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1993 Explorer - Built to Smash

It is a 4wd Explorer, but you are only allowed to run 2wd. Either the front or rear shaft has to be taken out. I run rear wheel.

Front wheel is interesting idea. Have you tried it?

Should kinda turn sharper, keeps all vitals in the front. More wieght on front tires possibly more traction.

Downsides would be front axle shafts being more fragile than the rear. Tweeked knuckle or steering that would possibly be runnable with rwd could result in a broken axle and dead rig. Welded front might not really turn good.

Hopefully I'm not cluttering your thread up too much :flipoff2:
 
It is a 4wd Explorer, but you are only allowed to run 2wd. Either the front or rear shaft has to be taken out. I run rear wheel.

I'd assume you are running the t-case in high range, wonder if there would be any benefit to having it in low, especially if your engine or trans gets wounded... Or are there rules against that as well?
 
Front wheel is interesting idea. Have you tried it?

Should kinda turn sharper, keeps all vitals in the front. More wieght on front tires possibly more traction.

Downsides would be front axle shafts being more fragile than the rear. Tweeked knuckle or steering that would possibly be runnable with rwd could result in a broken axle and dead rig. Welded front might not really turn good.

Hopefully I'm not cluttering your thread up too much :flipoff2:
I think the strength advantages to running just the rear outweigh the pros to running front wheel drive. Knock on wood, I've never had an issue in the driveline.

Dude clutter it up! I'm happy there is interest. I figured you guys would think this is dumb!
 
I'd assume you are running the t-case in high range, wonder if there would be any benefit to having it in low, especially if your engine or trans gets wounded... Or are there rules against that as well?
Thats funny you mention that, I tried it for the first time on Friday.

If the track conditions were closer to how they normally are, it would have been the cats ass. It just so happened they watered the shit out of it right before I went out. It ended up hurting me, to the point where I almost was unable to back away from a truck that I had just smashed.

I would definitely do it again though, just on a dry track.
 
I think the strength advantages to running just the rear outweigh the pros to running front wheel drive. Knock on wood, I've never had an issue in the driveline.

Dude clutter it up! I'm happy there is interest. I figured you guys would think this is dumb!

Ya, that's what I figured, just curious.

We do think it's dumb, but it's entertaining! :flipoff2:
 


Here's the GoPro video. It is pretty lame. You can hear the RPM but I'm not going anywhere. The end is better, I got pretty riled up after the fire. They put it out and I got back in and restarted the truck, but they didn't throw the green until the other truck was able to get his going again. I knew exactly what caused the fire and it wasn't detrimental to keeping the truck going, but I knew I had a limited amount of time before the fire started back up. I just wanted to get the thing over with and get the W.
 
Couple pictures..
 

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I've run TTB in front wheel drive only to get home a few times and it does some weird shit. You might not notice it as much in a derby but on the street or in the dirt it grows/toes in real bad when you get on the throttle.

Congrats on the win!
 
I didn't even realize that thing would have electric shift :laughing:

You should also post full size pics. 👍
It's the beginning of a sad time. Vacuum hubs and electric t case. At least you could buy the manual hub conversion.

I'm not sure how to post full size pics. :/
 
The big derby for charity was this past weekend. I ran the Explorer again, to defend my win from last year. Derbynation TV was there doing a live PPV broadcast, so there were a lot of entries in every class. In mine there were 25, myself included.

It was a fast track (dry and tacky) and the pace was faster than it usually is. It was a pretty hard battle but at the end I was able to pick up the win for the second year in a row. The guy who finished second is a very good driver, but made a huge mistake. We were both back to back, delivering shots. I knew eventually my frame would bend and I'd belly out on the ground if we kept at it like we were. I laid into the throttle in reverse and we met near the middle of the track, but I kept my foot in it, shoving him towards the wall. Had he been smart, he would have jacked the brakes and kept the vehicle as straight as possible, even if that meant going head on into the wall. Instead, he turned sharp to the left and he ended up sideways, drivers side facing me with his nose against the other wall. Before he had a chance to find reverse (he was running a column shifter which suck) I was already coming back at him, still with my ass end. I ended up pushing him about 10 feet sideways up against the wall he should have driven into. He was jammed between a dead truck and the wall. I gave him 2 or 3 (can't remember) shots with my back bumper/frame square on his LF wheel, ripping it, the strut, and knuckle right out the side.

Saturday they had more classes, including a weld class for mini trucks. Basically just a heavier build/more welding and plating allowed. I think there were 12 or so trucks in that class. I knew I didn't have much of a chance as mine is built (slightly overbuilt) for the stock class. My buddy was running his Explorer, basically an identical build as mine. It was nuts, things were happening so fast that it's hard to remember much. Before I knew it, there was only 3 other trucks left. One Durango that had both upper ball joints broken and had an engine that was far beyond hot, another stout Durango that was not showing any signs of attrition, and my buddy in the other Explorer. Damn, I was thinking my buddy and I had this one wrapped up. I stopped, threw it into reverse, got a clunk and no movement, just the engine revving. Something in the trans let go and I was out at 4th place.

I haven't taken anything apart yet, but my assumption is a broken input shaft. I still have park, it operates as it should. I have no movement in any forward or reverse gear. If you go from any gear into park, you don't get the sound of the parking pawl grinding. Thats what leads me to believe it's an input shaft.

The truck is still good, frame has some tweaks but I'll be able to somewhat get it back straight, plate it, and it'll be good for at least one more run.
 
My buddy with the Explorer and I taking care of a Camry 4 cyl swapped Sienna van
 

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I also finished off that van I did a quick build on last summer. I took the win with it again. It would have been good for a 3rd run but the timing cover and trans case were busted where the engine mounts are. Was not worth fixing for a third run.
 

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