probably suggest cutting out the cats and scrapping them separate from the rest. They are going to base scrap value of the vehicle on weight, and cats don't add that much to the weight. The precious metals in the cats mean they have a much higher value when scrapped separate. You'll gain more from scrapping separate than you will lose from the decreased weight. Look into the legality and complication of scrapping cats in your area to determine if it is worth the effort.





Edit: I have to admit, as a seat/interior donor, those seats and that interior do not appeal to me. I'd have to either fix and flip this thing, or pass on it and find different seats. Everyone's tastes are different.

 

[Lefty]

Hello TRS Folks,

I am new to the forum, first post. I have a 2001 Ranger 4x4 3.0l V6, that has been extremely reliable for me over the last 10+ years. I bought it with 127K on it and now I have 300k on her. With no major repairs. The engine feels really wimpy to me, but to be honest, it always has. I have decided to rebuild the engine when/if she goes. The ranger is no longer a primary vehicle for me. I want to invest in a few fixes that for the most part, are inconveniences.



The following list is in order of priority.

1. The driver side seat is so destroyed any trip over 15 minutes is painful (I’m over 60 with back issues.)
2. The AC is lame, was never great but now just sucks.
3. The previous owner was a painter, and the interior is covered with paint smears and drips!
4. I would like to make the Explorer center console mod. (I have already cut the drivers side seat frame, but I’m leaning towards just buying a new bucket.
5. I must have a backup camera. My peripheral vision isn’t what it used to be.
6. I would love power windows, locks, and side mirrors. I have trouble reaching across the cab to access the passenger side window, etc.
7. The bedliner is pealing bad. I would like to remove and reapply a new coat.
8. I’m thinking about an overhead console too… it’s a lot, I know. Especially for a 20+ yo, 300k truck. But I do enjoy doing this stuff.

I bought new molded carpet and sound deadener from LMC. I have laid the carpet and cut it to size. The sound deadener arrives tomorrow. I want to run audio interconnects and speaker wire while I have everything out and I hope to have a new head unit FM Stereo/Car Play/Nav/Camera to replace the old OEM unit. No rust – one small dent I can pull myself and shoot myself. I rebuilt a couple vintage Mustangs in my youth, worked on a few friend’s street rods (for us) so I have some idea and means for doing this stuff. My biggest need wrt to this post, is advice on where to buy a replacement drivers side seat, I don’t mind buying new, I just would like to know if there is a new bucket seat out there with minimal welding customization requirements. What head unit you might recommend. How you would address the bedliner delam. What would be the first thing to check wrt AC problem. FWIW I had my mechanic “fix” it a couple years ago. He charged me nearly $500.00 for what I think was a AC service, which didn’t change a thing. I hope one of you can point me to audio head unit the fits without a whole lot of alterations to the dashboard. Apologies in advance if I have violated any forum rules or etiquette.

And thanks in advance for all your help!

The old Ranger seats were nothing more than a slab of foam rubber inside a sheet metal pan. Just about anything is better than that. I bought two very nice leather bucket seats from an old Subaru. They were easy to install.

I cut the "feet" off the Ranger seats and welded them on.

It wasn't hard to remove the air bag units from the Ranger and reattach them to the Subaru. Personally I like leather. It's easier to clean and doesn't retain odors.
These seats look like they belong in a Ranger. The photo doesn't show it, but I did install a small center console/armrest.

 

[Brain75]

I would consider stealing the seats out of the explorer to be ruining a pretty clean vehicle... If it was me (and again this is just me), fix and flip (or drive) the explorer (engine work) and find yourself seats out of a u-pull-it. As much as people say you "can" do 42 different models, I would probably stick with Ford AND find one with the exact same electrical connector.... but then again I have 3 cheap yards and can be lazy at the cost of being choosy. I get that location and availability play a lot more into it though.

 

[Rainjer_Dainger]

Well, I bailed at the last minute on the Explorer. I really hate doing that, after I had all but assured the guy I would buy it. Thanks to everything I have learned on this thread, it just didn't make finacial sense, let alone for my goal of sprucing up my Ranger and eventually rebuilding an engine for it. To be honest, I totally forgot the fact that I had 3.0l... Now my delemia becomes, do I find a 3.0l to rebuild for my Ranger or do I run the current engine into the ground or do I make the switch to a 4.0l. Thanks for all the helpful advice. I still need to find replacement seats!

