2022 Ford Explorer Platinum ST

Words to live by. Thanks for the reminder [/QUOTE]
great attitude you will be fine. I'm like you I learn from doing. LOL I have way bigger F ups its just part of life. when you are done, no one can pull up next to you and be the same. You have one of a kind build.
I def want to see it when done.

Welp...good news and bad news.
Bad news: I stopped by the paint shop today. Yesterday marks EIGHT WEEKS in the paint shop. Still not done He has all but one piece prepped and primered. The front lower grill piece (the piece that's below the bumper) keeps peeling. I have a sinking feeling that I chose the wrong shop. If he can't sort out this one piece by Friday he said he'd buy a new one and try again. I told him if it's not finished by the following Friday that I would pickup the pieces and take it all to another shop. First world problems
Good news: I also stopped by the dealership to confirm they infact ordered/received ALL the pieces requested (ST front axle, Timberline rear axle w/Torsen LSD, 4 bolt rear subframe w/all the bolts, etc., roof rack delete kit). I tried confirming that the rear differential had the 2 bolt cover, but ironically it comes in the crate with the diff cover on the bottom so I couldn't visually verify.. Here's to hoping all is good. This dealership didn't have a timberline on their lot and I haven't been an able to find a picture. Does anyone know for a fact of a) the timberline comes with a 2 bolt diff cover or b) would my diff cover fit on the timberline diff?
Once I get there Explorer back they estimate it will take them 2-3 days to get everything done.

Your diff cover should fit. It'll be interesting to see. Why did you buy the 4 bollt subframe?

Sweet!

I figured they're already in there with the axle swap. May as well get that replaced while we're at it. Then I don't have to worry about the slight chance of breaking anything once we get the power up there.

Insurance is the only reason to replace the rear cradle. Mine shipped no box with a shipping tag wire tied to a bolt hole


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I only asked because I thought his Platinum already had the 4-bolt. If it doesn't then it makes perfect sense to purchase.

Sadly, no. Same 3 bolt the ST has.

Whelp...after 2 attempts and a total of 13 weeks, the body shop finally threw in the towel. Despite the frustration due to poor communication and the length of time it took, I have to give them props. They ordered all new black textured plastic pieces from the dealer and will be reinstalling them later this week. I did get all the chrome painted black, so I guess that's the silver lining here. I'll be picking the Explorer up sans these pieces so I can get some other work done while the pieces are in transit. Hope to get the UBR oil catch can and a Frankenstein wireless phone charger/mount installed this weekend (hoping to use two different kits to make it work where I want it to go). My service writer is on vacay until Thursday, but I hope to have the Explorer into the dealership next week for the roof rack delete, axle swaps, 4 bolt rear subframe, and suspension swap. Then off to the tire shop for wheels/tires and alignment. MAN! I'm excited to finally get to drive the Explorer again! Fun times ahead!

The saga continues...14 weeks and a boat load of money, I've got the black plastic trim on my Explorer back to stock. Every shop I've talked to since has told me they can't/won't paint textured plastic due to the mold agent in the plastic which causes the paint to peel. There was a promoter they used to be able to get, but it has since been banned in the state due to containing certain chemicals. Pretty frustrating to be sure. Explorer went in at 1 week old in perfect condition and they FUBARed it.

I picked it up from the original shop and took it to one of the premium shops, Cascade Collision, with no trim so they could get it back to stock. I've worked with the manager on various projects for over the past 10+ years and he has always exceeded expectations. This time was no different. The first shop clear coated both front doors but neither prepped not removed trim. As you can guess it started flaking off the very next day. I took it to Cascade this past Tuesday just to get trim put back on. He didn't think he could get the doors repaired until I returned from training. He was also missing a few trim pieces which would go on after as well. Day two he calls to let me know the paint shop will actually have time to priority sand and repaint the doors. Still within the promised 4 days. All in all, they communicated very well, under promised and over delivered. I knew what was happening every step of the way and even had a completion date/time which they crushed. I got a call before they promised and found they got EVERYTHING done. They were even able to find the trim pieces they were missing.

Also on the bright side, since all the trim was replaced anyway, I was able to replace it with ST trim which I like a whole lot more. More aggressive looking and overall a more appealing in my opinion.



I guess with the ST trim the Explorer looks like the St-Line. ST-Line exterior, Platinum interior, ST engine and soon to be front axle, Timberline rear axle, PIU rear subframe. She's really turning out to be quite the Frankenstein mobile.

Initial research is pointing towards the 3.3L and 3.0L Ecoboost PIU running a potentially beefed up 10R80 tranny. Still trying to confirm this and find all the part numbers that would be needed to make a full swap. Time will tell, but this is good news in my opinion since this would potential mean that no custom fab work would be required to swap the transmission.

Also, a dealership somewhat close to where my training is being held has the rear controls. Placed the order on Monday and will pick it up this coming Monday. But a huge thing, but pretty exciting siincev it doesn't appear any dealerships have any and they show as being on a nationwide breaker back order (no duh, right? This is why Explorers are shipping without them).

