Here is my 2001 black trac on a SoCal grading site. After wrecking my 1996 Ford Ranger 4X2, I decided to look for a truck that would be easy to work out of and still offer room for my three kids. The ford Explorer Sport Trac was the obvious choice. I decided to look for a 4X4 Trac to get around my grading sites easier. The 4wd shift on the fly is perfect for the work that I do.
Recently, while working on an intense rock job, my muffler was snagged by a large rock and tore a hole in my stock piping between the two main cats. Unable to find replacement cats from high performance exhaust brands such as Magnaflow, I finally replaced both the pre-cat and main cat system with OEM parts through Ford. I then installed a Flomaster cat back system with a 12" Wicked Flow tip. I also had the entire cat-back system tucked up closer to the truck undercarriage by roughly 2 inches. Economy boosted 3 mpg.
I run Castrol GTX High Mileage with a Fram Tough Guard filter in support of NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force. Thanks to Butch Macedo, I have attended the NHRA WinterNationals in Pomona for the past 3 years. Castrol flows through every vein possible in my Sport Trac and I love the way it performs. 
I also installed MSD Super Conductor plug wires on the Sport Trac's 4.0 V6 engine. OEM wire diameter for the Sport Trac is 8mm. I used 8.5mm MSD wires from the Ford Ranger 4.0 V6. Economy improved by 1 mpg.
My first week of having my new exhaust system, I was sent to a rock site and scraped the bottom of my new tail pipe. Another site claimed my front valance, and so the realization; I need a suspension lift. After calling many off-road shops, I found that Superlift is the only company that offers a suspension lift for the Sport Trac 4X4 without going custom. The Superlift suspension kit for the '01 Sport Trac 4X4 provides a 4" lift in both the front and the rear. With this being the only kit available, I took it. To gain the additional clearance to squeeze 35s on my rig, a also had the Performance Accessories 3" body kit installed. This was thought to have given my trac the clearance it needed, however, the nobs on the BFG mudders rubbed in the front and back of the front
fenderwells. Although a little trimming cured the problem of rubbing in the front, it still rubbed slightly in the rear. Since my front drive-axles sat nearly straight, I cranked the torsions and gave the truck 2 more inches in the front. New problem, how to level the rear. Shackels? I found 1 1/4 inch lift shackels by Warrior Products that fit the Ford Explorer for years '93 and up. I had them ordered immediately and a week later, they were on my rig. I was concerned though that the 4" suspension lift and 1 1/4" shackel lift might create a large pinion angle, but then found that Superlift's replacement leaf kit came with shims which put the pinion angle back to factory specs. Finally, all the work has been completed and my Sport Trac is mud-ready. A special thanks goes out to Grant for providing pics of his Florida "Big Boy" Trac here on cardomain.com. Pictured above, although 2wd, Grant's trac had the stance that I was looking for.
When it came time to decide on rims and tires for my Trac, the choice was obvious. I am a fan of the bead lock styling and immediately checked Pro Comp's Extreme Alloy series for my lug pattern in a 16x10 rim. The polished 1079s fit the bill and I followed Grant's lead in outfitting my rig with 35" BF Goodrich Mud-terrains. (LT315/75R16/D) I found that the 1079s for Pro Comp and Eagle Alloys are made by the same manufacturer, and so are the same wheel. I decided, after seeing the rings on the rims, that they took away from the style of the rim rather than dress it up. So the rings were sent back.
Accelerations Performance and Automotive, in Banning CA performed all of the lift work and regeared my diffs, front and rear, to 4.56 from the factory's 4.10. Shipping delays kept my trac in the shop 7 days past the proposed finish date. 
Steve and the entire crew at Accelerations took additional care of my truck by replacing badly worn exhaust manifold gaskets and front hub assemblies during the 
wait. Accelerations also installed my K&N FIPK2 intake and Proford MAF sensor. If you're in the area, I reccommend Accelerations for any of your modification needs. Off the 10 freeway in Banning, CA. Exit 22nd Ave and drive north to Ramsey. The shop is in the northeast corner of 22nd and Ramsey @ 2159 West Ramsey. Call Steve up at (951) 922-8400 or fax him at (951) 922-9556. If he's reading this, Thanx Steve! Your shop is Awesome!
Would you like to see my modified Trac? Turn the page.