 

[Ranger850]

Well, I bailed at the last minute on the Explorer. I really hate doing that, after I had all but assured the guy I would buy it. Thanks to everything I have learned on this thread, it just didn't make finacial sense, let alone for my goal of sprucing up my Ranger and eventually rebuilding an engine for it. To be honest, I totally forgot the fact that I had 3.0l... Now my delemia becomes, do I find a 3.0l to rebuild for my Ranger or do I run the current engine into the ground or do I make the switch to a 4.0l. Thanks for all the helpful advice. I still need to find replacement seats!

Nobody has mentioned this yet, so I will. Your 3.0 V6 doesn't have low end torque, like you would expect it to. Most of the power is above the 3,000 RPM mark. When I found this out, about my 3.0, it changed the game for me. I found the power band and improved mpg.
FYI : My solid axle 3.0 Ranger with 3:73 gears pulled a loaded trailer better than my 4.0 Explorer Sport Trac with 3:73 IRS.

 

[Rick W]

I just caught up on this thread today, saw it for the first time. Some thoughts.

A little tech thing on the forum, if you reply to a posting, the member who posted it will get a tickle that there was a reply. If you reference a person in your posting that is not a reply, you have to put a ”@“ in front of it, and then it will link. Example, if you write a post and mention Rick W, I won’t know. @Rick W, I’ll get a notice.

The real reason I chimed in is, I didn’t hear a couple of things from you. What are you planning to use the truck for? Is it an occasional pick something up or drop something off, or do you do real work out of it. You might want to describe the work a little bit. There are different ways to approach your particular functionality.

Second, do you want it to look close to showroom, or do you want to just look OK and be functional? Or in the middle? These guys ride me all the time because mine are slapped together with scrapyard parts, and painted with rustoleum with the roller. But they suit the hell out of me, and they get compliments and smiles everywhere I go. What’s your desire for the appearance?

BTW, I’m not a kid like you are, I’ll click 70 in a couple months, but other than that it sounds like we’re in the same physical condition.

If you go through my “road Ranger” build below my signature, you can find where I repaired my seat foam. Obviously, you can get some scrap seat foam easily from a scrapyard. I cleaned up the gouges and holes in my seat, and then I shaped the patch foam to fit in pretty precisely without worrying about the surface. I used goop/E 6000 to glue the pieces in. I used bungee cords and clamps and plywood and such to keep it compressed while it was setting. When the glue set, I used an electric slicing knife like you’d cut a Thanksgiving ham, and shaped the foam, and then used a course sanding disc on an angle grinder to get it close. I don’t know why you couldn’t do a lumbar support the same way.

Right about the same place in my post, I got some custom seat covers on eBay. They were very well-made, and they fit like a glove. They’re durable. And you can get them in a bunch of different colors, and they’ll even put custom features on them. If it’s not in my thread, I can find the link for you.

Maybe post a picture of the peeling bedliner. Again, do you want to be perfect? Or do you just want to cover the holes unbelievable for rust protection?

On the power windows and door locks, I bought my starter trucks very cheap, but I wish I’d held out for those features. I’ve looked for the pieces out of a scrapyard, but it just isn’t worth it to me to do all the work.

On the AC, is it getting cold at all now? Or is it just dead? Also in my thread, one of these guys did a write up (@97RangerXLT ?) step-by-step, how to go through the AC. I’ve done everything with cars and trucks, but I was always afraid of the AC work. Like you, it was detailed instructions, and it was actually incredibly easy. If you put a new dryer on it, put a new expansion valve in it, and just flush it out (solvent, alcohol, air) before you put the new 134 Freon in it, it shouldn’t be a problem. When I loaded my Freon, in addition to the oil charge, I used one that had the yellow dye you can see with a black light. It will leak down over a few months, and I haven’t searched for the leak yet, I’ve just been adding another can when I need it for $10.

And this is my partner in crime, Lincoln.

I didn’t realize he went up there and consulted on the interior for you when this thread was just getting started.

Just one other afterthought, a lot of your questions were sort of general questions. There’s tremendous knowledge on this site, if you ask specific questions, these guys will give you specific answers. Once I started doing that, I got a lot more done. That’s certainly not a criticism in any way, just trying to help.

As always, my two cents, hope it helps