• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Explorer ST Forum and Explorer ST community dedicated to Explorer ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Explorer ST Forum today!


The Not So Rapid Red Project

Fordman

Fordman

Member
#21
Messages
38
Reactions
21
Points
2
Location
Hilton Head Island, SC, USA
#21
They were literally the last place I called looking for the springs, blew me away when he had 3 sets. Your right though, it was pure luck!
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #22
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #22
Took the easy route this weekend and did the strut tower brace and the ECU cover. Got a little anal with it with the black mesh behind the ECU cover and painting all the bolts and washers black which held up pretty good until I got around to torqueing the strut tower bolts. Might have to find a way to paint those other bolts now, lol. Steeda sway bar and thermal exhaust are next, probably next weekend.
 

Attachments

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #27
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #27
Made a little more progress today with Steeda sway bar and Thermal exhaust installs. If anyone is thinking about doing these two mods, I highly recommend doing them at the same time. I pulled my entire exhaust out first which made the sway bar a lot easier than it looks in the installation video. My only hang up is my ratcheting wrenches only go to 15mm so that part was a little tedious.
I noticed after I had everything put away the mufflers are a little crooked so I'll post rear pics after I get the paint done and straighten the mufflers.
I tried adding a sound clip but it said: The uploaded file is too large for the server to process. I'll have to get a shorter clip.
 

Attachments

S

scientia

New Member
#28
Messages
4
Reactions
0
Points
1
Location
Miami, FL, USA
#28
patricklb1 said:
I did not take any pictures of the cut studs unfortunately. I measured them for 1-1/8 length because there is a little relief in the back of the rim that allows for a little protrusion past the spacer (see picture). The picture of the studs is the back which were 1-1/4 spacers
I have my springs at the powder coater getting changed to red so as soon as I get them back I will set up an appointment with the dealer to install since I'm going to need alignment with those installed.
That was a lucky break with Lethal, man so many people, myself included, waited months for those damn things.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 

R

RAQUEL

New Member
#29
Messages
3
Reactions
4
Points
2
Location
SOUTH FLORIDA
#29
patricklb1 said:
Yippee, while I, like anyone else doing mods, wait for back ordered parts, I have something to do this weekend. I just cleaned my engine so I may not even get my hands dirty on this job, lol.
Click to expand...
I recently received my ST.. want to keep it showroom clean! How did you go about cleaning your engine?
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #30
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #30
RAQUEL said:
I recently received my ST.. want to keep it showroom clean! How did you go about cleaning your engine?
Click to expand...
I have a pressure washer but you can do the same thing with a hose and sprayer attachment. I just used Gunk engine cleaner although it didn't really need it, since it wasn't all greasy and oily from leaks. Soap and water with a little pressure would do the same thing on a new vehicle, if you have a way to spray the soap in there. I've learned a lot since I joined this group and the Facebook groups for ST owners. That's how I ended up with a pressure washer and a foam cannon. I also just picked up some Meguiar's D170 Hyper Dressing to use on all the plastic and rubber under the hood. It can also be used on interior and exterior plastic, which there is a lot of :).
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #31
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #31
Finally got the H&R springs installed. Also did a cut & polish and ceramic coat, getting ready for those harsh TX winters, lol. Time to give the credit card a little break while I contemplate how far I want to go with performance parts. CAI is a definite addition but I'm not sure beyond that.
 

Attachments

R

Rick

Member
U.S. Army Veteran
Law Enforcement
#32
Messages
251
Reactions
166
Points
37
Location
Fort Hood, TX, USA
Vehicle
Rapid Red
#32
Beautiful …
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #33
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #33
Rick said:
Beautiful …
Click to expand...
Thank you, it's getting there. For a vehicle I drove off the lot and expected to drive "as is" it sure has put a dent in my wallet, lol.
 

