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What Have You Done To Your Explorer ST Today
- Thread starter TNSmokee
- Start date
- Messages
- 310
- Reactions
- 190
- Points
- 37
- Location
- Folsom, CA
- Vehicle
- '23 ExST, '17 Raptor, '16 FoST, FFR Cobra
- Messages
- 310
- Reactions
- 190
- Points
- 37
- Location
- Folsom, CA
- Vehicle
- '23 ExST, '17 Raptor, '16 FoST, FFR Cobra
That's a great product. Someone really understood, what the customer really wanted.
Just make sure every phone mounted on it, is snug fit. and no possibility of putting pressure on the charging port inside the phone.
Under hard acceleration and braking, the modern heavy phones are known to come out of this slot.
Just make sure every phone mounted on it, is snug fit. and no possibility of putting pressure on the charging port inside the phone.
Under hard acceleration and braking, the modern heavy phones are known to come out of this slot.
- Borla S-Type exhaust system installed.
- Tinted Suntek (Evolve) Ceramic front windshield @ 70%, Front Driver and Passenger @ 15%.
- Gorilla Lug Nutz installed.
- Dewalt 1/2in Impact Wrench to do the job.
- Craftsman Torque Wrench @ 150lbs
Pending:
- Black/Red Ford badges (stickers)
- Ford Performance Tune
- JL Oil Catch Can ETA by 3/17
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Added a bolt to the 1/3 bolt differential mount
EDIT: and removed it per some advice from knowledgeable members of this forum
I decided I would be the guinea pig…
Since Ford isn’t going to install the proper sub-frame (and I will be Hwy towing and off road towing) I decided I would just install a bolt with bushings on each side of the sub-frame (and not gunna pay the crazy prices for the existing after market brackets) for some peace of mind.
I had to drill out the rear hole to make my bushing fit inside it and behind it. I made another bushing (without protrusion into sub-frame, couldn’t get to the hole to make it bigger) and put it between the sub-frame and the differential housing bolt hole. I then used a grade-8, 14-20 bolt 5” long w/ some blue thread lock and tightened it up fairly snug.
My thinking here is… since there is at least an 1/8” space all the way around the bolt in the sub-frame and there is a “dampener” bushing snugged in there, there should be similar or more give than the OEM other side bolt thus adding support without affecting the movement that was already there. So hopefully the new bolt will just prevent too much movement and maybe avoid a broken bolt and the added support shouldn’t affect the warrantee.
**I made the bushings from shock mount bushings drilled out with 5/8” bit.
EDIT: I had to add a second washer because the bolt was a bit too long. No funny sounds or vibrations during test drive!
EDIT: and removed it per some advice from knowledgeable members of this forum
I decided I would be the guinea pig…
Since Ford isn’t going to install the proper sub-frame (and I will be Hwy towing and off road towing) I decided I would just install a bolt with bushings on each side of the sub-frame (and not gunna pay the crazy prices for the existing after market brackets) for some peace of mind.
I had to drill out the rear hole to make my bushing fit inside it and behind it. I made another bushing (without protrusion into sub-frame, couldn’t get to the hole to make it bigger) and put it between the sub-frame and the differential housing bolt hole. I then used a grade-8, 14-20 bolt 5” long w/ some blue thread lock and tightened it up fairly snug.
My thinking here is… since there is at least an 1/8” space all the way around the bolt in the sub-frame and there is a “dampener” bushing snugged in there, there should be similar or more give than the OEM other side bolt thus adding support without affecting the movement that was already there. So hopefully the new bolt will just prevent too much movement and maybe avoid a broken bolt and the added support shouldn’t affect the warrantee.
**I made the bushings from shock mount bushings drilled out with 5/8” bit.
EDIT: I had to add a second washer because the bolt was a bit too long. No funny sounds or vibrations during test drive!
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I applaud anyone who goes to the trouble to attempt a DIY fix. In this case, I don't believe your approach is going to be effective. Because the bolt is only supported on the subframe side by a 1/8" gap (with some rubber "snugged in") and there is a probable 4" distance between the threaded differential boss and subframe, when the diff starts to rotate, due to the added unsupported length of the lever (bolt) it will move a greater distance in the "Y" plane (up and down). As the bushing deflects, force will be transferred to your bolt, the subframe, and the differential boss. The bolt will likely fail. If it doesn't you may break the differential boss.
Which ironically is exactly how it breaks the OEM bolt. The recall documents really do the best job at describing the issue.
"The joint design is not robust to peak axle input torques and manufacturing variability. The primary contributor is insufficient bearing area for maximum joint loads. This results in bearing area deformation, increasing bending stress on the bolt, which may lead to a fatigue failure."
@JCR ST
Putting a bolt directly against metal will ensure it will bend then break. The OEM bolt deflects so much in the bushing it deforms the bushing till it hits metal and bends. What the heck do you think metal on metal will do, take that bolt out. It is a ticking time bomb.
"The joint design is not robust to peak axle input torques and manufacturing variability. The primary contributor is insufficient bearing area for maximum joint loads. This results in bearing area deformation, increasing bending stress on the bolt, which may lead to a fatigue failure."
@JCR ST
Putting a bolt directly against metal will ensure it will bend then break. The OEM bolt deflects so much in the bushing it deforms the bushing till it hits metal and bends. What the heck do you think metal on metal will do, take that bolt out. It is a ticking time bomb.