Now that I've got this dark chapter being me, in super excited for the future. Lots of parts are just waiting to be installed. Brett @ FenFab is even working on customizing a few parts for me. Super stoked to receive these and get them put on.

Here's to a bright and promising future!

Installed the rear controls tonight. Likely THE easiest install to date. Used a trim removal tool from the top and the rear center console panel came right off. Removed the wireing harnesses to the rear plug and USB ports, removed 4 torx screws, and removed the blank cover. Lined up rear controls with their guides and pushed into place, replaced the 4 screws, removed tape holding wiring harness to center console and plugged all three wiring harnesses back in (there all different sizes, so can't go wrong). Rear cover popped right back into place. Easy peasy, captain cheesy.

Keep up the good work, don't know how it took me this long to find your build...this is crazy!

It's been a hot minute since I've posted, and I honestly haven't done too much.

I finally got the Steeda springs, struts, and shocks installed along with the wheels and tires. While I was at it, I had the calipers painted blue, since the Platinum comes with an unfinished silver. I think it looks a bit better but sure does highlight how small the brakes are I'll get some big brakes eventually...

I don't have many good pictures, so this will have have to do for now.

When dropping the Explorer off to the dealer I parked behind a stock Platinum and was a little surprised by how different mine looks compared to when I brought it home.

Yet again, not the greatest picture. It appears that I'm not the greatest photographer

I also finally got the lights tinted. Went with a medium smoke all around except for the reverse/turn signals in the rear. I really like how it turned out

On the headlights I just had them tint the borders to cover-up most of the chrome, but left the middle clear so as to not reduce the headlight output.


I really like how the taillights turned out as well. I replaced the incandescent bulbs for the reverse/turn signals with LEDs, so they're still plenty bright despite the darker tint. The medium smoke is dark enough to mute the taillights and keep them from popping so much, yet light enough so that I shouldn't get hassled too much by the UHP.

I also had all the paint cut and buffed in preparation for ceramic coating and PPF. The first body shop started but never finished, so I had random dull spots.

As mentioned, I dropped the Explorer off at the dealer where they'll resolve a couple of CELs as well as perform some looooong awaited work. The roof rack will finally be deleted, the front axle will be swapped with that from the ST, the rear subframe will be swapped with the 4 bolt from the PIU (some say it's beefier than the other 4 bolt subframes), and the rear axle will be swapped with the Torsen LSD from the Timberline. And while they have it I figured they could install some SPD DPs as well. All in all I'm told it'll take a week or so to complete.

Come spring, I'll finally get the ZFG 93 and E50 tunes and that will complete Stage 1 of the journey. Brett is working on a couple things for under the hood which are purely for looks, but I'm still pretty excited to get them installed. Still have a few cosmetic things to finish up under the hood as well

I'm aiming for the tail end of 2023 or beginning of 2024 for Stage 2 which has morphed into a potential turbo(s) and transmission upgrade or the Predator and 7 speed DCT swap. It's still very early on in the research phase for either option, but I'm stoked nonetheless. I'm following @TMac on the single turbo, and also hoping on more bolt on options. I've also found someone with experience in doing Predator swaps who feels this project may be possible. Can you imagine a fully functional Predator swapped Explorer?! I may very well be delusional, but that would make for the ultimate sleeper...

I like following your build. you have a great attitude. your also building a 1 of a kind explorer I like that also. keep posting as you progress please.

When he goes to sell it, it will be advertised as a STatinum.

If you find a spot around here with 93 or decent E85, please let me know. I can't find ANYTHING better than 91 except C16 or 103.

If I get my way, it'll be more like a STatinum-500

The only station in Utah County that I'm aware of having E85 is a Sinclair at 524 North 1500 West in Orem. I haven't used/tested it personally, but rumor has it that it's closer to E70. I've also heard that there is another Sinclair at 595 South 200 East in Provo. I've not heard anything about the mixture at this location, though would guess it's the same since it's owned by the same company. It's not too far from my office, so I'll check it out tomorrow and confirm they have it.

Thank you. It's been fun. I'll keep posting as I do/learn more.

yeah, let me know. I had to have Adam build me a new tune for 91 because my 93 and E50 tunes were proving impossible to deal with out here. fueling was the BIGGEST pain the butt. I am missing ethanol too--the difference really is quite stark.

The Provo location doesn't have E85. I talked with someone with the gas stations' corporate and found the E70 at Orem is blended for FlexFuel vehicle, and not intended as race fuel. Not sure if this is common, but it's mixed with 87 octane. They do sell E95 in bulk, and Good Looking Dave's in Salt Lake (4580 Commerce Dr in Murray) sells it by the gallon, but seems to have a decent upcharge. I may look into getting some tanks and buying the E95 in bulk and blending my own mixtures.