J

Jwbreeding

Member
Active Duty U.S. Air Force
#35
Messages
105
Reactions
42
Points
27
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
#35
patricklb1 said:
Finally got the H&R springs installed. Also did a cut & polish and ceramic coat, getting ready for those harsh TX winters, lol. Time to give the credit card a little break while I contemplate how far I want to go with performance parts. CAI is a definite addition but I'm not sure beyond that.
Click to expand...
Looks great! Did you do the polish and ceramic coat yourself? Looking into getting mine done.
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #36
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #36
Jwbreeding said:
Looks great! Did you do the polish and ceramic coat yourself? Looking into getting mine done.
Click to expand...
Yes, I did. I see some of the prices that people paid and I just couldn't get myself to pay that. I've seen as high as $2000. I bought a Meguiar's MT300 DA polisher and Meguiar's M210 and M110 compounds. I bought the polisher direct from them and the compounds and backing plate on Amazon because the pricing was way better. I'm in around $550 and my time, plus I have everything I need to do it again when needed. With the DA it's really hard to mess up the paint. The hardest, and most time consuming, part is the masking. I used NexGen ceramic coating. I keep seeing it on FB and figured I'd give it a try even though I don't like their "pitchman", lol. The stuff is so easy to apply it's like washing your windows. Mist it on and then buff it to a shine until you see no streaks. Did I do a $2000 job? Probably not, but it looks waaaaaaay better than before I did it. All the little scratches and swirls are gone and it has a great shine. FYI, I have never done anything like this before, this was a first for me.
 

J

Jwbreeding

Member
Active Duty U.S. Air Force
#37
Messages
105
Reactions
42
Points
27
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
#37
patricklb1 said:
Yes, I did. I see some of the prices that people paid and I just couldn't get myself to pay that. I've seen as high as $2000. I bought a Meguiar's MT300 DA polisher and Meguiar's M210 and M110 compounds. I bought the polisher direct from them and the compounds and backing plate on Amazon because the pricing was way better. I'm in around $550 and my time, plus I have everything I need to do it again when needed. With the DA it's really hard to mess up the paint. The hardest, and most time consuming, part is the masking. I used NexGen ceramic coating. I keep seeing it on FB and figured I'd give it a try even though I don't like their "pitchman", lol. The stuff is so easy to apply it's like washing your windows. Mist it on and then buff it to a shine until you see no streaks. Did I do a $2000 job? Probably not, but it looks waaaaaaay better than before I did it. All the little scratches and swirls are gone and it has a great shine. FYI, I have never done anything like this before, this was a first for me.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for the info! I'm going to look into doing it myself as well.
 

OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #38
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #38
Received my aFe CAI and tackled that little project. The majority of it was pretty straight forward and simple. Just when I thought I was going to cross the finish line I hit a snag. The last thing to do, before connecting all the sensors, is put the bypass valve hose on to the aFe driver side intake tube. It has one of those spring clamps and I struggled with it forever. I couldn't get the thing to open up enough to get over the lip on the tube on the aFe. Fortunately, it's not a high-pressure connection so I eventually just put the hose on and went to Home Depot and bought a worm gear clamp. Done in 2 minutes after that. I couldn't stop myself from making a little mod by painting the clamps, lol. I'm not big on doing things twice so I've been sitting on my FenFab charge pipe, so I also got that installed at the same time. I was able to talk myself out of painting those clamps because they're not very visible and I didn't want to sit around waiting for the paint to dry. aFeintake.jpg chargepipe.jpg
 

Nbk4t5e

Nbk4t5e

Active Member
#39
Messages
852
Reactions
555
Points
232
Location
San Antonio, TX, USA
#39
patricklb1 said:
Received my aFe CAI and tackled that little project. The majority of it was pretty straight forward and simple. Just when I thought I was going to cross the finish line I hit a snag. The last thing to do, before connecting all the sensors, is put the bypass valve hose on to the aFe driver side intake tube. It has one of those spring clamps and I struggled with it forever. I couldn't get the thing to open up enough to get over the lip on the tube on the aFe. Fortunately, it's not a high-pressure connection so I eventually just put the hose on and went to Home Depot and bought a worm gear clamp. Done in 2 minutes after that. I couldn't stop myself from making a little mod by painting the clamps, lol. I'm not big on doing things twice so I've been sitting on my FenFab charge pipe, so I also got that installed at the same time. I was able to talk myself out of painting those clamps because they're not very visible and I didn't want to sit around waiting for the paint to dry. View attachment 10349 View attachment 10350
Click to expand...
Installed mine today. The clamp is a bitch lol. I ended up pulling my off from the oem diverter side. Easier to reach.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Last edited:
OP
patricklb1

patricklb1

Member
Thread Starter #40
Messages
153
Reactions
118
Points
37
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Thread Starter #40
Had a little eye work done on the ST this week courtesy of Bullseye Custom Autos. Blacked out all the chrome on the headlights and fog lamps and added a little Rapid Red Accent in the headlights, along with RGB DRL's.
 

Attachments

You must log in or register to reply here.

Explorer ST Posts



Top